The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-26
THE NEW YORK PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADING
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License TO Murder.

lACehse 10 .
from he Tribune,
The President, by an order dated December
%. has dissolved the Military Commission, held
at Richmond, for the trial of DR.. James L. Wat
son. The prisoner, who recently murdered
negro in Rockbridge county, Virginia, has
therefore been discharged from custody, and is
secured from any punishment. The facts in this
case deserve to be universally known.
A few weeks ago, negro, named Echols'
drove violently against carriage in which the
family of DR.. Watson we're riding, breaking 1t,
but iniuring no one. The next day Watson went
in search of the negro found him at work in
field and attempted to beat him. Echols re-
sisted and ran, pur sued by Watson, VINO InIeat- ,
ened TO shoot him unless he stopPeu. ESno ~
preferred flight to struggle, ana WATSON urSM rev
q nistoI and shot, him. through the body. lie
died in n few hours. The murderer then sur
rendered himself and his trial in the County
Court resulted in entire acquittal. General
Scbofeld before whom these facts were brought,
issued an order, under authority of the Act of
Congress of July 16, 1866, for a Military Com
mission in Richmond, aud on the 18th instant
Watson was brought before it. His conviction,
had not the President interfered, was certain,
Cor he confessed that he had committed the
crime.
chose to accept the recent decision OF the Su'
preme Court that military trial of civilians in
fhe loyal States rs Illegal, as his authority. His
d3aDnet II is SHlO, bRTee5 WIFI uiuls LUIS luIcl-
pretation will surprise no one, though 1t would
nave been better had test case been submitted
to the Supreme Court from the Rebel States.
We aie not yet prepared to admit that Virginia
and Indiana stand in equal relations 10 the
Government. But any argument on this point
is superseded by the fact that the Presidents
action has taken from the freedmen their last
hope of protection, from their oppressors the
last fear OF punishment Watson killed this
negro brutallv. 1t was murder without a
shadow of justification, and freely admitted and
boas ted of act of courage. Yet the civil aus
thorities of Virginia acquitted him OF any crime,
and virtually excluded the wanton killing of a
negro from the category of murder He may
kill another tomorrow, and there is no power
that will punish the act This is not an eXcep-
tional case; in Georgia, 800 freedmen have been
killed since Christmas, 1865, and but three of
their mu1derers have been punished by the
civil courts Our correspondent at Savannah
writes, under date of December l9:-'It would
be just as easy 10 get a jury in the State OF New
York to convict person OF manslaughter for
shooting mad dog, as to get jury of Rebels
TO find q Rebel guilty upon charge of killing q
negro.n Sweeping as this assertion may be,
the escape of Watson is an instance of its truth,
as the New Orleans ma ssacre, the acqutta' of
Perrin, in Columbus county, Georgia, of the
murder of Henry Thomas, and hundreds of
other cases, are proofs. The civil courts in the
Rebel States positively refuse to try such cases,
while in the few cases where the fear of mill
tary interference has induced them to parade
the form OF duty, the jury has acquitted the
prisoner without the pretense of dellberation.
No more need be said; we may simply and that
the construction which President Johnson puts
upon the decision of the Supreme Court,
whether 1t be right or wrong, has left the freed
men without particle of legal protection. The
whole subject must come before Congress,
which will not, we may hope, neglect its duty
OF immediate action.