Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-12-15
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TiiS.e

Could the inhabitant Of another sphere be
transported to this our planet, and made to
alight in either of the CarOlinas, he would
doubtless infer, if ignorant Of the true rea-
SONS, that the ''rlllcr'' Of this happy (?) land
was actuated by the most laldablc ambi-
ton to do Justice and suppress crime. On
all hands he would find the iails crowded,
and fresh criminals constantly arriving: the
officers Of the constabulaIy continually on
the alert, arreStinG men and even women
upon the slightest faint Of suspicion =; the
old set forms of law set aside or ignored as
too dilatQry for the occasion, and superseded
by new fOrmS-SWih, sure and Draconian
in their results. He would see whole COM
munitics panicked women weeping and
men fleeing, lest they, too; should be slIs-
pacted or informed against for, they know
not what.
But wise presumption of the law, it is a
tacit admission of guilt, and arrest follows.
Such, | say, would be the natural thought
OF a stranger in their midst ut first blush
When told that these men were not UIltIC-
quently not even suspected Of al over act
Of crimnality, but simply Of confrdclating
to do it, under certain circumstances, he
could but fclicitate the people in whose
midst the bare contemplation Of crime is
punished with such lmerTing riGor. lie
would see in this reprcSsOfV process, the re-
6illLsttlOll VI tol IlllID tOHlih'N hif'dlll cl
pandemonum. If Il man OF tie world, if
not OF hi~, he would, however, upon rcflcc-
ton he more likely to apprchcnd the last,
than hope for the first. Especially would
he be driven irTcSiStibly to this conclusion
when told that close Onth2 confines Ufthcsp
two very States, half = dozen outlaws had
banded Themselves together for years and
babe defiance to this 0mnpOtcnt laW-lOyiu%
ruler, committing in the meanwhile crimes
of tn" darkest dye, not emitting some score
or more of murders. That these atrocities
were admitted, nay, glorficd in by the per
petratOrs and acquoSced III after make
believe pursuit by this sapicnt crime-stlp-
pressing ruler and his myrmidOnS.
But diScarliDg metaphor and coming
down to the memorable logic of facts, what
do we see? a state of things on the one
hand but family portrayed in the foregoing
remarks; anarchy substituted for order, Ii
cense for law, a widespread and we'll
founded terrorism in lieu of protc,Iiun, and
" c powers eternal! Can such Things be
all done in the name of law, anh liberty,
and safeguard? On the other hand, u qt'1fSj
"plenalY Indulgence" accorded six or eight
mcdrnatc ticndS to murder, rob and raFish
a helpless, InOficnding people. | say a.
cord tor the failure to suppress IS taiIta-
mount to accord. Can any adhcrcnt and
admirers CD of our most gracious majesty"
see in his failure to bring to cOndiIn punish
meIt the notorious gang of cut-thrOatS
in RObeSUn county, y. C., known as the
LOWery gang, aught else tlIan qEuHi sane
ton of all they do g? a fig for the excuse
that they cannot be caught. Suppose that
instead of negroes and mOngrels lcagucd
together by motives of rapinc or revenge,
they had been white men prescribed IS XII
kluN who had, in the absence Of law, TN
der the strongest projection taken the law
into their own hands, does any one doubt
their capture, trial and conviction? My
word for it, they would have been unCartll-
cd though it had required Il GORDON of
troops sufficient to circlmscibe the Robe
son county swamp OF tn" Dismal either. 50
much for the glorious privilege under this
glorious dynasty of being a negro, mcotizO
or mulattO!
y captiOuS spirit might assert That Il fcl-
IOw-feeling should make these two men,
Henry Berry LoWery and Ulysses. Grant,
(placing them in the order Of meriD, most
wondrOuS kind, the one towards the other,
inasmrIch as they are both pursuing the
same line OF conduct, utter disregard Of the
rights Of others, but by different channels.
For one, | hold it a moot question: which is
the greatest criminal-thc black maraUder,
who ScrupleS not at life, or the man in alt
thority who winks at the others crimes
nay, who initiates them to the extent of de
privation of liberty of the citizen, without
adequate cause, for his own base, selfish
ends; who goes further, and strikes down
the inalicnable writ of right. and thereby
plants the StilettO in the hearts blood Of his
country The language is strong, but the
incentive is stronger for he who write is a
CAROLINIAN