National Republican., 1884-04-01
TIE nrsr PEOPLE OF pANvILLE.

The BEST PEOPLE OF DANNILLE.
Test mony IN Behalf or the Eiotcrs-h
Very Indiscrcet witncss-Thc Defense
sIll nt ".
At the Danvilc examination yesterday a
number OF the best citizens were exam
ined for the purroso oc showing, first, that
under coalition rule the Colorcd peonle had
become aggressive; and, second, that on the
occasion of the riot the white people woro
justified in shooting into the crowd Of black
people on account of their threatening de-
mcanor.
Mr. i. c. Enright testified that on the
noining Of the riot six C0lorgd men stood in
front Of his place of business and when he
ordered them away one refused TO go, and,
in response to threat to push him away,
the negro said, The pushing days are over"
J. t. Perkinsou r. }. Thompson, and
Il. l.. Osborn saw pistols in the hands of
colorod people while the riot was in progress.
j. S. Taylor, white, described what he saw
of the riot but did not see 10 all. saw some
colorcd boys, but no ColorCd woman in the
crowd. The only woman he saw was an
Italian peasant, u musician.
Senator lapham. Was she playing?
Not while was there"
she did not fiddle while Rome was burn.
ing?"
mo, sir They didn't have fiddle; II wa
an organ
George L. Coleman testified that he saw a
colorCd man snap pistol as he stood in a
doorway. lie ordered him to dcsist and tho
man ran away.
Charles ii Conrad said he saw Capt. CIR yes
at the time he was said to have Shot George
Adams, but he was certain that Graves did
not fire the shot that struck Adams. He was
chairman OF a democratic ward club and in u
,n.itipn 20 lpp,u I,ut q, pli
tation TO bring on the riot.
On cross-cNumination Senator sherman
asked II witness fired his pistol. Witness de-
clined TO answer. In the further course of
the cross.cXnmnation witness asserted with
much earnestuCss that it was mistake to
suppose there was prejudice against the ne
grocs The prejudice was against the low
down whitos-tho scum of the carth-that
come down there from the nOrth-mCn who
got the negroes into trouble and then deserted
them Witness had negroes at work for him
who would sacrifice their lives for him If he
was in danger. He had twenty negro work
men, three of whom were democrats. His
fathcr-in.law employed between 200 and 800
negroes, and twenty-five of them were demo-
Gratis.
Senator Sherman asked if the negroes
under any circumstances, stood any chance
of getting their right to elect officers there
being in a minority.
Yes, sir; If they vote with me-"
That's it if they vote with you.'
"Nou will never see ii as long us you live,
nor a long as | live either, that set of men
who own property, and are trying to build
up the town aud husband their resources and
accumulate wealth. that will ever allow the
negroes to come in and control that town
You may just set that down as a sure thing"
Then it is the deliberate purpose of the
property holders to prevent that?'
81 say it omphatically; but only by fair
means.'
But you have already told us that the
majority of those who owned the property
will not allow that government to pass from
their hands into the negroes hauds-and
worse still into the hands Of this poor white
scum"
Well we dcspise those worse than the
negrOes-worse than the devil"
Witness said that the democrats felt sure of
carrying the election in spite of the colonial
tion of negroes from North Carolina having
a registered democratic majority in the
county though not in the city of Danville.
Walters Holland, the white man who was
shot during the riot, testified that he did not
know who shot him. He declined to say
whether he fired his own weapon.
ID. X. Richardson testified that he saw one
colored man shoot twice, but did not recog-
nize him.
George NJ. Hubbard was shot in the leg
whilo patrolling on the night after the riot.
The other witnesses were Green Williams,
chief of police Of Danvillc, and James Woods,
city sargeant, who said he was republican.