Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-05-24
THE MOBILE RIOT.
COMMENTS OF THE NORTHERN PRESS.
From the New York Times (Radical.)

THE SOULt
The crusade which has been lnaugurated
at the South, in the interest OF the eXtrem-
lists, already produces very troublesome re-
suits. It has inspired the Virginia negroes
with an Unsuitable yearning for white men s
farms. and those of Louisiana with the
purpose of acquiring political supremacy.
In Tennessee It has stimulated negro ora
tors to declare the lives of their former
owners subject to their mercy, and has pro
yoked riot and murder. At Mobile 1t has
kind!ed the passions OF mixed multitude,
and has occasioned armed conflict and the
loss of life. The source of these demands
and the Immediate causes of these dlstur-
Dances cannot be questioned. Both have
sprung from the violence of the agitation
which has been commenced by the adhe-
rents of ultra Radicalism, and the lntlu-
Cncc Of intiarnmatOry appeals upon the lg-
nOrance Of tho negroes, and the feroc1ty OF
the worthless elements OF Southern So
ciety.
On It's face The Mobile disturbance car
ries thc appearance OF all attempt to ro-
press Ivy violence political discussion
Judge Kelley was nolested III the exercise
Of q right which belongs to every citizen,
and narrowly escaped with his lie from a
platforln because the language he used gave
offence to :. portion Of his audience. That
is the simple, undisputod fact. And the
fact being admitted, the inference is inevi-
table. that at Mobile free discussion is not
perinitted-that it is not recognized as a
J right which every man may enjoy without
hinGranco the Northern man who eX-
| erciEcs il in 2 manner not palat&ble TO his
! hearers does 50 at his bodily peril. For so
much there is no conceivable palllatlOn. 1t
| indicates spirit with which the North will
/ I,! IS n
which must be crushed before the peace OF
! the country can be assured and it will at-
| ford Il DretcXt which the advocates of eX
IRENE measures will not be slow to use for
the justification OF greater harshness and
multiplied disabilities.
| Judgc Kelley, however, cannot be held
wholly blamcless. His right to say in Ala
bama al that he may have said in Pennsyl-
vania, and more, cannot be called in queS-
tion, and we would have him sustained in
it at all hazards. But is it just or eXpedient
| 10 make the possession Of an unquestlOned
right IN excuse for language which would
anywhere tend to create disturbances p
Even in Now York, where freedom of speech
is enjoyed to its fllrthest limit orators
sometimes find that it is not pleasant or
profitable to handy threats with the DULLES
Of a crowd. Gen sButler undertook to do
it with Five Points rowdies in the City Hall
| Park, and was pelted for his pains. Was
that q denial OF free speech or a piece Of
ruf1ianism which had its eXtenuation in the
violence and bad taste Of the speaker p
The same question is suggested in a modi-
fed form by the occurrences at Mobile
Some nameless rebels took offence at what
Judge Kelley said, and interrupted him
with ieers and threats What then Was
it wise in Judge Kelley to change the drift
of his remarks, and make the threats of
rowdies an occasion for uttering threats in
return Was it necessary that he should
argue the liberty of utterance with every
drunkard or fool who chose to challenge it,
OF that he should boast of the military pow
Ell which was at his back in the city -? His
right to defy interruption is clear the wis
dom OF defying it is not so evident. "a
soft answer turneth away wrath, " and lit
tie tact on the part of Judge Kelly would
probably have helped him to q more patient
| hearing.
We write on the suppositlon that the dis
| turbancc was impr0mptu-th that it was the
unprecedented result of excitement pro-
duced by the general characteristics Of the
asscmblaGe, and tanned into a flame by the
defiant attitude of the speaker. The case
will be altogether altered if it shall appear
that organization was at the bottom Of the
difficulty, and that the interruption which
Judge Kelley resented WAS ii part of Il pre-
arranged plan for fomenting quarrel5 and
riot. Any intemperance or error Of Judg-
ment on the part Of the Judge would then
be more than covered by the infamy and
IawlossneSs of the Originator5 of the riot
On these points it may be proper to sus-
pend Judgment until we be put in posses
sion Of u narrative less obviously partisan
than the dispatches which have been pub
lished.
Whatever the precise nature of the dis
turbance may prove to be, We aDprehend
that there can be no doubt as to the gen
eral tendency of an agitation conducted in
the temper which marks the ultra Radical
emissaries in the South. Setting aside the
adventures and hirelings OF the Hunnicutt
stamp, and conceding to speakers in Judge
Kelley's position entire integrity of pur-
pose, the miscellaneous bearing Of his course
is scarcely open to controversy. His mis-
sion is not q mission OF peace, but of war.
He does not seek to allay irritation, to oh,
literate prejudices, to rectify misconcep-
tions, to establish friendly relations be
tween the races, to promote the success of
the measures of reconstruction by indica-
ting their reasOnablenesS and necessity
The effects, and apparently the aims, of his
labor are of the opposite character. He in
creases irritation wherever he goes be a.
rays section against section and race against
r>cc he encourages expectations which
can only be fulfilled 10y a renewal Of strife,
and demands which can be satisfied only
at the cost of anarchy.
Nor is violence of any kind essential to
the vindication of the policy of Congress
or the purposes of the represented States.
The add1 esses of Mr.. Greeley and Mr.
Gerritt Smith, at Richmond, exemplify the
possibility of uniting fealty to radicalism
with moderation and good will, The fact
} should not stand in need of demonstration,
but it occurs OPPORTUNITY as q rebuke to
the angry defiance of Judge Kelley's tone,
and as evidence that the whole South must
not be arraigned as inimical to the liberty
Of speech because Of the rufianism of Mo.
bile secessionists.
Here, we take it, is the fundamental er.
: ror of the extremists as agitators at the
} South they forget that political discus,
sion, to be useful, should be temperate and
reasonable, and they disregard the pru.
dence which dictates courtesy and concilia,
ton as the surest avenues to the Judgment
Of the Southern people. They make the
mistake of imagining that to be pre-emi,