The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-12-01


peace-one prominent Coalitionist-whC
! were unanimously in favor OF his acquittal
: Carter, who was killed at Turkey Cove
was accidentally shot by nan who's,
pistol was discharged during struggle &c
! prevent fight between two other men
! Carter had no quarrel with either OF th,
men, and was standing at some distance
from them.
8. Town OF Danville.
; The public has already read the tempe.
rate and convincing statement made by a
committee Of forty citizens OF Danyile, OF
which Major w. T. Sutherlin was chair.
man, alter examining under oath thirty.
seven witnesses Of the street fight OF the
3d OF November, who were personally
known to the committee, including the
two policemen present. IL il therefore
only necessary briefly 10 recapitulate the
testimony accompanying this report, the
whole current OF which negatives the idea
OF any ,precOncerted plan on the part OF
the whites TO attack the blacks. or 10 pro-
woke an attack from the blacks. The white
people OF Danville will, on the contrary,
be found to have displayed the utmost
forbearance and seli-control Under the
most trying circumstances. This, cou-
pied with the absence Of any reason
able motive TO bring on q bloody con-
ilict in the midst Of their wives and
children. ought 10 predispo'e every faIr-
minded man to that rejection OF 50 unnat-
ural charge to which hc will surely be
led by the Irresistible logic OF the facts.
Let these undisputed facts speak.
IL must be promised that since the eicc-
ton OF May. 1882, Danyille has been under
negro government, with negro policemen,
and that belief had grown up in the
minds OF the negroes that. a. against white
men, they would, in every case, receive
the support and protection OF the munich
pal government. In consequence, they had
| become rude and insulting 10 the whites,
and bad feeling had been mutually brought
about. This tendency to race excitement
| had been aggravated by the heated canvass
: o, the last few months, and had been spe-
! cially intensified on the night OF
the ID OF November by an incen-
diary speech delivered by Coalition
leader (SimS) 10 IN audience OF 800 negroes.
In this feycred state OF feeling. on the Sd
OF November, between and O'Clock. a
! 1st-tight-the second Of that day-between
a white man (NoelD and negro Uawson)
struck the spark which kindled violent
but brief explosion.
And here it is important to observe that
| bO,h OF these fist-tights were brought on
10y insults first proceeding from the negro
Lawson and his companion, and the negro
Lawson is the same who had on the lst OF
I November offered an unproyOked insult TO
a white man (TaylOr) who was quietly pass
| ing through a crowd OF cOl0red people.
a little after midday on the Sd OF No
vcmber NOEL, passing down the street.
had without any pr0yOcation been inSulted
/ by Lawson and his c0lorcd companion.
! This NOEL resented With blows, and pass
ing on determined TO let the matter drop
and go into the country, expressing bis
determination to keep out OF further
trouble on account OF the prevailing cX-
citcment. But afterwards, rs he was
driving along in 4 buggy, he was, without
proyocltion on his part, three times de-
liantly ieered at by his late assailant
Lawson, who followed him with crowd
OF negroes. Not able 10 brook these
insults, Noel rapidly called to his side,
to secure fair play, his friends Lea
and Taylor, white men, to whom
he declared he would strike Lawson only
with hi- fste, and again got to blows with
the negro.
A great crowd OF blacks were now
pressing around, and Lea and Taylor bade
them stand OF, a. il was fair fight and the
two men should be lett to fight it out. To
enforce this Lea and Taylor drew their
pistols.
Shortly afterwards, rs the testimony OF
b. +. Williamson shows, a negro named
Adams run up behind Lea and at
tempted to snatch his pistol from him.
In the scuflle which followed the pistol
was discharged. This pistol-shot. for which
the negro George Adams, as the aggres-
sor, is distinctly responsible, seems TO have
wrought up the crowd OF 100 to f50-some
say 300-negrocs to IN uncomfortable pitch
OF excitement: and though the colored
policeman Withers and his white comrade
and Booth, Oliver, and other white citi-
zenS, entrcated the colored people TO dis
pcrse and keep the peace, cries were now
heard from the negrOes-outnumbcr-
Ing the whites by certainty five,
and probably ten, TO one-that "they
might rs well have IL out there rs any
where" firmly answered by the little band
OF whites, " We are ready Tor you. Ii you
won't dispersc, wen settle it," Then
negro jumped up in the crowd and, hold
ing up pistol, shouted, oh you,
come on" At that moment the firing be-
can-from which side cannot be ascertain
ed-and was kept up from both sides,
though the negro policeman (Withcrs) ties.
tifes that "at first the white people
shot UP in the air as ii TO scare
the people away, and then the firing seemed
TO be on both sides at each other
What seems certain Is that il the ten or
fifteen brave white men, standing there
and facing that angry crowd 50 enormous
" outnumberng them, had tlinched for
an instant. or rctreated one foot from the
ground they occupied, they themselves
would have been butchered, and the town
would have been at the mercy Of an infu-
rated mob. That there was predlspo>i-
ton on the part OF the negroes and their
Coalition leaders TO bring on disturb
ance is shown by the unproyoked
insult offered to Taylor on the lst OF No
yember. and twice repeated on the ID 10
NOEL; by the declaration OF Epp Barks-
dale. IN active white Coaitionist, on the
nieht OF November I'd "We have got the
negroes solid against you, and III be
damned II we can't turn them loose on you
i'm five seconds; by the statement OF Ar
rington (colored) that he heard Talf'lferro.
a leader OF the negroes, say about IL
O'Clock on the Sd OF November, "There
will be IA difficulty here to-day y; and,
lastly, by the inhammatory speech OF Sims
on the night of the I'd.
During the fight all the leading white
men OF Danyille were gathered in apublic
meeting in the Opera-Ilouse. \ few OF
them reached the scene OF the conflict to-
wards its conclusion, and by their aid
peace and order were Immediately restored
bv the local authorities, so that on election
day there was not a quieter town in the
country than Danvile. But before quiet
was restored two whites and seven negroes
had been wounded. OF the negroes, four
afterwards died. One OF the white men
..,,.hnl ,.n. certainly Shot bY q negrn |