Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-03
LOUISIANA.
The Truth about the DOnaIdsonviI'e
Riot.

Il Ikl0Ga
The truth of the late election disturb
ance at Donaldsonville, Louisiana, has
leaked out, in spite of all the efforts of
| the State authorities of Louisiana to keep
| it back; and now It is q confessed fact
that two prominent citizens, Judge Lawes
and Mayor Shornburg, the one respecta-.
BILE Democrat and the other respectable
Radical, instead of being killed by q mob
of white men, were brutslly murdered by
Warmouth's negro militia, led on, it is
believed by negro constable. The evil
dence shows that the election passed off
without disturbance and excitement; there
was no threat of trouble, and, at the close
of the polls, the population of the town
was perfectly quiet But the commits
sioners of election insisted on taking the
ballot-boXes across the river to the Mar
chand plantation to count the votes, instead
of counting them in the Courthouse.
This was opposed by the towns people of
both parties, and the commissioners were
constrained to remain at Donaldsonville.
Next morning four colored militiamen
crossed the river in e skiff to
the town with an order from
the supervisor of election, Hunsaker,
for the boxes to be brought to the March
and place; these militiamen were cap
tured by the citizens and placed in Gus
tody. Enraged by this, fifteen hundred
negroes from the adjacent plantations as
sembled six miles below Donaldsonville,
and made arrangements to march into it,
in force, for the avowed purpose of burn
inor If n tha nrr0r7nd of thar
intention, the citizens deputed two of
their number, Judge Lawes and Mayor
Shonburg, one of each party, to entreat
the militia commander to prevent the
threatened violence, and it was while
riding up to the negro rendezvous with
flag of truce, in buggy, that they were
shot and killed by the militia, the body of
one of them being nearly hacked to pieces
with cane knives. The latest advices we
have from Donaldsonville state that the
white men charged with the murder of
Lawes and Shonburg have been released,
and the parish judge, r. K. Smith, and
the principal witness against them have
been arrested, the latter for perjury. and
the other for suhornstion of perjury:
The New Orleans Times says of the
affair:
'The guilt of these foul deeds is clearly
and distinctly brought home to certain
white Radicals in the parish of Ascen-
sion. 1t was by their instigation and in
flueIce that two of the best white citi-
zens of the parish, while engaged on
mission of peace, representing each of
the political parties engaged in the con-
troversy, were most brutally murdered.
They were shot while riding in their
buggy, bearing q message from an officer
of the State for the dispersal of an armed
force about TO march into the town of
Donaldsonville.
Had they been enemies in open war,
or even in a war with pirates, their char
acter as peace ambassadors, under the
safeguard of the superior officer of the
body which murdered them, ought to
have ensured their safety and respectful
treatment. Yet they were killed, evil
IDENTIFY under orders and by the instiga-
ton of notorious negro constable, ap-
pointed to his office by the Governor of
the State. Not only were they killed,
but the body of one of them, the fore
most and most esteemed man in the whole
parish, was, after he had fallen, rlddled
with musket balls and mutilated with
cuts of that frightful weapon, the sugar
cane knife.
''These are the plain facts of the &C.
currence which has so profoundly agitated
the people of Ascension and of the ada
cent country, as now revealed by the
very witnesses, negroes, who have been
suborned to prove that this foul deed was
committed by white men, who were per-
sonal and political friends of the murdered
men, and who were during the whole day
five miles from the scene of the tragedy.
The suborned negro, who was chiefly re-
lied upon, fortunately had not the intelli-
gence to maintain his original version,
and in cross examination broke down
and freely confessed that the affidavit
signed by him had never been read to him,
that he could not read himself, and was
prepared by one r. X. Smith, the parish
judge elect"