The New York herald., 1874-12-27
The Homicide I'm New Orleans.

Three hot headed gentlemen in New Orleans
have behaved very ioolishly, and the result is
that one of them is in prison and may De
tried tor his life, another is dead, and the third,
though not in personal danger. is to great
extent responsible for the misfortunes OF the
others. The intense excitement OF society
in New Orleans may be measured by
the quarrel between Ex-Governor Warmoth
on the one side and Messrs. Byerly
and Jewell on the other, the details Of which
are given by our correspondent elsewhere.
Differing in opinion about the propriety OF
having separate street cars for negroes, these
gentlemen turned public question into
private quarrel, end have established nothing
but the fact of their own folly. We print the
statements of both Warmoth and Jewell,
and regret to say that both appear equally
guilty of grave offence against public order
and the law.
Because of their influential positions, the
one in politics, the other in journalism, both
Mr.. Warmoth and Mr.. Jewell should have
sought to tranquillize, instead of exciting
society in New Orleans That city is like
powder magazine just now. and duel might
have been like the application of a torch
Because Mr.. Jewell said in the Bulletin that
Mr.. Warmoth was thief and Mr.. War
moth in his card intimated that Mr.. Jewell
was liar was no reason why they should
outrage modern usages and disgrace American
society by agreeing to fight duel with pistols
at ten PAGES. Duelling has become ridiculous
when it is not criminal The code of honor
is farce when it is not consecrated with
blood, and barbarism when its results are
fatal Thus, when the affair is considered as
merely personal one, the challenge of
Mr.. Jewell and the acceptance of Mr..
Warmoth must be set down as un-
worthy of intelligent men; but when
the infammable state of society in New Or
leans is remembered their action deserves to
be branded as public crime. OF Mr..
Byerlys assault upon Warmoth we prefer to
say little, for he has expiated that error with
his life. He seems to have been the aggressor
and to have had no immediate provocation for
the attack. Warmoth undoubtedly stabbed
him in sef-defence, though how far such
defence was justified by his personal danger
is question only to be determined by the tes-
timony of the witnesses.
In this wretched affair some explanation Of
the troubles in the South can be found There
can be little hope for people who are governed
by duellists, or by leaders who claim the
right to settle their grievances by an appeal
to blows. Warmoth, Byerly and Jewell dis
played contempt for law which has
been too common in the South and which
must be replaced by respect for it be-
fore anything like prosperity can be
restored to that section of the country. When
Governors and editors resort to duelling and
street fighting what patience can be expected
from the people their example influences?
The danger is that the spirit Of defiance and
responsibility which they exhibited as indi-
viduals may animate whole classes Of the COM
munity, and that the declaration of Governor
McEnery that ''the wrong just perpetrated
by the Returning Board is one which would
not be submitted to by any free people may
become the excuse for armed rebellion. We
ask the conservative people of New
OrAeauS 10 IeucuioeI tudI euCu ueIuous
of revenging their wrongs can only
result in the creation of greater evils.
The death of Byerly, the terrible
misfortune which has fallen upon Warmoth,
and even the threat which Jewell has since
that fatal brawl repeated should be a warming
to both parties, and especially to men who
are supposed to be the leaders of public opin-
ion in the State