Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-03-29
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
WILMINGTON. N. c., MARCH 20, 1866.
NIischievous Misstatements. !

IL
to principle unsurpassed in the history of th
world; and the bones of her sons, buried in ever
valley, and bleaching on every hillside, from tn
Potomac to the Rio Chandelier ruined cities
her wasted fields, and her dismantled hemesteads
are sad evidences of the terrible odds against whic
she struggled, and the suffering she endured.
When her armies surrendered, and her peopl
accepted and subscribed to the oath of amnesty
history does not furnish parallel of such entir
and loyal submission to authority, as has beer
witnessed in these Southern States. Every test o
loyalty has been applied and in every instance thu
result has proved the truthful earnestness will
which her people have realized and accepted tn,
situation III ..l-
Upon the surrender of her cause, the armies o
the Confederacy disappeared as rapidly as if
each warrior VANISHED where he stood"
Every successive demand, from the abolition o.
slavery and the reputation of the debt, to the
giving the emancipated slaves privileges and civil
rights heretofore unknown to our laws, and the
most radical governmental changes, have been
granted and submitted to with an unanimity that
should carry conviction of the honest desire to
establish the constitutional relations of the South
ern States with the General Government.
The President appreciates these evidences of
LOYALTY and has given his official name as security
for its truthfulness and when Texas shall have so
far progressed in the work of reconstfuction as
will render her Provisional Government no longer
necessary, he will complete his noble purpose, so
far as the executive powers extend by proclaim
ing cessation in these States of martial law and
the restoration of the Aobeas corpus.
But not so with the fanatical leaders of the
dominant party North. Neither our past suffering
or present loyalty can move them, nor the welfare
of the Union, nor the dictates of humanity will
be permitted to conflict with party success.
In this fierce contest between the President and
the Radicals, in which every conservative man
sympathizes with the Executive, and every gov
eminent official should readily and joyfully render
his aid, the sympathies and assistance of many
officials in the South are given, some openly and
many covertly, to the Radicals and in opposition
to tie noble aims of Nh. johnson and with the
honest desire that they may attract the Presidents
attention, we will refer to some which has come
under our notice .-.-.. .....
In late number of the New York EUening Post
we find the following extract from late letter of
Mr.. s. S. Ashley, Superintendent of Schools for
the National Freedmens Relief Association, writ
ten from this city. .g.-... .a~@
them twentyone years of age, bound out by the
County Court and then by armed and mounted police
force their homes and carried to forced
and unnecessary apprenticeship. Some of them not
only able to take of themselves but actually do
ing So" ..
Mr. Ashley no doubt did not desire wiIfuIy to
nisrepresent the action of the County Court of
Sampson, but ID blind zeal for the negro, and a
wish to assist the Radicals in their contest with
l., s,,1, cH.4o
ment which his official position gives weight to at
the North, and upon the authority of which, the
paper in question, not only denounces the out
rage but calls upon the President to approve the
Civil Rights Bill and warns Northern capitalists
against investing South until there is certainty
that law will be respected and justice done.
great many negro &c children" were bound
out by the County Court of Sampson, at it's last
term, but not one over twenty-one years of age,
by the same Magistrates acting under the same
law by which white children were bound out. If
Mr. Ashley knew these facts, he should have given
them. Ii ignorant of them, he should have been
careful in making official statements. As to the
armed force tearing them from their homes, we
are informed by gentlemen who were present, that
it is a mistake, and we suppose must have been
founded upon the story of :" reliable contra
band. .-.--.... ... ''.- -.,. 80 81:
We do not know Mr.. Ashley personally, and we
refer to this matter in i'll will towards him but
we cannot let such statements go to the world I'M
contradicted, and thereby give to them our as
sent. There is no more intelligent and thrifty
community in the South than inhabits Sampson
County. They were largely interested in slave
property, and have in other respects suffered as
much as any community in the State by the result
of the war; but there is county, which has &C.
guessed more readily in that result and gone
to work with greater industry and zeal to repair
their losses and to-day they sustain the Presidents
policy of restoration with more sincerely than
many, at home or abroad who make louder pro-
fessions. s... .a. ..... ....
A friend has handed us a letter bearing date
Wilmington, n c., February IT," copied from
Wisconsin paper into the Cincinnati Gazette
Astounding in more murders, outrages and chair
breadth scapes' to the poor negro in this COM
munity than can be found in the last yellow
back" of Sylvanus Cobb, Illustrated by scenes
from private life, unsuited to these columns, but
which may be very correct pictures from the circle
IN which the author associates, from which are
drawn the following deductions. which, if
the premises are granted, we would ourselves
approve: 1st the continuation of the Bureau: 3D.
the disbandment of the militia of all the South.
ern States; and 3D. larger force of military in
these States.
But in sober earnestness, are such letters calcu-
lated to unite the sections? Are they giving aid
TO the President III his manly efforts against the
Radicals? Do these men have better opportuni-
ties of Judging than did Gen. Grant during his
tour through the South and upon which he based