The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-06-10
THE DANVILLE RIOT.
MINORITY REPORT SUBMITTED.
Consress No Right 10 Interfere Purely a
state Afair-InvestiRntion into Lawless-
ness and Other Misdeeds ut the North sug-


ity report OF the Senate Committee or
Privileges and Elections upon the Dam
vile riot investigation was submitted "a
the Senate to-day. The preamble OF the
resolution under which the committee
acted Is quoted, upon which the minority
comments at some length, declaring that
any lawyer with an honest disposition to
ascertain the truth would see that taking
all the facts asserted in this preamble. Con-
gress was clearly not authorized By the
Constitution 10 interfere, but would con-
clude a. once tha, II was a matter Of purely
State affair. The general election" re-
ferred 10 was u ntter OF purely State con-
Germ, nor was 1t anywhere stated that the
offences were committed bv authority OF
any State law in contravention Of the Con-
stitution, or by the aid, cOnnivancc, or
neglect OF any officer OF the State OF
Virginia; but were wholly done in
violation OF her laws and in con-
tempt OF her authority. The allega-
ton, too. that none OF the offenders had
been brought before the courts was I'M
true because Of the omission to say. doubt
less with the view TO deceive, that the
State authorities from the Governor TO the
corporation scavenger OF DanyiIle belong
ed 10 the same political party which was
responsible for the resolution, and IN
whose behalf the inquiry had been con-
Quoted. The fourteenth and fifteenth con-
stitutional amendments are quoted, and
| further arguments are based upon them in
support OF the theory that the General
Government had no right OF interference
in the premises. But IT is indirectly said,
continues the report by the committee.
that they propose no interference hy actual
legislation further than by investigation TO
expose to public condemnation the action
Of the rioters IN Danville, and it is also in
timated that should the people OF Missis-
sippi not vote for the candidates OF the Re
! publican party in the pending presidential
election. then the committee recommend
further investigation OF the whole people
OF those States with the view to depriving
them OF representation in Congress under
section 2 OF the fourteenth amendment.
The latter the undersigned regard simply
ms u partisan threat, in itself strongly inter-
fering with the free exercise OF the right Of
suffrage, which it is believed the manly
people against whom it Is directed will
treat with the contempt it so richly merits,
and the former would seem to he simply a
proposition to shift the expense OF printing
a campaign document from the pockets OF
the Republican National Executive Com
mittce on to the public treasury.
Decent respect for the opinions OF man.
kind, the report asserts, should have i'm
PEELED the Republicans TO conduct the in.
vestigation with fairness. and set forth its
results with judicial impartialty. A
glance at the majority report would satisfy
every Just mind that. this had not been
done. The examination was conducted
with all sharpness aud rigor-shutting off
OF unfavorable testimony, leading up to and
the solicitation Of that which was favorable,
which usually characterized the trial Of q
criminal case in the Hastings Court. The
people of Danville were all the way through
treated as though they were on trial. with
Republican senators acting as prosecutors.
Things were assumed to be true on ram
bling statements OF ignorant negroes,
though disproved by dozens Of witnesses
OF greater intelligence, both white and
black
The minority present a resume OF the
political history OF Virginia from 1879 to
1888, in order to show the condition OF
affairs which existed at the time Of the
riot in Danvlle. The bitter feeling be-
tween the adherents OF the Coalition and
Democratic parties, they point out, was in
tensified in the city Of DanvlIe, where
large numbers OF negro laborers had been
drawn by tobacco-factOries, and where,
outnumbering the whites, they had secured
control Of the municipal government, the
result of which had been that outrages
and indignities had been committed
upon the people. They speak Of
the address to the people OF the
Southwest and the Valley OF Virginia
issued by the citizens Of Danville, setting
forth their grievances, and appealing for
help at the ballot-boxes, and say OF it that
it was partisan campaign paper; that it
did not profess to be anything else, and
that while it contained the usual amount
OF eXaggeTatiOn and heated expression its
statements are proven by many OF the
most respectable witnesses to be in the
main correct, especially in regard to those
grievances which were most Irritating and
offensive to the sensibilities OF their
people. This circular, the minority say,
gave great offence to the CoalitiOnsts,
and they then come to the speech
made by Colonel Sims, denouncing
the authors OF the circular as liars, scOun-
drels, and towards, which they assert i'll
famed the already excited negroes to the
point of threats and violence. They dwell
at length on the occurrences OF the day
following the delivery of this speech, and
the encounter between the young white
man NOEL and the negroes Lawson and
LlewellyD, which precipitated the riot.
! They insist that the testimony taken by
! the committee shows that many OF the
negroes engaged in the riot were armed,
and tlOurished their weapons threaten
ingly. and that after the whites fired in
the air TO scare them away that they fired
back as they retreated. They also deny
that there was any evidence 10 show that
the whites fired upon women and children,
as asserted in the report OF the majority.
They say that Sims was more 10 blame
for the bloodShed in Danyille than any
other man, and they condemn the majority
for refusing to hear the testimony OF cIti-
zens OF Danville as TO his character. They
criticise the report OF the majority as still
more unfair, more partisan and disingenu-
Gus even than the examination OF the wit
nesses, and say 1--WE challenge all just
minded men to examine 1t, confident IL
they do that they will conclude that the
committee did not want the real
facts. but were searching for material
for political campaign" They say
further that the proof is oyerwhelm-
ing that the rlot was hot pienIeui'
tated. nor the result Of conspiracy OF the
Democratic party OF Virginia. Referring
to the charge that the Democratic party Of
Virginia sought to dsfranchise the negroes
OF that State by the imposition Of capita
tion-tax and by other methods, they make
a general denial, and then enter upon an
elaborate exhibition Of the methods by
which the right OF suffrage is abridged at
the North. They point to Massachusetts,
where, under law forbidding the right OF
suffrage to illiterate persons, and paupers
who are unable TO pay certain taxes,
l44,509 persons are DISTINGUISHED for
! in.arnnn n or nnyertY To Rhohe Island.