The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1884-02-28
THE coPIAH INVESTIGATION
Tho Testimony on Monday Last
Times-Dehocrat.
Senator Hosr occupied the chair, end
Senators Cameron, Frye, Salisbury and
Jonas we're present.
uRIAH MILLsAPs.

Senators Cameron, Frye, Salisbury and
Jonas we're present.
UBIAH MrLLsAPs.
Live in Copiah county; / claim 10 be q
Republican,; have been so since reconstruc-
ton; have been a circuit judge in the coun-
~; held during the Republican supremacy
in the State; have known the Matthews as
! long az / can remember; remember some
I thing about the old members OF the Mat
thews family being ordered away by regu-
lators; il was long time ago, when | was
4 small boy; IL was, as I understand it, q
difficulty between one Jack Matthews and
'ome Of the people there.
III heard that ]. p. Matthews had threaten
Cd me; he was q man given to making e1-
travagant remarks; no was a violent talker;
he was inclined 10 intimidate people. The
majority Of the people Of Copiah county
lre in favor Of law and order. / look upon
Copiah county as the most conservative in
The State, and as less given to political vio-
lence than any Of the adjoining counties.
There is large body OF conservative Dem
)crats in Copiah county who are not we'd
led 10 the Democracy, and who vote indie
| pendently. There is a large body OF intel
| iigent negroes in the county that would
1refer Conservative party in preference
to either the Republican party or the Mat
hews Independent party. AS at present or
| ,anized In the county. Matthews had been
unning for sheriff for sixteen years, and
was never elected but once, and that was
no first time under military rule. He was
lot an argumentative man, but in his
| lnaarhau tunutd r,alHa aanuntinual I'll
lrnw out his pistol and lay IL alongside Of
lin, and make threats; believe he was al
Ways armed. think the people general
| can't TO consider him dangerous and
yiolent character, who was ready TO fight
It any time. He had four or five brothers,
I'll of whom would fight. People did not
ARE TO attack them.
At the last election II appeared to me
hat IL was merely contest for county off
GERS, and was contract between the Demo
tdts and Mathews to elect Matthews Sher-
n and the other officers on the Indepen-
ent ticket to 90 TO those who were form.
rly Democrats. The straight Democratic
isket was good one,
The Independent ticket was good enough
nut Matthews was nm injury to it; do not
hink the Independent ticket could have
zen elected, Matthews was burden to
tho ticket; he could not roll the indie
pendent white vote; he always had been a
drawback; he always ran behind his ticket.
| There was e great prejudice against
Matthews that could not be overcome.
voted the Democratic ticket at tho election
IN that account for did not believe that
IN Independent white party could be or
! ,anized under Matthews leadership; he
vas not consistent man; he would avail
himself of anything to carry the election
| for HIMSELF do not consider that the in
uence of Matthews and his family was
conducive to peace, quiet or good will be.
tween the races; he was distinctively a
,olor line man. | consider such political
measures detrimental to.good will and pub
10 policy and likoly to array one race
against the other; this was Mathews policy
throughout
n TO Senator Cameron.-ffave heard Dem
ocrats say II was white mans county and
must be run by white men. Consider
Copiah county one OF the fairest in the
State. Do not consider that the mob, aa IL
has been called, was u regular organized
system; II was principally young mon.
many of them Of good character, who we're
drawn in more from spirit of fun than
anything else, and had no idea of killing
any one. Do not believe that the older
men around Hazlehurt knew anything par
ticular about IL or had any idea that any
one would ever be hurt The cannon was
used simply to make noisy demonstra-
ton, and had been in use for that purpose
for several years.
JUDGE T. J. WHARTON.
] live in Jackson; am district Judge of
the Ninth Judicial District; held term of
court at Hazlehurst in October; was called
on byI prominent citizens, who came to
complain of the personnel of the grand
Jury, the purpose for which it was organ
lied, and the mode of selecting the grand
Jury.
1t was claimed that the Board of Super
vsors had selected that grand jury for the
purpose of commencing series of polti
cal prosecutions against the best people of
the county. There had been general COM
plant against the organization of the grand
jury.
Here Senator Hoar interposed one os his
usual objections to questions put BY Sena-
tor Salisbury, who arose and severely de-
nounced the factious tactics of the chair
man of tho committee, tactics that he had
made practice to pursue, and said he
never saw more obnoxious rulings before a
justice of the peace, much less by the chair
man of an investigating committee. SEN
ator Hoar smiled one of his sweet, smooth,
and sanity smiles, that seem to be peculiar
to him when in his most bitter mood and
most biased frame Of mind, and denied
that he understood the question Alright
did not, in fact, know that it was ques-
tion--thought it was an assertion, or per-
haps an observation, and he war evidently
opposed to observations by the minority
of the committee.
The witness said Matthews, in CONVEX
walton with him had said Four uncles
had been killed, but had been avenged;
that he had been threatened, but by whom
he did not say. read Jack Thompson's
evidence as detailed before the committee,
and WAS astounded at it; do not know if
l ever saw the man in my life; his state
ment was untrue; no one lives who ever
heard me say in public or in private any
thing in favor of violence or disorder;
believe in nothing but fair and honorable
means in carrying an election.
l know Mr.. Burnett; received note from
him in regard to certain cases; the same
rule was carried out in those cases as would
have been in any other cases; have es-
tablished certain peremptory rules; Mr..
Burnett has but little practice before my
court; his legal knowledge Is very small;