Newspapers / The Era (Raleigh, N.C.) / Nov. 16, 1871, edition 1 / Page 2
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Office, ia the "Standard" budding; fiast ide of Fayctteville Street. ftLVRCU LEWIS S KRWIN,Edltor8. HANKS, J THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1871. I Resumed. The trial of the .famous Tichbome case, interrupted by a long Vacation, has been resumed in the Court of Queen's Bench, in London, England: The Issue. Our neighbor of. TJie Carolinioji says the issue in this coun try is between Republicanism and Im lorialism. Well, we are for Republi canism and opposed to all empires, whether visible or invisible. 1 Itrrah for President Grant. The Cause. Our neighbor of TJie Carolinian attributes the result of the recent elections to the " New Departure nonsense and twaddle, the stupendous, unparalleled fraud and corruption of the Democratic ring of New York City, and the Ku Klux outrages of the South." Well, we think either of these otiyhl to have defeated the Democracy i but with all three together whew ! Givkh it ui On Tuesday hist, The Sentinel, in sinking of the elections . which took place that day, said : " To some extent many of these elections will be affected by local issues, but the general result icill indicate the course of the several States in the next Presidential r lection." So The Sentinel gives up New York State to the Republicans in the next Presidential crmpaign. Thank you. Masonic At a recent meeting of the Tennessee Grand Council of Free and Accepted Masons, held in Nash ville, resolutions were adopted approv ing the proposition the Grand Council J of Maine calling a Convention or repre sentatives from all the Grand Councils of the Royal and select Masters to meet in New York in June, 1872, fqrthepur posc of securing uniformity in the ritu al of the Cryptic Rite. Sekious A(X IIENT IX ClIUllCII. On Sunday night, the. 1th inst., religious services were being held at the African Baptist Meeting house at Louisville, Ky., when a panic occurred in which eleven iersons lost their lives. The congregation were in the second floor of a two-story frame house, and the panic originated in consequence of the cracking- of the flooring. The only moans of i-gress were two narrow flights of stairs, and when the rush was at its height a cry of fire was raised. The people were positively crazy with fear, and in their eagerness to cscaie they trampled uion women and children in the most inhuman way. Twelve per sons were killed, six or seven were seriously injured, and about soventy 11 ve others were slightly injured. ll.wrv Family. We look forward with some curiosity to the next Nation al llnnocratie Convention. The Cen tral Committee of this State thinks the untorriiicd of North Carolina should be represented therein. Of course the New York Democracy will send W. M. Tweed, the Tammany Hall swindler, to that Convention, (if he should be out of the Penitentiary at that time) and if he should lo put on the same Commit toe w ith the editor of The Sentinel, it will bo very amusing. It would not do for the editor to refuse to serve on such a Committee, because. Tweed has attended a great many more Democrat' ir Conventions than the editor afore said. 1 1 has not yet leen determined where the Convention aforesaid will be held whether at Tammany Hall or Alba ny. That depend" on Boss Tweed.. If he shall escape justice, the Convention will Ik held in Tammany Hall, with Tweed in the Chair. If he shall get justice, -.the Convention will meet in the Penitentiary at Albany. Is it Tnui: on False. The Sentinel of October 17th contains:, in the editori al column, two distinct statements,, each inade upon the personal veracity of the Editor of that paper, in reference to the capturing of Ku Klux disguises by Deputy U. S. Marshal, Hester. The first is in these words: "No dresses were captured from the Ku Klux." The second is in these words: "The radicals in this city had some made,' and Heter used them to dress negroes in." We have never heard these statements mitde by any other person, nor have we ever hoard it intimated that there is any foundation for them. They are true, or they are false. We have seen the disguises which Mr. Hester, and his assistants, have sworn they captur ed from the Ku Klux. No one,has ever seen any disguisesalledgedtohave been made in Raleigh, and "used to dress negroes in." Mr. Turner owes it to his character, if he has any re spect for it left, to make known the au thority upon which he has made these statements to the public. He assumes to be the custodian of the morals and of "all the wealth and respectability of tho State." Cer tainPy, one assuming suth a position, cannot rest while falsehood appears up on his hands. Let him give his au thority for the above statements, if he lias any. - i REPUBLICAN VICTORIES f The Kuklux Democracy Routed ! CORRUPTION AND FRAUD OVER f THROWN 1 , HdNEStV "jVN ttEFORJfr "Thou Shalt Not Steal." I ' - j On Thursday last, the 7th inst., elec tions were held in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minne sota, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Maryland, and Virginia. In all of these States except New York, the issues were paj-- ty issues, ami me viaunca juw iaiy victories. : In Massachusetts there were four can didates for Governor. Wm. B. ash burn, the regular Republican candi date, was elected by an increased ma jority over last year. John Quincy Adams, the Democratic candidate fcr Governor," was also a candidate for tlje Legislature in his native town, Quincy, and was defeated. The Republicans have a large majority in both branch oft he Legislature. p In New Jersey, the Legislature is R publican. Joel Parker, Democrat, s elected Governor by five thousand ma jority. The city of Newark, carried ja month ago by the Republicans, gives 3Ir. Parker over eight hundred major ity. What caused this defection is un known. The political status of tne State is the same aslast year. . : Wisconsin increases her Republican majority, and elects C. C. Washburn ri.i-niiT- iv r.'fr fpn thousand maiori- MU WillVA J " a i - ty. Mr. James R. Doolittle a rene gade Republican has done little before the people of his State, on the " New Departure" platform. All the State officers and a large majority of the Leg islature are Republicans. ; Minnesota maintains her place in the front rank of the Republican party.-j-Horace Austin, Republican, is elected Governor by an increased majority.- The Legislature is Republican. Maryland is joined to her idols ; though not as much so as she was a, year ago. Pinkney Whytc, Democraf, is elected Governor by ten thousand majority. The Legislature is Demo cratic. The Republicans have made large gains on the popular vote and in members of the Legislature. . Thepr have elected several candidates for the Senate, and a fourth of the members of the House. In Virginia the Conservatives have maintained their strength, if not jtm- crrcised their vote. -The Legislature stands about the sanfe. ."Illinois elects Gen. Bevericlge Coi gressnian at large by thirty thousand majority. Mr. Snap, Republican, s elected to Congress to fill a vacancy. ! Returns from Mississippi indicate a Republ.can majority of fifteen t hoi sand. The Legislature is Republican. In New York the election was not a party contest. To a great extent i t w: ss contest between the Thieves and Rob bers who control Tammany Hall, and the honest, plundered,over-taxed people of the city, county, and State of Nejv York. Honesty has triumphed. Cor ruption has been overthrown. Fraud lias boon exposed. Thieves have been arrested, placed under bonds ; and it is to be hoped that they will find them selves in a felon's cell before the Ne ,v Year dawns upon the World. The Republican State ticket is elect ed by fifteen thousand majority. Tip Legislature is two-thirds Republican in both Houses. Thomas A . Led with, formerly a Reform Democrat, was se duced by Tammany Hall, and accepted a nomination for Supreme Court Judge on the Tammany ticket. He is de feated by over forty thousand major ity. Gen. Franz Siogcl, a German Re publican, is elected Register of New York City over Shandley, Tammaily Democrat, by twenty thousand major ity. The entire Reform ticket com posed of Republicans and Democrats-jig elected in New York City. Tweel, the Grand Sachem of Tammany Hallf and the greatest Thief of the age, s the onlj Tammany Senator elected m New York City. The victory at the pollss complete. Th? defeat is erusi ingtYrrible death to Tammany Hall. The victory in the Courts has just be gun, rllonest legislation will prevent futurelrascalities, but the Courts muk make Tweed, Fields, Ingersoll, Gaf vey, and other thieves, disgorge their iH gotten gains. After returning as much money to the City as possible, then, let the Courts send the whole Tammany Ring to Sing Sing Penitentiary. SucJi a disposition of Hall, Tweed, Sweeney, Connolly, and others, would have great effect throughout the j whole country. 71 i e Tribune chronicles the defeat pf Tammany in one column, and says in another, that "the war goes onj" There is to be no cessation of hostili ties. The victory gained at the polls is to be followed up until etcry thief in public position is driven from pub lic life, and if possible,1 sent to the Pen itentiary. The moral of the New York election is Thou shalt not Steal" This command was first given to Moses from Mount Sinai by the Creator of the Uni verse. The people of the Empire State have re-echoed this command to their rulers. The people have risen in thir might, and like a bolt of lightning frcjm Heaven, shivered the Tammany Rijig into a thousand pieces. The example is potent for good. The American peo pleof every State- should endeavor to imitate the people of New York State. Corrupt men should be drivpn from place and power.' Every depart ment of the public service State and X"Vf Intml clinnlrl lm TiMdlv insnoetodl - - i 1 J I to the end, that every man who may J be found to be corrupt, may be dismiss ed from the service, and punished to the muest extent or tne law. People of North Carolina ! your mon ey has been stolen ; your credit has been; ruined ; your internal improve ments have been retarded; your debt has Ibeen increased ; and dishonor has been heaped upon your State. The time, will soon arrive when you will be called Upon to elect State officers, mem bers of Congress, members of the Leg islature1, and county officers. In cast ing yoiir ballots be sure and vote for no man -wpio is not above reproach and whose integrity is not beyond question. The Republican party is the party of Reform. rIts ascendancy can only be maintained by nominating and elect ing horiest, pure, capable men to office. Honesty and fitness should be the cri terion for every officer from Constable to Governor Under this sign we march to victory in 1872. i i : To hc Old Whigs of North Car 1 j - olina. You cannot have forgotten your he reditary opposition to the Democratic party and the Democratic name. The gloomy days of18C0-Gl must have left a shadow on your minds that time can never efface. The fierce struggle be tween the friends of peace on the one hancl, and the friends of secession and civil war on the other hand between the tWrhigs and the Democrats must still be fresh in your recollections. The manner in which you were forced by the Democrats into rebellion against the Government for on Whig princi ples it was rebellion whatever it may t have' been op Democratic principles .cannot Iiave been forgotten in ten snort years, j The consequences tnat loiiow ed the act are still visible before your eyes, and will remain visible until af ter the present generation passes away. Many years of suffering and of toil will still be necessary to repair the ravages of Hhewar that was then inaugarated for no adequate cause chiefly to grati fy tile bitterness of sectional and parti zan feeling. You must also remember the bitier taunts of . submissionist and traitor! applied to many of you be cause your affections lingered so long with the government and the flag of your country because you hesitated so long to join in the movement that was to ruin you, and at last yielded reluc tantly and under solemn protest. All of these; things must be fresh in the m i nds of thousands who have vowed time and again that nothing could ever inducejthem to become Democrats un der any circumstances. Nor have the Democrats themselves forgotten it. To secure your co-operation against the reconstruction policy of Congress they consented to the organi zation of a new party in theState,under the name of Conservative. In this par ty youiebnsented to co-operate with the Democrats for a purpose, but the party and the name was never satisfactory to them-: ! Many of them have long com plained that it was under the control of il A.I1'7l.t l,.,4-:- it-no AVVilor LllC OKI Y lilgS unit it U3 mo party under another name to which they fwere held in subjection. They have been anxious for its re-organization under the Democratic name and on a Democratic basis as a part of the Democratic party of the nation. They have looked forward to the day when they could .accomplish that design, as thc'iuuselmari looks forward to the day of his I pilgrimage to tne tomb of the founder of his faith. That day tuey believe has arrived, and for tho future there is to be but two parties in North Carolina and the Nation tho TXrvv n t.ican and! the Democratic. Even those old Whigs who have determined to unite themselves permanently with the hereditary enemies of their honor eel leaders of other years who were the glory of all Americans in their day and generation their party and their prin ciples,5 believe the same thing, and are consenting thereto. That class of old Whigs seem at last to be ready to con ent to join the party that pursued the nobie and gallant "Harry of the West ," "the great embodiment of Whig prin ciples, to his grave with the false and infamous charge of "bargain arid cor ruption.". Can you follow them in their unnatural course? Can you now turn round ;and lick approvingly the hand that smote you to the dust and boggard you and your children, to say nothing of the oceans of blood they caused to flow lima 'needless war? There are thousands of you that we believe will not nay, feel sure will not. The Conservative party, so-called, was nevera party in the sense in which the old Whig and Democratic parties were. S It was simply a co-alition of all the men! of both the old parties for a particular purpose; iu uweau ouv.- cess off the reconstruction policy of Con gress. The reasons which gave rise to the co-alition, or organization, have ceased, to exist, and let it be dissolved Into its original elements. Reconstruc tion is now an accomplished fact, and whetlier the settlement was wise orun wise there is now no hope for the peace of theeountry but in maintaining it in its essence. This must be apparent to every unprejudiced mind. The Re publican party is the only party which can be relied upon to do this; conse quently it is the only party that can be relied lupon to preserve the peace of the country. The causes of difference be tween; you and the Republican party cease to exist the moment you accept of thejsituation and resolve to support the constitution as it nowT is. It has already been stated that many old Democrats were dissatisfied with the co-alition, or organization, called the Conservative party, and were anx ious for it to be merged into the Demo cratic jparty, and that many old Whigs ft. . i ! . was virtually taken by the party in the address which it recently issued to the people of North Carolina through its Executive Committee. After having spoken of the Republican party the ad dress says: j ! There is but one other great political par ty in the country that is the National Dem ocratic riartv. In our judgment, ii is the patriotic duty of every lover of liberty and free government to co-operate with that great and powerful party to arrest the tre mendous evils to which we have adverted, and which will, sooner or later, if not sup pressed, destroy freedom and establish des potism and the sword, f To accomplish the great measure of re form in our State and National Govern ments, we cordially, invite the zealous co operation of every patriot without regard to his hitherto party affiliations. We stand in determined opposition to the crimes and evils to which we have briefly directed pub lic attention, and we ask all good people to stand with us, trusting that such common patriotic eflbrt, through the blessings of God, may save us and our country from impending danger and ruin. ' The charges made against the Repub lican party, and reverted to in theabove extract, have already been replied to in these columns, and require no further notice here. There is no mistaking the tenor of this portion of the address it is simply an invitation to all the rnern. bers of the so-called Conservative par ty to abandon the organization and be come Democrats. In proof of this wTe give the following extract from The North Carolinian of this city, the organ of those Democrats who have never abandoned the Democratic name to be come Conservatives : ' There is no mistaking the above. It is the ring of the true metal. It is the sound of Democratic thunder, that in next; August will be heard from one end of the iState of North Carolina to the other.. It is as if the fires of other days were again lighted, and the- former patriotism of the people, had re turned, to bless the land with good govern ment, peace and prosperity. The Democratic party of North Carolina has re-asserted itself in the State; it declares its principles to be the time-honored princi ples of all the political patriots of the land, and that between former Whigs andj Demo crats, there is no difference, and can be no division. ' ' j It will be seen from this that jthe si-mon-Dure Democrats in the State claim that in this address the Conservatives have abandoned their late organization and merged themselves into the ;Demo cratic party, as far as its members will follow its leaders into it. The language of the address quoted will enable you to 'determine how far they are justified in making this claim. But it is by no means meant: to say; that the Republican party is made up PYplusivelv of old Whigs, or that such onlv should ioin it. Thousands of hon est and patriotic Democrats, who have become convinced of the great error of secession have already joined it and it is believed that thousands more will do likewise. It is made up of (honest and patriotic men of both the old par ties, and it is right and proper that it should be. In the new order of j things the Republican party presents the only mmraon cround upon wmcn ine oiu Whigs arid, those democrats who accept; the situation in good faith, can unite against the old Democracy that has never recanted its heresies and accept ed in good faith the inevitable results of the civil war for which it wras chief ly responsible. Then let the old jWhigs unite with the Republican Democrats on the common platform of the Repub lican party against the old Bourbon Democracy for the preservation of the peace of the country, and the perpetua tion of our Republican Institutions. Journalism. , In the cause of a higher toned and more honorable journalism we publish the following article from The North Cofolinian, a Democratic paper of this city. It does credit to the head and heart of the writer that in such ai cause, as well.as in the political course which! he is engaged, he has the fearlessness and honesty to arraign the press of his party, and especially the leading riiEsa of his party, in the manner in: which he has done it. For the reputa tion of the press of the State, which is supposed to reflect in a large measure the character of the State, we hope soon to see the character of the "leading pess," of which The Carolinian speaks, changed. If, however, we ad no high er and purer desire than merelyithat of party success we should regfet the cliange. For there is nothing in the State doing so much for the Republican party as the said "leading press." But to The Carolinian's article : Thb Democbatic Paety. The political outlook from the Democratic point of ob servation is not now a cheerful one ifi North Carolina, and it were folly to attempt to dis guise the facts in the case. j We have been frittering away our politic strength for the past five years, until tho good name and fair fame of the Democratic party is the only hope of its adherents. Be lieving that whatever is of good report must finally triumph, they have clung to th6 principles of the true Democracy, when only fidelity-tc principle could have sustained the Democrats of North Carolina and th South, and so they cling now to what is left with a dogged persistence that defiea the power of adverse circumstances, Experience has llustratod that a Demo crat tho roughly imbued with the principles of his party can neither be seduced from the course of the truo Democracy, nor driven from any position where are involved any of. the principles he holds. ! But the doubting Thomases have been led and driven off by the score, and for a period of five years we have made no converts. This is a startling fact, and a most lamen table circumstance, that while the Republi can party has been going on from day to day, making adherents to its faith and add ing more strength to its power, the Demo cratic party, instead of replenishing, has suffered an incessant depletion of its ranks. wefe ready to assent to it. Tne step a uri iviiv Is this? Tko creat body tjf the TiATMihiiWns of North Carolina actii ally hold the principles of the Democratic party, while from the bottom qf their hearts" they despise the principles and teachings of Radicalism. ...... . w j The reason is plain the answer readily at hand. i Thk Ttemnfratei of North Carolina, and of the entire South, have contented themselves xvithl opposing everything, and proposing nothing. A masterly inactivity ;has cnarao teriwvi their: whole policy,) while their weapons of defence, instead of principles and arguments upon principles, have Deen the slaneish phrases of political ribaldry, low, personal abuse, vituperation and inde- cencv. Our presses have teemed vntn, jase- hoods, misrepresentations and foul abuses, until all influence upon the public mind has been tost. t I Jlesoectable . oentlemen of the Republican party have been assailed, misrepresented and beslobbered by a filthy press until their per sonal friends among Democrats have turned in loatJiina and disgust from a party which" fostered such tribunes and submitted to such leaders. ; - And the evil continues. Absolute lies are concocted and published to the world, not to injure apolitical opponent, merely, but solely to gratify a hellish hatred of inborn malignity. Dau bv dav our leading press rings with open' and unblushing falsehoods, put forth in tones of the lowest vulgar and personal journ alism. , An intelligent people will not stand this. The personal quarrels, hates or enmities of no single individual interest tho whole peo ple of North Carolina, and the public is al wavs sufficiently discriminating to detect any falsehood, no matter by whom put forth. j Vc have written thus to apprise the Democrats of North Carolina of the true state of affair$ in the political circles of the State, and to warn them that if these things continue, Democracy, instead of a name in dicating power and strength will become a by-word and ja reproach among intelligent, decent and liberal minded North Caro linians. 1 Our friend of TJie Wilmington Jour nal j has wholly forgotten or entirely misconceived the character and tenor of the Davidson Letters, written by thisj Editor during the War, Of the four letters, three Vvere devoted exclu sively to a 'discussion of the theory of the Federal' government.' In them we combatted with all our humble ability the States rights theory of Mr. Jeffer son and Mr. Calhoun. We labored to show by the records of the Conventions which framed and ratified it, as well as by other arguments, that the federal principle had been essentially aDanaon ed and the national principle substitut ed in its formation. We denied that the Constitution wasaraere compact between sovereiim States. We conten ded that it was a Constitution of Na tional government, founded upon the sovereignty of the people of the several States a social and not a federal com pact. We fully sustained what is known to constitutional writers as the Hamil tonian theory. We went fully up to the high-toned federal : view's of that greatest of all American statesmen, and of Mr. Webster, who stands next to him .as a man of intellect and as an ex pounder of Constitutional law. This, our friend of The Journal, would see if he would take the. pains to read the letters again, j If the Davidson Letters had been written by : any eminent man, whose name would give them weight and make them an authority we know not where we could go to find anything so nearly sustaining the action of the gov ernment in South Ctjlina, with the single exception of Judge Merrimon's speech in the Bergen habjsorpus case. Judge MerTimon Jias'goriet-bow shot beyond us in claiming that the Federal " government has certain absolute rights, as well as ineik.rrWeoy-Vnded. that the FedeivemmehtT was what the Constitution! riiade amE its pow ers what tiie (institution 'gave it. In one of the letters we arraigned the secessionists for the'violation of some of their most solemn pledges. Wequote the following: . ! : ' S i " Thev promised us that the new govem- ment should be a mere confederacy of States of absolute sovereignty and equal rights ; that the States should be tyranized over by no such central dispotism " as the gov ern ment at Washington; that the glorious doc trine of Stated rights and; nullification, as taught by Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Calhoun, should prevail in the new Confederacy that the sovereignty of the States and their Judi cial decisions should be sacredly respected. And how have they kept their promise that they would respect the vsovereignly of the States? ; Whatever the governmentmay be in theory, in fact we have a great milita ry consolidation, which almost entirely ig nores the existence of the: States, and disre gards the decisions of their highest judicial tribunals. The great " central despotism " at Washington, as they were pleased to call it, was at any time previonsto the secession movement, and even afterwards, a most mild and beneficent government compared with the "central-despotism " at Richmond under which we are now living." From this it will be seen that we were only arraigning the secessionist for a violation of the principles on which the confederacy was founded principles just the opposite of those on which we contended the Federal Union was foundednothing more. It was the recollection of this passage, we pre sume, that caused The Journal ia say that the Davidson Letters were "ve hemently j condematory of President Davis and the Confederate Congress for an alledged ignorance of the great writ of habeas corpus." ; i' Numbers 1, 3 and 4 of the letters were devoted vdholly to the discussion of the theory X the Federal government, taking the view's already stated. No. 2 contained what has been quoted, and no more, in refer ence to tho acts of the Confederate gov ernment. f :- ''2'-" ';f- In reference to the suspension of the writ Of habeas corpus in South Carolina, no man can possibly yegret that there should be a necessity for such a course more than ourself. And whether the course of the President isjustifiable or not depends upon whether there a se cret and organized opposition to the laws Kft and of the United States, which, from its nature and character, cannot be suppressed by tne tourw. such secret and formidable organization v;cf0 orl ran be dealt w ith successfully in no other way, as has been clearly proved to be, thecase, tnen ueu. ix justifiable in the action he has taken. That the JSortnern peopie uew such organization exists is fully proven k ihmrav inwhirh thev are sustaining his administration in the passing elec tions. Andsurely if there isasingle man afonlV. in Is ortn Carolina wiiu can, wu with his long known opinion, sustain the President's action in the contingency mentioned, this writer is the man. A careful perusal of the Davidson Letters will convince any intelligent man of thisfact, who is willing to be convinced. Therefore, The Journal, is mistaken in supposing that' we have "gone back upon our vaunted professions." , More Truth than Intended. : In glancing over TJie Sentinel of the 28th ultimo, 'we chanced upon an edi torial, entitled, " Does the Governor experience Pleasure?" The Sentinel concludes that he does not, and assigns the reason that, "he knows that he got into! office only by force and fraud." TJie Se?itinel further observes that the great objection to Governor Caldwell's administration arises from the fact that,1 he fills the office "by such means and under such circumstances." Tod R. Caldwell became Governor through1 the impeachment and removal of Governor Holden. Governor Hol den's impeachment and removal was effected) by "force and fraud," 'and in this sense, the present Governor -occupies hisi position by and through the means of " force and fraud." It was by "force," because the Ku Klux chiefs who decreed the impeachment rely upon "force" to execute their or ders1. 4 Sometimes this " force" appears under i:he mild form of intimidation and terror, as for example, when the Klans, concealed under frightful dis guises, mount their horses at the hour of midnight and scour peaceful neigh borhoods, arid strike alarm and dismay into helpless families, who hear their dreaded approach; sometimes this "force" appears in the form of the as sassins knife, as was the case when State Senator Stephens was secretly stnhhPd to death in the Court House at Yancey ville, in the Clerk and Master's office, while a Democratic meeting was going on up stairs; or it appears, under the form of a halter, as when Outlaw was dragged from his house in the dead hours ofthenight, and hanged by the neck on the Court yard green at Grahafn, by sixty distinguished mem bers of the Ku Klux Brotherhood, j. It is also by means' of "fraud," as The Sentinel truthfully and accidentally remarks that the present incumbent became Governor. For "fraud" play ed the! principal part in the impeach ment trial. The whole thing waa a gigantic fraud; a grim burlesque. MembWs (so-called) who were banned under the Fourteenth Amendment, but admitted to seats in a Democratic Legislature, sat as accusers and Judges. There! were men in that body who had taken the fearful oath of the Invisible Empire, with- its mental reservations and its precepts, to disregard the sol emn sanction of all other oaths which might interfere with , the obligations Imposed by this. Vain and giddy boys and men drunk "with inadness and passion, and flushed, with the in toxication of a little brief authority ex cutedj the registered decrees of the White Brotherhood. Governor Hol den was impeached and removed, and Governor Caldwell "got into office on ly by force and fraud." Murder will out and truth sometimes be WTitten by the most mendacious of pens.- It is not at all! surprising, then, as The Sentinel observes, that the great objection to Governor Caldwell's administration arises from the fact that, he fills the of fice, by such means and under such circumstances." The Ku Klux is The SentineVs type of ! a I gentleman. The SentineVs ealo giuni On that " noble man," Shotwcll, reminded us that " tho age of chivalry had passed," and that the times .were so out of joint that a "noble man" could not rally bis bold, comrades and commit burglary and attempt murder, to further the interest- of his political party without being . consigned to a felons cell in the Penitentiary ! i 77ie Sentinel is an " authority among the Klans." There are, other "authori ties too, who boast. their "respecta bility and . their social position," but whoj Wink at murder, and who . won't stickle at all, at perjury. , We do not doubt ' that Governor Caldwell feels badly " when he sees these gentlemen coming,' as The Sentinel observes. : i If such men are to erive tone to socie ty in North Carolina, if such be the motives and feelings, that are to char acterize gentlemen, If such credentials are to be the passports into the highest social circles, and if such influences are to ' direct the government and 'shape the future of the State, then we may indeed despair and abandon our dear old mother to her late. But this shall never, be The party of law; nnd order has? enrolled upon its register the names of noble and patriotic sons who win rescue the Old North State: from the iax&s of the Ku Klux tiger,; and save social life from the infamy to which the chiefs of the Ku Klux respectability would drag: it down; A 'few of these names are Caldwell, Pearson, Logan, Beade, Dick, Boyden, Hodman, Itus ell, Moore, Buxton, Dockery, Thomas, Barrow, Wintead, Barringer, Phil- 1 lips and Pool. There Is a host of other" names well known in every nook' jma -corner pf the State, names of men wliosjj lives hive been before their follow cit izens from their childhood, and Wl()S! characters are marked by integrity ; ! honor. The Republicans of North Car olina can afford to smile at the vain and silly assumption of a monopoly of intelligence and wealth, on the part (f the Ku Klux Democracy. ! In comparison witn tne array , wo have given, how contemptible appears TheSeniinel grinder, that "(noblenian" ' Shotwell and the whole infamous , K'n Klux gang, their leaders, : defenders and apologists. -.- " The Order of the Invisible Eui- ; pirc." . :j.r';t !' Congress, before passing the bill, en titled "ATn Act to Enforce the Provis ions' of the Fourteenth Amendment," had before it ample evidence,: that " The Order of the Invisible Empire,". -t otherwise known as the Ku .Klux Klans, was no myth of Uiepub im The proof which had already boenub frw fhA Snnntfi settled this (lues- lion of fact by a large array, of sworn witnesses. The bill was intended tp cive the President full power to: meet the emergency. On the .3d of last May . ho issued his prociamauuu uumiiv attention of the people to the nature onri rAniiirpments of the law, warning nil persons to be obedient thereto;. ex-cino- his reluctance to j "exercise any of the extraordinary powers there by conferred upon " him, yet distinctly declaring his purpose to use " the bow er thus vested in tho Executive when ever and wherever it shall become, nec essary to do so for the purpose of fvuv inV to all citizens of the United 'States the peaceful enjoyment of the; rights ; Eruaranteed them by the Constitution. . and laws." He faithfully exhorted tho . e late iteoe; maies ioisu- their relieve the National Government from the necessity of exerting its power " for the protection of its citizens -of every race and color." ! This action of Congress and of the President ought to have been sufficient;" and it would have been in any; com-. munity not imprcgnatou wnn ine eie .mfints of disorder and treason.), c t for months past the evidence hasj been constantly accumuUting that ftne Jvu. Klux conspiracy is still a tornUhj fact, still active, widespread through the Southern States, and from time t64nne repeating its deeds Of oulragti and murder. The' local authorities have been either unwilling or unable to sup press it; and hence their failure has furnished precisely the case which lh Enforcement Act was designed to-moot. The committee appointed at tlje lust session of -.Congress to investigate-the. matter have been pursuing their Work in the examination of witnesses. Al though they have not yet made their report, still a portion of the testimony has reached the public through the press, abundantly showing that t" The Order of the Invisible Empire " (exists to-day as a great and alarming con spiracy at the South. The 44 Onjcr" i composed exclusively of the Old rebel element, that was supposed to bb con quered by the late war. Politically considered, it is Democratic,, and -"its immprlmffi design is to secure the as cendency of Democracy in each of 'the Southern States. Having gainj-d the control over carry them these States, it means to llopUblican against the nominee in the next presidential elec tion, hoping thereby to ! restore -th Democratic party to national power. Southern Democracy constituted the backbone of the rebellion, and the same, sort of Democracy now forms the right arm of the Ku Kluxism. By a system of intimidation, violence, and even murder perpetrated upon negroes, and all persons who sustain the 'reconstruc tion measures of Congress and their re sults, these unconquered rebels still seek to rehabilitate "the -lost cause." They are not a gang of horse-thieves, plundering for profit, or a body f of or dinary rowdies, disturbing society; but organized bands of political con spirators, designing through tho forma of popular elections to take possession of governmental powers,, and then wield them for their own ends. ; Their well-known character and object con stitute the .great reason why Northern Democrats are generally slow to admit what the evidence so fully proves. The end sought by them is precisely the One at which these Democrats are aim ing by different methods. Here both are agreed, and hence both are natur ally in ; sympathy with each other. . This explains the professed incredulity of Northern Democrats as to thercality and extent of these combinations and conspiracies against rights sacredly guaranteed by the Constitution.! i The President, in addition to his pre-. liminary proclamation of last May, has recently issued three others ferring to certain sections In South Carolina, and placing them under ; martial law. The occasion contemplated in the En forcement Act, and demanding this stern remedy, in the judgment of the President, has arisen. The law ex pressly declares that V whenever any such insurrection, violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy shall opposy or obstruct the laws of the Unitcdi States, or the due execution thereof, ort impede or obstruct the due course of justice under the same, it shall be law ful for the President, and it shall bo his duty, to take such measures, by the employment of the militia or the land and naval forces of the United States, or of either of them, or by other means, . as he may deem necessary for the sup-. pression of such insurrection, domestic violence, or combinations." The law ! authorizes him to suspend the privilege ! of the writ of habeas corpus, and makers it hi3 duty to exercise the power when the facts, in . his Judgement, require it.. This is just what the President has done in certain counties of South brolina. It is, moreover, what he ousrht to lo and what, as we hope, hef will do. whenever the occasion demands it. j The Enforcement Act is a part of the supreme law of the land; and the Pros- j identof the United States is sworn to j execute this and all other laws which prescribe duties for him to pcrfornl. He would be justly deserving of public . censure if he were to treat the emer gency with official indifference. For tunately for the country, tho President is a man of nerve and force, who means what he says and has the courage to discharge his duty. . General Grant, is just the man to crush this disguised rebellion, which, if permitted to grow, would work immense mischief, espe cially in view of the excitement, and partizanship, Dur, Tamer, u reality, alike dangerous to the peace of onrl thft HbOrtV OI IIIU PfO nv. ineonle in thi J)ress these Ku Klux Klans bj own voluntary efforts, through the the local laws," and tl:i:n
The Era (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 16, 1871, edition 1
2
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