New-York tribune., 1867-05-18
iSOUTHERN RIOTS.

| The World has leader commencing thus:
The recent negro riots in the Southern cities justify
| painful fOrebOdings"
DO they Then what sort of "forebOdngs'
do the White riots in Southern cities justify 7
Take the Mobile case for a sample: A very
large asSemblage of diverse cOlOrs is being
addressed by prominent Republican Member
of Congress- when it is fired upon and broken
up by successive vOlleys from muskets and
revolvers, mainly aimed at the stand occupied
| by the speaker, officers, and reporters Two or
more persons are killed, and fifteen or twenty
wounded Do MT you think such n performance
would Justify fOrcbOdings,' if nothing more
| positive.
Take another recent case, as reported by an
anti-negro teleTaphcr, and printed in all the
journals:
at meeting in Galveston Yesterday lthe 18th inst
negro speaker drawing offensive comparisons between
the races interrupted by United states soldiers
when indscrminate shooting was commenced majority
| of the negroes appearing to be armed
The negro speaker you see, drew offensive
comparisons between the s"-perhaps
observed that the Southern negroes were not
generally Rebcls-whereupo 4" he was inter
"ruptcd by United States soldiers, when indis-
"criminate shooting commenced" This is GER
| tainly drawn very mild yet you cannot help
seeing that a Radical meeting was disturbed
and broken up by White rioters, who would
not allow the speaker to say what he saw fit,
| though it is not even asserted that he spoke
| falsely.
| At least dozen such riotous disturbances OF
public meetings in the South have lately oc-
curred-and it is noteworthy that every one of
| them was Radical meeting. The COnscrva-
tives hold meetings. and say what they please; !;
vet no one shoots into their crowd, or drives
the speakers from their stand. Conservatives
only venture to do this, under the "irOn heel
"of Military despotsmf to which the South
has been subjected by Congress. Is MT it oddf
And would MT it Justify something stronger
than "fOrcbOdings?" ?"
We pray the negroes Of the South 10 under
stand that every friendly heart in the North
is panied when they are reported rs partici-
patIng in any riot, no matter how great their
provocation. Bear abuse. insult, bulfctings-
allow the police to arrest and imprison you
because White miians have assaulted you
but never be provoked 10 riot-neyer raise
your hands in resistance to legal authority
Let the unreCOnstructcd break up your meet
ings and shoot at your speakers if they will
! every wrong hey commit is a triumph for you
and an assurance that your rights wnl be
| insisted on and conceded. No real harm can
be done you by riots, unless you take part in
them.
And now MesSrs Military Commandants at
the South a word with You! Military rule ia
open to grave objection but ii has one good
| quaty-it makes short work with rioters and
mobs. VIII you comprehend that you are in
power expressly to preclude such doings as
those at Mobile, and Galveston, and secure to
every one the right to meet and speak freely
We do Mt ask YOU TO silence our adycrsarles-j
we insist that you shall guarantee them the
utmost liberty of speech and action-and ,we
demand the same, aud no more for our own
side. If any of you do MT know how to stop
such doings as those at Mobile and Galveston,
he should promptly resign and let some one take
hold who has more capacity or more pluck.
The People are paying heavily for the mainten-
ance Of Order and they have right to the
article they bargain for If you can't supply it,
please oblige them by getting out of the way