Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-08-05
Letter from Bert BarlngtOn.
wHIEFIELD, =. H., July "a, 1876,

and that the better element Of southern society .
condemns the act Admitted But have they /
the disposition or power to punish the murderers I
rs any other civilized people under the sun would
punish them? l think not. lived five years .
within gunshot ef the locality Of this outrage.
know the white leaders aud some of the blacks, I
and from my own study of southern society in /
general, and Hamburg society in particular, dun |
and casual though il may have BEEN venture |
the prediction that not one of these cOwardly as
sassins will be brought to full and ample justice.
Not onel Now you sec whether Pm right or not.
The men who committed this outrage are strictly
indigenous to the South. They are natural and
indeed an essential out-gTowth of human slavery
which could not endure without their protecting
knife and guardian bullet. In the peaceful emer-
gences Of local government they are orderly citi-
zens, whose brutal instincts are veneered by in
difference or polished by the semblance of that
education and good breeding which many of them
possess. They are not generally of that low,
crowned, dense Drained, animal class of roughs
who compose the filling Of our northern mobs and
polticalriOts. They are what we calm every day
life "good fellows" but their cool, well hammered
exterior covers a little flame within which slight
offence may kindle into burning hell of desper-
alton. They are too lazy to insist upon tie full
control of public affairs. Like Mr.. Toodles, they
hold that a man is a man thatdon'tcarea DEM"
They know little about affairs and care less, but
when they do pull the six shooters from their
Wristbands and the bowie knives from the bae
of their necks, society falls at their feet like
whipped spaniel, and rises not again till their red
vengcnce is assuaged. l have reason to remem-
Der one occasion during the war when the leading
citizens of Augusta, just across Savannah river
from Hamburg, held q mass meeting to protest
against the oppressive, arbitrary and unreason-
able seizure and partial confiscation of private
property By Governor Brown of Georgia. The
very elite of this beautiful and prosperous city
were signers of the call and deeply concerned in
the proceedings. The meeting was called to or
der by Hon. VIM. Schley, a venerable and highly
respected citizen, when a yoEng lawyer, one of
the guardian angels of slavery and its twin
brother, chivalry, rose in the back part of the
crowded hall, and with his right hand grasping
pistol in his breast pocket, calmly said 81 move
we adjourn" The motion was quietly seconded
by kindred spirit at his back, and that hall was
cleared with such haste and confusion that the
motion of adjournment could not be formally
presented to the meeting. There was no out
ward sign of turbulence, but every one knew
what the motion meant and was grateful for the
privilege of gathering his buster about his poor
trembling life and running home with il like
spanked school boy. | remember it tip top, be-
cause was one of the fellows that didn't linger,
for what was the good of hanging around there
after everybody else had gone home, and then
these southerners are apt to give Yankee a lone
some feeling if they find out that he's shooting at
them. But miEd you, the reign of this fiery king
is only spasmodic. He knows his own South too
well to attempt the entire control of society,
for he is aware that sach q course would arouse
its stronger though more quiet and indulgent elc
ments and soon bring his crown to the dust. He
is a spot child in the social family, who dares
not attempt to turn the old folks out of DOORS
and whom the pare is and cooler heads of the
household would rather forgive occasionally
than fight eternally. And besides, many OF
these amateur desperadoes are men Of consider
able wea It'll and social standing whose patronage
is too dear to the average citizens to be sacraic-
ed in criminal litigation. Society in the South is
much more fixed than it is with us. The true
southerner has a catlike fondness for places He
clings to the old homestead with q reverence
which seems wonderful to us bouncing, ubiqut-
Gus Yankees who would satche our summer
clothes and emigrate from the kingdom of
heaven every time the devil struck oil. Families
live, generation after generation, in the same
home and the poor white, unable to own a home
stead, compromises by wearing the same old hat
and boots tnat his ancestors wore over in the ark
Hence, there are strong reciprocal threads OF
! family knship running through and through
these old southern families from Virginia to Tex.
as, and the f. F's of each State are more or less
acquainted with the f. rs of all the other States
The leaders of the Hamburg murder are SO
woven into the most influential families of Edge.
field District, that local justice could not be en-.
forced without the aid Of eXtraneous power.
The war record of these men is also a shield to
their occasional desperation, for the South will
always have a warm corner in her heart for the
men who were the first to put on the gray and
the last to take it of. And thus you see lis moi
such an easy matter to put down this class, al
though it is doing more to crush the south
and defeat the democratic party than all Other
agencies combined. l believe that very large
majority of the southern people accept the results
of the war in good and earnest faith. l believe
they have no desire to rekindle the dying embers
of sedition, or attempt to re-enslave race whose
chains were sundered for all time by the edict o
an advancing civilization. But the Democratic
party cannot stand up in the full statue of re
generation before the people unless it vies with it
! Republican fOe in stamping this national disgrace
into the earth and burying it beyond the sound o.
the tramp of angels and demons. The people are
ready for change, if it doesn't cost more than i
comes to- They are ready TO put the Democratic
party into power as an experiment. whenever
that party breaks every tension that binds it t
this turbulent element of the south. OF course
the coming President cannot over-step his consti
tutional limits in crushing out this southern enc
| my Of North and South. All we demand of him is
sincere pledge that he will use all the moral and
legal powers of his Office in the maintenance o
personal liberty and even handed justice when
ever his arm can reach all over the land Haye
has given that pledge, and now Tilden must Sc,
him1and go one better, for in this sign must hi
conquer. l don't want this promise for myself
Political promises are like confederate scrip
They wear an honest look in their face but there
no gold in them. Haven't we poor simpleton
been stuffed and jounced down and stuffed
again with long faced promises for years. ant
what has come of it? Instead of fulfilling them
the very men who made them four and eight an,
/ twelve years ago, now rise and explain that tn
great need of the country is "reform." Why, yo
old sinners, if promises hal been worth bow
gun we would have had this "relorm" years age
No, ! don't believe in promises--I don't car
which licks | won't vote for either, and don
expect much of an Office, but both parties are S
mad that like to help provide them with some
thing to fight about, and then light up my old I
d. and see them enjoy themselves, always II
naming
Thine,
, BERT DARLINGTON.