Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1867-02-02

WcIc scchlnb W cScHpo lTOIn III w
ticipation at home. They arc look
ing to no other land as their abod,
and that of their children, The,
arc entirely satisfied with the OK
pertinent Of division, and are re
signed to their losses and sacrifices
They aspire to arise from the new
standpoint, and to be part and par
Gel in the great process Of their race
on this continent, Texas will stant
by the flag of tho United States n
gainst any nation on earth, and thu
descendants of the heroes of Sar
Jacinto will contest the palm, or
any field where tho country's fo'
may be met with descendants of the
heroes OF Bunker Hill.
1t is said that Northern men
Southern loyalists, and negroes
are badly treated In Texas, and thai
the laws are so administered as tc
furnish them no adequate protec
tion. This, ordinarily, would hard
ly be considered good ground fol
the non-admission of members o.
Congress being purely I matter o.
local State jurisdiction. But so fal
from this assertion being true, We
are prepared, from personal expert
ence and recent observation, to as
sert that there are thousands Of
Northern men and Southern 10y
alists" now in Texas who are nc
more the objects of insult and in
jury than any one else; and for any
offence committed against them
they would, as it is believed, find in
the courts an impartial redress oi
them. The judiciary, from the Su-
preme Bench down, so far as known
to us, are men of high character for
intelligence, integrity, indepen-
dence, and impartiality, and would
scorn to shrink from the discharge
of q duty from considerations Of
party or political opinion rs readily
as they would in any other State OF
country.
AS to the negroes, it is not to be
expected that the predjudices a
gainst an inferior class should be
banished in a day or u year. Still,
in the main, they are treated hui
namely and justly by the whites
and when such has not been the case,
they have appealed, and are now
constantly appealing, to our own
courts for redress, and not in vain.
If society is allowed to adjust itself,
as it certainly is doing, and will do,
a public opinion will be formed for
the full protection of the negro in
every respect, When reports Of
personal injuries, either to whites
or blacks, are heard, it should be
borne in mind that in the South
west the people are more prone to
personal rencounters than in the
North; that the country is sparsely
settled over a vast extent; and that
from these and other such causes
the laws punishing offences of per-
sonal violence have never been as
rigidly and certainly executed as in
the older States. This is not pecu-
liar to Texas. Nor is there any
reason to believe that the laws are
not as we'll executed there as they
were before the war, or that there
are any more crimes Of that char
acter now being committed than
were usual before the war. The
people of Texas, pursuing their or
dinary peaceful avocations, would
doubtless be amazed at the exagger-
ated impressions produced in the
North of their alleged enormities
against the weaker portions of their
own community. 1t is the part of
oowardice, and not of bravery, to
concert or encourage systematic
oppression of the weak. How can
such thing be believed of such a
people-a people whose courage has
added lustre to the name of Texas
in every field where its flag has
foated, from the time of its birth
as nation to the PRESENT.
Isolated instances of wrong from
impulse and passion will occur, and
bad men will here and there con-
tinue to do wrong, no doubt. These
are the exceptions, not the rule.
During several months after the
close of the war few negroes were
killed in different parts Of the State,
and other wrongs were committed
by bad men. But to those who un-
derstand the facts, it is matter of
surprise that there were not ten
times as many crimes committed as
there were. Upon the surrender of
the forces east of the Mississippi
river, those west of it regarding a
further effort TO maintain seperate
independence futile, with one accord
broke up their camps and departed
for their homes, traversing the coun-
try in all directions with arms in
hand, and without the restraint of
commanders. Several months af-
forwards a nearly similar scene oc-
Cured by the soldiers going to pla-
ces appointed to be parcled. In
the meantime the negroes were de-
clared TO be free by military order,
many of whom left their homes and
wandered about over the country.
There were only a few military
posts established, hundreds of miles
apart. For three months there
was no civil officer, who knew that
his interference to preserve order
would be tolerated by the Federal
authorities. During this whole pc
riod Of confusion and disorganiza.
ton, there was a moral restraint
prevailing the masses which so re-
duced the amount Of crime below
what might have been expected as
to present the civilization Of our
people in q light of elevated gran
deur never before contemplated Of
II The truth is- now that all class