Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-04-07


mans attention to the fact that IN Iowa tue
other day men disguised went into the
post Office there, took out the postmaster
and lashed him.
Mr.. WaddeH YES, sir, men disguised
with masks.
Mr.. Ell lrdgC. According to the alleged
Ku-Klux plan. =.
Mr.. Waddell do not excuse or palll-
ate these offenses. nor do my constituents
! and T do not intand TO be forced into any
sucl position by gentlemen. who appear
10 be unable or unwilling to distinguish
bet ween opposition to uDJust and uncou-
stitutional legislation and sympathy with
the crimes to the suppression of which
that legislation is directed. But while 1
admit that crimes have been committed
and that from various causes the perpe
traitors of them have escaped punishment,
l do most emphaticslly deny that the
people, or any considerable portion of
them, countenance or encourage the wrong
doors. I deny that there has been or Is
now any resistance to the execution of the
laws, State or Federal. [ deny that the
property or lives of loyal men (which too
often means licensed fhieves) are not safe
down there and assert that the hum
best officer in the State, even though he
be negro constable, go black that char
coal would make white mark on him, eau
go in safety, alone. and at midnight, aud
arrest the best citizen of the State.
| Admitting all that can Justly and truth
fully be said against her people, l assert
that III no State of this Union is there now
or has there been less crime of any kind
than in the State Of North Carolina. |
assert that a more quiet peaceable, and
aw-abiding people than her citizens do
not live on earth, not even excepting that
favored land which was blessed by the ma
tivity and now rel oices in the existence OF
the gentleman from Massachusetts. Still
they have been pilloried before the world
as decivilized community, in which social
chaos prevailed the State has been repre-
scnted as one in which the genius OF muir
der held high carnival, an accursed
land of outlaws and essassins, IN which
| there was no protection for life, liberty,
: or property. and upon which the iron
hand If military power must be laid to re
duce it to order and peace!
We, her Repre- sentatives on this floor,
have sat quietly and listened to the denun-
Citations OF our people by gentlemen who
: have no other acquaintance with them than
such as they have gathered from their SLAM
derers and traducers, until we would have
been lost in amazement except for the fact
t that no style of argument other than that
OF generosity can surprise US. We have no
: bitter words to say to gentlemen on the
other side while defending our State and
our people. They have worn the collar six
long, weary years in silence and sorrow,
and if they had not been sustained by the
, deathless spirit of true herOlsm and love OF
l liberty they would have utterly succumbed
to their fate They must still submit tn
whatever legislation is provided for them ;
l but, although reduced to a condition OF
; political degradation heretofore unknown
in tins country, although smltten by pow
erty, plundered and oppressed, they still
struggle manfully on, ciuging to the hope
that their countrymen will yet do them
4 tSNf r1rI0t
L will describe to you in a few words the
= true condition of the people of North Car
Q DINA after the war, and their exper. ence
) during the past five years Of Republican
E rule, while under the absolute control of
= :" the party of progress and great moral
. ideaa," and I will say at the outset that no
. party in the history of this country ever
u had such an opportunity to perpetuate its
= power by intrenching itself behind i'm
pregnable lines, and no party ever so ut
10 terly wasted its opportunities and so Gov
J. cred itself with disgrace. Coming out OF
the great struggle like strong man ex-
10 hausted by fever, the State lay PROSTATE
(; and helpless I shall not insult the intel
"a ligence of the House by dwelling on the
10 evils attending the humiliation of the en-
10 tire labor system of a country at single
I blow, nor shall I harrow my own feelings
10 by q recital of the sufferings and humllla
tions to which our people were subjected
u Suffice it to say that they presented con
i dition which demanded, if not the expert
y ment of active charity, at least the priv
m lege of exemption from further molesta
y ton. They had complied with all that wa
III required of them by the Government. ant
u only desired to rebuild, as best they might
d their waste places. The public debt O
40 the State, principal and interest, wa
ID about seventeen million dollars. an I'm
g. mense sum to people SO impoverished a
a they were.
- Well. sir, without going further into de
. tails. this was our condition when " tn
~ party of great moral ideas took posses
~ sion. They proclaimed their intention
- be, while elevatipg the colored race, to IL
~, aupurate a new era of reform in all othe
10 respects-an enterprise, for his particips
ia ton in which, one of the new Legislator
oh ode arrives Of grabity," region whlc
~ the plummet of philology has, I believ'
or never yet explored.
az They took charge of all the department
in of the State government, and after mutt
inn plying officers al imtf'attuna under const
a. tuition entirely new to the people att
- wiping out the judicial system which ha
mn become venerable, and to which the PEI
'" pie were attached, even descending III
spirit of petty revenge to the business
L changing the names of localities OHenslv
Iv after destroying the State Universal
no without substituting anything in its stea
10 and after many similar pEeliminaries, the
do increased the State debt at a single boui
,1rs to the comfortable figure OF $35, OOO. 600 +
az the purpose of building railroads and d.
to veloping resources generally, IN the esta
~ lishment of free bar room In the cap1tc
81 with peanuts thrown in, Legislative fe
90. accomplished by the iudicious expenditu
of 5000, 900. Ten millions of this debt ma
~ ing been declared unconstitutionai by Il
"a supreme Court, there was still left 81
fIeo now stands debt of $25, 600, 600. !
20 20 railroad has been built, and the money "
ant used by loyal gentleman named Httl
~ field, from Pennsylvania, and an enterp
sing native named Swepson, partly b
,ssa lieve in buying out the State of Florl
' n15 from gentleman from Wisconsin.
a ;ah LOYAL Leagues had been organiz
a on throughout the State, in which the color
aPT population were welded together IN sol