Year: 1872

]
as to their rules, these five States en-
brace greatly more than half the ter
ritOry and nearly half the population
of


ELEVEN SOUTHERN STATES,


And 1t is hard to conceive OF po-
litical or other combinations for any
general purpose why they should be
left out, while the other six States, or
a part of them, were In combination
for any such general objects. The
minority do not deny that bodies Of
disguised men have, in several States
Of the South, been guilty Of the most
hagrant crimes-erlmes which they
neither seek to palliate or exeuse-for
the commission of which the wrong
doors should suffer speedy and con-
dign punishment. But they deny that
these men have any general organiza-
ton, or any political significance; or
that their conduct is indOrsed by re-
spectacle number of white people in
any State. On the contrary, the men
and bands by which such Outrages are
perpetrated are almost universally re-
| garded by the intelligent people OF
tbose States as the


WORST ENEMIES OF THE SOUTH,


AS they furnish the men now in pow
er at Washington, with the only ex-
cuse to make war on them and TO
continue the system of robbery and
oppression which they have inaugu-
rated. A system which is destructive
not only Of the prosperity, but Is In
tended to


BLACKEN AND MALIGN THEIR
CHARACTER


ss men before the country and the
world. They quote testimony to show
ineontrovertibly that in no one OF the
six States of North and South Caro-
lima, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
and Florida have there, at any time,
existed band of lawless men in one
tenth part Of any one OF the said
States.


The minority report the condi-
ton of affairs at the close of the war,
the Southern people acknowledging
their defeat, accepting the situation
and going to work earnestly 70 build
up their waste acres and retrieve their


LOST FORTUNES


They were determined to honestly
support and defend the Union and
constitution. Society in the South
was greatly disOrganized. The strain
on the people to supply the armies in
| the field had exhausted their re-
sources. The regions which had been
the scene of active military operations
were laid waste. Starvation stared
the people in the face. Labor was ab'
sOlutely demOralized. The negro pop.
ulation which, as slaves, had furnish
ed the bulk of the labor, being Hber-
ated, in their poverty, ignorance and
incapacity to appreciate the effect Of
their altered condition, were slow to
realize the necessity for sustained and
continued Labor on their part, so that
CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS


and all others who had during the
years of the war devoted themselves
| to that cause, found on the return of
peace nothing but poverty and ruin
in all their land, and themselves alb
solutely beggars. Among a people
who had nothing to give under such
circumstances, it was impossible to
restore harmony in civil government
wi hOut some confusion, yet so earn
estly did that people struggle to re
turn to their allegiance, and entitle
themselves to protection, which had
been promised them. From the


DAY OF THE SURRENDER


of their armies no hostile arm has
ever been raised against the authority
of the United States. Before even
breathing time was allowed
them, a set of harpies, most
of whom had shirked the
dangers of the battlefield, camp
followers, horse holders, cowboys,
plunderers from both sides during all
the years of strife, rushed down singly
and in squads on that people thus
PROSTATE and defeuceleSs, and, for
their own private gain, seized and car
ried of whatever could be found worth
seizing in that country. All remon-
STRANGE or resistance was stifled and
crushed out by the cry Of dislOyalty
and treason they raised against the
Southern people, and by the pretense
that


PLUNDERERS


were prosecuted because of their 10y
atty and devotion to the Union, and
especially to the Republican party and
its continued supremacy. The inves-
tigatiOn was instituted, and, among
others, the present president, then
general of the army, went to the par
tisans to examine for himself. The
minority know Of no better way to
set forth the true state of the facts ex.
isting in those States than to quote |
from this report of the testimony,
which was dated 18th December, 1856. |
All impartial men then agreed that |
the statement of


GENERAL GRANT
was true. II the punishments had |
been deemed polite or possible, that |
was the time to infiict them. The |
minority state that the men OF the |
South, under the programme laid
down for them, reorganiZed their |
State governments, elected represen-
tstives and senators to congress, rati-
fed the Thirteenth amendment by
their legislatures, conferred civil /
rights on their emancipated slaves, in /
short did all they thought the Feder- |
al government wished them to do;
but they were mistaken; they had
failed to elect men to


CONGRESS


who would bllndly obey the orders of
the leaders who dictated and were de-
termined to continue to dictate the
legislation Of the country. A system
has grown up whereby great mOnied
mOnopOlies were fostered and enrich
ed at the expense of labor and es-
pecially of agricultural labor which 1t
is not believed the representatives of
the Southern constituencies would sus-
tain If the doors Of Congress were not
closed on them. OF course they were
not avowed, for true reason, and so
far as they were concerned taxation
without representation was their fate
from that time forward and has so
continued with some exceptions sub
stantially until now. When they had
no representative in congress


A TAX OF THREE CENTS
per pound was levied on all cotton ex.
ported, that being their great staple
product, while every other portion of
the country could export its product
duty free. The Freedmen's Bureau
and civil rights bill were next i'm
posed on them by other States; then
followed a series OF reconstruction
measures, with the fourteenth and fiE
teenth amendments, which they were
required to accept, indorse and ap.
prove, as condition precedent to be-
ing allowed to have any civil govern
ment at all, because until that was
done


THE LIBERTY AND PROPERTY
Of every man, woman and child, loyal
and disloyal, white and black, were
held at the mercy Of any soldier who
might be placed over them. A careful
reading Of the testimony taken would
convince every impartial man that in
endurance and long-suffering the
people have been such as no people
have ever before been. Extracts are
made from the evidence to show the
contemplations and the feelings
of the people of the South