The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1871-03-01


twosdozen of that GLASS who would !
have refused to shield the criminals,
Ten prisoners bavo been takon out of
the Jail by tho Ku.Klux and killed.
nine of whom were murderers Of
Stevens; the tenth was the negro who
shot the constable (Smith) on the first
day OF January. We condemn the
aot asunlawful and criminal, but for
she victims we have no sympathy.
ihe negroes, on the contrary, regard
with indifference tho decd in tho alb.
s'ract their only feeling in sympathy,
tor the murdered prisoners. ! =
The manifesto left here by tho Ku-
klux sufiicientl y explains tho iDme.
dlate cause Of the last raid on our jail.
TO take these prisonsrs-two of them
red to the elbow with the blood uf
Stevcns-to Columbia, where the log.
lslaturo was in session, composed, it
was believed, Of men in active SYM
rathy with the murderers, was thought
to be tantamoUnt to a relcnso. It was
unfortunate that Judge Thomas did
not order the return to the writ Of
habtGs corpus to be made before him
at Union, or at his home, which, it is
presumed, is within tho limits of his
circuit. The letter to the judge iudi-
Gates that he would sacrifice the peace
of society here, and turn the prison
ers loose, to save his Office. The Ku.
klux thought the escape of tho pris-
onors would be an evil, compared to
which tho loss Of Judge Thomas to
the bench Of the Sixth Circuit would
DC insignificant. Such escape would
be wrong to their race, aud one of
those wrongs which could find redress
ouly from their band. They we're
under another namo--a vigilance COM
mittce, with this difference e-vigilance
committees generally have the tacit
approval of their government the
ku.klux operate upon crimes COM
mitted by class of citizens specially
protected, bcfriendcd and honored by
our State. The vigilance committee
is, however, an unlawful organization
80 is the Ku-Klux. Tho acts Of
the ono find all exact counterpart in
tho other for, so far as known, the
victims of Ku-Klux have been bad
mon dangerous citizens aud we'll
known murdcrers.
We are no apologist for the Ku.
Klux. Nothing here written is an
apology. The reader who 80 con.
strucs this letter inds excuse sufficient
in what We have enumerated simply
rs causes. We cannot excuse these
self-constituted avengers Of white
mems wrongs. Crime bcgets crime,
but docs not excuse it. To kill
murderer is murder. To be prosecu-
tor, judge jury and sheriff is fearful
sin-a sin legally and morally, aud q
sin III His eyes to whom bolongeth
vengcan 20. We may have no JUS ice,
but tier to suffer and to wait. A
bad government ia better than no
government Mt all. Injustice is bet
: ter than anarchy.
Negro militia can never stop the
evil, no matter now strong in num-
bers.
Tho Columbia Union advises that
they be sent, and the c,unty taxed to
pay for them. We advise tho Union
to mako calculation of the cost of
maintaining thousand soldiers for q
year, and compare it with the asscsa-
cd value Of property in this county.
The proposition is ridiculous. Negro
militia arc powcrlcss against them.
They may be stopped, but only 10 ono
Way-rcmovc tho causes which made
thom fancy thoir organization neees.
sity ; restore good government give
tho State upright and able judges and
honest officials stop the frightful ex.
ponditure of public money 10 Colum.
bia prosecute, indict and bring to
trial such men as Neagle, Parker and
Crews disband tha negro militia {,
give tho people intelligent jurors, and
let convicts be punished, and then
will the ku.Klux be thing of the
past. But let tho Legislature and
the State officials 60 on as they have
gone on, and the time will soon bo
when raids into Colum ola, and around
that capitol building, will cause our
highly virtuous and intelligent legis-
lators to forget Union and Union mur-
derers. ''''" "'.
One moro word. We arc all sus.
pccted of active sympathy with the
Ku-Klux, because we do not bring
them to trial. The thing is impossi,
bic. They shroud themselves in
mystery which no ono can unravel.
Whence they come, and whittier thoy
60, no one knows. Their voices arc
not recognized; their horsos are not
known. They are never seen in day
light only in night. It would Sc en-
that negroes would know when their
masters loft home, and took their
horses out Of the stable; would come
times SEQ their DISCUSSES, notioc tho
jadcd appearance Of man and horse
after night Of wakefulness and hard
riding. But it is not SO. No negro