Litchfield enquirer., 1868-02-20
THE CONDITION OF TEXAS.

It will be remembered that Gen. Han
 cock refused to comply with the request o of Governor Pease, of Texas, who asked him to order military commission to try some cases in Walde County Genera
 Hancock, in his letter, said it was the duty of the civil courts to try all criminals, es pecially at time when the country was in state of profound peace, In reply Gov. ernor Pease wrote letter to General Han cock, from which We make some extracts. The picture he draws of the condition oi Texas does not represent it as being in so peaceful a condition as the General intima- ted:
 ''I am at loss to understand how gov ernment without representation in Con- gress and without any militia force, with such limited powers and thus subject to be further limited and changed at pleasure by the military commander of the district can with any propriety be called state govern ment, organized in subordination to the authority of the government of the United States and in full exercise of all it's proper powers
 ''I also dissent from the declaration that Sat this time the country Is in state of profound peace" Texas cannot properly be said to be in state of profound peace. It is true that there no longer exists here any organized resistance to the authority of the United States; but large majority of the white population who participated in the late rebellion are embittered against the government by their defeat in arms, and loss of their slaves, and yield to it an unwilling obedience only because they feel that they have no means to resist it's au- thority. None of this class has any afTec- tion for the government and very few of them have any respect for it. They regard the legislation of Congress on the subject of reconstruction as unconstitutional and hostile to their interests, and consider the government now existing here under the authority of the United States as an usurp- ation upon their rights. They look upon the enfranchisement of their late slaves and the disfranchisement of a portion of their OWL class as an act of insult and op- pression.
 ''This state of feeling toward the govern ment and it's acts by large majority of the white population who have heretofore ex- ercised the political power of Texas, com bined with the demoralization and impa- tience of restraint by civil authority that always follows the close of great civil wars renders it extremely difficult to enforce the criminal laws in those portions of the State which are most densely occupied, and often | impossible to do so in those parts of the 1 State which are sparselA settled Aknowl- edge of this state of affairs induces many 1 to redress their fancied wrongs and grev- ances by acts of violence
 1 It is a lamentable fact that over one hun dred cases of homicide have occurred in Texas within the last twelve months, while not one-tenth of the perpetrators have ever been arrested and less than one twentieth 1 of them have been tried.
 Within the past few month United States officers and soldiers have been killed while in the discharge of their duties, and in no case have those who committed these offen- ses been tried or punished. In these cases the most strenuous efforts were made by the military authorities, to arrest the guilty parties, but without success, although they were we'll known.
 Ut often happens that, when the civil off, cers of county are disposed to do their duty and endeavor to make arrests, they are unable to do so, because they are not properly sustained by the citizens of the county, and when arrests are made, large portion of the offenders escape from custo- dy because there are no secure jails for their confinement, and the county authori. ties have not the means to pay for proper guards. Several cases have come to my knowledge in which sheriffs failed entirely to arrest parties who had been indicted, ai- though they remained in the county for months.
 "Grand juries often fail to find indict- ments when they ought to do so, and petit juries as often fail to convict offenders, in cases where the evidence is conclusive. Hence 1t results that, in many cases, offen- ders escape punishment, when the magis- trates and sherifHs do their duty
 'It is by no means charged that all who took part in the rebellion participate in or approve the many outrages and acts of vio- lence which are perpetrated in Texas with out punishment. A1arge majority disap- prove and deplore this state of affairs; few of them, however give any active aid in the enforcement of criminal laws. -"
 "Al good citizens feel and acknowledge there is but little security for life in Texas beyond what each man s personal character gives him. Many loyal citizens have ex- pressed the opinion that it would have an effect upon the community if some of the perpetrators of aggravated crimes-like that In Uvalde county, where the difficulty of keeping the prisoners in confinement rendered it highly probable that they would escape; and where the sparseness of the population made it so difficult to pro- cure Q jury, that it was considered almost certain that the parties would never be tried by the civil courts-should be brought before a military commission. In this opinion fully concur, and it was for this reason that made the recommendation. l The condition of affairs was much worse here before the establishment of the pres ent military government, than it has been since The fear of arrest by the military authorities and a trial by military com mission has had some effect in deterring lawless men from the commission of crime. But am constrained to say that since the publication of General Orders No. 40, of 29th November, 1867, from Headquarters Fifth Military District, there has been a perceptible increase of crime and manifes- tation of hostile feeling toward the govern ment and it's supporters. I It is an unpleasant duty to give such a recital of the condition of the country. But the reports and correspondence on file in the office of the freedmens bureau and of the military commanders in Texas, since the close of the rebellion, will prove the | truth of what is stated here. '1 oto f<1 Rfrc