The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-10-20

Hugh !. tAmpieI. chairman. report
that within q short period 2QA onion.
lists hfyo been killed. 81 woreshot snd
IA2 otherwise maliruatoj making = to-
tal 1T S9s
The report states that they have ex-
amiued personally Ia witnesses, have
rvceivcd ~ letters from various rospon-
sihle and reputable citizens. and have
taken $50 copies ~ afidapts nom the
originals in The possession Of the Sen
ate and House COMMITTEES on Elections
and Returns Your committee are 81
the belief that not one turd If the
murders and ouuages actually commit
tod during the time embraced IN our
examination appears ID the present re
port, owing TO the shortness Of the
time given and the other saSos above set
forth Your committee have reason 10
believe that Il adequate time is gwen
10 take even such testimony as may be-
offered to them without search for IL
from different parts of the State, the
facts will disclose state OF lawlessness
terrorism, and crime that is unparalleled
in any civilized country. and is dis
graceful TO the in which We live and
10 the Christian character which We
profess,
From she New ORLEANS Republican.
When Governor Yarmouth, in an Of
fetal letter TO the President, called the
attention 10 the lawless condition Of
society in our State, when he stated
that one hundred and fifty murders
had been committed within short
time. the Democratic press became
highly indignant The Governor was
accused Of falsehood and misrepresent-
alton for political purposes. Confident
that Investigation would fully confirm
the statement, the Administration has
made no reply to these frequent on
slaughts
Tie report Of the joint committee
of the General Assembly of Louisiana,
on the conduct of the late elections and
the condition Of peace and order in the
STATE" is before us The facts laid bare
by this committee, not only sustain Gov
/ Warmouth's statements, but exhibits a
condition of society III the rural dis
tricts of Louisiana, scarcely suggested
by the letter to the President Not one
hundred and fifty, but two hundred and
four murders are reported,
Many OF the facts elected by this in
yestigation were obtained through the
Freedmen's bureau, being official state
ments OF officers Of high rank in the
/ army.
The report proper is quite brief.
Remarkng the source of information
open to the committee, it calls attention
to the difficulty it had Of procuring the
testimony of persons cognizant OF cases
ofoutrage and murder in different parts
Of the State "Ihe reluctance Of these
persons to testify has arisen from the
| danger they assert-an which the
committee believes to exist OF violence
to their persons aud property, and even
of the loss Of their lives, from the ven
geance and anger of lawless and disioy-
al persons in their respective neighbor-
| hoods"
After admitting the incompleteness
of their report the committee proceed
! to say:
Humanity sickens at the contempla-
ton Of bigotry so feiocious and hate
SO remorseless, founded solely on polit
ical differences, and having for its i'm
pelling motive, not resistance or OPP
preston, but an unruly desire to coerct
the sentiments and actions of others,
and blind feeling Of rage and ven
geance toward those whom they can
not cove nor silence.
1T is the mature conclusion OF yoni
committee, founded upon the testlmo-
ny before them, that the state Of law
lessness and UNPUBLISHED crime preva-
lent in this State is chargeable, not
alone to the desperate and Infamous
characters who are its Immediate agents
but to the apathy and silent connlvance
Of that large and respectable class OF
people of the State, who, while they
would scorn personally to commit any
of these violent acts, if they do not act
ually sympathize with their porpetra-
i. tors, at least refrain studiously from
\ any efforts to RESTRAIN or bring them to
jnstice, and are therefore justly liable
/ to the indictment Of the poace-lovlng
portion OF the community for the Of
Tense of permitting such miscreants to
roam at large Emphasized,
"Much Of the lawlessness is also due
to the neglect of the officers of the law.
The committee recommends the pas
sage of proper laws and thanks to Ma
| ior- General Edward Hatch for import
ant assistance.
Scarcely had this important docu-
ment with it's unanswerable array OF
facts been printed, when the Democrat
1 ic Journals OF our city began their ac-
cnstomed cry of injured innocence
The report is declared campaign doc
ument
We confess to the opinion Of the
| Crescent. 1t is a powerful campaign
document, but not in the sense they
use the phrase. The Committee sim
! ply performs a duty, charged upon
them by the Assembly, in an import.
ant manner. Bot this as any other VA
rifed statement of the condition Of af-
/ fairs in the South, must necessarily be
an effective campaign document The
I political issue before the country 10,
day is the right or wrong OF recon.
stuuctor. Whatever clearly makes
known to the people Of the North the
state Of society which demanded aud
whose continuance the more fully JUS
titles the measures adopted by Con.