, 1880-07-05


There are some considerations which, 1t
seems to me, should cause you to hesitate be-
fore indulging In wholesale censures against
the civil authorities of Texas. You are your
self the chief of these authorities, not elected
by the people, but created by the military
Not long after you had thus come into office,
all the Judges of the Supreme Court OF
Texas-five in number-were removed from
office and new appointments made; twelve
of the seventeen District Judges were rcmOv.
ed aud others appointed in their places IL Is
fair to conclude that the Executive ahd
Judicial civil functionarieS in Texas are the
persons whom YOU desired to fill the Offices
It. is proper to mention, also, that none but
registered citizens, and only those who could
take the test oath, have been allowed to serve
as Jurors during YOUR Administration. Now.
it is against this local Government, created
by military power prior to my coming here,
and so composed Of your personal and polifi'
cal friends, that you have preferred the most
grieyous complaints. 1t is of them that you
have asserted they will not do their duty;
they will not maintain Justice; will not arrest
offenders; will not punish crimes; and that
out of one hundred homiceds committed in
the last twelve months, not over ten arrests
have been made; and by means of such gross
disregard of duty, you deare that neither
property nor life is safe in Texas.
Certainly you could have said nothing more
to the discredt of the officials who are now in
office. If the facts be as you allege, mys-
terry is presented for which | can imagine no
explanation. Why is it, that your political
friends, backed up and sustained by the
whole military power of the United States
in this district, should be unwilling to enforoe
the laws aginst that part of the population
lately in rebellion, and whom you represent
as the offenders? =? In all the history OF these
troubles, have never seen or heard before of
sach fact. l repeat, if the fact be so, it is
a profound mystery, utterly surprising my
comprehension. | am constrained to decllre
that believe you are in very great error rs
to facts On careful examination at the proper
source, find that at the date of your letter
four cases only of homicides had been reported
to these headquarters as having occurred since
November %. 1867 the date of order 40, and
those cases were ordered to be tried or inves-
tigated as soon a the reports were received.
However, the fact of the one hundred homi-
cidea may still be correct, as stated by you
The Freedman's Bureau in Texas reported one
hundred and sixty how many of these were
by IDdiars and Mexicans, and how the re-
mainder were classified, Is not known, nor is
it known whether these datas are accurate.
The report of the Commanding officer of
the district of Texas shows that since as
sumed command no applications have been
made to him by you for the arrest of criminals
in the State of Texas.
To this date eighteen cases OF homlcldes
have been reported to me as having occurred
since November 20, 1867, although special in
structiOns had been given to report such cases
as they occur. Of these, five were committed
by Indians, one by Mexican, one by an in
sane man, three by coored men, two OF wo-
men by their husbands, and of the remainder
some by parties unknown-all of which could
be scarcely attributable to order No. 40. If
the reports received since the issue of order
No. 40 are correct, they exhibit no increase Of
homicidcs in my time, if you are correct that