Daily national Republican., 1863-03-14
Extraordinary AdvIco--ReneetIon upon
the Authorities.


morning. The italics arc our;
{" The law being Inadequate to shield our citi.
zcns from injury and pillage by highwaymCn,
the duty OF self-protection now devolyes on us
all. Ordinarily, we are opposed to the carry.
ing Of small-arms by civilians; but in the pres.
cnt condition of Washington society, nc k,,oW
u no better ddvice that ne cdR gve than 10 recon-
mend oil persons rlose business requires them q
be i'l he StrectS after HiglI 10 carry arms. II a
few of these rnflians We're shot dorm IN their
tracks II might prove a lesson to their com
lains must be put stop TO. II Il cannot be
done by one means Blust on dnOLler.n
If this language had been employed before
the rebellion broke out, when the experts Of
bowie-kniyeS and revolvers hourished in our
streets, and stabblng, robbories, and assaults
were Of common occurrence, day and night, We
should not have been surprised. But since the
permanent rowdy element of society In wash
ington has seeded, and Washington has become,
comparatively speaking, one Of the most quiei
and pcaeeable cities in the Union, We considet
such recommendation as is contained in the
above paragraph not only uncallcd for by the
existing state OF affairs, and exceedingly dan
gerous in Its tendency to society, and a refec
tlon upon the civil and military authorities ol
the city, but, emanating from the source which
1t does-tho advertised organ of the Secretary
Of Warts calculated to do an amount Of mis-,
chief certainly not intended by the chief Of that
Department. II is no moro nor less than re.
eommendatlon TO the citizens of this District to
do, on small scale, towards the civil and mil
itary government Of this District, what the
traitors have done against the Federal Govern
msnt on much larger scalei namely, to arm
iiGnSelres and Violats s1iailg lGpsi
This Recommendation OF the war organ is
the more astounding, coming as 1t docs in the
face Of standing order issued by the Provost
Mashal, even tor6idaing soldiers from carrying
side drinsi
This Recommendation 10 the citizens will be
seized upon by bold, bad men as an excuse for
carrying concealed weapons, and the result
will be that we shall have more murders, and
shooting, and stabbing, and robberies in the
Districtthan we now have occasion to complain
Of .......
We do not deny that we have recently had
several startling cases of bold, wicked deeds,
but not many very ioieked crimes compared with
other citiesi and considering the existence Of
such Immense armies as we have had within
our limits and over our borders on every side,
Is 1t wonderful that we have not had, and do not
have, more disturbances than the record shows
We have heard of frequent assaults upon
colored people by the soldiers, some of whom are
stationed in the city to protect residents and
the a nF -.
where officers, high in rank, have become
drunk, disturbed the peace, committed violent
assaults, been arrested and fined, but. upon
appeal, ont Of respect to their innocent fami-
lies, We have suppressed their name from pull
ucation. We have not deemed this of sufficient
cause TO warrant us in calling upon everybody
else In the District to pioIGte lIg dso by armlng
themselves. On the contrary, we have not only
made reasonable complaint in the columns of
the REPUBLIcAS Of these violations Of Law. but
have reported several cases to the constituted
legal authorities, aud VIC arc glad to learn, and
be able TO announce TO tho citizens Of tho Dis
trict, that II is the purpose of the military
government To increase tho night patrols,
which is the proper mode Of meeting tho evil.
= P'u NAohllhlub boNcIhl Chbcb OF alleged as
sault lately, we have satisfied ourselves that, II
the assailed parties had not been intoxicated
and noisy themselves, they would not have had
cause to complain.
During the reign Of Border Rufflanism'' In
washington, under the rebellion-nursinV Ad-
mlnistration of James Buchanan, almost every
body, who could afford 1t, carried concealed
weapons. Then, besides the frequent murders
and robberies, men were constantly assaulted
In broad daylight for opinion sake. Such n
thing has not been heard Of, to our knowledge
since the departure of the chiyalric alders
and abOttors Of Mr.. Buchanan soutbword
From 1855 until the Inauguration Of Mr.. Lin
coin We were under 'reign of fterror'' in Wash
ington. Since that period the practice of car
rying concealed weapons has been almost
entirely abandoned. We regret to SOC any OK,
preston Of desire 10 renew such relic OF
barbarsmin a community where the highest
civilization should be our aim, and where, by
the proper exercise of tue authority Of the Gov,
ernment, the greatest peace and security to the
eitiEen can be attained.
~. I'M