The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-07-12
CHURCHS LETTER.


I
- paper, and give you the facts coucernn
the conflict Of races in the State, and motto
n ing an article in y'ur Issue OF Nay 2.
headed, A Northern Voice from the South.
dateI Henderson l.. o, Granville cIlnty
n. { > and signed wv. NJ )" which write
mas found the "Ellorado' OF the Sout
evidently, concluded to drop you Il few
n | llnes giving YOU my own observations II
. MlssiSsIppt and Louisiana. am prcsidin!
| eIder OF tic Mississippi Conference OF tin
z Methodist Episcopal Church, having beer
y IN the South about two aud one-hAlf years
anu having preached in the Black River
central, New York, aud New orE Con
2 lrrences for twenty wears. My work Is {
= iittle more than half OF the time with the
colored people, and the balance with the
: white people. My District takes in a5ont
one -lhird at the State Of Mississippi, VIZ
| including NatciIeZ running due eat acrOS.
| the STATE, includirg all south of that liue.
have nOt nHly trayersed the bounds of my
: distflct. but have travelled over the most OF
the states Of Mississippi aud Louisiana. |
have mingled with all classes OF the people
both white and black. count among my
personal friends, Democrats aud Republi-
cans 10y the hundred, and | am well ac-
quainleG with many native-born southern
men, who are exemplary christian
| gentlemen, and who are IA candid ON
the political questions Of the South as
any man OF my acquaintance. But the
trouble is that class OF men not in the
ascendant in the Democratic party. L VIII
tion of Mississippi, which can confirm by
! the testimony OF any number of Southern
| men. The colored orople are in the MAORI
| ty IN ali the counties along the Mississippi
! RIVER, commonly called the River counties.
! and also in a few of the counties in the
| cent raj and northeastern parts of the state.
! In all the balance of the State, the whites are
! IN the majority, and where they are in the
majority there is no conflict of races in poll
| ties, because the whites have every thllg
their own way. But in all the parts OF the
state where The blacks are in the majority
there Is more or less cfcOntlct, for in the Last
TAIL camp Aign It was distinctly announced
tLat this was a white mans government,
and he should and would rule it. Any body
referring to the Democratic papers of the
StRte during the canvass of last fall can see
the assertion of the above political war cry
There Is an intense feeling of antagOnism
on the part of the whites towards the blacks
through all the State. but not of the blacks
towards the whites. The statement is often
denied, but 1t is nevertheless true. There
are noble men in the Democratic party
here, who will not cherish such a political
antagonism, and would resent such
n charge against themselves; but there
can hardly be found a man in tie
ranks OF that party, that will not
vince unGer what they are pleased TO
call the degradation in Office, when that of
iice is filled with black man, whether lie
be good or bad, learned or unlearneG. L
think the hatred OF the negro in his political
SIdLuo Is almost universal AIN OiX the whites,
except by the comparatively few whites
who have acce Bted the situation and joined
hands with the negro to give him counsel, |
ami to utilize and conserve this great ele |
of power instead of antagoniZing it. | was
the guest OfCOl. Henry Anderson, Of Frank |
lin county in April last; he is one OF the larg |
est planters. if rot the largest, in Southern |
Mississippi. u good Democrat and mem |
Der of the Baptist Church. and he remarked |
to me, :. lam sorry to confess it, bur |
hAl there IL "A tho |
negro on the part of a majority of the |
whites, that they would be glad to see them |
destroy
Ihaye Il like statement o large number OF |
S)uthern-bo born gentlemen OF the most ire |
prOachablc character. Now when the ne |
gro is so thoroughly subordinated as to |
amount to nothing IN politics in this State, |
we have perfectly tranquil state of society,
aud only then.
\ thousand and one charges are raised |
against the nrgro--some OF them have lit
tie show of fairness, and some OF them, the |
most of them. are very frivolous. The ne
gro Is charged with being improvident. Per
haps the majority so, but the negro is
having his lull share of financial prosperity |
in the State. Thousands of them are buy
ing aud paying for homes and farms, and |
surrounding them selves with many OF the
coufortS and TefinemeHts of civilization.
They are accused of universal thieVing. l
am satisfied that that is 4 sweeping false
hood. There is some stealing done by the
could be matched by a class of low down,
vicious whites.
They are accused of RIGHTEOUSNESS. There
are probably not to exceed one in hundred
OF the colored people in Mississippi who are
of pure African blood, so that you can sec
who are their educators In this species of
crime. This sin is the saddest in their race.
They are accused OF being turbulent and
riotous. The negroes are ignorant ana
clannish, but more docle people, under
the wrongs and prOvoeatiOns which they |
often suffer, cannot be found under the
whole heavens. Many of the whites deal
honestly and honorably with the colored
race. and many do not. Many OF the whites
are willing that the negro should enjoy his
elective franchize freely and fully, and /
many are not.
In almost every county where the cOlored |
registered votes exceed the whites, there in
timldation and deceit and falsehood were
resorted to last Fall In Amite county the
colcred registered voters exceeded the whites
by nearly 300, but at the election the Dem
ocrats polled nearly 300 majority last Fall
and lest YOU should be deceived by the |
statement that is often heard in support OF
the Democratic victory last Fall that large
numbers of he negroes voted the Demo-
cratic ticket, a few facts Will clear your
vision in that respect. In AmIte county
threats were fire ely made before the election
that every white man who should support
the Radical ticket should leave the county
or pay the forfeit with his life. Next morn
armed mob of from four to six hundred
men. with shotguns loaded with buckShot,
and with ropes in their hands TO hang the
Radicals and their heads craZed with whls-
Ky surrounded the courthouse anu closed
in upon it. expecting to capture the acting |
sheriff. a United States revenue collector,
tho defeated candidate for the Legislature |
ia cOIored mau,) and several Others. ana |
haru them to the trees; but the said Kadl-
Gals had been informed of their design aud /
LIT ha dnTIn0 IT.
rode over 10 the house where the preacher |
of the MethodiSt-Epikcopal Church resided,
and ordered him to come out OF the house; |
hut the owner OF the premises asked tue
ruf9ians what they wanted OF tins colored
preacher. and when he learned that they |
intended 30 use violence to him, the owner /
- native born Southerner, told the MOP tAat
they could not come upon his premises anu
the blood thirsty villains left the mouse, |
They rode up to Col. Johns, who Is native
Southern man, fine lawyer, who had con-
Quoted Democratic paper IN their county
for twenty years, and had the day before
beeu elected TO the Legislature on the DEM
oerAtic ticket, to congratulate MIN upon ms
election The Colonel demonstrated win
The mob for their disordeTIy conduct. whcFe-
mon they demanded his resignation upon
rhe spot, but not having counted upon their
host, ha told them plainly that he snoGid
NOT RESIGN TO a mob. For several nights
succeeding this dash ofchiyalry, the negroes
in that section did not dare 10 sleep In thelE
| houses, and slept out in the Forests; vac
| in formed by both white and colored people;
| that this body of chivalrOus knights kIle0
| all the WAY from twenty to one ndhuEeu nc
| grOes during the next two months, anu ny
| singls arrest of one OF the rioters was
| made, and has not been made yer, SUI ny
| the first assault has been made by negro
| on one of the rioters up u date was
| three times warned not to come TO Amlte
! county TO attend the quarterly meeting lot