The Portland daily press., 1876-07-28
The Hamburg Massacre.
Gen. NJ. G. Buffers BIusfer.

Gen. NJ. G. Butler, the "herov of the
Hamburg massacre, has sent the following
letter to the New York Herald:
EDGEFIELD, s. G, July 81, 1876.
To the Editor Of the Herald:
have just read Gov. Chamberlain's fancy
sketch OF the Hamburg horror" addressed
to Senator Robertson, at Washington, After
few rhetorical fourishes His Excellency saws:
such acts call for condemnation and punish
ment. entirely agree with him, and il he
does not take steps at once to have them con-
demned and punished he should be hurled
from the position which his imbeclity dis
graces L have been the object and target of
radical malignity, and assigned position in
this affair similar to that of Sitting Bull in
the Custer massacre. l have been slandered
and traduced by the governors emissaries for
doing nothing more than my very plain and
simple duty; and L now challenge him to be-
gin his legal investigation. He knows nv
residence, ard knows that the presence Of
United States soldiers is not necessary for
man who was at Hamburg; and before that in
vestigati0n closes, il do not show that the
negroes were the aggress0rs, and the whites not
to blame, that the emmissaries of his Excellency
were the nstgators OF the riot and his appointees
could have prevented, and did not prevent il;
that the company called militia was not mil
itia, but band OF rioters and highwaymen
and that he is responsible for the riot; if do
uot SHOW ali InlS, anu SHOW DeSlueS q condition
of affairs at Hamburg under a radical govern
ment pretending to be civilized, which would
almost disgrace the purleus of Coomassee
settlement, will undertake to answer person
ally for the death of every man, white and
black, who fell in that riot No man knows
better than Governor Chamberlain, that what
he stated in that communication to Senator
Robertson is false in every essential particular,
no one knows better than himself that he has
published it in the bloody shirt outrage inter-
Wh ha hos orr
L make him very practical proposition and he
shall not evade it. High sounding phrase g.
such as he INDUCES in, are better suited to an.
other era OF our history, when people were
mentality. when radical cant and radical false
hood had larger and more willing and atten-
tive audience. The American people are be-
coming eminenty practical, almost prosy, in
their pursuit of facts. As you aptly suggest in
your editorial. "The Governors campaign rhet-
oric is another thing; let him hand up the
criminals concerned and punish them. If as
he says, the whites OF South Carolina reprobate
the outrage, let the Governor test their in.lig-
nation by furnishing the offenders" The rhap-
sodies of partisan politician, fatally bent on
perpetuating his personal supremacy and the
power of his party is one thing and the manly
discharge OF duty by the Governor of whole
State in the interest of all is another His Ex-
cellency has chosen the role of the partisan at
the expense of his official responsibility, and
II he does not make good his oath of office to
see that the laws are executed, let him stand
confessed as charlatau, who would gamble
with the dearest rights of the people of the
Commonwealth and barter away the fair name
of the State to the end that ID. III. Chamber
lain may continue to wear the Gubernato-
rial robes of State which he cannot, or does
not govern. Very respectfully yours,
Gen. Butler is now resorting to buster
He knows very we'll that the accounts Of the
Hamburg massacre given in South Carolina
Democratic journals are as black if not black
er than that furnished by Coy. Chamberlain.
He knows that the only offence the negroes
were guilty of was the delaying of two white
men few minutes in the streets of Ham
burg And he is well aware that in the light
of the proven facts, when he says he has done
nothing more than his plain and simple duty,
he virtually lays it down as a principle that
the black mans right to life is subject to the
pleasure and convenience of the white man,
and that in case negro military company
obstruct the highway, delay white man
and refuse to deliver up their arms when re-
quested to do so by the white mans lawyer,
they forfeit that right, and the man who COL
lects body of armed rufians and shoots
them in cold blood is simply doing his duty.
That Gen. Butler should be ready to be tried
for his part in the Hamburg affair is not sur
prising when we see the alacrity with which
Democratic statesmen and Democratic jour
nails hasten TO apologize for and defend his
work. he knows his ground and has good
reason to believe that the same potent influ-
ences which compelled one journal in his
own state, which, on the morning after the
massacre, characterized his conduct as it de-
served, TO retract and offer humble apology,
will not be without effect upon jury.