The weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1869-18??, 1870-08-31

witnesses, and induce the local authorities
to perform their duty and resume their
functions. He must show to those terror
stricken victims of Kuklux outrage force,
organized under the laws, stronger than the
organized force of the murderers which had
overawed and rendered powerless the civil
authority in the locality.
This movement of the Governor was in
stantly understood by the Klan, and by its
friends and supporters, and the danger to
them was fully appreciated. They dared
not resist by open conflict of arms. Their
only mode of escape was to weaken the ef-
feet of the Executive action, and to prevent
it from inspiring confidence and assurance to
witnesses and jurors. The people witness
the desperate efforts which they have d.
rected to this object and are still putting
| forth.
No longer denying the existence of this
Khan of desperate assassins, nor its horrible
crimes. its newspaper organ and Its influen-
tial friends and supporters have made the
State ring with brutal denunciations of the
Governor, the Chief Justice and the State
authorities generally. The basest false
hoods have been unblushingly published
and circulated by them, in relation to
every aspect of the cafe, and threats and at
tempts at "brow-beating" pushed to the ex-
tent of mob-likc uproar in the very Capt.
tai of the State. .-... {
But the Governor remains firm and will
not swerve from the direct and bold line of
duty before him. They have then made a
desperate effort to drive him into prenaa-
ture disclosure of the facts which his action
has placed in the possession of the authori-
tics, by suing out writs of hDbeas corpus, and
insisting upon an immediate examination of
the parties arrested They expected by this
means to enable the parties to see the ex-
tent Of their danger and make their escape
But the Chief Justice and his associates upon
the Supreme Court Bench fully comprehen-
ded and refused to countenance this ruse of
the criminals and their legal advisers. I'm
der most unaccountabe misappreheuson
of his jurisdiction and authority, the Judge
of the e. S. District Court undertook to
force premature disclosure from the State
authorities. But the Governor wisely deci-
ded to suffer the prisoners to be TEN porarily
released rather than allow their confederates
to be warned and make their escape. Had
he made an issue with the United States
Judge it would have been proclaimed that
the national government was against
his proceedings, and thus the "pall
of death" would again descend, and the
disclosures by witnesses be retarded, if
not altogether stopped. But the Governor
properly evaded this issue, and still pursues
his original purpose of giving courage to the
, citizens by display of his determination
. and power to protect the victims of outrage
and bring the perpetrators to punishment.
Now still more desperate and vilainous
attempt is being made to weaken the effect
, of the Governors efforts, and to discourage
, and prevent disclosures from witnesses. One
f has but to read the carefully prepared arti.
Giles in the Sentinel of the 18th inst, to SEE
, the Infamous efforts OF the conspirators to
} accomplish this purpose. The authority Of
, the Governor 10 use the military forces o.
, the State is boldly denied and coarsely de
nounced The officers who command tht
force are denied to have any authority ovel
their men, and are threatened with crimina
i, prosecutions and civil suits If they attempt
to enforce their authority. The men art
, told that they have the right to desert. ant
7 it goes so far as to say "If in the attempt tt
arrest deserter he were to kill those at
, tempting to make the arrest it is doubtful i
he would be amenable to the law"
All this effort to defeat the action of tn,
State government, and to screen the organ
lied bands of murderers and despcradoe
known to exist in twenty-six Counties o
a inc STATE, more or less force, is contrivec
and supported 10y the prominent leaders il
the late rebeliion-some of them ex-Judges
: ex-Governor's and ex-members of Congress
5 They call out crowds of th.ir adherents t,
7 meet at the railway stations, and in the vii
l lagos, TO welcome with boisterous display tn
temporarily released criminals as they pas
: on the roads. At Hillsboro', within fifteel
niles of where WATT OUTLAW was hun!
before the Court House door by bant
g of sixty disguised men, and in the vicinit,
t where most Of the horrible and atrociou
Kuklux outrages have been recently com
mitted, the Sentinel boasts that the notoriou
Joe Turner twas taken up with Govcrno
Graham and placed in carriage, which tn
horses had been taken from, and sixty gen
tlemen caught hold OF the tongue and rop
with two colored Conservatives, Tom Grcel
> and Alex. Curtis in the lead and drawn int,
town. When they entered the town the,
were greeted with groops of ladies will
smiles of gladness and welcome"
l The people of the country will thus SCI
I the difficulties with which Gov. Holden i
so heroically contending, and may appre
: ciate, to some extent, the desperate and for
: midable character of the organization o
: lawless derperadoes which has overawed tn
local civil authorities in North Carolina 70
the last twelve months, and which controlled
the recent elections.
If State authority has power enough tt
meet and overcome this new phase of re
8 bellion in the Southern States, Gov. Holder
will accomplish it and relieve the Nationa
Government from interference. He is en-
gagged in a work involving the peace of tn
. nation, and has been advised and induced
by the highest authority to make the effort
and test the power of reconstructed Stat
!, Governments and the temper and spirit o
the lately insurgent leaders and their fol
lowers. If he fail, the National Government
may well look to the ultimate result of tb,
Reconstruction which it based upon an ex
pertinent of lenity and forbearance unexam
:, 4 pied in the annals of the world o.
= 3D..
The Attempted Assassination on Thurs.