The Placer herald., 1866-06-09
THE MEMPHIS RIOT.

membered that upon the first annouucemnt
OF the Memphis riot. the Abolition disunon
press Of the State, with the Sacramento
Union ia the lead, heralded it forth as damn
ing proof of the un6tness of the Southern
people for participation 10 the Union. and Of
the wickedness Of President Johnson's re-
construction policy, We we're satisfied at
the time that 8 outbern men bad nothing to
do With the affair. Mobs are one Of the sins
that cannot be placed At their doors. We
had no doubt that when the truth came TO
light, Abolition incendiaries would be found
at the bottom Of the whole affair. There
were too much peace and quiet prevailing in
the South to suit the Jacobins 10 Congress.
Something must be done, or the great popu.
lar tide which had already set 10, would in'
evitably overwhelm them. A counter cur,
rent of negro sympathy must be excited and
Memphis was deemed to be the place for its
originatou. The following extracts from the
Memphis press fixes the responsibility where
it properly belongs How long will our
people be blinded to the ruinous and disas
trous tendencies Of Radicaism!
From the Avalanche, May 5th.]
The Radicals have poisoned the minds Of
the negro; they have impressed him with the
belief that be is equal if not superior to the
white man, and the vengeance which has
been threatened the negro, if visited at all,
should be upon the unprncipled men who
have deluded him and brought all these
troubles upon his bead. The negro is not 10
blame. He deserves our sympathy. During
the late war he was an arm Of strength TO
the cause which has been lost. His kindness
to the absent soldiers family has won the
affection Of all, and in the name Of humanity
and justice we protest against any cruelty
toward them. Let the negro who violates
the law be punished, but the man who, ia
retaliation, persecutes the innocent 90 &C
count Of the transgressions sf few bad men,
is brute and deserves punishment.
lFrom the Argus]
And there is another fact, of which the
whole country ought to be distinctly adver
tised, and that is, that there bias not been
N maigners so fl;ppau,ly style the "rebsI ele
nent," in these unhappy disturbances, from
beginning TO end. They we're the outcrop-
ping of a chronic antipathy cherished by the
negroes and fostered by their evil counselors,
against The policemen Of the city. Like all
other riots. it grew from "molehil" to
"mountain" simply because it was not
promptly checked atsthe outset, as it must
easily have been but for the reason above
stated. For the present, however, we refrain
| from further remark.
(From the Appeal.]
We expect nothing else but that the late
unfortunate disturbance in this city will be
made by the unscrupuous and lying report.
ers who furnish fuel to keep up the fire Of
Northern fanalical hatred against the South
the occasion OF slanderous accusations against
"rebels" and "rebel sympathzsrs." Lament.
able as these disgraceful occurrences are, 10
the insensate destruction of churches and
schooIhouses Of the poor blacks-edifices
which the city will have to replace or pay
for-and in the brutal destruction Of the lives
Of negroes who had nothing to do With The
origin Of the trouble-which, We repeat, bad
its source in the bad conduct Of the vicious
portion Of a negro regiment which had been
discharged and was about to be paid Off
they are scarcely less lamentabs in the use
which will be made Of them by the radical
faction at the North in opposition to the
Presidents benign and wise constitutional
policy Of restoration.
Even the Post, Radical sheet, exonerates
the Southern people from all participation
10 the affair. 1t says: None more heartily
disapproved Of and condemned the whole
affair than gentlemen who had been officers
and soldiers in the Southern srmy!'