The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-03-22
A Centennial Official,

0'E5h hctt W otCS ullucI uIlC CeHlcilill-
; al Commission. Major Merrill is
not unknown to the people of South
Carolina, He was post command
ant at Yorkvillo in 1871, and was
the chief agent Of tho government
in the ku-klux prosecutions. Hp
kept entirely concealed for somo
time his real feelings and intentions,
and the good people Of tho town
had ronlly persuaded themselves
that he was n gou tlcman, when his
character was suddenly shown up
in its truo light. To say that
Major Merrill disyraccd the United
States uniform IN lis actions ut
Yorkvillc is to express most mildly
the character of lis course ut that
place. The writer Of this article
Is prepared to provo, by umim
pcach"blo testimony, more than ore
case in which his course was brutal,
cowardly and tyrnnnical. lIo WAS
tho prosecutor in almost every case
tried by Judge Bond, and in at
least ono Of these he must have
bocn most strangely | ignorant Of
facts not to have known
that the accused was in
nocent. Wo alludc b. the case of
DR.. i. y. Avery, who WAS convicted
by luiy-Inlpnbly and notol'io,u;ly
packed--of IN outrage upon II
negro preacher in York county.
Thc defendant established us clear
M d/tbt Is was ever shown in a
court house. But Of course the
jury convicted. DIR. Avery, seeing
the hopclcssncss of II just verdict,
fed during the progress of the
trial. He was afterwards pardon
cd, it being clearly shown that nc
was innocent We believe that
Major Merrill knew he was not
guilty-in fact, if We arc not mis-
t1kcn, 1t was stated TO him before Dr..
ATcrys arraiGnmcnt that he was
on tho wrong track. But tie
defendant WAS respectable gentle.
man tf York county, and it was in!-
portant to make an example of such
mar. And, besides. tho convic.
ton was worth just two hundred
dollars to the astutc and ur.sccinr
Major. We might mention many
other acts OF Major Merrill that
should bring on him the contempt
of all honorable and impartial pco-
plo, but we forbcnr. His crowning
disgracc Of tho uniform Of our army
was his receiving from the Icgisln
tnrc about twcnty-onc thousand
dollars for tho arrest OF persons
charged with XII kluE offences. His
lobbying schemes to procure that
SUM, and his ready acceptance Of
it, show plainly what was the cause
OF thc zeal he displnycI ~ post
consmandant, government spy ana
general prosecutor. The deeds Of
! tho A,klux were such rs no
reasonable man will attompt to
excuse. But as they were outrages
against law and order, 80 were
Mcrl7als doings offences against
dccency, truth and justice. His
couTe in Louisiana was even more
conspicuous for cowardina, duplicity
and tyranny than in this state, and
ne was very properly rebukod by
General. Emory, the department
comman der.
The appointmcntof such man
to lending position at the national
exposition is an insult to those
whom he oppressed and who are
now invited, for the sake of peace
, and fraternization, to take u part in
the Centennial. Had the whole
army boon searched for one more
distasfcful to tho Southern people,
there could not have been found
such onc--eNcept it had been
General p. II. Sheridan, the man
who was 'Eot afraid" when, backed
by the whole power of tho national
government, he maliencd and in
suited til" oppressed people of
Louisiana.
Major Merrill was appointed few
weeks ago, by the then secretary
of war, Mr.. Bclknar, There is
something very appropriate about
this. just at tho timo when the
gallant Major was lobbying through