St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-10-06

Subject to nom nation by the Democratic COZ
rentien.
1t seems that in our mother parish, ST.
Landry, where reform SO strongly pre-
walls, and where there has been IL COM
pIete change in the administration OF
affairs both district and paroclliai. law
lessuess and disorder have taken pos
session and are running rife over the
land. Besides the killing of the negro
ut ArnaudviIle and those in the custody
of the deputy sheriff, we see from the
Plea, une of the 18th inst, that on the
18th n crowd of armed men rode to the
house. of two negroes in the vicinity OF
Willie Plate and after leading them a
short distance riddied them with buck
shot, killing both instantly. II this is
reform We want none OF 1t in ours We
venture to say that within the last four
months there has been more lawless-
ness and crime committed in the parish
of St. Landry than there has been in so
many years previous to the lnangure-
ton Of the reform government. In this
state of affairs we fai! 10 see the advant-
age in the change from ring rule TO re-
form.
We condemn most strenunnsiy snrh
acts of iawirsSnesS as have been COM
mjtted in the localities mentioned of
late, and seriously sieplo.e this stats of
atfalrs. We have lava, and we say let
an effort be made at least to enforce
them. No matter how small or how
great the otfense, our laws provide
means of punishment, and We say first
let the legal remedy to suppress and
punish offenders be applied /; then, IL
this fail it will lie time enough for more
yigilant means to lie resntted to.
MINT makes thiS state of affairs
worse. the officers of the law. are charg-
ed ly the. press and people will, failure
to direct the proper proceedings to he
instituted to bring the offenders to JUS
tice.-Crowl"y Signal.
'"Rume was not built in day )" and
the CAUSES which led to her decline and
fall were laid 10 the apparently most pros
perous days of that great empire. The
decentralization and crime that followed
our late war were caused by the war it
self The result or consequence neces-
sarily follows the cause, and is never
co-existent with it. A person does not
take sick the moment he breathes the
yitiated atmosphere of malarious
district. The cause must have time to
operate. The oppression that caused
the French revolution prevailed through
several preceding Feigns but the revo-
lutinn broke out under Louis XVI, who
was good ruler when compared with
his predecessors.
There never was a more peaceabte,
orderly aud quiet election than the one
held in this parish last April. 1t was
generally thought that the parish was
Republican; that il, that the colored
voters were in the majority. In addi-
ton co this some dissatisfied Democrats
combined with them aud the combi-
nation was sure of electing their candi-
dates. If anything could tempt the ac-
tive friends of the Democratic ticket,
this state of things certainly would !;
brit no intimidation whatever was used,
What sense therefore is there ia accus-
ing the present officials, who have Moth
ing to gain and everything to lose by
lawlessness, of being responsible for the
killing of the four negroes in this par
ish 1t is well known that t,,ere were
SOCdl GduSCS III
that led to the killing of these four men;
aud in three of the cases the partici-
pants in the killing, We're numerous or
had the moral support of their commnni
ty. tn cases like these, parochial gov
ernments have never been able to pun
ish the perpetrators, the State govern
meBt has never been able to do it, aud
the United States government has never
been able to do it-not in this parish, at
any rate. In one of these cases, for the
shooting of colored man, which result
ed in death, four white men are now in
Jail, under indictment by the grand jury,
two for murder, and two as accessories
before tile fact. These men. we believe,
were warm supporters at the last cleo
ton of the present officials. Will oul
Crowley contemporary mention how
many strong supporters of the previous
officials were eyer indicted by the grand
Jury, kept in Jail and punished, for kill
ing niggers or other persons Is not the
Signal little reckless, when il says
"rhat within the last four months there
has been more iawlessness and crime
committed in the parish OF st. Landry
than there has been 10 80 many years
previous - Will it count them up aud
give the casesf Has it forgotten the
killing about Rayne and Piaquemine
Has it forgotten the negro who was
driven from his home in this parish, and
his house burned, for no alleged reason
whatever aud the officials made no eff
fort To have justice done. II the Signal
will examine the record it will find that
a good deal OF killing was done pre-
vinus to the last four months, and very
little punishment was done. This fail
ure to punish for taking human life, fOt
go long time during previous admins
trations, naturally teaches the ignorant
and wicked that they can kill with inn
punity.
One thing is certain, those who have
taken advantage of the killing of the
Four col0red men in this parish, to COM
nit other lawlessness and devilmenf,
are not the friends. political or other
wise, of the present officials.
The Grand Jury in their report say
'.they have carefully examined the par
isl, Jail and find the same we'll kept, and
the prisoners kindly treated !; they find
that the Sheriff OF our parrish treats the