The New York herald., 1867-06-21
THE MOBILE RIOT.
Report Of the Grand Jury.


cr COURT noBnE-yUSK TERM 1867.
To the Hon. HENRY CHAMBERLAIN presiding in said
Tho Grand jury for this term deem IL for the public
good 10 embrace the following statements In the usual
report required OF them upon subjects which OF
cessity came before them In the discharge Of their du
ties:-
The jury beg leave to say that in the progress OF their
and nature Of the disturbance OF the public peace
which occurred upon the occasion Of recent public
good character and standing in this community tended
TO show TO the jury the following state OF actsThat
since the late the colored people, in the exercise Of
their unques0ned right have purchased largely Of guns,
pistols and other frearms Of the OF which they
before debarred; that they have ON several
since tho 10 disturbances among themselves
used frearms, and on ono OCCASION At one OF their
churches, several were wounded in that way. More
recently the coored people have held meetings Of po-
cAl character and IN largo numbers and at these they
have assembled bearing arms moro or less openly IL
found months since TO appoint col
OF color their churches and elsewhere prevent dis
turbance. And the jury have been called TO invcsti-
gate serious Of this kind occurring recently aud
sunday, at church for coored people In this city.
About fortnight before the meeting at which Judge
Kelley spoke, very large assembly OF people OF color
took place In the suburbs OF tue CITY, and after the ad
journment Of the meeting, and at late hour OF the
night, the whole community startled and dsquieed
BY very heavy and rapid discharge Of arsarms By The
mainly in the air, and that no one was hurt
From the eject Of these demopstrations whom the
uOunCemtui
the people, and at the Same ume became understood
that the colorsd people would attend In large numbers
tho great body Of white people were sverse 70 attending
the meeting and coming In contact with those thus
armed At this meeting there were present but few
white men and these chiefly scattered The outskirts
Of the large crowd Of coored men. II was observable
that at this meeting the colored nearly ali
armed with clubs besides their firearms.
NJ n.s,isseuce ~ VIE ss en , u - s.s y, ,, -
anticipated this occasion, there was only
the usual guard Of police present. and no extra guard
deemed necessary by either the cvil or military au
thoritics for that reason.
After the meeting was assembled and during the pro-
o 40 3, , D Of ps
haps heightened by liquor who put some questions and
made some offensive allusons to the speaker, which
10 have been echoed BY some boys In tho crowd.
The Chief Of Police proceeded TO arrest this person. who
made no resistance, and TO remove him Neither the
Chief Of Police this individual was armed As they
proceeded out Of the crowd pistol shot heard
point the Chief OF Police swesrs distant from where
he then was. and not 90 far - ne knows or believes,
connected in any way with his arrest OF the prisoner.
Immediately after this shot noise was heard as Of
horses feet Of thewoodcn bridges a the
alarm alarm spread through The mass, more shots were
heard, apparently fred IN the air and scsnc
Of indiscrim,nats confusion and alarm was exhib-
tied. The speaker parfook Of the alarm, lcft the
stand, the lights were extngushed and the mass was
wholly unconroliabls Al the first alarm the white
their lives nearly taken before they could gst away The
great majority Of the colorcd people also left prscip
lately, and the place was soon occupied alone ey some
bands or colored men, whe continued 70 IRE, and
ceedsd through the adjoining streets attacizg and
chasing white persona NJ. 0lson the only white man
killed. set upon BY band Of this sort and his life
taken while pleading with his assalants Thsy have not
yet been recognized 1he only other penon killed
was cocred man, found dead several squares from the
place OF meeting. No particulars Of his death could bs
ascertansd Il is certain that the cosred this
meeting, who did not 60 away at once were very much
infuriatsd against the whites These, however wers
dispersed at . later hour by the military forces
The jury hnd, from all the testimony elected, ina
there no concerted attack upotl the meeting by
white men, any concerted efforts TO create dstur
bance breach Of the peace BY ths, whites There wa
evidence before the jury up to the time the piso
fired the disturbances were VI q trivial character
and less than had occurred rev nights previously a
joint meeting Of white and c0orsd people, 70 which
the pistol nothing took place more than may generallJ
be looked for ~ large mxe asssmpiasss the publ
streets ~ night such Interruptions being sithe
speedily suppressed BY the police or turned asid
! By rspares from vIs speaker. The Jury do no