, 1864-04-16

The whole civilized world will be shocked
by the great atrocity At Fort Pillow. The
name and the locality wil stand embalmcd
in history with Cawnpore, md other indel-
ible horrors Of the wariares Of India But in
no respect does the act misrepresent the na-
ture and precedents Of Slavery. It WAS
aimply wholesale transaction instead of the
retail murder Of a single black Tom or Quas-
hee- The massacre ut Fort Pillow is but
hco,ier bl11ow of the rcd sea Of slaye murder
in these years past The rebel force repre-
scented in mass the angry master, the four
hundred black soldiers stood the embodl-
uent Of a single fugitive captured with arms
In his hands. Slavery has always eaid shoot
them, and kill them at sight. Good pious
Southern dcacons would think no more of
putting ball through the head of
. fugitive nigger under snch cir
cumstauces, thnn school boy of
81 lying gopher. II oncsimus had resist
ed being sent back, Southern doctrine would
have justified the Apostle to the Gentiles in
killing him on the spot and advising his |
muster Of the fact BY the next post ProVt- |
dcnceis allowing Slavery the opportunity for |
the rc-enactmcnt Of its minute crimes on a |
scale 60 1arge that the civilized world shall
stnnd horror-strickcn, and wonder at Its for
mer blindness. The voice of single victim,
though in the wide prison house no hour Of
the day Has unrent by his death cry, fell On
dull ears but this heaped massacre will
draw the attention Of the most ca1lous Oh
server Of events, not soddeu in the iniquIty
Of man-stcaling.
But there is cognlznnce Of this slaughter
that on its solemn pledge this Government
must take, and the hour now is when 1t can-
not avoid the issue. It has called to Its aid
crushing the rebellion the services OF loyal
colored men, who wear its Uniform. It
pledged it's protection to these men, in the
face Of the Threatened scpoyism Of the Gu
ragged maste,s. 1t met the earliest acts Of
rebel atrocity against onr colored troops and
tho white officers who lead them, with q
plum cnunciation of the penalty it should
mete out, By retaliation in kind. In the
summer Of Inst year, President Lincoln au-
thorized the issuing of m order from the
War Department, that it would be the policy
and intention Of the Government to retaliate
in Kind for cvcry case Of i1l-treatment Of our
officers or men, black or white, By the rebel
authorities, by hanging for hanging. shooting
for shooting, and imprisoning for imprison-
ing. In every instance where it was known
tint q black man, in the military service OF
the Government, was taken prisoner and sold
into slavery, our military authorities wonld
he instructed to select rebel prisoner, and
confinc him to hard lnbor, in some prison,
there to remain until the black man is lber-
ated. The Government, it WAS said, would
maintain and exact, promptly and to the let
ter, that The Federal uniform, liz tAe flag, must
4and &.au IL ,s*aceted-by whomsocyer borne
An extract from General Orders, No. ao55o2, ao55o
Issued at Washington, July 80, 1868, is as
follows:
''Fo, erery soldier Of the United States, Killed
in violation Of The lave Of war rebel soldier shall
be executed, and for every one enslaved BY the
eny,oy Of cold into slavery, rebel soldier eha he
placed at hard labor the public Horke and con.
-iuued at euch labor until the other Ehall be re-
.eased and receive the treatment dne to prisoner
-ol wnT."
Now let that order be executed. The reb-
els have In mu1tltudes Of lesser instances
slain and maltreated our colored troops; but
nerbups the Government has waited for some
signal instance to meet it In an exemplary
manner, Fort Pillow furnishes 1t. It will
REQUIRE 1rmness to select and order four hun
dred rebel prisoners to be executed; but the
faith of the Goyernment IL pledged. It can
not 70 back If It would. If the massacre Of
Fort Pillow is avowed BY the head conspira-
tors ut Richmond, blood cannot too soon
flow In retaliation, and lesson be taught
these rebels who will take care that ono OF
tlcir own precious lives be not weighed In
the scale of justice against one Of the black
rice. Let the Government either protect its
black troops, to the rigorous limit Of its
pledge, or disband them forthwith.