Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1884 — COPIAH COUNTY. [ARTICLE]

COPIAH COUNTY.

Mr. Hoar’s Esthuate of the Hulldozers— The lialf JSot Told—Mr. Tiye Inter- . vie wed. —_—u— l —- L [WashiDgtou Cor. Chicago Tribune.] Senator Hear, Chairman of the committee to investigate the Copiah County election murder, returned this morning. He is not disposed to talk of-the investigation until the committee shall have agreed upon its report. He says, however, that the committee acted wisely in holding the investigation in New Orleans, as it would have been dangerous for the witnesses to have testified in Copiah County. Senator Hoar says that from the testimony of Louisiana Republicans it is evident that that State is Republican, by from 20,000 to 30,000 majority, but the election machinery is so controlled by the Democratic StateCentral Committee that the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution are practically nullified, and the majority returned for the Democratic candidates is regulated only by the whim of the committee, which prepares the “returns” beforehand, and sends out-statements of the number of votes required from each district. Senator Frve, however, talks very freely of Copiah. He said that it would have been useless to have endeavored to have held the sessions of the committee at Hazlehurst, as there is but one small hotel there, without accommodations, blit that the determining reason was the fact that the 150 respectable Democrats who organized a club to prevent Republicans from voting, and to resort to murder if necessary, still patrols the county and maintains a wign of terror there. “Why,” said Mr. Frve, with the greatest possible indignation, “the half has not been told. I had never supposed that it could be possible for such a state of things to exist. There is no republican form of government in Mississippi. ” Mr. Frve said that the Democrats under oath, men called respectable, leaders in society, bad said that it was justifiable to kill negroes if that was fieeessary to prevent them from securing the majority, and that it was the duty of the intelligent minority to cru-h the ignorant majority by all possible means. There was no dispute of the essential facts of the Copiah outrage, and it is only the Democratic members of the committee who attempt any ex- j planation of it. The Only explanation i which the bulldozers of Copiali Count j* made was that they shot and whipped because it was necessary to intimidate the Republican vote to put the minority in power. Print Matthews, who was murdered, i was not the bad man that the Demo- j crats tried to paint liim. On tlie con- ; trary, he arid liis family for fifty years j have been the leading family of Copiah '"Collffty: 'Tuey bave been among the ‘ wealthiest men, owned large planta-! tions, were the leaders in business enterprises, built churches and schoolhouses, and were men whose character and bravery whites admitted. The white men respected and stood in a.we of them, as they were always ready to take their lives In their hands for their j convictions. The colored men loved j them. The trouble uas not of recent j origin. It dates from the beginning of | the war, when Print Matthews stood i by the Union and remained a steadfast Union man to the end, being too lame to be conscripted. He made a speech after the ordinance of secession was passed, and some of the witnesses wffio i denounced hiffi as a bad man admitted ( on cross-examination that jfiis villainy ; consisted in the fact that he made that | Union speech. ■=? “The situation,” said Mr. Frye, “is : bad beyond the power of language-to describe, and the pitiful thing is that | this great Government is too weak or too contemptible even to protect tlie poor witnesses who will go back there, mauv of them doubtless to -be killed.” i Thk unit rule is dead. It had a res- ; urrection once after being killed. But j nothing can revive it now. Everything | promises well for a representative con-i vention. containing a large proportion ; of independent men, and for a wise nomination. If there is any virtue in the methods by it is to be made up, the convention of 1884 ought to be one of the best, if not the very best, that has met since the war.— New York Tribune. Fob Sale —The owner, having retired froin business, desires to sell seven - mules. It is a bargain. Apply to W. j H. Bamum, Hartford, Conn. — Chicago j News. ' • v The vision of Springer pasting in bis hat all references to tho “Morrison boom” is said to chill the marrow of the author of the horizontal tariff.