Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-03-14
CONGRESS AND THE SOU III.
The Investigation of Alleged
Southern Outrages
Reports of Senete Committee
& ON North Carolina
MAJORITY REPORT.

MAJOhIkI HkfOhls o
Mr.. Scott, from the select committee
of the Senate to investigate alleged out
RACES In the Southern States, submitted
to that body, on the 10th inst, a report
of the result of Investigations by ma
jority of that committee in regard to
North Carolina. The report and accom-
panying testimony covers between five
and six hundred octave pages. The COM
mittee arrive at the following conclusions:
i. That the Ku-Klux organization
does exist, has political purpose, is com
posed of members of the Democratic or
Conservative party, has sought to carry
out its purpose by murders, whipping, in
timidation and violence against its oppo-
nents.
2. That it not only binds its members
to carry out DEGREES of crime, but pro-
tects them against conviction and punish
ment: first by DISCUSSES and secresy;
second, by perjury, if necessary, upon
the witness-stand and in the jury box.
8. That of all the offenders against the
law in this order, land they must be many
hundreds, il not thousands, because these
crimes are shown to be committed by or
ganized bands ranging from ten up to
seventy-five,) not one has yet been con-
victed in the whole State.
Such being the state of affairs, the com
mittee say it is not necessary to argue the
insufficiency of the reasons given for es-
tablishing an order which has led to such
results. Whatever may have been the
offences of the Ku-Klux, or the offences
of those TO counteract whom they allege
the order was established, it has now
gone 80 far as to present the issue be-
tween government and anarchy; and if it
has not reached it is fast approaching the
point where in that issue there can be no
neutrals. With such an army of crimi-
pals at large; with no power in the State
tribunals TO bring them to justice; with
the consciousness that they number
enough to turn the political power in ia
vor of the party with which they act, so
lsng as their violence and intimidation
are successful against those whom they
oppose; with these facts in view, he must
have a credulous nature who believes
that any temporary lull in the activity of
such an agency st once of crime and of
power imports continued security to those
who must become either victims of their
crime or submissive suppliants of their
power.
The testimony is very voluminous, the
committee having allowed the largest lat
itude in the examination of witnesses,
and much of the evidence is on questions
apparently foreign to the business of the
committee, such as the management of
the railroads and the disposition of the
State securities by railroad presidents.
The committee say that they have re-
ceived communications of Outrages from
several other States. Complaints made
that within the last two weeks the capital
of Kentucky was entered in the night by a
body of men armed and masked, who pro-
ceeded to the jail, took possession of it,
set at liberty man charged with muir
der, and then rode away unmolested.
Shortly before that the jail at Union,
South Carolina, was entered and ten pris-
oners taken out and killed. Like COM
PLANTS of murder, scourging and violence
without redress, and demands for inves-
tigation and the protecting arm of the
government against these lawless maraud-
ers have been forwarded from the States
of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabsms,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Virgins, Ken
lucky and Tennessee. Into none of
these could the committee examine, con
sideripg it better to pursue their inquiries
to completion in one State, rather than
take partial and disjointed statements as
to all, and leaving to the Senate the de-
termin alton whether the Investigation Il
to be pursued or not
The report is signed by Messrs. John
Scott, 2. Chandler, Henry Wilson, Benz.
F. Rice and Jas. w. Nye.
MINORITY REPORT. .
After citing the resolution under which
the committee was appointed, and refer
ring to the reports transmitted by the
President in answer to the Senate resolu.
ton of inquiry in relation TO the ALLEGED
organization of disloyal persons in Nortl
Carolina, the minority say:
s'Thus, it will appear that the resolu
ton under which the 8. ecial committee
was appointed was founded on the re,
ports transmitted as aforesaid by the
President.
sGnstantly upon their appointment, tn,
committee organized, and proceeded with
out delay to examine witnesses, who wer
apparently all ready in waiting in the cit.
of Washington, to-wit: the son of Gov
Holden, Col. George w. Kirk, and Der
| gen, his lieutenant colonel.
'INo opportunity (save that afforded b.
its single reading in the Senste) has beer
| given the undersigned to inspect the re
port of the majority, or obtain prope
knowledge of its contents. The repor
was read once, and instantly transmitte'
to the printer, by whom it has not ye
been returned.
s'We desire to attract the attention o
the Senate to the scope of the resolution
under which the committee have acted
TO inquire into the truth or falsehood o
crimes and outrsges of political chsl
acter in the Southern States. Hele is q
unlimited field of general allegation
qualified only by the word political, an
conveying nothing definite to the com
munities whose domestic affairs were
without notice or specified charges, +
have Congressional drag-net throw
over them and be hauled before the CON
mittee; and the closing paragraph of tn
resolution only aggravated the danger
and difficulties of such an inquisition b
inquiring whether there be in those Stat,
security for person and property.
After saying that no State has passe
any law in violation of the fOurteent
amendment, and that no question he
been made relative to the exercise c
power in the emergencies set forth in Il
4th section of article 8 of the Constitu
ton, the minority continue: ''The III
dersigned are, therefore, at loss to di
cover whence such power is derived as
set forth in the resolution and acted upo
by the committee, and therefore they pre-
test, in the name and under the limit,
tions of the Constitution of the Unite
States, against any and all action of q
Linquisitorial character into the intern,
and domestic affairs of any of the States
or any attempt by Congress or the E,
ecutive to interfere with the State go1
ernments or citizens individually as
matters not cognizable by the FEEDER
Government under the Constitution"
In view of the fact that North Carolin
is in all respects under the Constitute
and laws upon an equal footing with q
the other States of the Union, the mino
ity assert that any claim of power to il
vestigate the internal and domestic sffai
of that State, to invade her police powe,
| e oootrol o1Tar oil y,nofforc L