Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-22
BARKSDALE ON COPIAH.
HE HAS A LIVELY TILT WITH
SENATOR HOAR.

WASHINGTON, March 21.-Maior E,
Barksdale, member Of Congress from Mis-
sissippi, who, according to the testimony
taken by the COpiah county sub-eommlt-
tee of the Senate, made speech at Ha-
zlehurst advising the Democrats to carry
Copiah county by the shotgun if neces-
sary and to hang Button, the Republican
candidate, was before the subcommittee
of the Senate Committee on Privileges and
| Elections this morning, and made state
ment under oath in his own YindicatiOn,
He denied the charge in toto. He said
that the history of COpiah county had al
ways been characterized with love of law
| and order, and in the events of the last
election there was nothing inconsistent
with that record. He made two speeches
in Hazlehurst in one day before the last
election day, one in the afternoon to a pro-
/ cessIon of country people on horseback
and the other in the evening to the local
Democratic Club. He could not remem-
Der whether the mounted men of
the afternoon procession were armed
with shOtguns. His attention was
called to the statements of wit
nesses about his first speech, and
he pronounced all the assertions that he
had encouraged violence false. He re-
/ ferred to the opinion of Justice Miller of
the Supreme Court, in the Kuklux cases,
that public liberties were as much i'm
perlled by the use of money in elections
in the North as by violence in the South,
and said that the condition of affairs re-
sultlng from the presence of a large mass
OF ignorant negro voters was not properly
understood.
MATTHEW'S KILLING.
Senator Hoar asked if in the witness
/ allusIon to the peaceable and law-abiding
| conduct OF the people of COpiah county he
included the killing of Mr.. Matthews?
II have nothing to say in reference to
/ that. Ihat was personal difficulty be-
tween those two parties. 1t is before the
courts there and | express no opinion"
You have said that the people of Co
plah county stand high in general char
acter, and you have announced that there
was nothing in the conduct of the elec-
ton inconsistent with their past history
NOW, L wish to ask whether, il it should
! turn out that this mounted crowd went
| about to the houses of cOlOred men, whip
ping them, shooting one OF them, declar-
ing as they did it that they did it to COM
pei them TO vote the Democratic ticket or
compel them to flee to the woods in large
numbers, and that Mr.. Matthews was
shot because of his influence as a Repub-
lican leader, whether that would change
your mind as to the character OF the
people,"
NOT EASILY CORNERED.
"Well, now, 1 suppose the object of
your inquiry has been accomplished. By
your statement you are yourself giving
testimony in a matter which YOU pro-
posed to me. l think that after the trial
OF Wheeler for the killing of Matthews
and the facts are brought to light, then
l VIII answer the question:
senator Salisbury asked if it was right
and fair, when person was likely to be
placed upon trial for his life, to ask wit
ness OF Mr.. Barksdale's prominence to eX-
press an opinion upon the guilt or innO-
cence OF the party, and to give an opinion
upon an entirely suppOsitiOus case, as
Stunning that the facts should be so and so.
Mr.. Hoar reiOlned that Mr.. Barksdale
had testified i'll regard to the character of
an election that the committee had evil
dence, which he supposed was overwhelm-
ing, in support of the assumptions he had
made. lie, therefore, propOunded the in
qulry if the Witnesses opinion remained
the same in view Of that testimony.
THE COPIAH COUNTY RESOLUTIONS.
Addressing the witness, Senator Hoar
continued: did you read some resOlu-
tons purportlng to have been passed
after the election at public meeting?v
Eyes, sir. / have them here"
I"Well, now, may l inquire whether YOU
approve or disapprove of the resolutions ?''
Il will not answer that question fur
ther than to say that the resolutions have
not been properly understood by the pub
lie, and nave been misrepresented If
you Will permit | will refer to them so
that my understanding of the purport of
your question may be clear. viii you
permit me, Sir? p
"No, sir; you have stated that you de-
cline to answer"
Il decline to answer without an eXpla-
nation of the reasons that influence my
reply"
The resolutions are in these words. (The
witness read the Copiah county resolu-
tions.)
81 regard these resolutions simply
as a reply to threats that had been made
by Matthews himself and the clan that he
was at the head of against citizens"
"Ihen you mean to say that you do not
approve of them?'
THE RESOLUTIONS BnsREPREsENTED.
Il mean to say that they have been mis-
represented, and my understanding"
My question was not whether the pub
lIc had been properly informed, but
whether you approve of the resolutiOnsT"
"Well, my answer has been giYen.v
Senator Frye-DOes he know of any
threats made by Mr.. Matthew'S? l want
to know whether the witness in his state
ment means to testify that he ever heard
Mr.. Matthews say anything of the kind he
has referred to-"
The witness said that he had not heard
Mr. Matthews make any threat, but he
heard of them from others.
Mir. Frye-YOu have no right as n wit
ness to make that answer, and you know
it.
The Wltness-Wel, sir, when you say
you did not know it, or you did know it,
then 1t is not the manner in which gentle
men address each other.
Mr.. Hoar-Did you not know that when
you are asked as to a fact whether you
know it or not that you are not entitled to
tell what you have heard others say?
The witness-But you asked my Opin-
ions, when l am called on to testify to
facts
SHAKING HANDS WITH YAZOO.
Mr.. Hoar-You have no right to put in
hearsay testimony when you are asked as
to your knowledge of the facts. You say
you are familiar with the political his
tory of Mississippi. There is one resolu-
tion to the effect that COpiah shakes hands
with Yazoo. Do you know what that
means?
'Well, no, sir. will not undertake to
interpret that"
''You had no knowledge of the fact?"
Il had nothing to do with getting up
the resolutions"
'Do you remember any public fact in
the history of Yazoo which might help
interpret that resOlutiOnY
81 will not answer that. / will not un-
dertake to interpret that resolution"
The witness, in the further course Of
the cOllOquy, said that the people Of Yazoo
county were law-abiding people.
ARAP AT TEwKsBURY.
He knew nothing in the history of aithpr
Yazoo or COpiah which would compare
with the ''Tewksbury horror"
Mr.. HOar-''That you know all about?"
The witness-"I have seen it stated Of
ficially."
''You are acquainted with Tewksburv
and not we'll acquainted with Yazoo?'
''Pretty well acquainted with both, and
don't know anything so much to the dis
credit Of Yazoo as to Tewksbury."
Senator Hoar expressed the hope that
an official investigation of the affairs of
Yazoo county would show them to be as
false as those respecting Tewksbury
After some further cOllOquy Senator
HOar said: "YOu have said that the
people Of Copiah county were law abiding
people, and that at the last cleo
tion they did no discredit to their
history in that respect. l cali your
attention to a public meeting largely
attended the day after the election.
at which the. people, congratulating
themselves upon the result, pass resolu-
tions saying Copiah county shakes hands
with Yazoo, and ask you if you can tell
us what that meansW
The witness-I can't, sir. l can't in
terpret it. 1t seems to me that it is Who'll
ly irrelevant and / will not undertake to
interpret it. l decline to interpret the
resolution.