Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-05-26
CIVIL SERVICE.
DONE EAIL no Read THIS


Let every body read carefully the
following letter, written from Jones
comfy, in this State, to the Goldsboro
Messenger. Verify, it is time to change
the Constitution that permits such
gross outrages. Because white people
are poor il is no reason why they
should be put under negro masters:
This county has had fer the past
five or six years three negro commits
sioners and but two white, all Re,iubli-
cans, as it seems no others can be
elected il this county, having never
ad since 1869 but one Democratic
county officer, (register Of deeds) elect
ed by the people. aud he held office
| for only brief period of two years.
t has been the custom in this county
under Radical rule ever since the
| adoption Of the Constitution OF 1868 g
! to hire or let out the paupers of the
| county TO the lowest bidder, and at
public auction, but not until within q
| few years past. indeed not till the
| civil rights bilp was agitated in Con.
| greas and throughout the country, have
| the negroes had the impudence TO bid
| unrebuked on white paupers. They
| now assert, o. some of them do, that
| they have the same right to bib for
| white paupers, as the whites have to
| bid for negro paupers, claiming the
same rights and equality before the
| law the whites enjoy.
1t has become so common in this
| county for negroes to bid at auction
| for white paupers, of both SeCes and
| without regard to age, that it has al
| most ceased to excite surprise and but
| little indignation, aud competition in
! bidding at such auctions is as spirited
| and brisk with our negroes as it would
be at the sale cf any personal proper
| y. The aged, lame, blind and intirm
! i both seces are alike subjected TO this
indignity. The blind man alluded to
| in your report las a wife and several
children, he only of the family being a
| pauper, and he generally supported
| himself by little allowance made him
| by the county. He has on several oc-
casions been bid off by negroes. An
| other aged white man who has q
| family and himself severely afflicted
| with cancer, has on one or two occa-
sions been bid off by negroes. But a
| year or two ago an aged blind lady, a
| pauper. but respectable, was put up
| at auction to the lowest bidder, and
she was bid off by a negro. When
told who had bid her off she burst
into tears aud with uplifted hands
| cropping her way through the crowd,
| begged her friends "For Gods sake,
spare me save mo !" All who wit
messed this pitlful scene stood APP
| palled.
''None of the white paupers bid off
| by negroes will live or go with them,
as they would likely prefer death by
| starvation sooner than yield to be
! made slaves to negro masters. Their
| friends and acq ,aintances generally
intercede and provide homes for them.
A stranger from the Western part of
this State, who was present at the last
| lett ng. and witnessed the scene in dis
gust, remarked: If this is the condi
ton Of the whites in the negro counties
of Eastern Care lima, may the good
Lord deliver Us in the Vest"
" If any evidence is wanted to sus
tain these charges, you can inspect our
county records or call upon the auc-
| tionPer, who has acted for several
years in that capacity, and is himself a
Republican, aud fully ccgnizant of the
| facts. Several instances are known of
negroes threatening to whip white MEN,
cursing and abusing them, and pulling
off coats for fight. Such are the in
| suits and indignities we have to suffer
and bear at the hands of negro radi-
Gals, the white radicals, officers and
| others, being afraid to offend friend
and brother, as be has a vote to give
them, and if charged with belonging
10 the negro party, they will pretend
to get 1nsulted. Such is radicalism in
Jones county,