In his first general orders, as we have said, Pope warned the judiciary against racial prejudice. It was probably disregard of this warning which caused the removal of about a dozen judges, justices of the peace, and sheriffs.[107] In the interest of equal justice, Pope also ordered that grand and petit jurors should be selected impartially from the lists of voters registered under the Reconstruction Acts.[108] Besides this general protection, individual relief was given by release from arrest, mitigation of the conditions of confinement, reduction of fines, and other special dispensations.[109] The method of securing justice mentioned in the Act of March 2, 1867, namely by ordering the trial of cases by military commissions, was employed by Pope only once.[110] Such was the administration of Pope. Its influence on the _personnel_ of the state government was large, but was exercised only slightly through removal, chiefly through appointment to fill vacancies. Pope removed about fifteen state officers (almost all of whom were the judicial officers mentioned in the preceding paragraph). He filled about two hundred vacancies.[111] It is significant that a great number of these were caused by resignation. His acts of interference with the action of state officers were few, and with all his zeal for the success of reconstruction, he favored freedom of speech. Nevertheless, his opinions and his personal character, combined with such interference as he did practice, served to gain for him the dislike of the people and the rather unjust reputation of a petty tyrant.