The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-11-26

ONE EYEAR...xs,-, ......... .0AsoV'
SIX MONTHS....... ....... ................ 700.
Two Dollars II not paid In advance.
Five of the colored congregations OF
Charleston on lastSunday were addressed
by their pastors upon the subject OF the
NAL administration of the law in South
Carolina, by which crimes against the
colored man in this State are not punish
ed as they should be. There was evi-
dently design in this array of sermons on
this subject, and as might be expected
the speakers went entirely too far in the
premises they assumed to make their
conclusions at all reliable. There is not
the slightest foundation for the general
charge made by these ministers. 1t is
mot true that white men can or do com.
NIT crimes against the colored people
with impunity, for it is just as easy to
convict white thief who steals from a
colored man as colored thief who steals
from white man. In fact, any crime OF
that nature is easily punished in cur
Courts, be the criminal black or white;
-sbut we are compelled in candor to say
9 that homicides in South Carolina have
been difficult to punish since the war,
particularly where the party charged is
a man of ample means to maintain a
thorough legal defense. 1t is probably
not SO bad in this State as in many others,
and certainly is not worse than is gener'
ally the case in the States of the Union.
There is growing sentiment in all OF
the States against capital punishment,
and a sickly sentimentality of pity for
murderers which in part accounts for this
state Of things. The complaint cannot
be that tooemany men are convicted, and
even the Charleston colored preachers.do
not contend chat innocent men are
convicted. The evils of our Courts are
not those of commission, but sometimes,
no doubt, those of omission. Our Courts
are human institutions, and of course
popular man or an influential one Is
more likely to secure a favorable view of
his case than an unpopular or unknown.
man could do. This ought not to be SO,
but it is simply human nature, and is the
SINE eyerywhere-No North, South. East or
West. It Is doubtless true that in cases
0f homicide, which usually follow an
alteration or bad blood, that there is
strong tendency for white men to sympa-
!, thizs with white men as far as eircum-
stances will admit, and human nature
! sometimes carries men too far in this
i direction. The wealthy do obtain too
much immunity IN our Courts in cases OF
s homicide. Itseems impossible entirely
3 TO overcome the power of money. 1t is
no. corruptly used except, perhaps, inrare
instances, and then only upon stray
witness to suborn testimony, or some ve-
nal man who happens to get drawn upon
,ajury to hang. ajury. The corrupt use OF
) nlouey is not the evil to be complained Of.
I.s legitimate use affords often too ample
protection to criminals. 1t procures the
ablest lawyers to defend the accused. 1t
gives him friends throughout his neigh:
borhood who are liable to be drawn upon
4
the jury land insensibly helps him in the
trial. It admits him to bail, and enables;
him to work up his defense, .as he could
not do if he were confined in njail. These
are powerful advantages, and have saved
naanya black-hearted murderer from the
gallows, but they are incidents to the
human. enforcement of human laws.
The better sentiment of our people is
against both race prejudice and money
prejudice. Justice ought to be equally
reted out toswhite and black, to rich
aud poor, and the sentiment Of this State
demands such an execution of our laws.
Where it fails it is not creditable to our
people, and is injurious to the State.
: The highest patriots and best citizens
condemn such failures, and the result is
that these evils must grow less ss the
) intelligence and moral sentiment OF the
State increases. The administration of
the law is the surest test of the nobility
of a nation, and the people of South
Carolina cannot afford to permit justice
to be defeated by race prejudice, nor
even by the power of money. We must,
for the security of our own race as well
as for its honor, insist that the laws shall
be impartially executed. Our colored
friends should not be unreasonable in
the clamor they make over supposed
failures Of the Courts to mete out justice
in particular cases, for they must admit
that the laws are better enforced now
than they were when they had the gov.
ernment. From 1868 to 1877, while the
Republican party had the State govern
ment, q great many more coioreo men
were killed by white men than have
been killed since 1877, and yet during
that time not single white man vas
hung for killing negro, and very few
were punished. Since 1877 at least one
white man has been hung for killing
negro. We refer to the case of White
in Spartanburg, and others have been
sent to the Penitentiary for manslaughter
for killing negroes. Even last week
white man named Warren Walker was
convicted of manslaughter in Greenville,
for killing q colored man named Brock
man in dispute, and will 60 to the Peni'
tentiary forseven years. These thingsshow
that while the administration ofthe law N
this State is by no means perfect, yet that
it has improved over former times, and
instead of general and unjustifable
wholesalse denunciation of our Courts,
the colored clergymen could do more by
q tamnerate presentation to the public