Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-07-19
brutal Slaughter Of Negroes.

i
and South, TO an act Of most wanton and
wholesale butchery which has Just taken
place at Hamburg, South Carolina, town.
ship just across the river from Augusta,
Georgia. The facts, as gathered from dem.
ocratic journals 0or there are no others in
the vicinity) are given as follows On the
Fourth company OF (colored) state militia,
lawfully and peaceaby parading the streets,
refused to get out Of the way of two white
boys, gentlemen's sons, returning from visit
TO Augusta. The heightened father of one
Of the boys brings a suit against the negro
captain and his men for obstructng the
highway and retains Mr.. NJ. G.. Butler, a
resident Of Augusta formerly major-general
in the confederate states army, TO prosecute
it. The colored trial Justice postpones the
hearing once or twice. Mr.. Butler then tells
him the negroes, who have gathered at their
armory, must give up their arms. The trial
justice, who is also a general in the state
militia, advises them to comply, but they re-
fuse. Presently white sabre clubs appear
on the scene. The chiyalrous youth of Au.
gusta snatch up their guns and hurry across
the river at the instigation of this gallant
General Butler, who intimated that lively
times are ahead" aud warned them to be
con hand" Another demand is made for
the guns. The negroes reply again that they
are the legal militia of the county. Then
they are besieged in their armory. Small
arms proving Intellectual, six-pounder is
brought over from the Georgia side Of the
river Several negroes attempt 10 escape
from the building five succeed, two are shot
dead, one is taken prisoner and butchered in
cold blood The other negroes, twenty-nine
in all, are dragged from the cellar. Mr..
Butler, late majorgeneral, after giving or
ders for the conveyance of these prisoners to
the Aiken jail, rides off home. Then the
guard take out the "ringleaders," one by one,
to convenient corn field, bid them run for
their lives, and shoot the poor wretches
down as they run. Those who got farthest
dropped down at fifty yards. Then the other
prisoners were turned loose, and a voley fired
after them. And then the white chevaliers
rode away, well satisfied with their nights
sport. The Charleston Ne,cs hears that two
of the bodies were "mutilated with hatchets
and bayonets.' Down to the latest intelli
gence eight negroes were dead, and three
were thought to be fatally injured.
Speaking in plain terms of this cold
blooded outrage, the Springfield Republican
says at is gratifying to be assured by
the leading democratic paper of South Car
olina and Georgia that the best (white) PEG
pie of these states disapproye and deplore
but that is not enough. Unless they put an
abrupt stop to crimes Of this sort by hunting
| down and bringing to punishment the
wretches of their own color who perpetrate
them, their disapproyal and regret viii pass
for exactly what it is worth. Once for all,
they cannot understand too distinctly that
the vast majority Of the voters of these north
em states-independe and democrats as
well as Republicans as little prepared
to look on with complasant acquiescence at
the oppression and murder of black citizens
as at the oppression and robbery of white
ones. These outrages sicken and disgust 10
class of our people more than the men who
have been most outspoken and sincere in de
nouncing the carpet-bag venality and mis-
government, and pleading for fair, gener
Gus, brotherly treatment of the South. II
these men are once convinced that the cleo
ton of Tilden and Hendricks means this
sort of thing, good-by TO the hope of demo
cratic electoral votes from the NORTH
This subject came up incidentally in til,
House of Representatives on Saturday last
when Mr.. Cox, and other democratic mem
bers, denounced the riot as having beer
brought about for partisan purposes lie
said, "the object is to set up cry through
all this land, this fall, for bad purposes
Malignant hate, spite, bloody-shrtism, are
all there is in it, To this Mr.. Rainey (col
ored) of South Carolina, replied
MIR nAINEvs SPEECH.
Mr. Rainey said no member could deprecatt
more heartily than himself the opening of the
discussion. lie had anticipated that, when Con
gress met, It's action would be such as to exercise
salutary effect upon the entire democratic party
Of the country. That it would close It's deibera
tons without agitating these questions affecting
the lives and liberties of American citizens, but il
appeared to him, il not TO Congress, that the
negro had a vote 10 this country. SO long az h,
has voice in this government it is necessary
that he should, on every proper occasion, appea
to the country in behalf of those rights Mr.
Rainey continued; Sir, regret AS much as any
man here that outbreak at Hamburg / regret
that the proceeding was measuraby connten
anced by cavalier who has descended from noble
stock the very best that peopled the soil of Caro-
lima When make this assertion, am not in.
tiuenced by any partisan prejudice | do moi
speak from hearsay or mere conjecture. | am
sustained in what say by the democratic paper,
Of South Carolina. have in my hands the Nelc,
and Courier the leading democratic papers of the
state, which contains an article from the Augusta
Chronicle and Constitutioadlist, stating the very
fact that General Butler went from Hamburg
across the bridge into Augusta, saw young men
over there and said to them Things over il
Hamburg looks squally. Young men, we may
want You over there, this evening Get your
selves in readiness" The editor OF this demo
cratic paper, published in the city of Augusta
says that General Butler made use of that express.
sion and that those young men, fully armed, and
10 the number OF two or three hundred, went
over there; and, sir, what are we to say Of brave
white men who fought in the confederate army
coming out In armed force To capture and subiu.
gate forty defenseless negroes, collected In a
building where they could not defend themselves
These men said that they were willing to sur
General Butler, or some one else high in author
ity, should give them assurance that they
themselves, their lives, their property, should
be secure. Did they expect from General But
Ter any more than Is accorded 10 them by
the constitution? ! ask whether they had
not ~ much right to bear arms as General
1 Butler or anybody else Had they menaced or
threatened any one while engaged in that parade
ON the Fourth Of JulyP No, sir The whole trou.
BILE arose because "a few men, inllamed with whis-
key, aud with determination to snbdue the
negro In the South, told them with threats thar
they must stand from across the road, so that
these men might be enabled To drive by unmo-
Tested. Why, sir, just think of IT, What would
be thought OF 1t here in Washington city, when a
military company was paading on the Fourth of
July, il two men should come up in buggy and
demand OF the officers that the company should
get out of the way, and II they did not, should at
once set 10 work and murder the men of that mil.