New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-10-16
WILL CONSERVATIVE MEN SUSTAIN Law
AND ORDER7

In the absence of any authentic EVIL
dence upon the violent death Of John
Gair, we can only take the avowals Of those
who report the fact for publication. From
this we learn: l. That an allegation OF an
intent to poison had been made against a
prisoner; that citizen had been arrested
as an accessory before and after the fact;
that the alleged attempt to poison failed
to take life. 2 That before and without
trial the alleged principal and accessory
were arrested in form of law, but both
captured from the law and killed by
armed and masked men. Mr.. John Gair
bore an excellent character, but if he had
been the vllest criminal, he would, in any
law-abiding community, have been entitled
to the constitutional right of fair trial.
The editor of the Patriot Democrat says
that the posse which were conveying Gair
to prison were overpowered by seventy
armed and masked men, and "Gair, who
had DIR. j. W. Saunders poisoned, was shot
to death" 'Babe Matthews, the negro
woman who administered the poison for
Gair, was taken from the guards by an
armed body and hung" to tree in the
courtyard at Clinton the same night.
Here, then, was an alleged accessory to
an offense not consummated, and there
fore not punishable by death, murdered
before the principal had been even tried.
The alleged principal is said to have
'made a full confession" upon which the
seal of eternal silence has been placed.
Armed men kill both the alleged principal
and accessory, and it is published that
All is now quiet. The negroes consider it
a Just retributiOn for the crimes of these
dangerous negroes.
They can never reply.
We do not offer the good character of
John Gair in evaporation of public hor-
ror. It is useless to appeal to human
sympathy because this man was negro
who had been driven from his home by
party violence, or that, denied trial and
q defense, he dies under a defamation of
character which, even if true, could never
justify such brutality. 1t is repetition of
the murders of Colfax and Coushatta.
We fear it must be assumed that there
is no power among the conservative peo-
pie to arrest such acts of cruelty. 1t will
be manifestly impossible for the State gov
eminent to guard all men obnoxious to
this Ku-Klux spirit from assassination.
The world will now begin to see the char
acter of that element which has kept the
whole South in such ferment for some
years past. The very men who have
taught this lawless element that they we're
under no obligation to obey the laws,
must be shocked at this horrible applica-
ton of their doctrine. The commission
Of such crime at the seat of justice of
parish, coupled with the fact that the
sheriff Of that parish had been assaulted
and driven from the parish, and that the
judge had been compelled by popular tur-
bulence to adjourn his court, and had
taken refuge elsewhere, prove that there
is such state of local instruction
and domestic violence in that parish as
will justify the Governor of the State to
appeal to all men who respect the laws to
afford him any State aid he may need to
install such parish authorities as he may
designate in the discharge of their duties;
as also to arrest the armed and masked
assassins who murdered these prisoners
while under the guardianship of the law.
There is no necessity to call upon the
United States for aid to suppress domestic
violence. The reason and interest of every
citizen of Louisiana, who has property,
business or family at risk, will impel
them to sustain his excellency Lieutenant
Governor Antoine in such summons.
In the rapid formation of displeasure at
the North and West against the mob vio-
lence which overspreads the South, we do
rot doubt that all conscientious men,
without regard to party, will sustain him
in maintaining laws which are as essen
tial to the protection of one citizen as an
other.