The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1882-05-17
To the Voters of the Second Con-
gressional District of Mississippi.

Before | was twentyone years ofage ! b
gan making speeches in behalf of the DEM
cratic party, and for thirty years but Oh
| single canvass has been made when | was
Mississippi, IN which did.not spend tim
and money in support of the Democracy
But believing that the Lamar Democrat;
who controlled the last Legislature, and VIII
control the organization Of the party in Mit
sissippi have departed from the true Deml
cratic faith, and believing further that the
have attempted to throw me overheard as
Jonah to the Republican whale | shall or
pose them in the next election. The
threw me into a district confessedly an
hopelessly Republican, and the Democrati
! leaders in Congress seeing Democratic as
saults on my election in Mississippi, wer
afraid to exercise the parliamentary powe
Of minority to protect me from what the,
| said was an outrage on law, and what the,
| knew the Republicans had determined il
| caucus to do before the case was heard il
| the House. The Republicans seated Lyncl
| with the same boldness and determination
| to sustain their party that they counted il
Hayes and seated Kellogg in the Senate
and the Democratic leaders, against the pro
| test of few bold spirits, submitted in eaci
case with the same timorous policy and the
same meek thankfulness for their individual
safety If they believed that Lynch wa,
elected they should have voted as / did in
the Curtin VS.. Yocum case, directly for
what they believed right. II they believed,
as they said, that l was elected, then as my
friends urged they should not have voted
indirectly against me by aiding the Repub-
licans to make quorum, propose TO ap-
peal from these leaders to the people, and |
l., Il,
21 Congressional District of Mississippi.
That was the home of my boyhood. 1t was
there | began my career as lawyer, and
served the people as District Attorney, and
from there | led the sons of Mississippi to
battle To them once more | offer myself as
a candidate But if those who are opposed
to the Lamar Democracy in the district,
prefer another as their candidate and will
unite as a Reform party and nominate him
on the platform herein indicated. / will sup
port him against the nominee of the Lamar
Democracy.
If acceptable as their candidate, [ shall
stand on my record as a platform. On the
currency question I shall continue to advo-
cate the standard silver dollar and oppose
national banks. On the tariff question, |
believe tariff for revenue with only Incl
dental protection is true in principle and
would be best for the South. But inasmuch
as many believe continuance of q pr0teC-
tive tariff for a few years more will develop
manufactures in the South, | am willing to
see the experiment tried, as | believe q con
tinuance ofour present high tariff 4 few
years will pay off cur national debt and de-
gtrov the national banks. In State politics
| shall advocate the reform Of two evils-one
fastened on US by the Republicans and the
other by the Lamar Legislature. They
first took from the people the old Demo
cratic right of electing their own Judges
and gave the appointment to the Governor.
This has brought into our State the spOils
system with its attendant evils. / do not
believe there are two purer or better men
in this State than Ex-Governor Stone and
Governor Lowry, and yet under their ad-
we have heard charges 0fl
Judges interfering in political conventions, |
and Of judgeships bestowed as rewards for
partizan support. The system is wrong !
it is contrary TO the Democratic ideas of our
fathers, and we should return to
the old system. And yet the Lamar Senate |
refused to submit that question to the |
people. The second is the Congressional |
of the State, made in yio-
lation of justice and equality among the |
est, and in utter contempt of the law Of |
Congress. The excuse that the new Sd is |
better than the old 9th district is a subter- |
fuge. The favorable circumstances that en-
abled the 9th district to be carried hereto |
fore have passed away. 1t could not be |
done now, and to ask these Democrats to |
submit longer to such load was gross in
Justice. The old 9th was confessedly made |
to save the other five, based on the vote of |
1875. The situation had greatly changed /
in 1882, and to say that it was necessary to
make the Sd to save the other six districts,
was to confess that our State election in
1881 WAS unfair. Tested by that vote,
seven Democratic districts could have been
made, and the bill introduced by Senator
Reynolds would have accomplished this
md. There was no excuse for genuine
Democrats to make the Sd district, and I
hall never believe they were genuine and
impartial Democrats who did it.
But the question which | regard as far
lbOye and beyond all other political ques-
ions in importance to US, IS the protection
# the Mississippi Valley from overflow,
nd for the patriotic and manly message Of
PRESIDENT Arthur on this subject, | shall
upport his administration ON all questions
TheTe he is not antagonistic to the views
erein expressed.
Whether we shall have greenbacks
r national bank notes; whether we
hall have a tariff for revenue with in
idental protection, or tariff for
with incidental revenue; whether
e shall have free whisky and tobacco or
OF, and whether we shall extend and en-
hasize the Monroe doctrine at this time or
OF tho all important in themselves, are
to Mississippians in compari-
1n with the great question whether the
eaviest tax-paying portion of our State
Iall be protected or given over to destruc-
on by annual floods. Men, women and
aiIdren sitting on their house-tops amid |
waste Of waters have no patience with those
no talk about a want of constitutional
over to protect them. Thomas Jefferson |
lund authority to buy Louisiana, extend
lg then from the mouth to the source Of
le Mississippi river, and no Jeffersonian +,
enoerat should quibble about authority to :
rotect it. Neither the Republican nor !
party, as party, are for us on
lis question but if Mississippi, Louisiana :
nd Arkansas will take firm independent
and on this question, we can force all par !
es to recognize and give US our rights
-ississippi alone can do much to toaccomplish | q
, and do not hesitate to say | am for !
lat man and that party which win do most
r US on this subject. Z
Sentimental politics are we'll enough in
ace, but am opposed to sacrificing our
aterial interest either to sentiment or | :
lme. !
The position of President ArGhor certain
stands in striking contrast with the &C. :
on of the Lamar legislature. who ran away :
ON their post when tue food was at its /
ghest, as if they were afraid they would be {
lied on to do something for the overflow J
district, aud sent commissioners toI
'ashington to beg aid from Congress, {
lille refusing even to pay their expenses. +
Upon the question Of local selfgovern-
ent, have learned from experience in
Fashington that all parties assert their
1ctrine when il suits their own interests.
Upon the question of full vote, a free
lllot and fair count, all parties in Missis-
ppi are openly committed to it. 1t was (
smocratic doctrine under Hancock, and if !
j. attempt to violate it, the United States I
properly instructed, can and |
Ill detect and expose it. In conclusion, / I
lnounce myself an independent candidate
: congress in the Second District Of Mis-
sesxni !