Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-04-18
The Ku.KIux Arrests.

We can account for the continuance Of
the Ku-Klux: arrests in the -up-country
upon only one hypothesis, viz, that mt
gouermnsent1 is anrious to- force Ms;sohat
people into rebellion, and are determined
to prevent eue,s legal and constitutional
resistance to the aOrongi@ acts Of the ad-
ADMINISTRATION. Wehad hoped, against hope
that The appetite of the partisan and dem
agogue was appeased, and that this poor
State would be allowed an opportunity Of
recovering from the alarms and losses Of
last autumn. But it is too plain that the
bloody drama is;not:yet at an epd; and
that the last scenes in the terrible history
will be more agonizing than thedirst.
During the Kn-Klux trials at Columbia
it was proved that there had been outra-
geous violence on the part Of a few rash
men. These were swiftly and severely
punished Nayl some of the accused were
convicted upon evidence which would not
have led,an impartial jury to fnda poor.
negro guilty Of chicken stealing At the
time that-the writ of ha6eaS corpus was
suspended, the communities so stripped Of
all protection, were profoundly quiet. The
Federal cavalry, riding through the vii
lage streets and across the parching fields,
gathered together host of victims, and
of these, as we have said, a number,jdst
or unjustly, languish within the walls of a
Northern prison. When the trials We're
over g was thought that the thirst 's5for.
vengeance was satisfied; the more espe-
cially as the General Assembly made in
slant provision for pensioning the widows
and orphans of persons killed on account
of their political opinions. Some weeks
ago, however; fresh arrests were ordered.
A number of citizens of Union were seized
and committed to Jail, without any knowl-
edge of the offences with which they We're
charged. These now lie in the Charleston
House of Correction awaiting their trial.
In Chester County arrests were made in
like manner, and on Sunday Laurens coun-
ty was the sufferer. In the words of our
correspondent: "There is reign of ter
u ror IN Laurensville all the roads lead
'ing out of town are strongly guarded,
u and no one is allowed to pass" No hon
est man can say these arrests were neces-
sary for the prevention Of crime. or the
Of quiet. The State was
tranquil. The farmers, thinking little of
politics, were striving hard to obtain the
means Of meeting the heavy demands
which the State Government makes upon
them. The merchants were busily work.
ing to increase their trade. The laborcrs
we're toiling in the fields. Undaunted BY
excessive taxation and iaclement seasons,
he whole people of the up-country were
,ndeavoring to make this a prosperous
,ear. And what has come of it? They
ire harried by the Federal soldicry. They
ire thrust into dungeons. Arrested with
nut warrant, they are condemned before
heir trial begins We repeat that if the
1rant-Scott party demanded vengeance
lpon this people, they had their fill last
winter; if they required material for
stump speeches and sensational leaders,
hey could surely find it in the evidence
given by their willing witnessesin i'll Colum-
,ia. This forces US back TO our original
that the administration, driv-
IN to despair by the awakening opposition
If the Liberal Republicans of the East
md West, are bent on contrivinga a "new
rebellion" which shall enable them to
overcome their enemies by proving that
the time has not come for Amnesty, or for
Justice. or for the Supremacy of the Con-
This also will serve the pur-
poses of the members Of the State gov
srnment, in whose minds any opposition
TO any law, (however it may conflict with
the constitution, which they and their.
party framed, is an act Of open hostility,
which cannot be palliated or excused an
act no less outrageous than the KuKlux-
ism which they 50 fondly describe as the
Of South Carolina civiliza.
ton. The arrests in. the up-country are
expected to strengthen the hands Of Gen
eral Grant by demonstrating the existence
Of disorder in the South and they are
expected to strengthen Governor Scott by
reminding the white people Of the State
that any scrutiny of the acts Of the Leg
islature, or the measures of the State gov
ernment, will be treated as hostility 10 the
Radical party, and will subject the people
to new persecution.
1t remains to consider what, lin this
is best to ;be done. For the,
people at large there is but one safe poll
cy-that of absolute quiet, and an impllc-
it obedience to whatever processes may
issue: This will prove as wise as it is ln-
trinsically right. But the citizens who
have been arrested also claim our core.
They are accused, not of a political offence,
but of a violation Of the law. We be-
lieve them. to be innocent, and shall con
tinue SO to believe them until they are
Yroved to be guilty. In the meantime we
can best serve them by recognizing the
broad truth, so often. asserted in these col
umns, that there is only one code for white
man and for black man, and that the
Democrat who does wrong must be con-
dcmned as sharply as the guilty Repubh-
can. Let it be understood, and let it be
shown by our actions, that we feel that
neither name nor color should shield any
man from the Just consequences of his
actions, and the worst forms of political
warfare will, in time, come to an end, be-
cause they will wholly fail Of accomplish
ing the purposes for which they were de-