New-York tribune., 1874-10-31

1t was not until the first necessity for
Federal protection over the South had passed
away that the real scope of these extraor-
dinary statutes began to be understood. JUS
tice Bradley, in his Oft-cited opinion in the
Grant Parish case, has shown that the laws
90 far beyond the authority of the COnstitu-
ton, and not content with enforcing the
Amendments to which they ostensbIy refer,
take in subjects which tho Constitution re-
serves to the States and assume the right OF
Congress to usurp ordinary police functions.
But the abuse has recently presented phases
even more serious than those which Justice
Bradley pointed out. Dangerous and revolu-
tiOnary as some of the provisions OF the statutes
are, the wrong has been aggravated by the
violent and fraudulent proceedings OF those
charged with their execution. In the exigencles
of the best Civil Service the world has ever
seen it has happened that the management OF
Federal affairs in the South has been intrusted
to an incredibly worthless set OF vagaDond''
of whom Kellogg in New-Orleans, Spencer III
Alabama, and Patterson in South Carolina are
familiar representatives. Practically these
men are allowed to administer the Enforce
ment laws in their own interest. Ihey con-
troll the appointment of commissioners mar
shals, and deputy marshals, and it Is these
functiOnaries who dictate the Interpretation oi
the laws and direct them to partisan purposes.
In tho better days of the republic toward
which we are hopefully looking forward, our
grandchildren will hardly believe to wnat
base uses of oppression and "electloneering
the Southern deputy marshals and 0ther
subordinate officers, to whom the ku-hlux
Act has actually intrusted the employment OF
the army and navy and the posse com'tat"s'
have managed to put these statutes. lhey
have been converted from the protection OF
the freedman to the oppression and lntlmida-
ton of political opponents, from the enforce
ment of equal rights to the forcble carrying Oh
doubtful districts; so that in States like Alabama
and Louisiana, where the strength OF parties
is nearly balanced, snrewd and INSCRIPTIONS
EMPLOYMENT of these laws is enough to turn
the scale of victory.
The circular issued by the Attorney y-General
on the Sd of last month instructed marshals
and their deputies to "proceed with all posi-
"ble energy and dispatch to detect, expose,
arrest, and punish" the perpetrators OF all
offenses against the Civil Rights and Enforce
ment Laws; but it is significant that 1t made
no distinction between ordinary crimes OF vlo-
lence such as the local authorities Ought TO
prosecute, and lawless acts committed in op'
preston of that race which the Constitutional
Amendments were specially framed to protect.
On the contrary, Mr.. Williams gave his sub
ordinates explicit directions to "protect"
"au classes of citizens, white and colored, IN
the free exercise of the elective franchise
and the enjoyment of the other rights and
pririleqes to which they are entitled under
"the Constitution and laws, as citizens OF the
"Unted States" There was no disturbance
of the peace in any part OF the Umon' no
symptom of race persecution, no opposition 10
the national authority which could Justlly
this order; but it came opportunely for pollt-
ical purposes, and the persons to whom 1t
was addressed understood what they were to
do with it, Troops were sent into LOUISIANA
Alabama, and Tennessee, and Immediately the
marshals and their deputies assumed the en-
tire nolice administration of the most impor-
tant political districts. The murder OF Bill
lings was the most notorious or the crimes
upOn which the marshals had to wOik III
Alabama, but as Billings was white man IL
was not easy to see how his ASSASSINATION
conld be brought under any clause OF the
Acts for the protection of the negro 1t was
discovered, however, that the Enforce
ment Law of 1870 made it penal
offense "by force, bribery, threats, ETC.,
to hinder or prevent any citizen
" from yotingn and the supposed murderers
were therefore arrested on charge OF con-
spiracy to prevent Mr.. Billings from voting,
by killing him three months before the elec-
ton. Thus political show was made OF them
"a they were carried in chains the whole
length of the State for trial. The Ku-Klux
Act authorized the President to use the land
and naval forces whenever domestic vlo-
"lence or conspiraces" obstructed either State
or National laws to such an extent as TO
deprive people of "any Of the rights, priyl-
"leges, or immunities, or protection named IN
the Constitution and secured by this Act"
therefore under pretense that assemblages OF
white Democrats menaced the Republicans
with a loss of "protection," or frightened
them so that they would not vote, squads OF
cavalry were sent riding through the counties,
creating the "reign of terror" they assumed to
be suppressing. The Sheriff of Sumter County
summoned posse to disperse riotous assembly,
and on the way to the scene of disturbance
detained for a short time negro mail-rider
who might give information of his movements.
For this trivial breach of the law the deputy
marshal put himself at the head OF his troops
and secured the country to arrest not the
Sheriff, but the whole posse, and sent them to
Mobile charged with Ku-Klux outrage on
the United States mail. A Democratic meet
ing was to be held at Livingston, Alabama
tbe first for long whlle--and in order to