The weekly standard., 1869-09-29
The Sentinel's Report of Threats il
/ R0ckiupham COunty.


Rockingham County. .... 81.
We see that the Sentinel is making an
effort to get upia "Loyal League excite
ment to counterbalance the revelations of
the Ku Klux trials at New Berne. We have
no present means of knowing the truth of
the circumstances, and therefore give them
as given by the Sentinel ITSELF '1 -f'a-a4o7
The Sentinel says: s"sWe refer our readers
to the evidence taken before the Magistrate
in Rockingham, in the case of the State
against Zach. Groom, Radical Chairman Of
the Board of Commissioners. First is the
affidavits of two colored men, Alexander
and Julius Watt, who live on the plantation
ofGroom, and belong, with Groom, to the
League. They swear, that Groom offered
them ten dollars to burn the houses Of DR..
Simpson and Others. % ...h' A'
| This trial and disclosure produced intense
excitement Throughout the country. Judge
Settle and every Radical felt it. It was no
doubt the uneasy sensation, produced by
the excitement of Groom's trial, that caused
the Judge to say the speech we made on
Tuesday last, tended to the assassination of
Tourgee and himself. F5- q '
Groom was discharged by the Magistrate
and not bound over to Court. The negroes
were bound over to Court to answer for
perjury, and, for the want Of bail, they were
committed to Jail. - "
We did not have time to copy all the eYi-
dence in the case, before leaving Went
worth.
The general bad character of Groom,
with the evidence of Mr., Thomas, is proof,
conclusive, that Groom had meditated a
horrid revenge upon the men who lived in
white houses on the Snuth side of Dan
River" 'i7 ttA lii- isil i''@'
The evidence presented in the Sentinel is
TO the effect that GROOM offered to head a
company to burn all the houses along the
Dan River. ' 'FA, is1L1'a' ar
Of the truth of the charge we have no
means of Judging, the Sentinel being the
only paper that has published the account,
and it is possible that it has made out the
worst case it can. Therefore we hope that
some of our friends in Rockingham county
will send us full particulars. n Io .1ar .ah
But, even supposing the account of the
Sentinel to be correct, the case could not in
any manner be considered an offset to the Ku
Klux developments at New Berne.. iI 10
There it was proved that an extensive
organization existed, whose chosen weapon
is murder and whose object is to do injury
to the Republican party, and to combat the
government. The Rockingham case is but
the threats Of one man to do something he
could not, in any event, have accomplished.
The Ku Klux Developments were concern 4
ing murders and outrages which had already
been committed. The alleged Rockingham
developments were concerning a threat or
an offer to commit arson aud perhaps muir
der, and no crime had actually been COM
mitted. rt 2" ~ i'rf~ O., iHti
The, Ku Klux developments were of the
operations of regularly organized band of |
nurderers. The Rockingham concerning |
The threats Of one man. ''' ''i. 10 . 70 "A
The Ku Klux did not confess until forced |
p do SO to save theirsliy The witnesses |
against Mr.. GRooM testified voluntarily.
The charges against the ,Ku, Klux were |
proved, while those at Rockingham were
not only not proved, but SO disproyed that
the witesses were confined for perjury,
Therefore there can be no parallel drawn |
between the Lenoir and Rockingham, affairs.
But it seems that the magistrate before
whom the case, was tried, deemed the charge
against Mr. GRooM utterly untrue, for he !.
not only discharged him, but, according to
the Sentinecs account, committed the pre-.
tended witnesses to jail; for perjury. This
action on the part Of the magistrate clearly,
shows that no ground for'the charge against
Mr.. GRooM ever existed, for no magistrate
would refuse to bind over for trial man
whose guilt was in any manner proved. Be
sides, the Sentinel itself says that theltesti-
mony of all but one Of the witnesses was
contradictory. ..'a ;',4 =. y ~ 'i'5s's Z
Taken as whole, it seems but fair to pre-
sumo that editor of the Sentinel has dropped
his custom of getting up I bills Of, indict-
ment," and taken to getting mp sensation
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