New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-06-27
HOW WE READ IT.

The Times breads it" very wide Of the
mark in the opening remarks OF its lead
ing article on Monday morning:
II is not pleasant thing to see in any
journal exposition 70 apologize fer and
approve OF tho recent Outrages committed
by a mob Of coiOred barbariaDs at Port
Hudson. Yet as we read il, this is the tone
and policy of the REPUBLICAN. 1t starts
off by stating that Major Bascoms repurt
lays all the blame upon the least blame
worthy side. Now how does the RErUBLI-
CAN know this report is SO far wrOngs Was
the murder OF the Conservative colored
man, and the rest of the programme known
officially to the REPUBLICAN,! Is the opinion
entertained by many prominent citizens
correct, that this plot was matured in this
city and approved by some of the leaders
of the party! We DO not not wish TO be-
lieve this. But that it is believed, and by
many persons who declare they have good
reason for doing SO, is certain.
1t is not much more pleasant to see in
any Journal a disposition to apologize for
and approve of outrages committed by
any man or body o. men, whether ''col.
ored barbarians'' or old and we'll known
white citizens. The intimation that the
REPUBLICAN has ever apologized for or
approved of any outrage can not possibly
be derived from anything ever seen in
these columns. Neither the Times nor
anybody else ever ''read it" SO in the RE-
PUBLICAN. We referred on Sunday to the
report Of the officer commanding at Baton
Rouge as partial and one-sided one.
We discovered that all the information
upon which that report was based came
from the members OF one party to
the contest The witnesses called
themselves old and we'll known
citizens, eminently respectable and peace
able, and their antagonists, ''colored
thieves An officer Of the United States
army adopted this testimony, in its orig
inal vernacular, and contented himself
by examining only one party to the con-
troversy. If the members OF the colored
club were thieves, they took singular
mode of displaying their larcenous pro
pensities, when they pursued man Of
their own color to death, merely because
he was suspected of being Conservative
negro. There is no sort of harmony be-
tween the epithets applied and the acts
alleged against the colored men.
If these colored men are guilty OF hav-
ing killed an aposta.e member OF their
club for leaving them, they ought to be
punished as the law prescribes. But
even General Hancock would give them &
fair trial in all the forms CT the common
law. However bad they may have been,
they should not have been strung up
wherever found by their political enemies.
Those persons who hanged the five
negroes at their own gates are murderers
equally with the colored men who killed
the Conservative negro. Race, education,
social standing, wealth-even the SYM
pa.hies of their own and distant commun-
tiles - are all powerless to sanctify or ex-
cuse the summary execution of a muir
derer without the forms Of law. IF
such acts were done by officers
they would be illegal; il authorized by
legislators they would be unconstitu-
tional. When perpetrated by irrespon-
sible private parties they are enormous
crimes. The character Of their victims
can not be even inquired into in an Off
cial inquiry, because, however black it
might be, it would not Justify the second
wrong. Now, this is what We understand
Captain Bascom to have done. He found
there had been trouble near Port Hudson
during which one Conservative colored
man had been killed by his misguided,
even criminal, former associates, and the
Regulators in turn had hanged five Of the
alleged murderers. He virtually enters
plea Of guilty on behalf Of the Eegula-
tors, with the qualification, Served the
"colored thieves" right.
We neither approve OF the murder Of
the Conservative colored man, nor that of
the five colo1ed men who were not Con-
servatiyes. Does the Times set itself up
as an apologist for the violence Of either
party? Does it say that ''colored thieves"
may be killed wherever found? AS to
the opinion attributed to many prominent
citizens, that this was plot concocted in
this city, we know nothing. Whatever
such citizens as hold such an opinion
may be prominent for, it can not be for
sagacity and common sense. We note
that even the Times, usually SO ready to
believe almost any stupid story, does not
wish to believe this. 1t ventures modestly
to differ with ''many prominent citizens"
upon this very important point. It
leaves to the nameless many all the credit
it is possible to derive from their unpar-
alleled gullibility.
We give the majority of the people
around Port Hudson and Baton Rouge
the credit for ability to observe the Or
binary usages of civilized society. At the
same time, we submit they did not come
out very strong in this observance in tie
Mount Pleasant affair. The way the story
comes to Us, is, five Of the colored men