The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-06-14

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derers. No one pretends to say
that the act was anything but o
lawless one and the parties engaged
liable to trial before a court and
jury, Nor can it be considered in
any degree wrong for tho Governor
warn his fellow-citizens of the
nature and effects of such resort to
to violence for the punishment of
crime, when he has been officially
informed of la less acts. Thore is
no doubt that some action was
necessary on the part OF the State
authorities. in tho spirit and lan-
guagc Of his proclamation, has gone
none too far. In his letter to
Judge Carpenter. he shows his
dehne for impartial justice. il.
urging that tho two nogro women
who were thought to have been
accessories in the mur,lcr be at
once brought to trial. We cannot
nee how he could well have done
less than he has done, aud nobody
has any right to complain of the
proclamation considered ns an
official act But there are some
points made by the Governor that
are not strongly supported by the
I facts which have stared the people
Of South Carolina in the face for
the past eight years. That the
people have lost confidence in the
courts of justice as means of pre-
venting crime is most unfortunately
true-and, from what We have been
able to learn, this is especially the
case III portions of Judge Carpen-
ters circuit. Since 1868 there have
been such things in South Carolina
as incompetent, partial and corrupt
Judges: there have been more than
one instance of manipulation of
Jurles. with an occasional effort to
bribe jurymcn properly drawn :
there have been cases Of ucquittal
III the face of very strong proof Of
guilt the discretion given to the
circuit solicitors to discontinue
prosecutions has been exercised in II
manner most dangerous to the pub
lie peace and welfare prisoners
frequently escape from Jail and are
never heard from the pardoning
power has been most wantonly and
hsgracefully abused. and immunity
from just punishment given to
pardohcd criminals for political
ends or for a pe"nniary consitlera-
ton 1t is useless to deny any of
these propositions the proof Of
nearly all of them is a matter of
public record, and of the rest of
public notorictv. It is true that
some of these evils have ceased to
exist under Governor Chamberlain S
administration, but two wears of
good management will not suffice
to wipe ont of existence the i'm
pressions and suspicious cngender-
cd by six years Of crime in public
places, protection to criminals, the.
tbuFc of power on the side of wrong
and general ignoring of all those
regulations which are necessary fol
the peace OF society as well as fol
the enforcement of the law rgainst
individual offenders. While all
must agree that the lynching of the
Harmon murdercrs was both wrong
i'll the abstract and dangerous in it's
natural tendencies, yet it is but the
part Of justice and wisdom to in
quire into tho causes of that act
upon the part of body Of citizens
acting outside of the law. For our
selves we nbhor lynch-law, and
deplorc it's employment in South
Carolina. But while thus deplor
ing, it is but right that there be a
full survey of the field of facts
which have led to it's use. The cir,
cnmstances We have mentioned are
the direct causes Of Tint state OF
the public mind which makes
lynch law possible. For the ex-
istepee of those causes, the corrupt
men, mostly white, in the Rcpubli-
can party in this State are mainly
responsible. To their bad teachings
may be traced almost every instance
Of n fragrant disregard OF law that
has occurred among us for the past
eight years.
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