Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-02-12
Trouble In tho Fourth District,
Editor Commercial Herald.

Permit ine 10 return 10 the citizens
and voters Of the Fourth District my
sincere thanks for the compliment you
paid me In eleCting me as one Of your
eonstables, and also permit me 10 ex.
press my regret at the necessity Of
rendering my resignation as Constable
Of the Fourth District. NJ man Of
honor, or one who respects law and
justice, can carry out the dictates of
one of the Justices. without tending
official aid to fraud and corruption.
and with others who convert their
court into a mob Of violence and blood
shed. They being the leading actors
In tn degrading and bloody scene that
occu rred on last Saturday causes me to
feel that it would be humiliating to
myself and injurious to the public.
and dangerous to my bondsmen to act
further; therefore | resign as Consta-
) BILE Of the Fourth District.
j. !. FRAsIER.
The above document fully explains
as to the intentions of Constable
Frasier, yet the motive prompted the
q. II. reporter to i~nterogate the gentle
man as to the causes which should in
duce him to tender his resignation at
thi3 time, and also as to his grounds
for complaint and teer in the conduct
of the courts in his district, when he
made the following statement "0n
last Tuesday / arrested ALI. Talifero on
complaint of another negro by the
name Of Henry Sparks on the Cooper
place, charging him and his wife with
having stolen a hog from him. Tall
fero'S wife evaded me and l did not
arrest her at that time, though she
turned up at court all right. l applied
to Justice Gilmert to get him to hear
the case and he objected on the ground
that he "Would not leave his school to
try the case" He said to Mr..
Frazier, if, | was you | would
not put them negroes in jill
you compromise with them and get
, yours and my costs and say nothing
to them big fellows in town, and say
nothing to Jim Lanier, for he will go
ahead and put them in Jail and We
will get nothing out Of it. There will
be forty or fifty dollars in it for us if
we work it light"
Il told him l would Go no such a
- thing as that, that l would be a
- sight meaner rascal than the
negroes who stole the hog if l did. l
started with ALI to jail and IN m!
road was 0vertaken by Mr., Dune Glib
son and Green Taleferio. a half brother
Of ALI. They said that if | would
take ALT back home they thought he
could find the stolen meat. l re-
turned with him to his home on
Mr.. Gibson'S place and there within
fifty yards of the house in which
Alt and Green live, secreted in a
sink hole ALI found the meat. Dune
Gibson then went security for Airs
appearance at court the following Sat
urday and l turned him loose, but re-
turned and re-arrested him the follow
ing morning, as Justice Gilmer haC
advised me that the bond was not suili.
cient. l placed him i'll Jail and held
y him until day of trial. Henry Sparks
suspicioned Green Taliferro Of having
something to do with the stealing and
went before Justice James Lanier anc
made an affidavit against him anc
made the arrest. Both cases were sci
for Saturday at Newman's Grove, a
John Bells store, and it was agreed
that the two justices should pre-
side jointly as associates in thu
cases. Cooley Mann, a lawyeI
of Vicksburg, appeared in behai
of Alf. Talifero, and upon the arraign
ment of the prisoners Mr.. Mann STATED
that there was no law which woult
Justify the court in holding two pris
oners for the same offense, and there
upon moved that his client, All. Tall
Zero, be dismissed. The court took tn
matter under advisement, retired, an(
in a few minues returned and decided
to dismiss Green Talifero and try ALI
Mr.. Mann objected to this, and al TN
close of his argument the judges de
cided to change their opinion n dis
HISS ALL llilOy Al
the matter, and the case Of Green Tan
Zero went to trial. Justice Lanier dc
> manded that ALT Talifero and his VIII
Mary Talifero be held as witnesses II
the case. They had departed for home
and l was sent to bring them back. !
found him near the station, and re
turning overlook her three miles IRON
the station. On my return with her
and when near the store, l met GiImer
who came running toward me saying
.'go up there and stop that fuss"
went to the store and found the negroe
tumbling out as fast as they could ge'
through the doors. l entered ant
found Justice Lanier holding Mr.. Dun
Gibson with one hand and the 6loo'
streaming from his face and with IN
other hand he was pounding the fac
off of the prisoner. | commando
peace at once and ordered Justlc
Lanier under arrest.