The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-06-21
CHARLE b S T O N.
THURSDAY MORNING. JUNE 81, 1885,
TIVE s1NO77LSITTON NJ AND THE BA9TILEz

THURSDAY MORNING.. JUNE 81, 1866
THE mo oUISI1IONA AND THE BA8TILE.
1nouisition Bastile Words of terr ,r IHo
often has the cheek of the student paled al the
,,orrors Of their history! While they existed the
world was paralyzed with dread, ana even now
that they have rolled years backward IN tne pas'
| their very names Gallup memories Whlcn chll tno
blood
The ona WAS an engine Of power, which, by the
.ocrecv of its working and the unscrupulousness
or its management, subjected the most lnnocent
victims to the most diabolical tortures. Inc
other WAS itself an instrument of punishment
an awf11l prison. where long lives were wasted IN
the thick darkness of it's cells. But it was not
this that made it 80 terrible. prison, where
convicted oriminals alone are punished, has no
terror for the world..It was that here might be
inoarcera.ed any one at the mere nod of one man,
IN the bare accusation of an unknown person.
II has been the boast of the United States, ever
since it was q nation, that the right OF personal
liberty was better guaranteed here tnan IN aiy
other country and that even the guilty could not
be deprived of it without fair trial. 1t ls not ac
knowledred no,o that We live under q despotism,
and in the comparatively narrow district Where
military law still rules; it is asserted TO Dc ior
the protection OF the weak against the strong 1ne
impartial administration OF justice ana the pre-
eeryation OF law and order-not for purposes OF
spoliation, concentration Of power, nor exercise
of tyranny. Alas, for our boasts Alas for our
excuses. Facts speak louder han words. II ls
upon record that in this State OF South Carohna,
which has complied with all the acquisitions OF
the Chief Executive Of the country, in order to
regain her place as q component part OF the ma
ton. the military authorities established by the
Government for the laudable purposes above
mentioned have exercised their judicial functions
very much like an Inqusition, and have made q
genuine old-fashioned Bastile Of their prison.
In proof Of the first assertion, We call the at
tenton of our readers to an article from the Bal
timore Gazette, which We publish in another
column of to-days issue, and which was written
by one Of our most distinguished citizens, and
youohed for by him as correct in every detail.
The parallel between the conduct Of Major MOORE
and that of the officers Of the 1nquisiion ls car
ried to the last extreme of disgraceful tyranny
for not only does Major MooRE use torture to ex-
!
and vindictive Of inquisitors, he uses torture to
extort evidence-not only puts the accused ITO
the question" but the witnesses also.
In regard to the particular victim mentioned in
the extract to which we have aluded-the poor
negro-he was as we haye learned, tortured again
and again, and will probably never entirely re-
cover from the effects. So much for the lnqulsl-,
tion. Now for the Bastile.
The men mentioned in the extract and some
others were brought to Charleston and confined
in the iail. Six of them were confined together
in email room, fed only on mush, and that once
day, cursed by the negro jailors and subjected
to annoyances of filth of too disgusting nature
to be detailed in public print. This would be q
horrible punishment for criminals; but that is not
the point. As in the Bastile, the confinement ls
terrible enough in itself, but is rendered doubly
80 by being inflicted on innocent persons, without
the means of redress. These six individuals, all
respectable citizens Of Edgefeld were kept in
that filthy cell for ten days or two weeks, and
then on representations of counsel, were released
on parole within the limits Of the city, and finally
discharged for ,oant Of any evidence to subsantiae
the charges brought against them. |
The terror Of this prison is, that any innocent
person may be thrown into it on mere accusa
tion just as these six were; and Ii they are not so
fortunate as to be able to employ counsel or OBJ
tain the assistance Of influential friends, they
may remain there until doomsday, or at least un-
til the removal Of the military, which seems, to
all intents and purposes, as far off.
In calling attention to these cases Of NAL
feasance in Office in strong and emphatic Ian
guage, We in no manner depart from our con-
servative course, and uniform and unwavering
support Of the President and his policy. We are
only doing our duty as journalists to the commu-
nifty and the whole country by exposing the crimes
of subordinates, which might otherwise be re-
peated to the detriment and disgrace Of the ma
tion. We CANNOT deny that we are anxious for the
complete restoration of civil authority, but did
the military confne themselves to the protection
of the weak and the impartial administra ton of
justice, we should scarcely be aware of their
presence.
PROFESSOR f. W. THOMAS.
Our literary public will be glad to learn that