New-York tribune., 1879-04-29
THE CHARLESTON TRIALS.

4
! The letter we print in another column
| throws clear light upon the history and re-
! suits of the recent trials in the United States
Circuit Court at Charleston for violation OF
the Federal Election laws. The South Caro-
lima Democrats made these cases not only
party matter, but State matter, and USED
every advantage money and political power
| could give TO screen the guilty persons from
punishment. A Senator and Congressman
left Washington and attended the trials, to
give advice and assistance, and the ablest
lawyers in the State were retained to fight
the Government In short, it was South Car
olina against the United States once more, as
in the days of notification and secession.
The entire State, as represented by its
officials its bar and its influential citizens was
united in an effort to hinder the Government
from enforcing its laws upon the soil of
South Carolina. In all the discussions in the
local newspapers which preceded the trial,
and in the behavior of the lawyers for the
defence. it was plain that the Federal
Court was looked upon as an alien and hostile
power seeking to invade a sovereign COM
munity, and to make It's citizens amenable to
laws imposed upon them without their con-
sent. Public opinion in the State justified
every trick and subterfuge that promised to
defeat the ends of justice. 1t justified, too,
the prosecution of prominent Republicans in
the State Courts, in order that they might be
held as hostages for the release of the red
shirted raiders and tissue-ballot rascals.
The attorneys for the State of South Caro-
lima, for such they were in reality, although
nominaly representing the prisoners individ-
~. al In, fl,o Of
Judge Bonds Court, knowing that Demo-
cratic Congress had so stintei it of funds
that it Lust soon reach state of suspended
animation. Nevertheless, two convictions were
secured both perfectly plain cases where it
was impossible for the jury to disagree one
being for assaultng a Supervisor and the
other for repeating. Then the Barnwell cases,
which were typical of many Others, were
reached. These involved the whole business
of breaking up Republican meetings, raiding
the country with rifle clubs prior to the cleo
ton and forcibly preventing cOlOred men from
voting. Here the weakness of the Federal
statutes, as interpreted by the Supreme Court,
proved an effectual defence for the criminals
Judge Bond could not do otherwise than
charge the jury that, according to the decision
of the Supreme Court in the Cruikshank case,
the right of the people to assemble and
consult respecting public affairs is older than
the Constitution, was neither granted nor
guaranteed by the Constitution, and can only
be protected by the States. This decision was
made in 1876, Chief-Justice Waite delivering
the opinion of the Court Whatever may be
Thought of lis WISDOM it is Of course qnal
and goyems al Subordinate tribunals. From
it follows that the breaking up of al;tical
meetings by armed force IS not an IE .u,s
which can he punished in the Federal Courts
In order to bring under the provisions Of the
statute the other offence charged against the
Barnwell prisoners, of conspiTine to intimi-
date, injure and Oppress a Gtiz"n in the free
exercise of his right to vote, II ~ . he shown
that the motive for the offence ,.a- tic race
color, or previous condition D. .orVtude of
the injured party. In both the Cruikshank
case and the Kentucky case of Reese, the Su-
preme Court made this point perfectly clear
Now it could not be proved that the colored
men in South Carolina whose right to vote
was interfered with by the accused were thus
injured because of their color. In fact it was
patent to all men that their politics and not
their color was what aroused the fury Of their
oppress0rs. If they had marched in Demo-
cratic professions and come to the polls with
Democratic ballots in their hands, they would
have been as safe as any white man in the
State. The verdict of acQuttal ordered by
Judge Bond in these cases gives carte blanche
to the bulldOzers everywhere iii the South,
but it was unavoidable.
BY the time the Barnweli cases had been
disposed of, the Charleston Court seems TO
have reached the bottom of Its funds, the
tactics of the Democratic lawyers in delaying
the proceedings and subgenaing "a multitude
of needless witnesses having been successful
in exhausting its scanty osoIoes. There still
remained upon the docket large number of
cases for stul1ing boxes vith tissue ballots,
making false counts and interfering with
supervisors, none of which were affected 10y
judge Bonds instructions as TO 'he bearing OF
the Reese and Cruillshank decisions, be-
cause there was no question of colCr in
volyed, the offences charged being violations
of the plain terms Of the Federal Election law
These cases were all continued until the next
term OF the court, and will probably never
come to trial. Our correspondent describes a
sort of compromise or understanding, which
has very much the appearance Of truce be-
tween the Sovereign State of South Carolina
and the District Attorney representing an
alien authority known as the United States.