New-York tribune., 1876-08-10
besides. 1t is time to quit attitudinizng ana
co to the people.
THE MISSISSIPPI REPORTS.

THE MISSISSIPPI REPORIS.
The necessity of a powerful body OF inde-
nopdent citizens not governed i'll their juds-
,crts Inv care for the fortunes of either po-
Iiticol marty. is most forcibly illustrated by the
ronorts in regard to affairs in Mississippi. The
honorable gentlemen who sign these reports
do not lie. 1t may fairly be presumed that
on both sides they mean to tell the truth'
though not, possibly, the whole truth. Yet the
opposing statements are so sharply c0ntTadic-
tory that somebody has evidently tailed most
Iamcntably in that endcavor. The Republican
report, for example, states that "Goy. Ames
was man of personal integrity and an able
civil magistrate. whose fitness was admitted
".by his political opponents" We need not
search Democratic documents or speeches to
discover that this assertion is at war with
facts Whatever Mr.. Amcs may be IN iact II
is certain that in The opinion OF Democrats
generally, and of very many Republicans, he
was an exceedingly unfit man Tor thc duIcS
intrlsied 10 him. Like contradictions face us
at every step. The truth is evident that on
both sides part ,anship has warped tie Judgment
Candid men will consider the conflicting state
mcnts in the light of certain known facts. 1t
is known that q majority OF the adult males
In that State are colorcd men. Past Vo'es
prove that . majority of the adult males nave
voted the Republican ticket. At the last cIcc-
ton the majority against that ticket was over
$4,000 OF this change there are two possible
voluntary change OF voters OF
forviblc oycIpoHcring Of The majority ny a
wcll-oIganizcd minority. skilled n use oi arms,
apt in devices to intimiddie, and possessed OF
vast mower through control oi nearly all The
propcity and employment oi nearly all the
labor in the State. The Democrats maintain
that there has been voluntary reaction against
the corrupt rule OF so-clird Republicans. Inc
! RcpubHcans claim that force, violence, ana
every form Or laWlcsS niim ddl! - were uStd
TO keep colorcd men from tie POI, OF to com
mel them to vote Tie DrWrrla..c ticket, ana
! that in many cases, these - rclca iaIlihg'
| iraud was employed.
| Unhappily there Is 30 room 20 doubt that
! the local rule established by l.nayish adv"n-
! tuners WHO had gained the confidence oi the
! ignorant colored voters was corrupt aud op-
prc,>iyc in the extreme. OI iils fact, no IN
ve.tiaation was needed 20 convince candid
men. Tie disclosures nt the time OF the
! Nicksburg massacre were such rs to prove
| that property owncis hid been goldcd on To
! the point OF desperation 10y outiagcS winch u"
! civilized community long cnuureS. Ample
rroof exist, thar the local rule in other parts
of the State was infamou>y corrupt
But a CIVILIZED people have two ways OF
getting nd OF missoycrnmcnt-hy reason ana
by votes. or by force and fraud. Ii Is cstab-
! Ijslcd beyond all possibility of dispute that IN
/ Mississipui violence and terrorism were too
often employed. There, ~ IN other parts %
\ tbe South life in a black skin is cheap. Ihe
fact is not 4 welcome one, but IT Is control
ling fact in a candid Judgment. There. as
elsewhere, reckless, desperate and brutal men
are found. swift tn cxrcu'n the least honorable
impulsps of a wronged community. Finally, all
over the South we have seen that the
better and more intelligent element has often
lacked the moral force 10 restrain desperate
men from bad deeds The white people OF
}jississi,ui had been outagcous!y misgovcrncd,
and had tried i'll vain III the elections OF lSE
and 1873 to overcome tlo coloycd majority by
pcaccful means. At Vicksburg we know that
they lost sclf-rcstlaint. Abundant testimony
proves that deeds not less atrocious were per
rctrard IN other parts OF the State. II II il gross
p1rtisanshp 10 s1y that such deeds were per
pctiatcd with deliberate purpose by the Dem
OCrat. il Is also gross paTti>InSliip - say That
Democratic citizens OF Mississippi dld what
they could 70 prevent them.
What was the result IN 1872 the Rcpub-
leans had polcd sl,9lG votes. Last year
t,,y polcd only GG,G59 votes. When we re-
fleet that the strongest p055ibl" appeals were
made in 1872 and again in 1873 to the more
INTELLIGENT Republicans to Tyccp away tie
mi,Iulc which oppressed the state, and that.
nevertheless, 74.3O7 votes were east for
Amcs in 1873, it is difficult 10 believe that
large number of them voluntarily deserted IN
1875 the party to which they had steadily
adhere /. Bnt il i not difficult TO believe tlat
thousnd, of timid and igGorant men were
prevented from voting, or controlled III their
| votes by s!c oGtlagcs a5 are known to have
| been committed.
Il i, not a time to pass Judgment. The Re
publican party sowcd the wind and has reaped
the whllwind. But no civilized nation can
excuse or tolerate the control OF elections hy
asSassinations, Whippings, ana terrorism. Dem
ocratic Iljle at the SO~th does not mean such
sclf-govc.umcnt as exists in Northern commu-
mites. II we are to maintain such srlt-gOy-
crnmcnt at MI in the Southern States 1t must
Inc by the election OF President who will
neither shelter stealing nor tolerate killing
who will act in the spirit 80 well shown by
the letter Of Gov. Hayes, with equal justice
toward all.
7UE BR1TO MYSTERY.
t,.,