Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-09-06
Affairs at the South.


The New York Evening Post is a
champion of the Presidents policy, so
far as regards the immediate admission
of Representatives in Congress from the
States lately in revolt. Yet a cores
respondent of that paper wri ties to it
from Texas, as follows:
" The number of crimes of violence
committed in Texas is incredible. For
example, in small county adjoining
this, SO persons are indicted for murder.
In worse counties there are no indiCt-
ments, because witnesses dare not testi-
| fy and grand jurors dare not indict.
| Since the war, though over five hundred
men have been indicted for murder not
a single white man has been convicted
and punished. Yet have known of in
stances in which freedmen have been over
| punished for trivial offences. A negro
was sentenced at Waco to the Peniten-
tiary for two years for stealing ginger
! cake AS a matter of course Gov. Ham
! ilton psrdoned him.
GA few days ago the clerk OF Bell
Court was shot In open day while sitting
ny buC SiAlC va his NLlNt lCAuAulbS lAoAb "
wedding in the county, in the streets of
| Bolton. The Chief Justice at once
mounted, and rode all night, some so
| miles, to Austin to ask for troops to
| maintain law and order in his county
he cannot return home without them.
| If he should escape assassination on &C
count Of his having asked for garrison
for his county, it wSuld only be from
| fear of retaliation on the part of his
sons three of whom having been in the
| United States volunteer service. Even
| they can scarcely protect their fathers
life If the troops which are to be sent
should be withdrawn.
Every day l hear of murders of
freedmen. Since five o'clock this after
noon, four new ones have been reported
here. The dislOyal press suppress the
mention Of such occurrences,
Should there be another outbreak in
Texas, very many Union men, as well as
large portion of freedmen, would at
once be massacred in order to bring
about such another reign Of terror as
would make the South unit.
"Three freedmen were murdered in or
near the line of an adjoining county a
I ItH hdfS dSO. LUG "asOl which ouC va
l them was driving was robbed of all the
goods it contained. The other two
freedmen were shot by the same man,
who is believed to have been their form
er owner The head of one of hem was
cut Oft, and they were left unburied.
No investigation has been, or probably
will be made into these murders. If
any Union man were to move in the
matter il would be at the peril of his
life
The brave and loyal man who told
me of these murders was applied to by
freedman-a kinsman OF one OF the
murdered-for advice The freedman
was told to go to Austin and report the
facts to the agent of the Freedmcn's Bu-
reau but he appears not to have arrived.
Perhaps be was suspected, and, like the
freedman dispatched by the Chief JUS
tice o. Refugio county, with letter set
ting forth the disorders in that county,
he may have been shot on the road.
My informant, seeing that | sat
about writing down the facts as to these
murders Just as he stated them, said to
me- Do not make my name public, for
it is all can do now TO hold my own in
- County Just now" and added, 81
keep no money in my house, but few
dollars for current expenses. can take
care of myself in the daytime, but dc
feel safe at night"
And this same correspondent further
writes
Matters are worse here than is sus
pected at the North. The war is not
over yet. The people of Texas are more
openly disloyal than they were in the
Spring of 1861, and may be found in
arms against the National Govornmen,
. any day. The United States force here
| and the civil officers of the United
States Government are tolerated for the
, | present, because the Rebel leaders think
that by the aid of Presidet Johnson they
will soon be able to control both at homi
and at Washington.
eff so much as mob should do VIC
4 lence in one of the cities of the North
e Texas will again be in arms. The rebe
= lea 'ers have excited feeling they can
: not control. The idea disseminated
t among the people is this That the,
I. must feign loyalty, and if possible. b
Y thereby re-admitted. That done, the,
expect the South to control as Of old
u and to introduce what they call "peon
It age in the place of Slavery.
J. Indeed, since Gov. Hamilton wen
o North, in divers localities disloyal mel
s have consulted together as to when the,
d would be able :" to begin to gather thei
i niggers," and have openly expressed
J. their conviction that candy johnson
+ means to give us back our niegers." Il
e one county have heard of persons VIII
n have ",ought b, chance " of negroes
t, as tiey expresstd it, at $40 in specie pc
{ head.