Letter from Mayor R. D. McLean to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; August 1, 1865

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Letter from Mayor R. D. McLean to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; August 1, 1865

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People

McLean, R. D.Sharkey, William Lewis, 1798-1873

Events

Crime Crime--Robbery Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--Trial Legislation--Mississippi--Slave Codes

Occupations

Lawyers

Places

Mississippi--Grenada County. Grenada

Social Identifiers

African Americans African Americans--Enslaved People African Americans--Historically Free and Newly Freed

Page 1

Grenada August 1^st 1865

His Excellency W L Sharkey

Sir—I hope you will pardon me for again troubling you, but these are times when the wisest are lost in the fog—negroes are troubling us constantly by committing depredations of various kinds—stealing—breaches of the [?] &c and I know not what to do with them unless I can try them under the Slave Code; particularly embraced in Sections 12 for the organization of the court—and two or three sections following, taking it for granted that the negroes are all free—the code provides the same mode of trial for free negroes as is if for slaves—see articles 90—section 13—I desire the information solely for the purpose of discharging my duty as a civil officer—I have been practising law for twenty five years but still need advice—

Yours very respectfully,

R D McLean Mayor
of Grenada

Page 2

A D M^cLene

Asking Information in regard to negroes committing offences