Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-06-02
THE MOBILE RTOT-HAsTY ACTION
or GEN. POPE.

Col Shepherd, Commanding the posi-
of Mobile, has reported to Gen Swayne,
under date of the 18th of May, "relative
to the disgraceful and criminal riot, re-
sulting in murder, which occurred in
Mobile on the night of the l4th. His
report throws very little light upon the
origin add progress Of the riot, notwith>
standing be says be was present at the
the time, and appears to give his own
version Of the affair He says there was
"a lot Of men present to prevent Mr..
Kelley from speaking, yet he presents no
proof Of this fact IL tells of commo-
ton begun opposite the speakers stand
and nearly across tie street, between the
Chief Of Police and man named David
J. SHE'S, notorious for violence of words
and actions, and who, while scutfling with
the Chief of Police, discharged his pistol
in the direction of the speakers stand )"
and that Immediately thereafter frantic
efforts were made by the crowd to break
away from the scene, "after which about
dozen more shots were fired from the vi
cinity of the fracus, apparently in the
direction Of the speakers stand" As a
specimen Of the loose manner in which
this report is gotten up, We refer to the
fact that Col Shepherd says: "One
white man and one colored man are re-
ported killed, and another white man
fatally wounded in the head This re-
port was written three days after the riot,
and after the Colonel shonld have thor
oughly investigated the matter, and yet
he graYely informs his superior officer
that it was reported two men were killed
and one fatally wounded This single
fact shows the Importance that should
be attached to Col. Shepherds report
Gen Wager Swayne, commanding the
district of Alabama, forwards the report
of Col Shepherd to Gen. Pope, under
date of the 10Th ult, and adds:
Immediately upon hearing of the out
break / proceeded to Mobile, in company
with Brevet Brigadier General William
Mckee Dunn, Assistant Judge Advocate
General, and made personal inquiry into
what had occurred.
$50 far as / can learn, the disturbance
was not spprehended or deliberately
planned, unless possibly by a small party
of rufhans, such as are Usually found in
cities. Nor do | find that after it was com
menced it was participated in by large
number of persons, but that, on the contra
~, the scene was hastily abandoned, except
by the police and by such parties of freed
men as gathered together fo- defense or
from confusion or excitement
It seems that, the speaker having been
for some time interrupted by persons who
should have been Immediately removed, a
single arrest was made. This was ACCOM-
panied by the discharge of pistol, after
which a number of shots were fred at the
stand occupied by the speaker and his
friends. After a momentary lull a large
number of additional shots were fired, APP
parently without vindictive purpose, the
weapons, so far as known, being pointed in
the air
81 do not find that any greater charge
than timidity or ineficiency can be sus-
tanned against the police authorities of the
city of MOBILIZE
Notwithstanding this Gen Swayne re-
commended the removal of the Mayor and
policemen.
Gen. Pope forwards these two reports
to Gen Grant under date of the 23d ult,
and says
Zone thing is manifest, and that is that
the Mayor, Jas. M. Withers, though every
body, and no doubt himself included, ap-
pretended a disturbance during Judge
Kelley's speech, and, instead of being
present with the necessary police force and
arrangements to keep the peace, he went
off TO his house, mile and half distant,
because, probably, he supposed the senti-
ments Of the speaker would not be pleasant
to him, and left the peace of the city in the
hands of chief of police, who either SYM
pathized with the violators or was wholly
inefficient. It certainly is not to be attri-
buted to the zeal or conduct of either of
these functionaries that the riot did not
assume formidable proportions. l have
therefore, removed both, not only because
of their criminal misconduct on this occa-
sion, but because there is not likely to be
confidence of any security whatever here
after while they retain their Offices"
Here Gen. Pope takes it for granted |
that row was prsmeditated, in the face
of the positive proof of Gen Swayne to
the contrary, and upon this assumption
he removes the Mayor and Chief of Po-
lice, and says he win remodel the en-
tire police force, and probably change |
the Board of Aldermen in a few |
days" Was there ever a clearer
case of man making an
excuse, and very poor one at tn at, for !
what he desired to do2 No blame, ac-
cording to the reports Of Col Shepherd
and Gen Swayne, could properly attach |
to the Mayor and police-on the contra
ry, they seem to have gone promptly and !
to work to quell the disturb |
ance-yet this affair is made the pretext |
by Gen. Pope to remove them. And it is
to such men, whose whims are as capri
cious as April weather, that the liberties
of the Southern people are confded.
The telegraph reports that the Presi-
dent contemplates the restoration Of the
officers deposed by Gen Pope, and the
sr pwte testimony upon which that Gen
eral acted shows that the President
would perform simple act of justice in
restoring them.
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INTHEPURLIC SCH ooE.s