The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-08-15
TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT.

7irulence upon all subjects relating to
the South, has an article headed "Com-
promising with Treason" in which it
comments upon the following telegram to
the Baltimore Sun about the Ladd MUIR
derers:
The Administration is very desirous of
avoiding conflict or raising an open
issue with the State of South Carolina,
and there can be no doubt the President
will avoid one, if he can consistently
with the duties of his Office, as he under.
stands them. It is limited, but not Off
cially, that the cases may be compromised
without prejudice to the State, and this
may account for the delay in the pro-
ceedings.
The Tines says:
Possibly there are people in the North
who can read this with patience, but We
regret not to be among them. A mob
assaults the Republican Government OF
Louisiana, and we send Commission
down to effect a peaceful surrender of the
State to them. A lot of ex-rebels in
South Carolina imprison United States
officers for the crime of attempting to
stop whisky frauds, refuse to surrender
them to the United States authorities,
and threaten rebellion if any attempt is
made to take them by force; and now it
is proposed to Compromise" with this
new attempt at notification. Does any
one suppose that Jackson ever thought
of compromising with the Calhoun nulli-
fers? Is it the habit of honest people
and respectable Governments to compro.
mise with treason? Are the consequent
ces of offending Wade Hampton 80 fear
full that the United States must cast aside
its authority, its dignity and its decency,
and beg for compromise" wherever he
sees fit to scout and nullify its laws? 1t
sometimes seems to US as if the Repub-
lican party had lost, at the last election,
some things which Francis managed to
cling to even at Pavia.
In this article the Times shows de-
plorable ignorance upon the subject
about which it attempts to comment, or
an utter disregard for even the semblance
of truth. If our contemporary had
enough patience, which, for wonder, it
gets up truth enough to admit that it has
not, to read the facts about the case of
the Ladd murderers, it would probably
see the ridiculous farce it enacts in at
tempting to raise storm of indignation
over the prosecution of what appears
from the sworn testimony to be mali
cious and inexcusable murder. If the
Times calls shooting a peaceable and un-
offending citizen of this State down in
cold blood while standing upon the sa-
cred threshold of his own house, without
any charge against him, attempting
to stop whiskey Frauds" then the reve-
nue. officers are incarcerated for that
offense; but the people of South Caro-
lima have yet to be taught how revenue
officers, or any other persons, can stop
whiskey frauds by numbering innocent
men, and they have yet to learn the law
which gives revenue officials the priyi-
lege of killing one man because they are
looking for another, as was the case in
this instance, for these officers were in
search of Redmond, and going to Ladd's
house in the expectation of finding the
man they were looking for, killed Ladd,
no doubt taking him for Redmond, and
expecting to get the large reward offered
for his capture. What sympathy these
rufians are entitled to more than is e1-
tended to all criminals, we fail to per-
ceive. The Times woald greatly enlight-
en- the public by informing us who
threatens any rebellion in this case. If
it is rebellion to leave the decision of this
subject to the Courts of the land, of
which the Supreme Court of the United
States is the highest authority, then South
Carolina proposes to rebel, but not other
wise. If there WAS any spirit of rebel
lion in the case, instead of leaving it to
the Courts the prisoners would have been
taken from the Jail and lynched. Moth
ing of the kind has ever been contem-
plated, and the TRADE of the Times about
rebellion is without enough foundation
to make its falsehoods even ingenious.
There is no semblance of notification in
the attitude of South Carolina, unless it
is notification to ask the Courts of the
country to construe law. The case is
simply one of jurisdiction, and is proper
ly for the Judiciary to determine. The
Executive department of the govern
ment has no right to meddle with
it at all until the decision of the
judiciary has been reached, and all that
the cabinet hes done in the case has
been fragrant usurpation On its part.
The members of the cabinet who have
favored interference have not only acted
as judges in overruling decision of
competent Court, but they have acted as
jurors in deciding the merits of the case
by announcing that the killing was done
in self.defense. We are not aware that
the Executive department of our govern
ment has absorbed all of the powers of
our Courts yet, and if it has not, The
cabinet has no power to make any dispo-
sition of what is contest purely about
d question of law, which our Courts
alone can determine. Nor is it any more
evident to our obtuse mind where there
is any treason in the attitude of South
Carolina. 1t has invariably been true
in history that traitors Stunned the courts
of justice, and yet in South Carolina the
people who are guilty of this so-called trea-
son are invoking the determination of the
question by the Courts, This is q new