Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-05


composed of a majority of negroes,
after spending an enormous guam
tity of money for Legislative ex-
penses-at least five times the
amount expended by q "white
mans government "-were debating
the propriety of getting up 'loyal
militia in South Carolina, to be
charged to the taxpayers of the re-
| spective counties in which they
were to conduct the work of plum
dering and murder. Until the ne
gro militia shall be organized and
in full blast, we do not suppose that
reconstruction in South C; rolina
can be pronounced a success"
| We come next to State which
might be supposed to have some
claims on the generosity, if not the
gratitude, of this government
the State of Virginia 1t is a
State which has done some SER
vice, in the old days, to the Union;
and there is talk, even, of complet-
ing monument, commenced before
the era of modern ''loyalty," to
one of her great men. But we will
'say nothing of the past; for there
are many minds, we fear, to whom a
mention Of the past glories of Vir-
GINA will only operate as an incen-
tive to the fresh persecution and
humiliation, the utter ruin of her
present population. This is their
way of paying a nations debt of
gratitude But even the military
sent down to the old State find moth
ing against her population they
testify to an extraordinary degree of
order and obedience to law. Now,
what is the reward for all this ? Pro-
lection to orderly cititizens? Pun
ishment of the criminal? BY no
means. Hardly a week has passed
that some thief, burglar, or muir
derer duly convicted, has not been
turned loose by the carpetbag recon
struction Gov. Wells, to prey again
on society. The other day we be-
held a yet more fragrant outrage in
the case where q most detestable
outrage had been committed on
respectable young lady living near
Norfolk-anegrO holding the mother
while another wretch, a white ad-
Venturer, dishOnored the daughter.
Both are adjudged to death by the
law; but in steps Gov. Wells, and
says, " the negro shall not die-the
sacred race must not be harmed; let
the white man be hung" and hung
he was. What is this but a broad
charter for lust to the negroes of
Virginia? But special pardons and
reprieves by Gov. Wells are not
rapid enough, it seems, to meet the
case; and now enters upon the scene
Judge Underwood, he whose testi-
mony in regard to packing jury"
We give elsewhere. Before him the
gates of iron to the penitentiaries of
Virginia fly open the freedmen walk
forth, redeemed, regenerated, and
disenthralled," their faces glistening
with the joy of loyal peace.
Poor sable creatures! they only
robbed, burnt dwellings or barns,
stole horses or hogs, murdered, or
ravished, as fancy led and their vic
tim was probably some Rebel,
who has no rights anyhow-sur
rendered them all at AppOmattox.
Why keep these worthy colored"
people in Jail, when they are all ready
to vote the Radical ticket as soon as
they are discharged? And SO MRS
Sally Anderson-nOt plain" but
colored-she who burnt q dwelling,
and attempted to burn a white child
in it, was duly convicted, released
by Judge Underwood, rearrested by
Gen. StOneman, and turned over to
the civil authorities, who decline
going through the farce of second
trial, or worse still, flying in the face
of the ''loyal' UnderwOod-escapes
all the meshes of the law, and to-day
stands forth under the broad segis of
the fourteenth amendment, without
even the smell of fire and blood on
her garments, houseburner and all
but murderer though she be. And
this is the success" of the recon-
struction policy so far as Virginia is
concerned! And yet tits only par
tial success" reconstruction there
is yet in the green tree.
These are some of the evidences
of "the assured success Of the re
construction policy of Congress"
which the closing day of last year
presented to the readers of the daily
| journals throughout the country.
These are evidences of "the assured
success Of this policy eight months
after the Chicago Convention con-
graduated the country that this at
tempt of Congress to hand over the
governments of the Southern States
to carpet baggers and negroes was
no longer an experiment, but an
"assured success
w ~ Golfer,