Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-11-19
Orange and Chatham.

we said: "No greater evil can befall people
than for them to have, or to think they
have, a weak, or partisan, or corrupt Ju
dietary. The quick result of such an evil
is reluctance to appeal to the Courts, a
greater willingness to seek redress by
are already too prone"
| The recent occurrences in the counties
of Chatham and Orange painfully attest
the truth of what We then said.
ALI the information we have had from
that portion of the State satisfies US that
the people there were not actuated by any
political considerations or by any antago-
nism to the negro race. They sought only
security and protection for person and
property. An unprotected widows daugh-
ter was in constant danger of being
ravished. The would-be ravisher was
hung Three barns with their contents
were burned on one night and at the same
hour of the night. Two persons engaged
in the burning, and who delayed it until
the crops were housed, in order to strike
heavy blow, were hung. and third was
shot. We are informed that these are all
of the cases in which life has been taken
in that section. Our statements in regard
to these matters can be relied on, for our
information comes from trustworthy
sources.
The people of Orange and Chatham
have been greatly misrepresented in SO far
as they have been declared to be acting
from a partisan or political standpoint.
The excitement and indignation and bitter
feeling existing there has not been exag-
gerated nor could it we'll exist in higher
or intenser degree. The cause of the feel
ing has beeu misrepresented. We are
satisfied there was no intention or desire
to override the law, to overturn the gov
eminent, to resist any lawful officer or to
modest any unoffending person. The
people there declare and we believe they
are sincere in the declaration, that they
have sought and still seek only to make
good the deficiency of the law and thus to
secure themselves, their families and their
property. To protect life, to protect
property, to protect virtue, they deemed
it necessary to infict summary punish
ment by summary process. They deemed
it necessary because they had no conf
dence in the impartiality of Judge Tour
gee, or in the impartiality of Governor
Holden This is the explanation which
all of our readers have doubtless sought in
regard to this whole matter. We spoke
truly last Summer when we declared no
greater evil could befall people than to
have or to think they have weak, Or parti-
san, or corrupt judiciary. We spoke truly
when we declared that the quick result of
such an evil would be reluctance to appeal
to the Courts, q greater willingness to seek
redress by private and violent means.
We have all along been satisfied as to
the real cause of the troublous condi-
ton of affairs in the so-called insurrection-
arg counties. We have, however, refrained
from giving our opinions in regard there
to, because friends in that section have
advised us that the feeling against Judge
Tourgee was SO strong as to make it i'm
prudent to direct any more attention to
him than he was already attracting, in view
of the fact that he was about to hold his
courts there. The action of Governor
HOLDEN in declining to send undisciplined
troops under incompetent officers has, we
are informed, averted a catastrophe that
good men felt to be impending, not be-
cause there was on the part of the people
any hostility to the government or any
partisan purpose in view, but because they
felt sure that undisciplined troops of such
a character, whether Ehite or black, under
incompetent, corrupt officers, would be
sure to commit outrages that people SO
much excited would not submit to, and
that thus conflict would arise which
could only result in terrible disaster.
These troops, however, were not sent, and
if there be any credit due to Governor
HOLDEN for discreet action in the premises
we are not disposed to withhold it from
him any more than in this colnection-We
Gre disposed to enquire how far he may be
responsible for having brought about q
state of things that so imperiously de
manded discreet action. Instead of the
militia q company of United States troops
were sent to Chapel Hill. This company
has recently been stationed at Goldsboro'
and if kept under their usual discipline
will not give any cause of otfense. We
are informed that although the people G.
Orange do not consider it necessary to have
any soldiers quartered among them, they
make no objection to United States troops
in the hope that they will have such an in
fuence in the county as will prevent the
| commission of such crimes as may seem tx
call for action outside of the law. Thi
being our hope and expectation we have
felt at liberty to refer to Judge Tourge'
and to state what we honestly believe t.
be the cause of the trouble. We presum,
it will be usedless to call upon Judg
Tourgee to resign and absurd to expec
him to do so. We trust, however, that b.
II will matnralv oope;1ar +lo ,,.o,~;o+r &c Nv,