The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1868-03-27
ASSASSINATION A COPPERHEAD
MEASURE

ASSASSINATION A COPPERHEAD
MEASURE.
When our soldiers were fighting IN the
South, they proclaimed that they would not
leave il till they had made it safe for any
Northern man to hold and advocate ssen
PRINCIPLES in politics and religion as he
thoupbt nroper. In other words, that the
guarantees Of civil and religious liberty
should be held as sacred in the South as in
the North. They did all that could then be
done, by crushing the rebellion and tramp
ling it out in blood, but they failed to secure
the liberty of conscience and of speech, and
must now go to the polls and elect General
Grant President Of the United States, il they
would secure to themselves the right of vis-
iting the graves Of their comrades en- South
ern soil, or the right to live there themselves
in the enjoyment ofcivil and religious liberty.
The course of President Johnson has revived
the Rebel spirit, has re-inaugurated mob
law, murder and assassination as the social
and political weapons Of Rebel domination, |
and rendered the condition Of Northern men
in the South more perilous than it was prior
to the rebellion.
A brief statement Of the state Of affairs at
Memphis will indicate the spirit which pre-
walls with more or less intensity throughout
the South. The Rebel press there denounces
all loyal business men, and warns the peo-
pie, under threats of vengeance, not TO pat
ronize them, nor trade with them. The
press prohibits all social intercourse with
them, and by menaces Of destruction Of
property and assassination, undertake to
frighten public officers from the performance
of their duty. Rebels own all the land in
large bodies, control pretty much all the
dwellings and buildings for business pur
poses. and hence have a complete monopoly
in the hands of q Rebel aristocracy, and
thereby force the people to submit to their
measures and trnckie to their domination.
They have also a secret organization in their
interests, under the style ofthe Kuklux klan,
whose business it is, by murder, assassina
tion and incendiarism, to create a reign of
terror throughout the South.
A recent transaction in Memphis, which is
matter of record, reveals the programmeand
its effects. to a certain extent, though this is
but a mild case Of q universally prevalent
disease.
Let The soldier and loyal citizen read and
ponder this, and decide for themselves and
their p~osterity if,after all the treasure expend
ed, and the precious blood poured out, and
the lives sacrificed to preserve the blessings
of free Government, they are willing to give
it up so.
The editor Of the rebel sheet the Avalanche
was imprisoned by the Court som weeks
ago for contempt, in a~ssailing its decisions
and seeking to inspire forcible opposition tc
them. Hoping to succeed at the election,
the parties remained rather quiet, but in the
words of the correspondent of the Chicago
Tribune:
The election came off and buried their
hopes OF power under an immense majority
OF black Radical votes. 1t added fuel othe
flames OF an already dangerous fire. The
general principle of law is that when it ap-
PEARS that a commitment to prison was for
~ ~ "Atk ~ t~NIAb " UHS VIII isEs
Judges of courts having equal Jurisdiction,
IT was we'll known, would issue no such writ.
The same pressure which, under fear of pro.
~scriptIon, has seemed to cause the knees oil
the timid to quake with fear was brought to
bear upon the Judge of an inferior court,
who having no jurisdiction. and expressly
limited by statue to petty crimes and writs O.
habeds corpus IN such cases, and within tho
jurisdiction OF his own court, was induced to
issue q writ OF habeas corpus. The prisoners
committed under sentence Of a higher court
were brought before him, and, pending a
hearing several days in advance, were liber-
ated on their own reeognizsnee. The hatred
IN the rebel ranks towards Radicals was now
intense and eliminated in an attempt TO pro-
cure the assassination Of the Judge the sam
night. Early in the evening q eolored man
told the Judge that be had overheard a Mo;
to kill him at his own house that night. The
Judge at once leaving home repaired TO the
house Of a friend. Some time after ten
O'Clock a hack drove up to the house: a re.
puted Penitentiary convict knocked at the
door and called for the Judge. Not meeting
him at the door he crowded past his wife and
entered the house to find him. Seeing that
his intended victim was not in he retn-ned
to the hack and departed, one of the party
saying, .G-dd-n him, we'll find him vet. Z
Very soon after two policemen arrived bear.
ing the following note:
. MENrHts, March Il.
Hon. William Hunter, Judge:
SIR ! have jnst received information FROM
a source that | cannot disregard, that an at.
tempt will be made, perhaps to. night, TO TAXI
your life. | have treated the rumors thaI
have been circulated lately as idle and ground
less, bat now feel 1t my duty to inform yor
OF your danger and send men to protect yon.
Two men will 60 with this, aud two more will
be sent as soon as the theatre closes-say
about IL o'clock.
(Signedl S. B. BEAUMONT.
Superintendent Metropolitan Police.
Friends oe the Judge arriving in the neigh
borhood in the meantime, saw several prs.
tended drunken men leaning on the fence, all
evidently in consort with those in the hack
Coupled with the fact of a rumored crsaniza
ton here of q branch of the notorious kuk.
lux Khan, 1t seems at least probable that tne
whole erc~d were emisaries of that reyolu.
tionary order General Thomas has been no.
titled of the whole affair, and that for the
present the Criminal Court here will stand
adjourned, for the reason that its process and
judgments cannot be enforced through the
lawless feeling manifest in the community.
Among the coiored men the feeling is most
intense, and, should the Judge be harmed,
sSSuGs vi SioicaSc huu UlQOQSQeQ uQDfece-
dented in the annals Of any city will be ~
certain result. An attack upon the JUDI o.
who has ever been their firm friend and able
champion, is looked upon as q direct attack
upon them. and will be repaid with all the
slndictseness OF the Italian vendetta. The
result o. the case appealed to the Supreme
Court viii undoubtedly be the connIe9a Vim
dication OF the course of The Judge vhc vii
then find means to enforce the deerea. If ,h;s
court; but the present condition Of aara;rs -
our midst is best told BY the following er,r.a,
from the records Of the court, which speak.
for itself:
CRIMINAL CouRr OF MrMPHIs, !
March I6, 1868.
!. appearing to the court that, in conse-
qusncs o. the continuous publication of I se-
n |. = 'alse, hhelous and sedihons articles.
II, Ia'ea naye been published BY ! portion 81
.ne pruning press of the civ III Memrh;s
through . period Of several month. ~ -
,vious tendency and design as ~h;,h M 10 %
been e intimidate The Judge of ,h;s 60. nss y
MS os1icial action, and to SO inaama =" ~
s'ons Of the people that the process ana pas>
nents OF this court cannot be epfnreas jauk-
coming to the notice Of this cour, tbst a ! y
o. the offenders ID this regard, who had hsan
co@mlsted 70 prison under the judgment md
erosf 81 this court, VA illegally dischsreea
ifol custody, and, while 90 At liberty. = !
y AARa - - E 49, = - -