Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-06
MURDER. NORTH AVID SOUTH.

A few days ago we suggested that a
record carefully kept would show that
about the same number o. murders are
committed in the Northern as in the
Southern States, while that section was
wholly exempted from the influences
which lead to much the largest portion
of the murders committed in the South.
We find that this view is sustained by
the New York Herald, which treats the
subject as follows:
I'VE have been made familiar for a
long time past with stories Of frequent
murders, violent assaults, displays of
force to interrupt political professions in
the Southern States, negroes aSsailing
white men even unto death and white men
assaulting negroes. This is all the ma
tural result of the Radical system of re-
construction. The reconstruction laws
were the basis Of war Of races. We
cannot, therefore, be surprised at the
fruits. For example, white men in open
day murder Randolph, black member
of the South Carolina Legislature
black men in Louisiana hunt down a
white man, chain him to tree, threaten
him with death, and the result is gen.
eral fight between negroes and white
men, ending in the death of thirty Of the
unfortunate blacks and two white men.
So, also, at Jefferson, city situated a
little above New Orleans, the old police
force and the new one appointed by the
Louisiana black and TAM Legislature
come into collision upon the latter at.
tempting to assume authority. Where
fore Because the new organization is
composed, in large part, of negroes, who
it appears, go heavily armed through the
streets, displaying that effrontery which
always characterizcS ignorance invested
with authority. \ newspaper office in
Alexandria, La, is also sacked by a
mob, whether white or black the dispatch
does not state; but that it was never
theless the result Of collision between the
races we may safely assume. The latest
murder is that Of four men in the streets Of
New Orleans on Saturday, in a fight
between two political clubs. From
various quarters in the South we hear OF
similar conflicts, which make good the
prophecy that the reconstruction laws,
whether unconstitutional, null and
void, as they have been declared by the
Democratic platform, or not, are certain
ly provocative Of much mischief, anarchy
and bloodshed. So much for the South
ern record of murder, and VIC have not
noted the half it. But Of the mur5er
record Of the North ? Perhaps if we
were TO strike a fair balance there would
not be found much difference after all.
The apparent difference IS that homOcide
at the South is invariably pat to the cridit
Of politics, and in exciting times like
these there is much made of it by parti-
san newspapers. We are told that IN
one county in New Hampshire there are
now awaiting trial no less than five muir
dererS. lE our own city homocides are
almost as numerous as the nights in the
year. New England furnishes, according
to the record, nearly as many murderers
in proportion TO the population as the
Southern States.
The moral of all this is that while
Radical reconstruction cannot check the
progress Of crime in the Southern States,
but rather fosters it, 50 New England
! PuritaniSm cannot elevate the moral con-
dition Of its people above the use of the
knife, the pistol and the poison cup. The
cause Of the increase Of murder in the
South is to be traced to the war Of races,
the inevitable result Of Radical policy
In New England it belongs to the war Of
bad passions, to irreligion and intemper-
ance. No plea Of political evaporation
can be put in there for everything is Sc
rene and pleasant in New England no
military Governors, no offensive negro su-
premacy, for New England takes care
that the negro is kept in his proper place;
no disfranchsement of white citizens eX.
lists there to provoke conflict and to keep
mems temper up like quilts upon the
fretful porcupine; : and yet, with all the
hideous reports of murder and violence
in the Southern States, SAD as they are,
it would appear from recent statements
that we are not much better off at the
North than our neighbOrs in that wretch
eddy m sgoverned portion the county,