National Republican., 1878-04-18
MIR. LfTrns conry,sr
A Few Facts about the Action of the Hou,
Thereon,

n House
Thereon.
In view Of the action recently taken by the
House Committee OH Elections In the con-
tested election case of Lynch against Chal.
mcrs, from the Sixth Mississippi District, re.
view of the case is not inappropriate.
The colored voters have majority in said
district of about 10000. At every
election held in the State since reconstruction,
prior to lS75, with one exception when light
vote was pOllcd, the Republican majority has
never been less than 1900 in the counties of
which the district is now composed.
In 1876 Mr.. Lynch was the candidate of the
Republican party, having been unanimously
nominated for reelection to Congress in cor.
vcntion composed largely of cx-Confcderates,
and received the general support of the party.
Chalmers was the candidate of the Democratic
party, and received the general support of his
party. 1t is an indisputable fact that the col.
ored men voted the Republican ticket in all
localities where they were allowed to vote at
all with as much unanimity rs they ever did
| Although q Republican nomination in such a
district would ordinarily be regarded as equiv.
alent to election in the absence of serious
party divisions, yet Chalmers, the candidate of
/ the minority party was declared elected by u
majority of 1900.
| To overcome the large and overwhelming
Republican majority In the district three
methods We're adopted: First, disfranchse-
| ment of Republican voters; second violence
third, frauds. In the counties Of Warren and
| Claiborne there were not less than 5000 col
Orcd men who were positively denied tho priv.
! ilege of registering and consequently the right
to vote, aS no one can vote who has not been
| previously registered. These men of course
were denied the privilege of registration
| through legal subteriuges and tcchnicalities.
| They were required to give affirmative answers
| to certain unnecessary and unauthorized ques.
tiOns as u condition precedent to registration,
and whenever the applicant for registration
would fail to answerany one of these questions
| to the satisfaction of the registrars, he was
told to stand aside, although he might be per.
sOnally known to the registrars to be quail
| fed aud legal voter. This course was pursued
in Warren County In every voting precinct
outside of the city of Vcksburg, (where the
bulk of the Republican vote of the county II, !
except one; but in Vicksburg, where the bulk
of the Democratic vote of the
county Is, no such questions were
| asked, and thus every white man in the county
who desired to do so was registered while
ONLY about sixteen hundred out of about six
thousand COlOred voters in the county were
allowed to he registered. The same course
was pursued ia Claiborne County.
In Claiborne and jefferson Counties such n
reign of terror was inaugunted by the Demo.
cratic rifle clubs rs to make the election n
complete farce Whenever Mr.. Lynch At
tempted to fill his appointments to speak iu
| those counties he was met by hundreds OF
armed Democrats and his meetings were dis
| pcrsed ii Fl Grms. Mr.. Lynch was told by the
| then recognized leader Of the Democratic
party Of Jefferson County that no Lynch
should not be allowed to make u speech in the
County When asked his reason for making
this assertion he frankly stated that tho col
Orcd voters of the county were then disOrgan-
lied, and that If he Lynch were allowed to
make speeches in the county tho cOOred men
would - again organized, and 1t would be m.
| possible Tor the Democrats to carry the county.
| As the COlOred men were not Ia a condition
to defend their rights by force of arms the
effort 10 canvass the county was abandoned,
and it was returned as having given Demo.
| cratic majority Of about LOO out Of total
vote Of about 1900. The registration book )
show that there are about 1000 colorcd and 7OO
white voters in the county. The Republican
majority at previous elections had been about
200 Tho high-handed Outrages that we've
committed in this county were carried so far
that some of tho then leaders Of the DcmoC-
rdcy have become disguised, and do not hest.
tate to denOunce them, but without effect.
William Thompson, who was leading
Democrat in 1875, and who was according 10
his own admissions, party TO the frauds and