The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-03-20
BY TELEGRAPH
TO THE DAILY PRESS.
XLIId OONGRESS---First Session.
SENATE.

WASHINGTON, March 18.-Mr. Sumner pre
sented memorial from the colored people o
Georgia, representing that they are denied re
Dress IN the courts, and attacked by mob
when asserting tteir tights, &c and ask 10,
protection from Congress Referred to tn,
Conn tee ON Southern outrages
Mr.. Bayatd moved to reconsider the vote or
the passage of the bill defining a gross @
matches. He had received dispatches from
/ large manufacturers to the effect TN at the hill
would work most ipjuriously to their interests
Ihe motion was agreed to and the order mad.
Tor the recall of the bill from the House.
The bill 10 re establish the office of surveyor
at PASSPORT, Me-, was passed.
The Senate then took up Mr. Sherman's re
solution alleging the subversion by armed, dis
gulsed and lawless men, mainly soldiers of the
late rebel armies, of all civil authority in q
large part of the late insurrectionary States
that persons and property are unsafe, their
rights as citizens denied and the courts are
poWerless by organized perjury to punish crime
and lnstructing the judiciary to report rene.
dial legislation.
Mr.. Sherman said every word cont aimed in
the resoiutlon was strictly true, and in the
eleven Southern States the public condition
Yves one OF unparalleled horror and anarchy
Messrs Davis, Stevenson, Johnston and
Lewis on the Democratic side, here addressed
the chair.
Mr.. Lewis said the condition of his State
lVlrginia) was as peaceful and orderly as any
state IN the Union. He denied that any Kn.
AUX organizations existed there.
Mr.. johnson, the associate of Lewis, corrob
GRATED this assertion.
Mr.. Sherman replied that he would substan.
tate the assertion of the resolution from testi.
mony taken before the select committee of in
Mr.. Davis said that there we're disorders in
kentucky that ought to be put down by prop
er authority, but it would be done sooner ard
much more fully il Congress did not interi e
with the State authorities.
MIR. Sherman resumed, quoting from the re.
port of the committee, to Show that as the re.
suit OF the operation of Ku-Kiux into rising
and intimidating colored men was disgraceful
70 CIVILIZATION and most startling These men
being mainly soldiers of the late rebel armies
had virtually taken up arms in violation OF the
very liberal terms accorded them by GeneIa al
Grant upon their surrender. After reading
from the Ku-Klux oath to show that the OBJ
Iect OF the organization was political and to
prevent colored men and others from exercis-
ing their political rights, and by it members
were bound to murder, rob and plumber under
the discipline prescribed by their former rebel
leaders.
Mr., Sherman said he did not know any or
ganlzatlon in history which for atrocity could
compare with this. These men committed
their crimes by night and carried terror wher-
ever they went.
Every member of the Senate would admit
that an organization so revolving to humanity
should be put down. Their number in North
carolina had been stated at A, 000, but it was
certainly 10000, though any reader of the tes-
tlmony would supposeit much larger. In Rock
ingham county, in that State, sixty-two Of
these outrages had been committed. In one
case the magistrate of town in that county
had testified to the hanging of colored preach
er at a late hour of the night by seventy fly
armed and disguised men on horseback. The
dangling body of the victim was found sus.
pended from tree in front Of the court house
with paper pinEed ON it with thu words
Beware, We guilty, with black aud white K
X. K" poor half idiot negro who had seen
some OF these men, was drowned several days
afterwards to prevent their detection by him
Thirty-eight similar cases had been shown to
have occurred in the same vicinity. In other
instances, as shown by the testimony, a band
of disguised men in Alamance county had TAX
en- colored man from his house, whipped and
shot him, and then compelled all the negroes
in the neighborhood to swear they would never
vote the radical ticket. The killing of sber
iff had been shown to have been previously
agreed upon in secret. He desired his Demo
cratic friends to tie converted to the belief en-.
tertained upon the Republican side that these
outrages should be stopped, and with that vleW
he submitted and bad read various extracts
from Democratic newspaper in the South
denOuncing the Outrages as impOl!tc and heir
eous, and calling for severe measures of pun
ishment tor their repression. AS showing the
morals prevailing among the Ku-Klux them
selves, read a card from member of the Ku
Klux IN reply to newspaper article in an Ala
bama paper, the point of whchwss thewriter dlt
not think it an offence TO kill negro. Democrat
ic newspaper extracts were also cited detailing
the particulars of an election riot in Alabama
where four colored men were killed outrigh
aud fifty-tOur wounded; and from the Rome
Ga, Commercial, advising the Ku Klux not t.
waste their terrible enginery until they wer
| ready for the great m )vement, when the wore
of com Dand would be given. The murder o
Major Crane, of Jackson, Miss, an ex-federa
| officer, by Yerger, and similar instances wer,
| referred to as showing that every victim Q
| such Outrases was Republican levery perpe
| traitor Democrat, and that no man throug b
| out the whole South had yet been convicted
| for any such offences.
At the close of Mr.. Sherman's address tn
| resolution was laid aside for Mr.. Anthony
| pending resolution, limiting the business SEES
sion to the deficiency appropriation bill, til
| resolution for joint committee OF investiga
| tion into the affairs at the South, and Shel
mau's resolution instructing the Judciar
Committee to bring in bill to suppress x
| Klux organizations.
Mr.. Sherman moved to amend so as to pre-
vide for action on the report of the Judiciar
| Committee on the South.
Mr.. Trumbull opposed the resolution ant
| thought some means of revenue reform Shout
| be passed. He proceeded to urge the necesst
of an early reduction of taxes with q CORE:
ponding diminution of government expense
and also the Importance of passing bills repea
ing the duties on coal and salt The subjet
was finally laid aside and the consideration ,
Sherman's resolution continued.
Mr.. Stevenson asserted that Mr.. Sherma
had signally failed to make good bis assertio
that these secret organizations were compose
of rebel soldiers or Were of a poltic-l characte
Facts ascertalned by official investigation in
| stead of mere newspaper rumors presented
the Senator from Chic should be the basis
legislation. That Senator had shown his inci
pacity to sit judge upon the facts by h
preiudice against the south. Having recent
acted as Governor of Kentucky he (Stevenso
was able to deny that secret organization
anv considerable number existed there. Di
orders had occurred there, but it the Sena
would vote him an investigating committee
wonld undertake to show that In the sam
length OF time more crimes and outrages we!
committed in the city of Cincinnati than
the whole State of Kentucky; but 600 ioro
that he should make isolate cases the basis
legislation for the social condition OF one ns
OF the country. But the speech OF the oenate
from Ohio had been made mainly for politc
effect, and probably would not have been y
tered SO Tar in the absence OF the PrhsldebS'
election except for recent family jars IN Ia
senators party. After stating two instances
, WHICH WHITE men werS nrOmDflV convicted al