Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-09-11
The Facts as ELECTED Before the
Justices Court.
The true Cause of 1.-THE Negro
Desire for Ascendency.

/ OliCT CdS6o uulu AlOAAudgs L Gum
up the result, twenty-five of the guilty
parties are now in Jail and about the
same number are at liberty.
The prosecution in every case stated
to the Justices hearing the causes,
that if there was any doubt a to the
guilt of any OF the defendants, to dis
charge such. a trial conducted with
more fairness and leniency has never
been witnessed. The facts developed
clearly show that bad and corrupt in
fuences had induced the freedmen to
act in the manner they did, and in
truth that the large portion of those
! engaged in the disturbance cared moth
ing for Collins Tarpley, who was
killed, but simply seized on the Incl
dent as a preteXt for violence cher
ished and fOstered towards the
white citizens of Macon and vicinity.
The three young Tarpleys Zone OF
whom was Hlled), were raised by DIR.
". H. Tarpley, a citizen of Macon,
/ and having no children they were pet
| ted and INDUCED by him in their boy
hood, and developed into lawless,
turbulent, wicked young men. The
one, Tom, whom the Memphis Daily
Post, of the Both ult., has represented
as being beat "inhumanly" by BOS-
well and johnson, declaredand stated
/ to his uncle, Henry TaTpley, that he
was NOT at all hurt on Saturday before
| the shooting took place. These Tarp-
ley negroes on Sunday, armed with
pistols, paraded the square in Macon
| with the ends of their pistols now and
then exposed, cursing and jOstling
around young Boswell and johnson
in a manner calculated to provoke q
collision, and when spoken to, Collins
put his hand on his pistol with the re-
mark he would give his pistol up to
no id white man, and made an eff
! fort to draw it, not TO give it up, but
| to use, and then it was that he was
shot, and thus provoked the collision
that caused III death. The other two
| brothers, TarpIeys, are aroused and
| irenzied, and not knowing who was
shot, madly and impOtently fire Off
their pistols, and when DR.. Tarpley,
who had so tenderly raised them,
commanded them to put up their
pistols and become quiet, he is an
swered by violent curses and a total
disregard of him as a peace officer.
And yet on trial both OF these young
Tarpleys are discharged and not heid
TO answer for any Oflense.
The efforts of DIR. Tarpley as a JUS
tice of the Peace, and OF the quiet,
| orderly citizens OF the town failing TO
queIl the increasing turbulence of the
negroes, and while a party is being
made up and organized to pursue and
arrest Boswell and johnson, armed
with guns, pistols and clubs, avOwing
boldly and loudly their intention to
shoot, hang and kill them if arrested,
a messenger is sent for Mr.. Matthews,
a constable, mot by the negroes, how
ever, but by an order observing .citi-
zen), TO come and go with the crowd
and try and control them and keep
| them from violence. He does 20, but
the negroes were ahead of him, two
miles to the house of the father of
young Boswell and surround and
picket the house, and madly rush
through the passages, rooms and clos
cts, turning up beds, cursing and abus-
! ing the females of the household and
| breathing curses and threats of muir
| dering young Boswell to his mother
| and sisters. When told by Matthews,
the officer, not TO riot over the house
he is answered by hOwls and curses.
Not finding Boswell or johnson here,
they haste to the house of the father
of young Johnson, cursing and abus-
ing the elder Johnson, shifting and
changing guns and weapons, avoiding
the light of candle or lamp to escape
recognition, and on arriving at John
| sons, cuTsing and abusing visitors at
II l. = Iaryun ODD narrrsnr au1y1an v-AYvn1
| ladies who had retired for the night,
to get up and permit them to search
their rOOhI,-and here, to end the
matter, ire is put to the gin house of
Johnson, and when discovered and
asked to aid in putting it out, a de-
risive laugh Is the reply, and but one
| of their crowd went 10 aid in subdu-
ing the fire, viz: a freedman, Eman-
uel Thompson, who was discharged
from custody upon this fact being
elected in the examination.
They return to Macon and all night
parties are coming into Macon armed.
Next morning citizens, white and
black, are stopped and halted and not
suffered to pass in or out of town, guns
being displayed. The inquest is held
by the Coroner, and when advised
and told by him to put up their guns
and disperse they re5Oiutely and sullen-
ly refused to do so, saying to some
| citizens the time had come for them
to take the law into their own hands,
and that they, the negroes, Outnum-
bered the whites five to one. And
| again, when the Coroner, with some
seven or eight men, entered the town,
the negroes gather their guns with
one accord, and when told not to fire,
that they would not be hurt, a volley
of fifty shots is the reply and then
when the pOssee fire, they scatter in
every direction and are picked up and
arrested here and there.
No violence is committed on them
or allowed, but they are brought and
turned over to be tried by law, and
the action Of the officers and Court
trying them is by the " let us have
! peace" lying, insurrectiOnary sheet of
Memphis, declared to be an effort to
i" humble the colored people living
near Macon, Tenn, who dared to be
independent" Is it independence to
wantOnIy abuse citizens, male and fe-
male, at their homes at the hour of
night-tO fire houses, curse and abuse
the females of the household, defy the
officers of the law, and declare that
death shall follow their arrest of par
ties sought by them? This is all right
and very independent" on the part
of colored citizens" but when ar
rested and tried by the law and the
evidence, it is pronounced an effort to
" humble the colored citizens"
A newspaper editor who thus wan
tonly outrages the peaceand quiet of a
people by upholding ~lawiessness, and
perverting the facts alleged as an ex-
cuse for that lawlessness, deserves the
unqualified e%XecratiOn and scorn of all
orderly, well disposed persons. No
better evidence of the settled and fix
ed purpose of the whites to observe
law and preserve order can be pro-
duced, than the fact that a newspaper
can be published in their midst con-
tanning such incendiary falsehoods as
contained in the articles appearing in
issues of the Memphis Daily Post of
the 30th ult. and 18th inst, and yet that
paper be allowed TO exist, and that
without provoking irrepressible vio-
lence. Still this sheet lives, lies and
has its being in our midst without in
terruption, and its publications are
made indirectly exciting discord and
| strife and enmity between the colored
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