The New York herald., 1874-12-29
The Condition OF Affairs at New Or
leans.

ready TOO much excited, In Louisiana, nor Is
there any good reason why it should. The
parties to the encounter were not white man
and negro, nor even members OF opposing
political organizations. They were both hos
tile to the Kellogg usurpation and supporters
of the McEnery government, and they alike
reprobated the frauds perpetrated by the dis
honest Returning Board. There was nothing
in the circumstances of the quarrel out of
which either party can make political capital.
Had republican negro been the victim the
Kellogg faction could have fourished q
| ..bloody shirt in the eyes of the country and
consented it as banner of vengeance, and
a similar use could have been made of the
homicide if Casey or Packard or some other
white supporter OF Kellogg had lost his life.
| Fortunately the affair cannot be made an
incendiary topic for rekindling old parti-
san animosities against the South. The
man who was slain was vehement anti
kellogg editor but, fortunately for the local
peace, he did not receive his death from the
hand of a radical and no use can be made of
it for exasperating public feeling against the
usurpers. Had Byerly been killed by Casey
Just after the consummation of the election
frauds, when the passions Of the people were
SO infammable, they would not have stopped
to reason, and there would have been horri-
BILE outbreak of popular violence; but deadly
feud between two prominent anti-Kellogg
politicians can be attended with no such con-
sequences. II this regrettable homicide was
tated to happen it is a subject of congratula-
ton that all the persons concerned in it have
long been acting politically on the same side.
In judging it as personal quarrel-which
is the light in which it must be regarded we
cannot at this distance see that any great
blame attaches to Warmoth To 60 back to
the beginning of the difficulty, War
moth was clearly right and was act
ing truly in the interest of the conservative
party in dissenting from the recommends
tion of the Bulletin that separate street cars
should be run for the negroes. Had such
proposition been indorsed by the conserva-
tives their cause would have been prejudiced
in the North, and dangerous weapon have
been placed in the hands of the republicans.
Warmoth's first letter was couched in respect
ful language, and nowhere overstepped the
limits of fair discussion. His arguments
were presented with cleaness and force, in
tone.of perfect decorum. The reply of the
Bulletin was violent attack on his personal
character, in which every dshonoring charge
ever made against him in the heat Of old po-
Itical contentious was raked up, stepped in
new venom and flung at him. He retorted in
q c;yoilar vain vaincf ono of the .aditOrc of tho
Bulletin, who thereupon sent him challenge,
which he accepted, and he was arranging his
private affairs in preparation for the duel
when he was assaulted in the street by Byerly,
another editor of the same paper, and
beaten violently with heavy cane. In
the grapple which followed Warmoth
drew knife and inflicted several stabs which
proved fatal. In no stage OF the quarrel
can Warnoth be properly considered as the
aggressor; in the final encounter he acted in
self-dstence, and # he dealt needless num- a
| Der Of stabs allowance must be made for the
heat OF sudden passion. In this deplorable
affair the victim was so clearly in the wrong
that no fair mind can think of justifying him.
The whole thing ought to be regarded as
personal quarrel without any political signif-
cance, except SO far as it discloses some want
OF harmony among the New Orleans conserva-
| tives-
And yet this painful occurrence has USE
full lesson for the people of the North, if they
would but heed it. 1t should teach them the
folly of attributing every casual disturbance
or exciting homicide in the South to rebel in
stincts or antagonisms of race. A great part
OF these disturbances are mere illustrations of
the truism that ''there is great deal of
human nature in man" The state of civiliza-
ton in the South and Southwest has always
been low in respect to rude exhibitions
of the ferocious passions. 1t was notoriously
SO before the war, and it would belle all his
tory to suppose that war has humaniNng
influence. Previous to the war nothing was
more common than for white men of the
Southwest to come into deadly collision, and
similar encounters are to be expected now, as
matter of course. To be sure, the tender
ness for negro life which prevailed when a
single negro was worth the price of half O
dozen good horses has become extinct, and
the lives of individuals of both races have be-
come equally cheap. 1t is only in this respect
that the war and reconstruction have aggra-
waited the evils of Southern civilizations; deeds
OF violence being perpetrated now, 'Irrespec-
tive of race, color or previous condition Of
servitude,' in consequence OF the negro hav-
ing lost his value as property. Considering
what the state of manners in the South has
always been it is absurd to attribute to politi-
cal causes every rash and bloody act which
takes place in that section. 1t is section in
which the miscalled "code of honor" has al
ways been recognized among all citizens having
pretensions to be considered as gentlemen, and
l. lrcox, fbat Ia