Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-07-01
MISSISSIPPI.
Extract from a Speech Delivered by
Gen. Chalmers at Friars Point.

The Congressional Investigation int
Mississippi Affairs Thoroughly
SEQ Observation-Disclosures
Persecution.
The Trrie Theory of the Recent EIec
tiOn.-.Ames the AggresSOr in
All of the Troubles in
Mississippi.
After having explained the beneficial
acts of the last legislature, aud given
a general account of his stewardship
as their senator, he took up the all
absorbing subject of the congressional
investigation, he said This inyestI-
CATION is purely partisan persecution
and that it was concocted by Ames and
Morton. is too evident to need word
of proof. Ames had received the
leadership of the Republican party in
Mississippi less than three years be-
fore. when it was powerful, we'll organ
lied and flushed with victory, and after
the result of the election was seen, he
knew thath he mustsoOn turn it tOverinto
other hands, detected, disorganized.
and defeated. He knew that If he
passed quickly away after that disast-
rous failure in the administration of
the affairs of his party, he would sink
into the political obscurity from which
he emerged when he signed his own
commission as United States Senator,
and he determined to make q last dying
effort to bring the power of the United
States government to bear upon the
State of Mississippi. Grant had snub-
bed him, and he naturally turned for
assistance to Morton, the greatest and
meanest of the Radical leaders, and
found in that bold, bad man willing
listener to his tale of woe and ready
conspirator for the overthrow of Miss
issippi. The conspiracy was readily
and rapidly formed. Ames was to do
the lying and Morton the speaking,
and the United States was to be pros
tituted to the consummation of their
base political purposes. In accord
ance with the programme, Morton in
treduced his resolutions. Ames sent
In an insulting letter to the Mississippi
legislature, aud Morton followed it up
with the first installment of his speech,
all in such quick succession and with
so many marks of completely as to leave
no doubt as to the collusion between
them. 1t seemed then as if Ames was
counting impeachment that he might
claim crown of martyrdom, but his
courage failed him as the time of trial
approached, and heresigned. This, we
imagined would be the last of him, but
we see that he has recently appeared
before MOrton's committee in Wash
ington, to carry out his contract and
swear to what he afterward admits he
knows nothing about except from
hearsay. Such reckless and corrupt
swearing would startle us coming from
any one else who had occupied his
position. But we are astonished at
nothing when it comes from a man who
consorted alone with the most corrupt
portion of his party, who showed no
of honest indignation when
he heard his staf-oficer swear that he
had been bribed to corrupt. him. and
who knew that thatstaff officers father
swore that he, Ames, had agreed toilet
another perform the corrupt act, and
who continued that staff officer in his
service after full knowledge of these
facts. / have had no opportunity to
see his testimony in full before that
and cannot reply to it, and,
/ propose to discuss now the
message which he delivered to the last
legislature. In this message, as in his
recent testimony, it is charged that the
last election in Mississippi was the re-
suit of intimidation and fraud. These
charges we mostemphatically deny, but
when the broad term intimidation is 1
used. it becomes sassary % inquire
what is meant by it, and whether there
are times and circumstances In which
it may become not only lawful, but
eminently proper and essentially neces-
sary for the protection of public or
private rights. When the thief is re-
strained by the fear of punishment
from the commission of crime, when !
vice stands abashed in the presence of
virtue, it may be said that these are
The results of intimidation when the
midnight robber flies from the wrath |
Of the awakened household, it is be-
cause he is intimidated when dast-
lrdly mob is arrested by some brave
man, who plants himself in their front,
and threatens to kill the first maraud-
srs who advance, they pause, because
they are intimidated; when a pack of |
eowardly hounds fly bowling in terror, /
and yelping in pain, from some noble |
mastiff, whom they have assailed, and /
who, in self-defense, had turned upon
Them, it is because they are intim-
dated. And Scotland's sweetest bard |
has said - a s
The fear hell is the hangman's whip
To baud the wretch in order"
And, yet, who will say that such in
.imidation is either improper or repre-
lensible ? There is no pretense by
my one, or in the message itself, that
here was any intimidation in any but
lbout six counties indefinitely referred
%, and, yet, the result was the same,
triumphant for the
Democracy, almost everywhere in the
State. And if it should be admitted
or argument that in those six counties
he leaders of the Radical party were
impressed by a wholesome apprehen-
lion of the results likely to follow any
iurther outrages on their part, who can
,ay that this was either illegal or i'm
proper. A band of worse than mid
light robbers were attempting to de-
poll Mississippi, and the sons of her
household awakened to her timely de-
ense, and now the robbers and thieves
ghO have been driven back from the
yery door of the treasury cry out that
hey have been intimidated. The
mob which assassinated three
innocent young men at Clinton, were
dispersed by an outraged community,
md if any deeds of violence followed,
hey we're but the natural and inevita-
lie results of such beginnings. Yet
he governor complains of their intim-
dation because they were not per-
nitted to insultand trample upon white
nen at pleasure, and riot with impuni-
y in their blood. The cowardly hounds
Who came yelping and hoWling into the
own of Friars Point to attack white
nan, and who came prepared to burn
'ur houses and steal our property, fed
Jack In terror before the bloodless
harge of few determined men, and
he cry is raised that they were in
Undated. | say they came prepared
o burn our houses, because it has since
,een ascertained that they came with
matches in their pockets; and that they
,ame to steal our property, because
hey came with cotton-seed sacks upon
heir saddles to carry off their pluuder7
md these were left strewn in the road |
behind them as they fed. The insti-
.o4o-z of +bsc riot wara two leading |