The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-06-16
LaWleSSneSS.
TRichland Beacon. I

| w leH COIL Ih Utilities Vi lHulFluuittS
are under the influence of undue ex-
element, they are in no condition to
be reasoned with, for reason is de-
throned and an attempt to reason
with them is construed into an attack
upon them which they repulse with
a spirit of passionate violence. 1t is
worse than useless under such cir
cumstances to remind them of the
inevitable evil that results from bad
precedents, for it is only liable to
| drive them further into excess. Hence,
we have refrained from expressing
our opinion of the lawless acts that
| occurred in kemper county, Miss,
and East Feliciana parish, La, until
the excitement abated and the pas
sions of the people of those sections
had somewhat subsidized, for our OBJ
ject in alluding to such things is not
to excite controversy or add fuel to
the flames of execrable anger and re-
veDge, but to accomplish good to the
community by condemning excess
and intoxicating the principles of
benevolence, forbearance, justice and
honor, and due respect for law.
We deprecate the manner in which
the press and the people generally
are disposed to discuss these matters,
particularly the custom of mixing
tliein up with politics and turning
deeds of bloodshed into movements of
political strategy. If they are political
let them be so-neither party can be
responsible for the folly of its ad-
herents who will shed human blood
under the influence of political excite
ment, for no party organization can
be under the control of leaders who
would be so foolish as to suppose that
murder would help the cause of their
party. But to return to the subject
proper under consideration. We dep
recate the presentation of such matters
under false colors, and we deprecate
thequasi justification or at least palli-
alton by the press of the darkest
crimes that ever blackened the annals
of Mississippi's history. The murder
of Gully was q terrible crime, but the
avenging of his death was worse, be-
cause the death penalty was not only
inflicted upon probably innocent
man by violence, but a tender girl, who
could have had no hand in the das-
tardly assassination of Gully, was
murdered at the same time, while
others also, who were as innocent as
she was, fell by the hand-of violence.
The cowardly murder of Mr.. Gully
was no palliation for this wholesale
murder, for even if Chisholm was the
murderer or an accessory-of which
there is at least reasonable doubt
he was in the hands of the officers of
the law, maDifesting no disposition
that we have heard of to make his
escape, and the laws of the State weie
amply sufficient to visit upon him the
punishment which the crime merited.
The fact is, he had incurred the hatred
of the community-probahly justly
we do not Knoxville Gully enjoyed
their confidence and esteem. The
populace were shocked and enraged
at the murder of an honored member
of their society, and as soon as sus-
picion pointed to this obnoxious in
dividual, they gave themselves up
completely to the control of frenzied
and unreasonable passion and vented
that hatred upon the supposed mnr-
derer, under the terrible mistake that
they were dealing justice to a criminal,
when in fact they were only gratify-
ing the remorseless passion of revenge.
TO Justify such acts is to encourage
one of the worst enemies to the peace
of society that could exist in any
State and, therefore, we have no
word of Justification or palliation. for
them. We know we have and will
incur the i'll will of those who engage
in them, if we do not actually entan-
ger our lives by condemning them
but as journalist, we occupy a res
ponsible position, and we can not al
low ourself to be deferred from a
discharge of its duties by such con-
siderations.
The killing of Laws, in East Fell
ciana, was an assassination similar to
that of Gully, and we hope his mur-
derer will be punished. We can not
conclude these remarks without say
ing this much for the South: There
are no more murders here than in the
Northern States, although we are
generally accused indiscriminately of
being set of outlaws and assassins,
the accusation being based upon these
acts of violence, perpetrated hy few
men who care nothing for the peace
or reputation of their community, so
they crafty the wicked passion Of
revenge.