Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-10-27

|
tial law in South Carolina. purporting to
have been signed at Washington, yester-
day-he being at that time in Maine. near
IL thousand miles from the Federal Cap
ital-i is proof positive that the whole mat
tor bai been prearranged. The earlier
proclamation calling upon the alleged ku
Kiux TO give up their arms and d1sgulses
within five days, was simply disgracefnl
device TO Justify the proclamation Of mar
tial law. II there were Ku-Klux IN the
counties ngmed, they would simply have
been fools TO come forward and avow
themselves es such, and SO lay themselves
open, by their OWL confession. to the
tender nercies of the United States Mar
shall and his Deputies, If, on the other
hand, there were no Ku Clux, there
would be. of course, no arms and dis
guises to give up. The earlier proclama-
ton wac. therefore. simply trap set by
President Grant and his advisers, with
a perfect knowledge that no response
| would, or could be made to it, and that q
colorado pretext would thus be furnished
for the declaration of martial law which
followed even before the five days grace
had ext ired. The President repeats his
assertion that 'unlaWful combinations
and conspiracies, organized and armed,
and SO numerous aud powerful as to be
able TO overthrow or set at defiance the
authority f the United States" do con-
put under bay onet rule. To this assertion
the most reputable journals in South Caro-.
! lima give a Il at denial. To serve his own
| selfish ends President Grant seeks to i'm
press the Northern people with the belief
that South CaIciina is in q condition of
anarchy. Tie Radicals of that State,
finding that the power they have hold so
long. ard used SO merciless'y, is slipping
away from them, have filed the Columbia
Union-the organ of Governor Scott, and
the only Radical paper but one in the
! S!s[s~-wlth letters Of correspondents,
whoee Eames it refuses to disclose, but
! whose statements have been proved, in
/ almost eVerg instance. to be es false as
! they were malicious. The Charleston News
! publishes q number of prominent exam
| pies OF deliberate falsehood on the part Of
the Union, or lis correspondents. 1t may
serve the cause Of truth to recite some Of
| them.
TIE Ubion declares that one Ben Hare
was diabolically murdered in Newberry
county by party OF night riders.
The News kpoints to the fact that the
murder of Hare was perpetrated by three
negroes, all Of them radicals, whose names
| it gives, and who were arrested for the
crime, and are nov in Newberry Jail await
! their trial.
The Union states that one Mcclure was
murdered in Chester county, and intinates
| that it was the work of ku kiux.
| The News shows, on the authority OF
the Chester Reporter, that Mcclure was
murdered by his father-in.law, who is
now in Chester Jail, awaiting trial.
The Union states that one Lewis Thomp-
| SOD, a eolored preacher 2ks 4oulIy muir
dered by l1u-kluA near Jeter's plantation,
on Tiger river, and that tho friends of
Thompson wera prevented, by ku-klux
terrorism, from giving him Christian bu-
rial
The News replios that a judicial investi-
cation showed that Thompson's congrega-
ton (colored) objected to his preaching,
and that as they wero unable to silence
J him otherwise. they made away with him.
j The Union charged that the ku-klux
ssere riding in Fairfield county, and com
te&tiinR divers outrages.
! Khe News proves that the WinsborO
News has denied emphatioally the state
ment of the Unions correspondent. and
publicly branded him as liar!-
| The tCIsion points to the ouTrages COM
mitted by &u-klux in York county, and
/; cites the statements made to Senator
J Scott.
The News replies 1.-The Grand Jury OF
York county brought Senator SCOTS in
| formants before them. and, after an inves
tigation, which lasted eight days, reported
that, since last July, there had been only
one case of violence Uhe EoEunking Of two
colored men) which could be 4ruthfulIy at
tributed to the ku.klux."
The Union states that a cClored woman
was burned III Fairfield county, and at
| tributes her death to the ku-kluX.
| The News shows that whom the iMattoE
was investigated it was clearly proven tnat
the murder was committed by negroes.
Other charges brought by the Union
arc met with equally positive proof to the
contrary.
A negro Radical, said by the Union to
have been attacked in Edgefe!d, GENES
forward voluntarily and swears that no
such attack was made, and that he had
heard Of no outrage in his neighborhood.
Twenty citizens of Edgefield also testify
to the fact that peace and good order pre-
vail throughout the county.
The Union reported that one Isytten-
burger, Republican, was terribly whip
ped by the Ku-Klux in Sumter county,
1t turns out, on investigation, that he has
not been whipped at all, but that ''a COM
mittee Of citizens had demonstrated with
him for buying stolen cotton of negroes. u
La respect to the alleged Outrages in
Spartanburg, We have already given the
letter of twenty six prominent citizens OF
that county to Senator Scott-lll OF them
Radicals, and holding positions under the
State or Federal Government-declarin
|
Cured In that county since the Ku-KluX
committee left II. Yet 1t Is on such ms
lignant falesehocds as tbcss. concocted by
South Carolina Radicals for the sake OF
giving pretext for military Intervention, :,
that Gen. Grant has Issued his proclama-
tion OF martial law, and has thus placed il
in the power Of his gubordinates to make
wholesale arrests under tho provisions o1
the Ku-Klux law, whilst denying to inno-
cent men that relief, under the privilege
of the writ of habeas cor7ous, TO which they
, are justly entitled.
In commenting on tho scope and pur
pose of the Infamous Ku-Klux law, con
temporary we'll says: S'What is now doing
in the South, may yet be. done in ting
: North under the provisions of law which
authorizes Grant to proclaim himself al
absolute Dictator at his own discretion,
, whenever aud wheresoever within the q. 5
, he may see fit to do so."-Baltimore ia
zette.
A Htndoo's Oath.