Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-12-15
Sampson County Fair-COunty Mat
terS. DC.

7
Friday, the third day of the Fair, my &C
| count Of all of its appointments and detail
must necessarily be somewhat meagre anC
| imperfect. Owing to the intensely cole
! weather the Annual Address was not de
! 4ivered until yesterday (Friday), we there
fore had the good fortune to he present ant
hear it, As most of your readers have bee1
previously informed through your paper, i
was delivered by r. X. Bryan, Esq, o
! your county. 1t came nearer to our idc;
of an address for such occasions than man,
we have heard, and While we cannot, fQ
want of time, give even a brief synopsis o
its subject matter, we will say that it wa:
replete with sound reasoning, full of prac
teal suggestions and proved to a demon
StratiOn that we have lin oar State the abili
ty to live, not only with great comfort anC
ease, but almost independently of the bal
ance Of the world, if our people would Ell
gage earnestly and cnergetically in the de-
velopmcnt Of the boundlcSs resources anC
industrial interests of our State.
The attendance upon the Fai", consider
ing everything, 45'as very large. Such wild
and eXtravagant rUnlOrS we're III circula-
ton concerning the military occupation and
arrests i'll the county a great many persons
were deferred from either going themselves
OF forwarding articles for exhibition. Yet
the indOmitable energy and enterprise OF
the farmers and others seemed sufficient to
overcome these obstacles, AMI i'll some re-
spects this County Fair surpassed the State
and District Fairs. In hogs, cattle, sheep,
poultry, &c. it distanced, both in numbers
and quality, most of the Fairs Of the State
held the present year. Some of the hogs
and cattle were the finest have ever seen
on exhibition.
On Thursday U was infUrmed) wagon
containing one OF these mammoth hogs
was drawn around the track by ten yoke of
magnificent oxen, and from the numbers on
exhibition, would judge that other ten
yoke could have been attached to the wagon.
l saw a turkey gobler exhibited, L was told
by w. L. FaisOn, Esq, the polite and gen
tlemanly Secretary of the Society, that
looked almost huge enough to have helped
pull the great hog wagon.
1t has often been said Of Sampson, Gocll-
larly.) that her chief articles of export were
hOop-polcS and hucklcberlies, carried on
under the general name and style Of the
fruit and iln.40Cr trade. Now while she
Justly claims great abundance OF these two
commodities, also large quantities Of tlr-
peltine and the finest pine timber, she is
not one whit behind her sisters or any other
county of the State, in the energy of her
people or the fertility of her soil. She has
vast mari beds and muck beds and facilities
for composing, sufficient to make all OF hCI
fields as rich as a garden.
Just before the close of the war she had
to bear up and feed for several days Sher-
man and Fitzpatrick S armies; Il part of John
sons, and great SWaImS of BJUmmcrS fed
like hungry wolves for some time upon the
little that was left after the great march
through the county. In some sections the
sIlfferingS and want was beyond deScrp-
ton, and actual starvation of large num-
bers was only prevented by a spirit Of ben
evidence and kindness almost without a
parallel on the part Of those who were for
tunatc enough to save q little food, and di-
viding it out among the needy until early
vegetables and fruits came totheir relief. In
an area of ten miles square or more, there
was scarcely a fence rail left around the farms
or gardens: yet, after all this devastation
and ruin, these people appear to be recuper-
ating amazingly i'll all their agricultural and
industrial pursuits and are Vieng with each
other in producing the largest yield of all
the great staples to the acre-the finest
stock, &c. In fact, they seem to be apply
ing themselves aSSiduOusly to the ''artS of
peace" and not Of war.
Yet with all this thrift and devotion to
her material interests, we find that by some
means they have increased the diSpleaSure
of the Radical party, and the decree has
humbled.' ''She must be brought to feel
the strong arm of military power and mill
tary occupation" .'She must be hUmilinted
and disgraced' This flippant phraseology
has passed into adoption recently by this
party of peace, progress, and great moral
ideas, and more than once has been applied
to the doomed old county of Sampson by
secret cOnclaves, plotting against her peace
and welfare.
This gallant old county enjoys All envia-
ble reputation for manlineSS and bravery
whether i'll war or peace, her men are
noble, generous and independent; they
have chosen to differ in political sentiment
from the National Administration Party
herein we suppose consists their chief and
greatest sin. They have only exercised
what they conceived to be their just rights
of opinion and conscience they, or the
great majority of the more intelligent and
Influential men, have all along cOunselled
obedience to law and order, | am sure
when these matters of which they are
charged shall have undergone an impartial
investigation, they will stand eXculpateC
from even the shadow of suspicion. There
have been few isolated cases OfSdisorder
and unfortunately, two or three murders
within the last four years, but 1t IS alleged
bv the best men i'll the county
that not one OF IllcSc cases St1
the result of political Feeling. Nor is
it believed of any secret political Organiza
ton, but were the acts ofrash, impetuous, anC
perhaps intoxicated men; and it is asserted
and believed that the same, OF perhaps
larger number of cases, now commonly
STYLED by the Radical officials and press
..Ku-KIux" could be fiShed up III any
other county Of the same population III the
State. We would ask, is there one particle
of Justice in such treatment by Il govern
ment we are required to obey and asked tC
respect and love? Why such invidiou!
discrimination against the county of Samp
son. WHY infiict this military terrorism
over men, women and children. 1t is re
norted that some have confessed before the
commissioners of having belonged alter
| nately to the League" ''llerOes| amC
| EBrotherhOOd" as often as each Influence
| predOminated in their respective lOcalltles
| it is quite certain that the ''loyal league
| first set the example of a secret political or
! ganization. In many portions OF the STATE
barns were burned, houses were entered
robbed and burned, and the aged and TIN
Young inmates foully and brutally murder
ed by the members of the league. W.
know of several instances in your county
Mr.. Editor, where the poor deluded neSrOe
that were enticed into the leagues Wer
whipped almost to death for not going on
to the polls to vote for the league candl
dates. Many 1utrages were committed AM
confessed by them. This was not Onl
| winked at by the party in power, but tn
| ssleagues' were encouraged and sustained
by that party. All these leagues and he
rOes and klans are wrong, but do not foste
and encourage the one and put the other t.
the rack and the inquisition. oh, con