Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-03-14

any character OF testimony and III any
manner that prejudice or luminosity can
suggest, the minority continue:
fBut all this is manifestly the result of
a plan cut and dried by conspiracy
formed of disappointed politicians, who
have lost the confidence of their people,
and have been cast out of office by the
almost unanimous voice of a betrayed
and injured constituency. At the head
of this conspiracy plainly stands VIM. w.
Holden, the Governor of North Carolina,
and now undergoing trial by process of
impeachment for high crimes and INSIDE
mesnors ard gross abuses of his official
power. He has beggared the treasury of
bis State, and plundered, outraged, and
betrayed her people, and now looks TO
| the strong arm of the Federal Govern
ment as the only means of rescuing him
and his followers from the just punish
ment due their crimes In furtherance
of this scheme. the present measure was
| instituted, and this committee raised.
The two Senators from North Carolina
Abbott and Pool have efficiently aided
it, suggesting witnesses and supplying
iSterrogatories for their examination, and
sometimes escorting them in person to
the door of the committeeman. And
what is the character of these witnesses,
found ready and in attendance for exam
| iaation2 ..fa
'Joseph w. Holden, the son and &C
complete of Gov. VIM. Holden, heads the
list. he has been an Office holder, fatten-
ing on the corruptions of his fathers ad-
J ministration-thee editor of his party or
gan-snd even his testimony is almost en-
| tirely heGrsGy in its nature, and mad
Missile in courts of justice.
| George W. Kirk and George B. Ber-
gen come upon the scene; and, to the un-
dersigned, there seems a strange insensi
bility to the opinions of mankind, in the
| production of two such atrocious charac-
| tiers in the role of Witnesses in this case.
Neither of them were citizens of North
| Carolina, but were called from abroad by
Holden as fitting instruments for his dark
| and bloody intent. In violation of the
constitution of his State, he made these
two strangers to his people officers of
militia, and, having declared two coun-
ties (Alamsnce and Caswell) III state of
instruction, he gave the unhappy resi-
| dents over to the tender mercies of these
two rufflaas.
"The testimony discloses their absolute
denial of having insulted or maltreated
their prisoners in any way; and their per
| jury in these statements is fully proven
by the testimony of Lucian II. Murray,
Mr.. Kerr, Mr.. Turner, and others, who
were their prisoners" (The testimony
is quoted at length, showing various kinds
of maltrestmert and torture to extort
confessions, ETC., and the minority pro-
coed in the same manner to review the
testimony of William R. Albright, whom
they term ga violent, INSCRIPTIONS man, "
and of James E. Boyd, upon whose sole
testimony they say the majority largely
rely to justify them in their remarkable
conclusions respecting the condition of
society in North Carolina This witness,
the minority say, is very young man,
and, by his own statement, has little or
no personal knowledge of the matters
whereof he speaks They review his evi-
dence infinitely, and characterize it as
weak, corrupt, aud shsmbling.
In the same manner they impeach the
reliability of the testimony of the re-
mainder of the witnesses, not one of
whom, the minority assert, testifies TO
facts within his own knowledge tending
to prove North Carolina to be less safe as
place of residence than any portion of
the Union lying north Of her boundaries.
The minority then en'er upon an ex-
tensive argument to show that the dlsOr-
ders which have existed in North Caro-
Inns are attributable TO the misrule of the
so-called carpet-bag State officers, the
unwise legislation of Congress, and the
Vaccinations of the Loyal Leagues, in
citing and instigatiEg the negroes to Idle
ness, disaffection, and lawlessness. In
support of these propositions the miGOr-
ity quote very largely from the testimony
of Hon. John Kerr, ex-nember of Con
gress from North Carolina, N. A. Ram
sey, and q number of other witnesses,
who were examined and CROSSE examined
before the committee.
The minority say it will be seen from
the above statements that there has been
no resistance to the execution of the pro
cess of the courts, no obstruction to of.
fCers in the exercise Of their functions.
The report of the majority seeks to eVade
the force { f his facT, thus admitting the
fact by asserting that the Ku klux organ
ization is so banded together as to defeat
the ends of justice by intimidating wit
nesses to swear falsely in favor of the &C
cused, if he b longs to that order.
The reply to this is easy and complete
TIE statute law of the State gives to thu
solicitor and the judge the power to re
/ locality in, h
State to any other Locality, at the option
, of the prosecution. Every judge an(
every solicitor in the State was Radical
There were localities in the State il
which the Radicals predOminated over
whelmingly, and, if the crime was com
mitted where the influence of the Ku
klux prevented a conviction, it was only
necessary for the solicitor to max,
a motion, and the judge would orde,
! | the removal of the cause from county
| to county, until satisfactory venue wa
reached. Il is perfectly evident from tn,
, evidence, that the process of the court
, could be executed without military force
that no resistance was offered TO its exc
9 cution, and it is clear, also, that thu
causes could have been removed from AM
| place to some county in which fair tria
might have been had. Why, then, diC
the Governor prefer TO resort to the ex
IRENE measure of proclaiming the co un
ties of Alamance and Caswell in insur
,, rection, rather than use the remedie
= ready to his hand, of removing tn
causes to the counties in which convic
. tons might have been obtained? VIII,
!. did he call on the President for troops
: set on foot his negro militia, led by ruff
: ans imported into the State on account O.
their extraordinary brutality, and procee
4 to seize, imprison, insult and torture hi
/ prisoners
!. There is but one explanation. His oh
9 iect was to strike terror to the people ant
q drive them from the polls, and thus carr
the district and maintain himself and hi
fellow miscreants in power, end thus b
enabled to continue to plumber and tyran
. nize over the unhappy people who ha
! been subjected to his sway by the direC
action of the Congress of the Unite
States.
d This is the only explanation which ca
n be given for conduct so utterly unnecel
i sary. Who ever heard before of th
proclamation of martial law in countr
:, | where the process of the civil cour