Year: 1868

To the Editor of the Nea0 York Tribune:


Thanking you for your liberality in open
ing your columns heretofore to my communlca-
ton, allow me space to add some further facts
touching the Camilla riot. have read all that
has appeared in the Tribune, and have waited
for additional information myself from the State
that might be sure Of correctness in what |
write.


l. The chief information upon which Major
Howard first letter was based, and upon which
bullock based his message to the Legislature,
and upon which your correspondent from
Albany seems to rely, was derived from the
statements of a notoriously bad negro, who had
served a term In the penltentiary, and whom
five hundred witnesses, black and white, would
discredit on oath in a court of justice.
| 2. [ have been planting several years In that
region am there habitualiy. 1t is one of my
homes in the State have never seen or known
of, or before read it in your paper, heard Of a
| bloodhound In that country. | am assured, and
| do believe, there is not one In that whole re-
gion and [ do not believe there is dog there
| of any kind trained to track either a black Or
| white man.


| g. [ know, personally, Judge Vason and the
gentlemen who acted with him in investigating
this matter, and whose report throws all the
blame On Pierce and Murphy. know also some
of the witnesses who gave their evidence under
OATH Judge Vason is an old Whig and Union
man; was long judge Of our Superior Courts
is Christian gentleman cf fine education and
most exemplary character and elevated mind,
and whom any Northern ju y would believe
without doubt or hesitation.


| 4. The letters OF your correspondent, at least
the statements they make, are originated by
some persons, for the express purpose OF milan
ing the Northern mind and influencing the elec
tion pending


S. You think it strange that so many negroes
were killed, and so few whites injured. 10 me
this is not strange. The negroes were slaugh-
tered, as they.w always be, under such clrcum


stances. Their white leaders escaped, as they
intended beforehand to escape 1t the people
of the North will not be moved by the wrongs
and dangers to the whites of the South, l beg
them to rescue the poor negroes from sure de-
struction, by repudating these reconstruction
measures and thereby remove thelnducements
offered to carpet baggers and renegades to breed
strife and hate, that they may get office.
6. Is it not singular that SO many Northern
people will persist in believing with implicit
confidence the wild statements of frightened
convict negroes, and of bad white men who
abandon white society to use the negro for sell
fish ends, and of anonymous WRITER'S and sum
marily set aside the most solemn statements
under oath of our best white people, and the
assurances of the whole white race OF the South,
asmere attempts to ''whitewash rebel outrages?'
Strangers and renegades, of the most original
secession stamp are melting negroes to acts
which lead to their slaughter, in order to make
dupes of educated refined Northern whites,
that these Northern whites may, In turn, and
| for vengeance, make vactlmS OF the Southern
whites, all to the end that these strangers, and
worst secessionists, may ct the offices for their
| ha fruIt
reconstruction measures haze PRODUCED or can
produce at the South. Ought such measures
to be maintained and perpetuated z


Mr.. Hill then goes ON to argue that if Gen
| era Grant is elected he will find it impossible
to preserve the peace at the South, and at the
same time carry out the reconstruction laws,
| which he denounces in strong terms He then
says:


Sir. do not charge me, as did the secessionists,
with desire to alarm or an intent to threaten
| But cannot see the Constitution grand
est production of human effort for the security
| of human freedom-hopelessly toppled to its
| foundations by maniac storm of passion and
hate, and utter no protest or warning against
the ruthless act [ tell you these reconstruction
measures of Congress cannot be maintained and
perpetuated misunderstanding the Constitution.
| The Constitution cannot be destroyed In peace
Wake your people from this fatal deluslOn be-
| fore it is too late [ cannot tell when or how
or between whom war will come. But it will
come The nations 'blood will flow when the
nation Constitution is stabbed. Freedom will
die when this freedom life is destroyed And
as the shadow is greater than the substance, so
will the war which will follow the attempt to
destroy the Constitution be fercer than that
which followed the attempt to dissolve the Union.


Do not, beseech you, drive the Southern
people to utter desperation. Remember your
promises before all faith is hopelessly destroyed.