The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-06-22
THx UNION RIGHTS sTOP.


Of yesterday afternoon. Major Bascom
is the Federal officer In command ol
the troops In West Feliciana. He visited
Port Hudson In person, investigated the
trouble from beginning to end. and has
made full official report.
The Republican has been full Of mis-
representations Of this affair. But, we
presume, the reports OF a Federal off,
cor OF high rank and character will
have greater weight with the country
than the willful misrepresentation OF
IN unscrupulous, partisan paper. The
story told by our correspondent, and
10 fully oorroborated by Major Bascom' 3
ofFicial report. We commend to the at
tention Of tho people ut large. Not that
We desire to create any feeling against
the poor and deluded negroes who were
engaged In this and other similar affairs.
but that IT may be seen who are the re-
sponsible parties for the scenes OF vio-
lence which have occurred In this State
and Mississippi.
The negroes are very ignorant and
superstitious people, timid and brutal,
and their fears are easily aroused, and
their evil passions readily excited. They
are either children or savages, and the
docile creature who is to-day pleased
with trinket and ready to serve his en-
ployer, may In an hour or two be trans
formed into ferocious brute by the arts
Of bad and designing white men. This
fact explains why 1t Is that the kindly
feelings which one day exist between
the Southern whites and blacks are
often tho next week utterly
destroyed, and disgraceful and
cruel scenes Of violence and
blood provoked. Left to themselves,
the negroes OF the South implicitly
trust the whites of the South. But un-
fortunately they have not been left to
themselves. For several years this
State has been filed with q class Of
scoundrels, known as carpet-baggers and
scallawags whose business has been
to excite the fears and arouse the bad
passions OF the negroes by teaching
them that the purpose'of the whites is
to re-enslave them, or deprive them of
their rights. These creatures have been
sustained by Warmoth and Kellogg
and their partisans here, and by
the Federal Government and the Re-
publican politicians In Washington and
elsewhere. In every locality where the
negro, population is large, as in Grant
parish, Red River, West Fcliciana and
10Th Af
these white incendiaries have taught
them that the Nwhites are
their deadly foes and are ready
to swoop down upon them and whip,
enslaye and butcher them, or drive them
from their homes. These infamous
stories have been believed by the credu-
lous and simple negroes; and have ex-
cited their fears. and aroused their ami
mostly and most brutal passions
Thus influenced, they have formed
clubs and companies with the view OF
numbering the whites by wholesale.
The Union Rights Stop just discovered
st Port Hudson was one OF these clubs,
and the oath Of the order, which we
printed yesterday, while it shows the
deadly purpose OF the negroes,
at the same time indicates very clearly
that they were influenced by the fear of
the whites which the infamous false
hoods Of the New Orleans Republican,
and the local emissaries Of the Kellogg
party have awakened In their hearts.
We do not blame the negroes for these
things. As we have said, they are igno-
rant, superstitious. timid and brutal.
They have simply been the dupes OF the
New Orleans Republican and OF the white
rascals who preach the doctrines OF Kel-
loggism in this State. It has been
necessary, when the negro organizations
have broken out into open robbery,
murder and arson, to deal summarily
with the negroes caught in these acts.
The safety Of communities has COM
pelled this course. But we trust
the captured negroes will
always be temperately dealt
With. Our people understand the negro |
character, and when the outbreaks are
suppressed, punishment should be vis-
ted lupon those captured temperately,
md with due consideration for
he influences under which the de-
luded negroes acted. The men |
rho deserve the untempered vengeance
& the outraged and imperiled commun-
ties are the white scoundrels who have
the negroes against the
whites. and taught them that their own
lafety i in ! Wholesale system Of murder
- azpon.