The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1871-12-13

he IS Its frlenu. moreover, l we've
tie use Of the military for the exec,
tion of the laws with extreme repus
nance, and required that tho civ
authorities should first exhaust thei
powers through the posse comitntu
In the following letter, addressed t
the Sheriff of Fairfield County, an,
published for the information an,
guidance of peace officers in othc
Counties, I enjoined upon the loca
Magistrates and peace officers of tha
County to act with vigor, and, at al
hazards, to bring: these criminals t
justice, at least such Of them rs wer
known, and when there was prope
evidence on which warrant could is
sue:
"EXECUTIvE DEPARTMENT.
"CoLUMBIA, May, 2, 1871.
"To the Sheriff of Fairfield County,
SIR: I have been crcdibly informe,
by number of citizens Of Fairfel,
County, as we'll as by your own off
cial communication that on the nigh
of the Goth ult, q body Of armed mon
in disguise, rode into the town o
Winnsboro, and left at the houses O
several County officers Q written pa
per, in which they were commando
to resign, and threatened with vic
lenco if they failed to obey. AS yol
are the chief executive officer of tn
County, it is your duty to take meas
urcs to ascertain and bring to justice
these masked violators Of the. public
peace, and, for this purpose, yo'
should promptly invoke all the re
sources which the law places at you
disposal. In the last resort, shoult
the ordinary, service of process prove
inadequate to make the necessary az
rests, by reason of any armed ccmbi
nation, you will call out the posse conf
tutus, which call. | have no doubt, vii
be responded to by all good citizens
In all cases Of this character, wher'
citizens are put in terror by armet
bands Of lawless men, it is expected
that the local authorities should OK
haust all legal resources 10 give ade
quatc protection to life and property
before the State Executive can prop
erly, intervene by extraordinary eX
hibition of force, hitherto unknown
to the administration Of the laws iE
civilized communities, The failure o
the proper County officers to exer
their utmost vigilance to detect, ant
their most vigorous efforts to bring t
punishment, all disturbers of th'
peace, will be deemed evidence Of thei
flagrunt neglect Of duty or gross inef
fcicncy. 1t is grave rcproach t.
the people Of Winnsboro, that a bant
Of fifty disguised bolsemen shoulc
have been permitted to enter thei
town, and occupy it for several hours
with the declared purpose Of putting
in terror, or inilicting violence upol
thc sworn public officers Of the Coun
ly.
"In this connection, it is proper
that I should call your attention tc
the recent Act OF Congress, which
makes all citizens who are pl'ivy tc
any acts Of organized violence, and
fail to give any information in theil
possession that may lead to the arrest
Of the perpetrators, particeps criminis
in their guilt. Very respectfully,
"ROBERT X. SCOTT, Governor"
The officers did not act, being either
paralyacd by fear or in sympathy
with the criminals. In common with
many others, the loyal men among
them seemed to regard this as pure
ly personal government, and to OK
pect that the Executive should dis
charge all the duties Of the depart
ment Of the State.
At this juncturc, I determined to
make q final effort to restore public
order without military force, and
therefore invited prominent citizens
of the disatfccted section to a confer
encc with me at the capital. They
were all recognized leaders Of the op
position, and Of acknowledged intlu.
cnce in their respective Counties.
had hoped mnch from their. co-opera
ton in the interest OF law and order
which they professcd to advocate
knowing, as I did, that the masses o.
the whites in this State would, from
the mere force Of former discipline
heed their admonitions. The confer
encc was held. All Of these gentle
men denied the existence Of the H
Klux organization in South Carolina
while some Of them indirectly sought
to extcnuato acts Of violence tha
they could not well deny, by referring
them to what they were falsely pleas
ed to term "ncgro rule" They al
legged numerous acts Of inceudiarisn
by negroes, which allegations, dcriv
ed from the opposition press, and of
ten repeated, have been proved bas,
fabrications; in the main, designed t
offset or palliate the burning O
schooi-houscs erected for the instruc
ton of colorcd children. These gen
tlcmen, however, promised me thci
cooperation to the end in view, an
| believed them. l am not advised
any effort was made to fulfill thos
promises, Certainly they have cffecte;
nothing. Having exhausted all tn
civil power under my control to SUP
press this insurrection against tn
constituted authorities, I made appl
cation, in accordance with tho Const
tutiou of the United States, to th
National Government to protect tn
State against domestic violence.
The magnitude of this organized syE
tenn of crime was made apparent t
Congress, the evidence in the posses
sion of the Government showing tina
the Ku Klux bands IN South Carolin
were Gbut Darts of q stnnandor