National Republican., 1876-09-04

they have outraged all law by their secret
armed organizations; that they have dis
armed the militia and established instead
OF law terrorism. And now, when you see
your followers turned into banditti, anar-
chists, perjured outlaws and unb,ushing
traitors against the voice of the people of
their several States, you become their
apologist and defender, and entreat of your
Northern friends to consider them the ma
jority, the rightfulruling power, in the
States whose governments they have
usurped not only, but in those other two
or three States which they have sworn to
rule-by force, if not by the public voice.
Mr.. Hendricks, this " i'll not do You must
begin lower down. There is no use in try
ing to erect durable edifce on rotten
foundation. You must first show by your
acts that you mean to acknowledge the
pegro's right of franchise and protect him
in the exercise of it, whether he votes for
you or not Until you do this you cannot
expect him to vote with your party. The
Democratic party has been his lifelong
enemy. 1t must do something for him that
is friendly before it can expect his support.
One thing more we would; commend to
Mr.. Hendricks. Let him caution his
Southern followers against pursuing their
course of brigandage against Republicans.
The latter are OF docile and long-suffer-
ing nature They abhor violence and
bloodshed, lawlessness in every form, in
cluding rapine, murder, assassination and
brigandage, and will endure great deal
without turning and melting out kind for
kind. But the negro is an exceedingly
initiative creature, and if the whites per-
sist in setting him bad example the con-
tagion will soon set in and, aided and en-
couraged by the antagonism and example
of such Democratic bandits as Butler, Gary
and Ferguson, 1t will not be long until he
will be quite as expert with the knife, pis-
tol, whip and rifle as his opponents. While
war of races is greatly to be deprecated,
more so than any and all other wars, still
if we are to see one in the South we had
rather see two sides to it than only one.
For the honor Of our own race we had
rather see it fight a foeman worthy of its
steel in open warfare than to see it debase
itself into organized brigandage for the op-
preston of weaker and more ignorant
race. We desire to warn MIR. Hendricks
and such as he in time, that when the
period of the torch, the assassin's knife
the slave-drver's and. the bandits torture
comes with double-faced view; when
the reports change sides and show the ne
groes to be the aggressors and the whites
to be the sufferers in numbers, they may
not complain of ignorance of the spirit
which is growing up in the country. The
negroes, and all Southern Republicans, are
beginning TO feel as though they had been
on the defensive long enough. They talk
of aggressive work on the rifle clubs in
South Carolina. They are pleading for
troops to preserve the peace and afford pro-
lection. If they cannot have peace they
want Calling and Bailey batteries which
fire one hundred rounds per minute. Now
suppose they should get these arms and
these troops. Mr.. Hendricks, on your
head will be the blood that is shed. You
can stop it if you will. Be warned in
time. All we ask is fair play, and we
shall not ask that long. The Republicans
will help themselves to it.