Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-09-29


NATIONAL COMMERCIAL CONVENTION
Colonel VIM. Johnston, J. L. Morehead
and j. +. Stenhouse, of Charlotte, are the
only delegates from North Carolina pres
emit at the organiza ton of the National
Commercial Convention now in session at
Baltimore. Colonel Morehead was selected
as one of the Vice-Presidents.
From The Baltimore Sun.
The Political Prosecutions In North Car
DINA.
The political trials which are now in
progress in North Carolina before Judge
Bond, and of which some account has
already been given in the Sun, furnish a
practical illustration of the abuses to which
the h0'h luX act may lead Those pro-
visions of the act which at the time OF its
| passage and since have attracted most
attention and excited most comment were
| those which ciOthc the Executive with a
power above and beyond all law, beyond
any authority in Congress to confer, and
the exercise of which would virtually oblit-
crate all State authority aud PROSTATE the
civil at the foot OF tho military DOVER
| The great qus StiOn has been whether the
| President would exerci. e these extraor'i-
nary and extra Constitutional bowers as
from time TO time he has been urged to do
| by some OF the members OF the congress
elODai committee on * Southern Outraoes -
so-caIled, and by the more reckless and
violent portion Of the radical press. Thus
far, to the great relief of the country,
President Grant has listened 10 more mod
crate couneelS and forborne to give to these
features of the Ku-Klux ac5 the practical
enforcement desired by senator Scott
We ha7o had no proclamation of martial
law by the federal authority within the
limits OF Ii State, and nO substitution of
the reign OF provost marshals and military
courts tor the ordinary course of OWL JUS
! tice. We have now in North Carolina.
| however, an illustration of the ordinary
workings of the act, without the interview
ton OF the Executive, aud ia tho fea-
lures which relate TO the daily admins
iratiOn of justice in the federal courts.
1t should be remembered, moreover that
what Is being done in North Carolina NAV
be done anywhere--whe-ever there al g
United States judges, Iaarahals and grand
lntlHs, In other words. in aey State or
| Territory Lf the Union Just US he same
right IF Executive Interference, in deroga-
| tlOI AID TO the excIu ion Of State authUri
| ~, If 1t exist at all, must exist equally III
New York and in SOuth CarOnna. Al
| though ev wediy dt signed 10 affect imme
dia,ely and directly tue Sta tes which were
| 'lately IL rebellion" the hu-klux Cct is
q general Statute, applicable to the whole
country. PtaeticA!Iy intended to subserve
was osteDsibty passed IT, meet the contln-
geDcy Of possible denial If justice in the
State courts and o. :; failure or neglect of
State authority 10 prO;eot the civil as we'll
as political rights Of citizens. 1t is this
consideration which gives particular oint
and Significance TO the trials which are now
taking Place IL North Carolina.
These trials are being conducted with
all the external forns If law, III the United
States Circuit COurf, at Raleigh, Judges
| Bond and Brooks u pOD the bench. There
have been regular indictments found by q
grand jury, and while eome of the parties
ACCUSED have been convicted, others have
been acquitted, and others again have
D eaded guNty. But convicted of what ?
Guilty OF what 3D.? OF belonging to secret
Organization called the Invisible En-
pre-" whose Oatns. ritual, grips and pass
words have been duly exposed, and which
is charged to Do the organization respon-
sible for the various 'outrages," the per
petration of which has fired the Northern
heart and rendered the passage of the Ku-
Klux act necessary.
| It is not necessary, it appears, accord
to the judicial construction of the act, that
the parties on trial should themselves
have been personally or directly concern
ed in the mmissiou Of any F'outrage. -
If the organization to which they belong
that is, any members of the organization
have been guilty of any Outrage" that
is evident enough to warrant their con
viction under the act Their crime, il
any, is that of belonging to society which
calls itself an 'invis1ble empire" whose
lodges are called ''dens,'' and whose high
dignitaries are designated as Grand
turks" Grand Monks" aud might
Hawks If the matter were not so serl-
Gus, it would be nrss.rate comedy. As
it s, it illustrates the wickeduess aud he
folly of this attempt, on the part of tn,
Radical party, to make mountains out of
mole-hilis. and to twisG this ''Ku klux"
nonsense into the semOl4nct # a crime. -
There Is not State in the UDi,n VIII -
crimi, al code is not sufficient to reach aud
to punish every off nso against persons or
property OF which the laws of clvlzilized
communities take cognIza9 zee. We d"
not believe that uffeus es of either elias
are of more frequent occurrence in the
South than in the NORTH or W ST, or 10
New York city, for example Certainly,
the most atrocious instances of crime Of
which We hear do not occur In the lml ov-
eriohed and sparseIy-S e. tied regions #
he South, but IN the older, wealthier and
mora crowded centres of population. Tha
any organization of any kind exists in the
ISouth, leagued together for the commits
sion Of such offenses, or animated by any
spirit of hostility towards the government
IO1 GOO On1C0u OidtCS, las uOU OSeu pIONSus
and we do not believe. It is the assnmp-
ton, however, upon WHICH such legisla-
ton as the Ku-klux &C: is based, and
such trials and convictions as are taking
place at Raleigh, are justified.
COnceding ii to be fact that there is q
society called the Invisible Empire"
with it's absurd nomenclature and Iantas-
tic ritual, in existence in North Carolina,
il does not follow that is purposes are
criminal, or that belong iDg to it is crime.
So far as We Can judge from the published
reports OF these trials, with almost as
much propriety might the fact that GER
taiu Masons or Oad-Felows hay ten
guilty of the 'outrages" in question be
made the foundation of a prosecution
against all other Masons aud Old-Fellows
for belonging to those societies. The love
OF the American p 9op Tor secret organi-
cations, whose purposes are either laud-
able or at leat harmless. but using the
bait OF mystery to attract members and
give zest to their meetings, is something
marked. Tt is almost trait in Our ma