The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-02-10
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complaint in the form of a memorial,
was submitted to Judge Presley,
signed by number of colored per-
sons, setting forth that their race Was
not sufficiently represented IN the or
ganization OF the juries fer that Coun-
", ana asking that their grievances,
in that respect be remedied.
The En4u:rr,' quotes Judge Press
lay's reply to the memorial as fol-
lows:
In commenting on this somewhat
extraordinary document, the Judge
stated that if, as matter OF fact, the
negro was deprived ofjustice, by alb
senca of representation on the jury
panels, it was unknown to him. He
had observed i'll Charleston . tenden-
cy on The part Of a few preachers and
colored politicians to create an asitat-
ion on this subject, but personal OBJ
servation enabled him to say that
there was no complaint whatever from
the great mass Of colored people. In
the course Of eight years experience,
he had found it to be a fact, that col
ored persons, when mraigned for til
al, in nine cases out of ten objected to
Jurors of their own race and accepted
the whites. lie had been informed
by the lawyers who represented the
prisoners in these cases that the reas-
on of this was that 4 colored jnror
would frequently convict on mere sus-
picion, whereas white jurors would al
most Invariably be governed solely by
the evidence, and would refuse to con-
yict where this was not sufficient. In
the up-country where there were COM
parativelv few negroes, there were al
ways some on the jury panels, and yet
in a large majority of cases they were
objected to by colored prisoners
AS matter Of fact, he did not be-
ieve the negro suffered any injustice
from lack of representation on the ju-
ries. On the contrary, he would state
it as an absolute fact, demonstrated
by his own observation, that juries,
consisting almost wholly of whites,
were always disposed to give the col
ored man justice He had recently
tried white man in Marion enaty ena-st:7
for stealinga a negroes OK, the jury
promptly cor-;cieti him and he had
beer sent to the penitentiary for two
years.
In many cases, where there was i
contest between white and colored
men over purely civil rights, he had
known white iuries to find verdicts in
favor of the negro when according to
his own view of the evidence, the ver-
dict should have been in favor of the
white man.
The negroes once had control OF our
entire State government, and they had
allowed their leaders to plunder and
steal until their fragrant corruption
became intolerable, not only to the
State, but to tie United States. and
they had then been deprived of politi-
cal supremacy. They were now un-
der the protection of the whites, who
controlled the machinery of govern
ment and the administration Of fiustice,
and.he believed it to be the duty of
the whites to see that they were pro-
tected in all their rights. He made it
rule to charge grand julies that God
would not bless the State unless the
rights Of these humble and helpless cit
izens were jealously guarded. And lie
was confident that there was growing
sentiment in the State in favor OF their
Just and liberal treatment.
He was convinced that there was
no complaint from the masses Of col
ored people, but that the agitation of
this matter originated among colored
preachers, who were desirous OF con-
trolling the money of their Aocks, and
aspiring polititicns and would-be lead
ers, whose only aim was to control the
negro voters by these means Of their
own selfish purposes. II the officers
charged with the drawing Of juries
abused their trust and the negroes
suffered any injustice, it would then
be time for the proper authorities to
investigate the matter and remedy any
evil that might be found to exist. The
Injunction laid on the jury cona.:e-I
s'o~ers by law was@slnply That they
should select proper and suitable per-
sons to serve as jurors, and he was sat
isied that they strove to do their du-
ty according to law. st the present
juncture he did not feel called upon
10 interfere but if the petitioners,
through their chairman, desired to
have further hearing before him, be
would gladly give them private az
dience and cheerfully listen to any
grounds OF complaint they might pre-
sent"
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