Letter from R. S. Hudson to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark; May 16, 1864

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Letter from R. S. Hudson to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark; May 16, 1864

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People

Clark, Charles, 1811-1877 Hudson, Robert S.

Events

Crime Crime--Extortion Crime--Jail Escapes Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--Arrest Criminal Procedure--Sentencing Military Events--Impressment Military Events--Impressment. Exemption Political Office--Appointment to office

Military Units

Confederate States of America. Army

Organizations

Boards of Police Confederate States of America--Bureau of Conscription Courts and Judicial Systems Courts and Judicial Systems--Circuit Courts Courts and Judicial Systems--Probate courts Mississippi--Judicial Districts Mississippi--Judicial Districts. 5th District

Occupations

City Council Members Clerks Coroners Judges Judges. Justices of the Peace Judges. Probate Law and Practice Law Enforcement Law Enforcement--Constables Law Enforcement--Sheriffs Surveyors Tax Assessors Treasurers

Places

Mississippi--Holmes County Mississippi--Leake County. Edinburg

Social Identifiers

Impoverished People Military Deserters Military Families

Page 1

Edenburgh Leake Co. Miss
May 16. 1864—

Gov Chas Clarke—

D^r Sir—I wrote you some days ago in relation to the remissness of Sheriffs, Police Mem-bers, Justices of the Peace and all other civil County Officers in the Execution of the law of our state requiring them to arrest deserters &c. and the great difficulty the courts labor under in punishing them for such gross remissness—and asking you to co-operate with the courts, in enforcing the law, and the discharge of the duty imposed upon such offi-cers, by revoking service—There is not exceeding one in twenty who is otherwise exempt, The large half of these officers are absent from their coun-ties and districts one half their time, engaged in extiortionary speculations—Their [?] neighbors, and often their own sons are deserters, with whom they meet, and sometimes feed & entertain without attempting to arrest, or even to repremand them. There and four officers in every Beat, 1 Police Member 2 Justices of the peace & one constable, exempt—There

Page 2

are five Beats in each county, making in each county 20 of these officers—The Probate Judge & Clerk, the Sheriff & Circuit Clerk—The Assessor, Surveyor, Treasurer Coroner, Ranger, with an average of one deputy, making in all about 35 or forty able bodied men &officers in each County, Exempted from military duty in part to execute their law, and living in every neighborborhood of the County, and yet with hundreds of deserters [around?] them and with whom they daily meet, I have not Known of a solitary instance nor have I heard of one, where this vast horde of pub-lic Officers have within a year past, arrested in any County or attempted to arrest any deserter or Conscript but on the contrary they are polite & conciliatory in many cases toward these men. There is but little other official duty now required of them and they could easily [to?] execute the law, without diminishing [our army?] to do it, and having our army to forage upon destitute communities while doing so—The Offices of Justices of the peace, constables, Rangers & Coroners have until recently been disregarded

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and often vacant, but now they are all being filled by elections, and the contest for them extraordinary, to Keep out of the army, when our Justice of the peace could do the whole business of a County and do it as well as all of them, and still not be employed officially half his time—They neither arrest deserters or criminals, If you will pursue the policy indicated by me, these officers will [?] all the deserters out of [?] Country—and that speedily, rather than go to the army themselves—Please try it.

There is evidently a great abuse in many of the Counties in the apointment of unnecessary deputies, often in appointing any one, and often in appointing more than is [?]—I hardly Know of a single county in which a deputy shff, dept circcuit or Probate clerk is necessary, &yet they all have one or more deputies—[gap] Pardon me for calling your attention again to this [?] oprisenting to you the results of my observations and investigations—I have tried to stimulate many of their offficers to execute this law, but have so

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far. such with false promises—I have told them that unless they did, you would probably revoke their Exemptions, when the [?] has been inva-riably, that if you require the execution of that law as a condition precedent to their Exemption, they will certainly comply with the condition—I have no doubt they would, but will otherwise take the chances of escape, and being so [numerous?] &united they have so fare prevented successful efforts at legal prisentments &investigations.

I have the honor to be verytruly
Ro. S. Hudson
Judge 5^th Judicial Dist

([Comment?]—)
([?] 4. I am informed by Hon B F Clerk of Hudson that Judge Huds^on has not held a [?] Holmes Co since the ~~[?]~~^fall^ of 1861

Chas Clark

Hon R. S. Hudson
[?] May 24