Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-11-29

uuire into the condition of affairs in Geor-
Eia, Florida and North and South CaFoli-
ma, of which Hon. Horace Maynard, of
your city, is Chairman, has completed its
tour through the States named. reaching
this city to-day, noon. The Committee
held two sessions, one III Georgia at At
lanta of twenty days and one in Florida at
Jacksonville, of four days. During this
time they examined .oAe hundred and thir-
ty-eight witnesses in Georgia and thirty
four in Florida-one hundred and seventy
two in all, Its labors have been arduous,
and, to the able Chairman of the Commit
tee, laborious.
/ have not heretofore deemed it eXpe-
dent to refer to the character of the testi-
mony elected, but as the Democratic press
of Georgia have, with u bitterness and
mendacity astonishing to every fair man,
traduced the members of the Committee
and misrepresented their motives and the
results they have secured, l deem it but
Just to notice some of these more aggra-
waited charges.
In the first place, it has been alleged that
the Committee was strictly partisan, and
that the people of the South had no OPP
portunity to meet the falsehoods testified
to by "periured wenches and debased
scoundrels'n 1t is only necessary to say
in reply to this that two of the five men,
bers of the Committee were able, jealous
Democrats, and that every request on their
part for summoning witnesses in their be-
half was promptly granted by the major
ity, and that their cross examinations were
full and comprehensive.
The next charge relied upon to create
popular prejudice against the Committee
was, that the witnesses examined were
mostly "niggers.n The best answer to
this is given in the fact that, when the
Committee reached Georgia, some seventy
or more witnesses, who had been III at
ffo1C Tot,
tifying before the Grand Jury, remained
after that Court adjourned and narrated
their tales Of horror to the Committee, and
in the further fact that they are generally
the "victimsn of these outrages. They
We're not turned away by the Commit
tee, for their mutilated bodies were, in
themselves, the strongest testimony
to the utter barbarity of this most
inhuman organization. Some of these wit
nesses testified to cases of such gross inhu-
manity as to move to tears every member
of the Committee. 1t frequently happen
ed that the most indignant and Severest
denunciation of such conduct came from
Senator Bayard, one of the Democratic
members of the Committee. Mr.. Voorhees,
left the Committee soon after it met ON ac-
count of sickness. Extreme cases of whip
ping and scourging were numerous. Wo-
men, white and black, were in many eases
compelled to strip and submit to inhuman
outrages and beatings. The Committee
had before them one smart, bright colored
man who had been cdstrdted by band of
disguised wretches. No wonder that when
such monstrous evidence, truthful beyond
doubt, was adduced the Democratic press
of Georgia with scarcely an honorable ex-
ception, found it necessary to denounce
the Committee and impeach by general
charges the witnesses. These poor crea-
lures who bore on their persons marks of
great violence were denounced as "perjur-
ed wenchesn by high toned (?l Democratic
sheets, because, as was falsely alleged on
some immaterial facts, they did not agree.
But do not propose here to notice the
policy of these journals, further than to
say, generally, that either directly or indi-
rectly they excused these felons who had
disgraced their State. Occasionally, even
in articles condemning the khan, they
would half break the force of their articles
10y apologies.
The Committee found in some sections
of Georgia great lawlessness and a condi-
ton OF affairs bordering,On anarchy. Evil
dence was aduced showing in some cOun-
ties that jurors and witnesses were so in
undated that the officers of the law, even
when willing, were unable to prosecute
guilty parties. n
Witnesses declared To the Committee that
they feared to go back to their homes, be-
Heving their lives in danger and very
slept away from their homes like be5ists in
the woods and secure retreats. One wit
ness paid, as the price of testifying in re-
Spouse TO his summons, twelve thousand
dollars; for, on the night of the day when
he offended the khan by telling of theil
outrages, they burned his mills and cotton
Of course, there were plenty of gentlemen
TO swear that all was quiet and peaceable
But, in the face of the fact that murder.
and scourgings and burnings and lawless
ness of every kiud Enthusiastically exist
and, worse than all, when the offender,
are t0ll1p5ltshed, what does such negative
testimony amount to? 1t is the old stor,
of two men swearing they did not sec tn.
whipping to one who produced the scar
and who felt the blows. .r .sa
L have no authority for saying what ae
ton will follow the publication of thismas
OF testimony. The facts are sufficient 3,
warrant extreme measures, and unless tn,
people of Georgia and Florida make an
their mind to set their own houses in or
der, TO make their local courts enfore,
laws and protect the helpless, the Genera
Government most certainly will. III WoTIl,
be crime to suffer such oppression AM
outrages to continue. Every unoffendIDi
citizen is entitled 10 the protection com
monty granted in civilized society and tn,
men who are now oppressed because o
their adherence to the government or tn,
dominant political party, must be protect
ed by the strong arm of the Governments :
In Florida, pretty much the same fact
We're proyed,,7 IN one county, since tn,