The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-06-05
NEGRO ASKS FAIR TRIAL.
The Rev. ]. G. Temple Talks
About the Southern
Lynching.

The Rev. j. c. Temple, pastor OF IloE
A. M. e. Church. of Brunswick and Sew
enth streets, last night preached a very
| conservative sermon on the recent burn
ing of the Negro Hose in Georgia. At a
| recent conference of African M. p.
| churches of New Jersey held a short
while ago Bishop Walter made an address
in which he declared that the Negro OF
this nation would be justified in time to
| come, in rising up against might and.
even though sadly in the minority and
with extinction staring him in the face,
he sought fight for his life. The Northern
Democratic press especially took up the
| u%tterances of the eloquent and able Bish-
| OPP. He was criticized for melting his race
| against the powers that be.
Mr.. Temple is a very intelligent negro,
who halls from the South. He declared
that the u~tterances of the Bishop had
been misconstrued. In his discourse last
night he said that he had heard the Bish-
op declare in subsequent conferences that
which he meant was simply that a Negro,
not having been adjudged guilty by the
Courts of a crime, was perfectly justihabie
in shooting down marauders who had, IN
violations of all principles of law and Or
der. surrounded his house. and insisted on
burning him at the stake or lynching him
the polite term of the latter mode being
allowing his dead body to swing from a
branch of a nearby tree.
What we want is peace" declared
Pastor Temple. e.We nave been praying
and fasting since Friday morning to God
to show us a way out of our difficulty.
For years we have been W that we
are good hearted and true
Pastor Temple admitted that some OF
his race were guilty as charged. put ne
did not believe all were. The statutes of
the various States, he argued, should
cover the grounds of every case. That
the majesty of the law should be over
ridden was a reflection on the entlre
American race, and If allowed to continue
would result in the white men killing one
another, as was exemplified IN a feceh!
case in Georgia, where a half-witted White
man. accused of the crime of assault was
about to be lynched and the Governor OF
Georgia was obliged to call out the mill
tary to prevent the infraction OF the law.
Mr.. Temple says he does not beileVe that
HIS race eondohes the crimes OF muruer OF
assault. All his people ask is that having
been accused of a crime it shall be ieft
with the courts to determine whether the
culprit is guilty or not. If declared so, the
members of his w race viii be the last
to condone the crime. n will wish to see
the culprit punished. He maintained that
it was the duty of the leaders OF the
whites as well as the blacks to put down
lawlessness. The best evidence that the
negroes of the South believe that eduea-
ton would. as in all other races, better
their morals was in the fact that through
out the South colleges and universities
had been founded by the black men them
selves.
Mr.. Temple also pointed out this fact:
That during the war OF the Repelioh
when the Southern plantation owner ana
slave holder and his sons went TO the
front in a deadly clash that was to deter
mine his ownership of the slaves he
bought. he left the honor and protection
of his wife and daughters to the care OF
these self-same slaves over whom he had
assumed a mastery, and in few II any
instances was his. confidence violated.
Mr.. Temple said he was in possession OF
clippings of certain newspapers which ad-
vised him that if there should ever be q
clash of arms again in behalf of the ne
gro the white man of the north would not
respond to a call to arms. He said he
didn't believe any such thing. and even
if this were not the case there are IN
luential white men in the south who are
vet the friends of the negro All the black
man wants is a fair trial, II accused OF
crime in the regular courts of the land.
and to be treated as any other citizen oI
the United States.