The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-07-29
"~LRWIcsSncss in LnurenS."

Our cstimablc contemporary, tho Lnurens'
vile Herald, will perceive, IL 1t Will kindly re-
and Courier did not "intimate" that ''lawless.
ness rc.gncd supreme" in Lanrens county
We merely said That "thcre Is al %Outburst oil
lawlessncss in Laurens county. which needs
he our opinion. at any time, that lawlessness
rclgns supreme in Lanrcns. we shall, although
with reluctance, unllesltatingly say 50, ana n
denounclng it we shall hope to receive the
couutcnancc and support of law-abiding men
In Lanrcns, whether they ben majority or NIL
nority Of tic people there.
Our remarks concerning the outburst of law
~lc.sness are fully borne out, we think, by tho
the Irby row. Irby. according TO the Herald,
admits tina he had determined that Palmer
should be whipped by y negro; that he, lrhy,
was armed with n pistol Mt the time the negro
attacked Palmer; that afLcr the row he got
drunk and excited, and armed himself with Il
Winchester rifle, in addition to tho pistol be.
fore referred to, and that under these circum'
stances he assaulted Mr.. Pluss. Irby says, al
30, that he violated the law, and That Ito is
ready to abide the consequences. This man
armed first with Il pistol, and afterwards Will
q pistol and Winchester rifle-waS apparently
master Of the town for the time: and the OK
traordinary admission Is made that the shcr,
III, the peace officer Of the county, did not mr.
rest him, infurinted and armed es no was, be.
cause the sheriff had no warrant for him. The
aflerward, and Irby is now Mt liberty on bail.
Irby, rs we said, admits his guilt, and the ut.
most that our contemporary can prinG user!
punished accordingly. The guilt Is admitted.
Where then Is tho doubt Of conviction, unlcss
1t is believed that Irby can fix the jury?
Another offence which wo mentioned was
by a white man. The Ldurcrsuiic Herald says
that every possible effort Is being cHcrted to
ferret out the perpetrator. In It's first account
or the murder II said: 1--WE learn that the
TO have been tho o%utgrowtil Of a fight which
The deceased recently had with a white man
OF the netgliborbOOd; others say that tho ne
gro was killed BY the brother OF d respectable
Young lady OF the community, about whom,
it Is suid. the murdered negro had been using
some very disrespcctlul langnngc.' II IS dill
cult to understand :.;": ",vTv snould have
been knowledge OF The fight without any
knowledge Of the person with whom tho fight
was had. and knowledge OF the alleged Sian.
dcrS without an ACQUAINTANCE with tic namo
Of the brother OF the lady said to have been
sianderrl. There Is the trail. 1t Is broad and
open. What efforts have been made to track
the murderer? There Is something wrong,
we fear.
Right on tho top of the runlanism in which
lrby figured. and the murder OF Bennett,
comes the statement OF m Atlanta paper That
q man named Milan. an emigration agent,
has been numerically bcuten IN Iaurens;
that he was shot at, one Of the DULLES making
& hole IN tie CrOwno of his liGt. and HAT one OF
the leaders Of the mob IS y member or INC
Legislature. II Is reported likewise that this
Is not the first outrage OF the kind III Laurcns
county. Weshall not pretend to say, without
an Investigation, TINT the statements OF the
Atlanta paper are true; but they have L an ~.
business and the Bennclt murder
We assure our friends In 1a,rcns that our
purpose I'm exposing and denoinclng crime IS
Of lawIessncsS In every shape and form. This
accomplished, Judges and jUrles will rot fail