New-York tribune., 1876-10-25


criminal folly. now proceed to present s'"'e
ment of the facts upon which the present can upon
tbe President for aid in suppressing domestic Nio-
lence in this State has been made shali MANI "'
statement which does not rest on olhclai iii
tion now in my possession.
MILITARY STRENGTH OF THE RIFLE CLUBS
Fy,st Az 70 the rifle clubs. These clubs are or
panizatons having every distinctive feature OF n'-
tarv companies. They exist unless disbanded since
nv proclamation of the 9TH inst, of which nave
No evidence in every county in the state nave
the evidence of the existence of 2l3 rlile clupS'
with the names of some or all of their oiiceIs'
These clubs have an average mempeiShiP
Of GO men, The evidence shows i""'
the members of this force of nearly I3'oVV men ','
armed with not less than 5000 improved oi'''"
loading rifles NV estimate of the whole hui,loei W
men enrolled in the rife clubs and armed WIN WIN
effective weapons is not lOeE than 16'ooo OF l''ooo
while the estimates Of my informah's NhS iru"' ~,
90 600 70 100000 besides company oihcers' Inc
evidence shows that these clubs are organlzeu l'o
regiments have before me at this moment an an-
thentic printed copy of the general orders ISSUE"
by the colonel of one of these regiments, counter
signed by the adjutant, in which INSTRUCTIONS "i'
specifically given to the leutenant-colohe, lh'Jo.
and commanding officers of companies Inc c''-
dence pointS also to the existence OF generai
bo,,iro control of other formations composed OF
regiments and brigades There Is much evidence p'c
from independent sources showing that fully loooo
imnroved breech-loadnc rifles have been purchased
by rifle clubs in this State within the last four
months.
These organizations are not only outside the law
Int they are strictly prohibited by the laws of the
STATE. The evidence is overwhelming that these
climbs were formed and have been constantly used as
tbe chief basis of organization Of the Democratic
party. During the month of August attended Re
pubcan meetings among others, in the counties OF
Edpefeld. Newberry, Abbcvillc Barnwcl, and
Lancaster at each of which these clubs were present
in numbers varying from 400 to 900. They were
heavily armed with pistols and were commanded ny
persons bearing the titles of military officers. They
marched and maneuvcrcd as ordinary military com
panies. They attended these meetings aS Demo
Gratis took control OF them in some instances ana III
all instances enforced their demand for participa-
ton in Republican meetings by their presence ~
armed, organized bodies.
In their several Localities these clubs have operated
openly and ostcnsby as Democratic campaign or
carnations. Far and wide in the state they have
ridden by day and by night as a menace 70 the men-
bers of the Republican party, especially its col"red
members. uttcnng threats, and not seldom
executing iltlU. lll'I 10 lH' i'''"' '''''''.'''
Of widespread violence which occasioncd my proc
lamation and call upon the President, these clubs
or those who were members thereof. had killed. cX-
elusive Of the Hamburg and Elcnton massaorcs, not
less than fifteen members Of the Republican party
had whipped and outraged hundreds. and had iudi-
yidualy threatened thousands. They had for the
most part evaded punishment by reason OF their
numbers and the terror inspired both in their viz
tins and in the officers Of the law Constituting or
representing as they did almost the entire body
of white men in their Localities. no eff
cicnt way Of enforcing the law was lcit.
A constable or sheriff with colored posse would
have been massacrcd in an attempt TO execute the
law. II were to pass through the same scenes
again / should never order, advise, or permit the
effort 10 bc made TO overcome such distinctions Ia
the law by any force then at my command. 1t
would be not less idle than cruel
These clubs constituted vast conspiracy against
the State Government. A conspiracy is defined 10
be a confederation Of two or more persons to do uu-
lawful acts or to do lawful acts 10y unlawful means
This conspiracy was a confederation to do unlawful
acts by unlawful means. 1t rose 10 proportions and
exhibited itself in ways which made all ordinary
civil agencies impOtcnt to cope with II. IL aimed,
by the commission Of crimes ranging from threats Of
personal injury to murder to destroy the freedom of
a majority of the people i'll the present election, and
thus TO overthrow the lawful government of the
STATE.
TIE RIOT AT EILENToN.
come now to the transaction which is known here
as "the Ellenton massacre and which was the i'm
mediate cause Of my call upon the President for
military aid. The country is already familiar with
the Hamburg massacre, which was at the time Of
its occurrence in july declared by my opponents
4 I,t,t.. . l.I,..V
acter Ellcnton the center OF the of the latter
and more extensive massacre, is Stuatcdn the same
county with Hamburg CAIkenl, and about 20 miles
distant. The counties adjoining Aiken on 5he north
and south are Edgcfeld and Barnwell. The riot
and massacre continued from the 10th to the oath of
September. The affair carefully planned, all
truthful reports Of its character successfully
suppressed, and the terror inspired in all the local
officers Of the county 50 great, that was unable
TO obtain my first official report through special Off
GERS sent from Columbia until the Sth Of October
Even then the report very imperfect on account
of the fact that the cOlOrcd people who were the
witnesses and objects of the violence were absent
from their homes through fear and when
accessible in many instances unwil-
ling to give their testimony until further
protection could be guaranteed TO them
An elaborate investigation has now been made
and the following statement is made up from the
written testimony Of more than one hundred sworn
witnesses who have been carefully examined. II
will be seen that all the discrepancies between the
present statement and that made in my letter Of
oct 4 to the Chairman Of the Democratic State Ex-
ecutive Committee simply add features of deeper
horror to the affair.
In the County Of Aiken and the adjoining counties
of Edgefcld and Barnwell the white Democrats
began as early as last July systematically to inform
the colored Republicans that the Democrats had re-
solved to carry the coming election, aud that the