Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-01-29

President Grant, in his recent message
on the outrageous military interference
with the Organization OF the Louisiana
Legislature, in addition to much that was
to be condemned, used the following SEN
sible language:
~''I am well aware that any military interior
ence by the officers or troops of the United
States with the organization of State Legs
lature or any of its proceedings, or with any
civil department of the government, is repug-
nant to our ideas of government. | can con-
ceive of no case not involving rebellion or IN
surrection where such interference by authority
of the General Government ought to be per-
mitted or can be justified
1t is true that this paragraph was in
serted in order to placate Mr.. Secretary
Fish, who openly declared that he would
not remain in an administration which
justified, in time of peace, the military in
reference with State Legislature or any
civil department of the government. All
this the Secretary frankly stated to the re-
representatives. of the press who sought to
ascertain his views. And, en- PEASANT, we
may remark that Mr.. Fish seems to be very
easy to reconcile: if he remains satisfied
going extract. However that may be, they
were part of the Presidents message,
and We had a ri ght to hope that he would
abide by them in the future, even if his
actions in the past gave the lie to this hope.
In charity we ought to have supposed, that
having now seen his former mistakes, and
understanding, as this extract shows, the
true principles on which the interference
of the military was authorized, we would
not speedily be called to witness an
other outrage, similar in character to that
so recently perpetrated in Louisiana, and
for which this very message was intended
to be an apology. Yet the ink was scarcely
dry on the pen that wrote Il can conceive
of no case not involving rebellion or in
surrection where such interference by au-
thority of the General Government ought
to be permitted or can be justified" when
the telegraph flashed the news over the
country that the military, under orders of
Gen. Sheridan, had forcibly elected one
Flanagan from the office of Sheriff of
Vicksburg, and that after this eviction the
Chancellor appointed somebody else,
whose name we forget, to fill the vacancy
thus made by Federal bayonets. If any
thing, this last outrage was greater than
the first Then it was interference with
the legislative, now it is interference with
the judicial department Of government
One Crosby, negro, elected Sheriff, failed
to file adequate bonds, as the law requir
ed, and therefore could not legally enter
upon the discharge of the duties of the
office. The citizens demonstrated with
him and finally he resigned. He repre-
sented to the negroes that he did so from
intimidation and appealed to them to re-
dress his wrongs by force. Armed bodies
Of negroes, to the amount Of several hun
dred, marched on the town from three
different points. They were met by the
white citizens and repulsed with consider
able loss. A special election was then
held at which Flanagan was elected
Sheriff No legal steps were taken to test
the matter in the courts, though there were
some who claimed that the new election
was illegal. A new term of the Court was
to begin in few days and Gov. Ames
telegraphed to the President that he fear
ed disturbance and asked for troops.
These the President ordered Sheridan to
send. They went, and with fixed bayonets,
under command of Major Head, L. S. Army,
expelled one man, Flanagan, from an office
which he was quietly filling, without there
being even contestant for the same. For,
mark you, Crosby was not reinstated, be-
cause the insurrectionists had forced him
to resign, but after the vacancy had been
made by the military, the Chancellor APP
pointed another man to fill it. Thus We
have the singular sight of one man creating
an instruction or rebellion in the sover-
eign State of Mississippi, and which re-
quired the army of the United States to
put down. This must be so, because the
President promised Mr.. Fish and the coun-
try that no "such interference by authority
Of the General Government ought to be
permitted or can be justified" except in a
case "involving rebellion or Instruction"
We had in old times Shay's Rebellion
and the Whiskey Instruction, and now
we have to add to them Flanagan's Insur-
rection.
no