Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-02-14
AMNESTY.
The EEu.Kls.x and Loyal Leagues--
Crime and RetrkbutioEa.-sino
r;ern OF Orange County.

Crime ana EseaTGDuttOh..s AhsaAS~@-
sion OF Orange County.
We publish the following extract |
from the recent able speech of Senator |
NORWOOD, of Orange county, in advo-
eating the passage of the Amnesty
Bill, now pending in the Legislature.
As the crimes of the Ku-Klux of that
county have been denounced through
out the length and breadth Of the land,
we give the facts, as collated by the
DISTINGUISHED and venerable Senator,
which led to them The time has now
come when both sides can be and
should be pardoned. Peace and order
and good feeling have taken the place
of strife. of arson, of murder and OF
rape. Disorders and crimes, growing
out of the decentralization of the war,
have subsidized. It is best for both
parties and for the welfare of the State
that an act of pardon should be passed
and the crimes and their causes buried
III the grave OF oblivion.
In speaking of Orange, Mr.. Non
WOOD said:
And rsw. Mr.. President, allow me
10 return to Orange county. | have
AIKEN much pains to be informed as to
the facts attending the horrible muir
dars Imputed to that county III tins
debate. I believe the narrative l am
bout to give may be relied upon as
substantially trG!e.
One case Is tlat Of the negro Guy, l
think that is his name. he had i'll
suited white women, and his unDridied
lust for white women, made HIM the
terror of the neigbboriiood, 80 female
indeed, white or black felt safe II she
LETT hey own home without protector,
even the inmates of the poor house
were III dread OF him. One night q
company Of horsemcn proceeded to the
place of resort of this monster, seized
him, and afterwards this terrible appre-
hCnsiOn was removes TE0n the minds
Of tie females of the lleighborlApI, and
all, both black and white, cOncerTed
in thinking he had deserved his fate,
though SO unlawfullv and terribly IL
t!cteG.
Take the next case which ha@ been
particularly dwell npon, as one ct
peculiar violence arc uninitlgRted hor-
ror. That of the murder of the barn
burners. The facts 1 viii give III few
words. VIM. Jones leased T. piece Of
ground &c a negro by the name Of jeff.
Possession vas to be given by jeff in
October, when the Lease ended. He
held over. frequent applications were
made to him to quit, he refused. At
last Jones procured warrant fir m Nor
row, Justice Of the Peace. 1t was
gut in the ha1ls of Miner, Il Lawful
officer, fair tria! tcok place, and jeff
was elected. This occurred III April,
six months after the expiration Of the
lease, and as latch the season as it could
be postponed If Jones was to make any
use OF his land that year. jeff left the
premises just at night, built a fire in the
big road and camped with his family
till morning. VIII Senators please
mark that circumstance? In July fol-
lowing, a neighisoY on horseback rushed
into the yard of Thoaaas D. Oldham,
ESQ. one OF the best men AZ Orange
county. and gave the alarm that Nor
rows barn was Oh fire. Oldham had
two small negro boys living with him.
They were reused up, and one Of them
exclaimed that the barns OF Miner and
Jones would be burned too-fOr old
jeff and his boys had said so-and 10
and behold III a few mlnptes they
were both III flames. The account
which the boys gave was this They
had been to see their father, who was
sick. Next morning Ia returning to
AIr. Oldham they passed old Jeff's
camp in this road and stopping to
warm, they heard them talking about
being turned out, and Jeff's boys said
they would burn down the barns of
Jones, Miner and Morrow. Old jeff
told them they were fools. "Wait till
they git in all the wheat and oats, and
thea bum them That day the last
load Of wheat and oats had been hauled
III and stored in tiie barns or stacked
around them.
Poor Jones, rs worthy ana 2miable
q man as ever lived, had bought piece
of land and had mortgaged his home,
homestead and all to pay for it his
mind was unequal to the trial, he sunk
under it and committed suicide, and
his wife and little children were left
helpless upon the charities of the
world. \ barn had been burned some
years before out of revenge, in the
sane neighborhoOd the very night
after the crep Of wheat had been gath
cred into it.
An attempt was made 10 convict
these barn-burners, it faiiea from the
weakness of the prosecution and then
the terrible retribation, proceeding
from the deeply implanted principles
and passions of our nature followed,
and two monsters of crime met in a
terrible and unlawful manner their de-
served fate.
VIII Senators only carry themselves
back to the time and scene of this out
rage, make themselves neighbors and
friends Of the sufferers, feel the inse-
curly Of their property and the neces-
sity of striking terror into the minds
of lawless men when the regular
course OF the criminal law gave no adj
equate protection and then tell me if
they think it advisable now to arraign
S o. es, it may be, of the best men in
Orange county, upon trial for their |
life, Tor this offence ? The neighbor- !
hood is now quiet and law-biding.
One case more Is charged upon Or ]
ange A widow lady had an orly !
beautiful, modest, virtu-
Gus young girl just bursting into
The mother was respecta-
bly, and numerously connected. A
young negro man living on the premi-
ses fastened his 1ustful eye on this
poor child. The incarnale fiend de-
iberately told her his purpose and per-
suaded her to submit, for he intended
10, whether she would Or not, to have
MS will of her, but he did not intend
20 commit any violence Immediately,
out would wait till the men went to
Raleigh to the State Fair, and she
must not utter a word of what he had
said TO human being if she did he