The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-05-31

the Governor gave him, but the presuInF
ton Ia that he received advice, as he re
turned and acted. He notified the coloreC
people by circulars to come to Vieksbars
armed on Monday morning, which they at
tempted to do, and nearly 100 lives were
lost in the fight. How far the Governor il
responsible for these lives, or whether re
sPonsIbIe at ali, cannot say, bat Col Well:
has charged him in the papers with the use
OF language well calculated in its nature te
produce riOtand blOodshed and he has never
denied it and do not think he ever will
Since that time he has never conferred OF
advised with me about anything matter
, whatever, being by law his legal adviser.
speak of this to say that | will not be held
responsible before the country for any of his
blunders. | JARnafy, 1879 the Legislature
again met (after short extra session in
December, 1874 and then the friends OF
economyand reform were hopeful ofsome leg
isiation that would give relief to the people
and give to the party record that could be
defended before the country.
- THE TAXES
were too high, especially as the property was
in the main unproductive, aud relief was
asked for by the whole people. A few of
us were in earnest in our entreaties for good
and honest State Government, SO much 50
that on the 10th Of February last, | wrote
an open letter to the Hon. A Warner, a
prominent Republican and State Senator,
which was published, and in which | gave
him what l regarded as the dnty of the par
ty in the Legislature. The lower house in
dorsed my letter by resolution, and promis-
ed to act upon its suggestions. Itadvised a
| liberal and honest policy; pointed out the
danger of defeat if we pursued the course of
other Southern States, and predicted the re-
suit that has ensued; begged the party to
redeem its pledges if it would, and declared
that if it violated its pledges it deserved to
| be defeated. | used every argument in my
power to induce the proper action on the
part of the Legislature, and pointed
out the means by which expenses could
| be cut off and the taxes reduced. !
advised the reduction in the public printing.
The Legislature passed the bill and
THE GOVERNOR VETOED IT.
Raymond was State Printer. ! advised a
reduction in the salary of County Superin-
| tendents of Education. The Legislature
passed the bill and the Governor vetoed it.
| advised a change in tine Constitution so
| to give us biennial sessions of the Legisla-
| ture. This would have saved nearly $780,
| 900 per annum. We had pledged it in our
| platform. The Governor had advised it in
his first message. The resolution passed
the lower house and went to the Senate.
there the NTONcIdOE
ACTUALLY LoBBIED
the Senate, and advised his friends to vote
| against it, and defeated it by one vote. On
the contrary, in his aspirations for the United
States Senate it seemed necessary to
| strengthen his hands by giving him more
patronage and power. At this TIM it may
be we'll to note that quite u number of the
legislators
HAVING NO INTEREST
in connection with, or in the State wereou
OF. employment except during the session,
and set about to create new offices, and did
create the office of revenue agent, whose
duty it WAS to hunt up frauds, defaleations,
ETC., and received hall what they collected
as their pay, and the governor appointed to
these offices five members of the Legislature,
in open. violence of the express provisions of
the constitution, they having created the
offices they could not hold them by appoint
ment (see Con-, art. 4, sec. 38). This gave
lucrative employment to his friends, while
they could work for him for the United
States Senate, and j believe this was gener-
ally the condition precedent to his appoint
ing them Again
N THE FACE
of the constitution, his adherents intro
duced bill authorizing him to appoint .
tax collector for each county. This passed,
after much cancusiug, in NAieh pistols, |
am informed by Il member, were presented
to force members to pledge their support to
the bill. The governor approved it and
acted under it in one or two cases and the
Supreme Court has set that law aside as I'M
constitutional cSeeL. French vs.. the State,
Ms. opinion.) Thus it will be seen that the
party in the State has been governed and
controlled by a few men, not to exceed half
a dozen, including the governor, who have
persistently
-.- VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION
and. the most sacred pledges that the party
had made in its platform. Then in two
instances he approved two bills on the same
day, each contradicting the other, and this,
With a few other objectionable blunders,
caused the calling of the extra session of the
Legislature in July last witho4t any extra
ordinary occasion, thus giving us three
/ sessions in eight months, instead of one in
two years, as we had promised. Then comes
the canvass for the November election of
| 1873, held with A. L. Morgan rs chairman.
The State convention was held with Morgan
as chairman 1t not only failed, but Iosi-
lively refused, to indorse the National Adj
ADMINISTRATION, Senator Pease, insisting on it
but before the delegation started for WASH
ington to ask for the removal of several OF
the Government officers, they called the
! Central Executive Committee together, and
| they Endorsed your Administration and
ADDED IT
as section 20, and then started to the Capt.
tai to ask the removal of Senator Pease,
Judge Stearns, and Capt. Lake, to make room
for some of their friends. / presume that
| the reason of the refusal to indorse the Ma
| tional Administration was this: The Gov
| ernor had complained that he had been
| snubbed by the Administration at Washing
! ha1'
| fight on Senator Pease, doubtless because he
! thought Pease would be in his way for
! UNITED STATES SENATOR.
He and Howe fought Col. Wells because
/ thew thought Wells would be in Howe's
way for election to Congress, and it seems
now that he was. You will perceive that
there is some difference. of opinion among
Republicans here as to what is true and
genuine Republicanisn. There are the adj
| herents of the Stste administration, who
have pursued a suicidal policy on the one
4 / md, and on the other both of us who ad-
yocated and defended the National Admin
istratio- and insisted upoA honest and eco
nomical State government. As a further
1 evidence of the effect produced by their
| course of conduct i'm the present canvass,
i there Was
| NOT A MAN
in the State who would so stultify himself
as to undertake to defend the record made
by the party in the last two years and we
were under the disagreeable necessity of dis
cussing men instead of measures, and none
could meet the Democrats in joint discus
sion as formerly Senator Pease, Gen. Me-
Kae Judge Stearns and myself made few
speeches for Col. Wells, against Howe, the
i friend of Ames, and for this Offense we were
called Democrats by Howe and others.
That was falsehood too infamous for con-
fradictiol.