The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
oRANGEBURG. S.
Tharsdaf December 20, 1888.
4 ,esrost DampaDle copspiracy....

J. R, Blackman, Esq, the aceomplish-
ed correspondent of the Nescs and co,t-
rier, who reparted the recent political
trials in Columbia for that journal,
drops the curtain on the great Green
baeks Radical combination peri ormance,
in the following style We copy aud
publish Mr. Blacll1nan's letter in
editorial col lamps, because it says Just
what we want to say, only in mora
forcibse manner than we could say it..
He says: Now that the conspiracy to
SoRfict Democratic citizens in the
United States Court by means Of juries
packed 8ith Republicans and Green
5aekers has failed, it is q matter of JUS
fiee to those who stood up for right
against oppression that thepublic should
be given their names, and on the other
hand:i is a matter of justice to the
public to know the names of the miser-
able gang who, nnder oath to well and
truly try and true deliyerance make,
voted every time in the jury-room to
convict innocent men on absolutely no
proof, and who would have done SO
equally as speedily if the Government
slsd not even gone through the farce of
q trial. The: three men to whom the
people of South Carolina owe the deliv-
serance Of the defendants in these cases
a1e Messrs. Cullen Lark of Laurens, J.
G. Long Of Union, and Hezekiah Ellis
of Kershaw. These gentleman were
assumed by Melton and Speer, because
of ther Greenback or Republican SYM
psthies, to be like the, rest of their
.sringing minions on the panel, but they
were mistaken. And to prove that the
effort was to convict, testimony or no
testimony, Melton eliminated these gen
tlemen from his select crowd just as
fast as he found they were not, like the
g saae vi ling and ready to
do hissdirty work. The names et che
white jurors who in every case y,
which they were used voted for convic-
tion, were Middleton Ray of Spartan
burg, Fuller Prickett of Orangeburg,
C. C. Turner Of Spartanburg, j. II. John
son of Clarendon, VIM. Grant of Ches-
terfield, D. C.Wolfe of Lancaster, E. R.
Bolger Of Charleston, E. L. Arthur of
Orangeburg, and John Agnew of Column
bia Negroes are not mentioned. Moth
ing better could be expected from them,
but the names above given are white
men. They have cast their lot with the
lowest elements of the Radical party.
Let the-people- composing the ,commu-
mites inswhich tReI live see to it that
they henceforth. find theirs associates
there and be forever shut out as TneSean
things from the threshold of decent and
respectable society. There can be no
claim from these jurors that they acted
from conscientious reasons and founded
their action upon the testimony. 1t is
positively known, and it dare not be;
denied, that these jurors, with the Re
publican negroes on the panel, actually
held caucusss and bound each other to
vote for conviction before the cases
were brought to trial. Was there ever
such travesty of justice in a free coun-
try? Mr.. Long, by whose manly adher-
ence to his oath as q juror the Marion
defendants were saved from conviction;
is from a Greenback family, and attend
ed these caucuses, although having no
sympathy in their nefarious object.
Melton thought he had Long all right,
because his henchnen reported that
Long had attended the caucuses and
wasrred-hot for conviction. But Long
was playing game that Melton didn't
understand, and Mr.. Melton got left"