Year: 1864

|
cent elections were conducted in this State but we
owe duty iu this respect to our readers, to our
friends generally, and to the cause of civil liberty
| and good government which must be performed
| We declare with sadness, and we expect to prove
what thousands Of our people know, that the late
elections in this State were not free but that the
patronage of the two governments and the power
| of the bayonet were used to shape and determine
the result The Bill of Rights Of this State de.
clares "that all political power is vested in and de-
| rived from the people only" And the same Bill
of Rights declares "that elections Of members to
serve as Representatives in General Assembly ought
to be free" The Constitution of the State provides
Governor and members of the General Assem-.
bly, shall be chosen by ballot; and in accordance
with this constitutional provision, and to prevent
the presence of armed troops at the ballot on
the days of election the following laws have been
passed by the General Assembly. Chapter 81 sec
tion 9, Revised Code, provides that


Every person qualified to vote. shall give to the
returning officer in presence Of the inspectors or,
In the absence of such officer, to one of the nspec
tors, ticket rolled up in which shall be written
the name or names of the person or persons for
whom he intends to vote and the names of all the
persons for whom he votes in the commons box
shall be on the ticket; which ticket shall be
put in the proper box, and at the same time, two
of the inspectors shall take down in separate lists
| the name of every person voting, distinguishing
those who shall vote for senators in one list, and
those for members of the house Of commons in
second; and when the election shall be finished
the returning officer and inspectors in presence of
such of the electors as may choose to attend, shall
open the boxes one after another, and number the
ballots of one box before they shall open another,
at the same time reading aleud the names of the
persons who shall appear in each ticket; and if
there shall be two tickets rolled up together any
ticket shall contain the names of more persons than
such elector has right to vote for, in either of
these cases, such ticket shall not be numbered in
taking the ballots but shall be void"


Provision is here made for voting by ballot and
the object of the above section is to protect those
who may choose to vote folded ticket, and at the
same time to prevent fraud, oy providing that if
two tickets shall be found rolled up together Meth
er of them shall be counted But of what avail is
this provision if one of the candidates shall provide


tickets ballots Of certain color? It is not obvious
that the object of the law is defeated P-is 1t not
clear that its spirit which is its life is dsregarded2
At time like this, when all the patronage and ell
the power of government welded for one party
to accomplish certain results, aud when the citizen
knows, or even fears that he will be marked and
punished if he votes in accordance with his real
sentiments the secret ballot it is called is greatly
priced; and to deprive the citizen of it, no matter
by what means or what way, is to set at naught
the Constitution and the law of the State Every
citizen who votes yellow ticket for example, votes
with and for the government; and every citizen
Who votes white ticket, votes against the govern
uent This was the cry every where The reader
can imagine the result it produced. Soldiers who


feared their officers, detailed men who feared that


if they voted for q certain person for Governor they
would be ordered at once to camp, and government
employees who knew that if they voted against
Gov. Vance, OF did not vote at all they would be
dismissed from service and become conscriptS, ere
thus forced to vote with cert ain party and for
tain persons, against their will. The election was
not free. The yellow ticket was fatal to all freedom
of choice. It foreseen that it would be, and it
was. The terror inspired by the fear of being sent
TO camp as conscript is very CREST. can that
man hath will he give for his life" and to save his
wife and his little ones from beggary and starva
tion. The inventions of despOtisms are cruel, and
the yellow ticket was one of these inventions. To
add to the terrors which this invention created and
to render it certain that the voter who rejected the
yellow ticket, or who did not vote at all, would be
singled out and punished, detectives were every
where some of them acting as poll holders, and
others standing around the ballot boxes and ming
ing in the crowd spotting their victims aud prepa-
ring their lists for the inspection of those who had
employed them in their odious work. But in addi-
ton to this there were armed men" at hundreds
of election grounds in this State ostensibly to ar
rest deserters, but really to the people and
force them to vote for certain persons Chapter 52,
section 81, Revised Code, provides that


at shall not be lawful to call direct any regi-
mental, battalion, or company muster on election
/ days. or to assemble armed men on the day of cleo
tion at any place appointed by law to hold elections
| for electors, governor members of Congress- or
members of the General Assembly, under the pen
| atty of one thousand dollars, to be recov-
ercd of any person who shall call such muster, or
assemble such armed men, and applied one half to
the use of the informer, and the other half to the
use of the State"


sit shall not be lawful" says the statute, "to
assemble armed men on the day of election at any
place appointed by law" &C. Desertion is not
merely unlawful, but criminal; yet even the pre-
text of arresting deserters will justify the
sembling of armed men on the day of election at
any place appointed by law" to hold elections -
This law was passed in 1875, By our revolutionary
ancestors who had seen and felt the influence ex-
ercised by EARNED troops" on the freedom of the
baIlotb box, and who were determined that under no
circumstances should a single sword or single
bayonet be seen, "on the day of election, at any
place" sacred to the right of suffrage. But what
was the course adopted By our authorities in the
recent elections in this StateP Let the following
facts, and facts which we shall lay before read
ers in future issues, give the answer.


| A citizen Of LeDoir County, "whose word is as