Chapter C: Introduction (23)

From the "Louisville Advertiser," Dec. 17th, 1838:--"A startling tragedy occurred in this city on Saturday evening last, in which A.H. Meeks was instantly killed, John Rothwell mortally wounded, William Holmes severely wounded, and Henry Oldham slightly, by the use of Bowie knives, by Judge E.C. Wilkinson, and his brother, B.R. Wilkinson, of Natchez, and J. Murdough, of Holly Springs, Mississippi. It seems that Judge Wilkinson had ordered a coat at the shop of Messrs. Varnum & Redding. The coat was made; the Judge, accompanied by his brother and Mr. Murdough, went to the shop of Varnum & Redding, tried on the coat, and was irritated because, as he believed, it did not fit him. Mr. Redding undertook to convince him that he was in error, and ventured to assure the Judge that the coat was well made. The Judge instantly seized an iron poker, and commenced an attack on Redding. The blow with the poker was partially warded off--Redding grappled his assailant, when a companion of the Judge drew a Bowie knife, and, but for the interposition and interference of the unfortunate Meeks, a journeyman tailor, and a gentleman passing by at the moment, Redding might have been assassinated in his own shop. Shortly afterwards, Redding, Meeks, Rothwell, and Holmes went to the Galt House. They sent up stairs for Judge Wilkinson, and he came down into the bar room, when angry words were passed. The Judge went up stairs again, and in a short time returned with his companions, all armed with knives. Harsh language was again used. Meeks, felt called on to state what he had seen of the conflict, and did so, and Murdough gave him the d--d lie, for which Meeks struck him. On receiving the blow with the whip, Murdough instantly plunged his Bowie knife into the abdomen of Meeks, and killed him on the spot.

"At the same instant B.R. Wilkinson attempted to get at Redding, and Holmes and Rothwell interfered, or joined in the affray. Holmes was wounded, probably by B.R. Wilkinson; and the Judge, having left the room for an instant, returned, and finding Rothwell contending with his brother, or bending over him, he (the Judge) stabbed Rothwell in the back, and inflicted a mortal wound.

"Judge Wilkinson, his brother, and J. Murdough, have been recently tried and ACQUITTED."

From the "New Orleans Bee," Sept. 27, 1838.

"It appears from the statement of the Lexington Intelligencer, that there has been for some time past, an enmity between the drivers of the old and opposition lines of stages running from that city. On the evening of the 13th an encounter took place at the Circus between two of them, Powell and Cameron, and the latter was so much injured that his life was in imminent danger. About 12 o'clock the same night, several drivers of the old line rushed into Keizer's Hotel, where Powell and other drivers of the opposition-line boarded, and a general melee took place, in the course of which several pistols were discharged, the ball of one of them passing through the head of Crabster, an old line driver, and killing him on the spot. Crabster, before he was shot, had discharged his own pistol which had burst into fragments. Two or three drivers of the opposition were wounded with buck shot, but not dangerously."

The "Mobile Advertiser" of September 15, 1838, copies the following from the Louisville (Ky.) Journal.

"A Mr. Campbell was killed in Henderson county on the 31st ult. by a Mr. Harrison. It appears, that there was an affray between the parties some months ago, and that Harrison subsequently left home and returned on the 31st in a trading boat. Campbell met him at the boat with a loaded rifle and declared his determination to kill him, at the same time asking him whether he had a rifle and expressing a desire to give him a fair chance. Harrison affected to laugh at the whole matter and invited Campbell into his boat to take a drink with him. Campbell accepted the invitation, but, while he was in the act of drinking, Harrison seized his rifle, fired it off, and laid Campbell dead by striking him with the barrel of it."

The "Missouri Republican" of July 29, 1837 published the details which follow from the Louisville Journal.

MOUNT STERLING, Ky. July 20, 1837.

"Gentlemen:--A most unfortunate and fatal occurrence transpired in our town last evening, about 6 o'clock. Some of the most prominent friends of Judge French had a meeting yesterday at Col. Young's, near this place, and warm words ensued between Mr. Albert Thomas and Belvard Peters, Esq., and a few blows were exchanged, and several of the friends of each collected at the spot. Whilst the parties were thus engaged. Mr. Wm. White, who was a friend of Mr. Peters, struck Mr. Thomas, whereupon B.F. Thomas Esq. engaged in the combat on the side of his brother and Mr. W. Roberts on the part of Peters--Mr. G.W. Thomas taking part with his brothers. Albert Thomas had Peters down and was taken off by a gentleman present, and whilst held by that gentleman, he was struck by White; and B.F. Thomas having made some remark White struck him. B.F. Thomas returned the blow, and having a large knife, stabbed White, who nevertheless continued the contest, and, it is said, broke Thomas's arm with a rock of a chair. Thomas then inflicted some other stabs, of which White died in a few minutes. Roberts was knocked down twice by Albert Thomas, and, I believe, is much hurt. G.W. Thomas was somewhat hurt also. White and B.F. Thomas had always been on friendly terms. You are acquainted with the Messrs. Thomas. Mr. White was a much larger man than either of them, weighing nearly 200 pounds, and in the prime of life. As you may very naturally suppose, great excitement prevails here, and Mr. B.F. Thomas regrets the fatal catastrophe as much as any one else, but believes from all the circumstances that he was justifiable in what he did, although he would be as far from doing such an act when cool and deliberate as any man whatever."

The "New Orleans Bulletin" of Aug. 24, 1838, extracts the following from the Louisville Journal.

"News has just reached us, that Thomas P. Moore, attacked the Senior Editor of this paper in the yard of the Harrodsburg Springs. Mr. Moore advanced upon Mr. Prentice with a drawn pistol and fired at him; Mr. Prentice then fired, neither shot taking effect. Mr. Prentice drew a second pistol, when Mr. Moore quailed and said he had no other arms; whereupon Mr. Prentice from superabundant magnanimity spared the miscreant's life."

From "The Floridian" of June 10, 1837. MURDER. Mr. Gillespie, a respectable citizen aged 50, was murdered a few days since by a Mr. Arnett, near Mumfordsville, Ky., which latter shot his victim twice with a rifle.

The "Augusta (Ga.) Sentinel," May 11, 1838, has the following account of murders in Kentucky:

"At Mill's Point, Kentucky, Dr. Thomas Rivers was shot one day last week, from out of a window, by Lawyer Ferguson, both citizens of that place, and both parties are represented to have stood high in the estimation of the community in which they lived. The difficulty we understand to have grown out of a law suit at issue between them."

Just as our paper was going to press, we learn that the brother of Dr. Rivers, who had been sent for, had arrived, and immediately shot Lawyer Ferguson. He at first shot him with a shot gun, upon his retreat, which did not prove fatal; he then approached him immediately with a pistol, and killed him on the spot."

The Right Rev. B.B. Smith, Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Kentucky, published about two years since an article in the Lexington (Ky.) Intelligencer, entitled "Thoughts on the frequency of homicides in the state of Kentucky." We conclude this head with a brief extract from the testimony of the Bishop, contained in that article.

"The writer has never conversed with a traveled and enlightened European or eastern man, who has not expressed the most undisguised horror at the frequency of homicide and murder within our bounds, and at the _ease with which the homicide escapes from punishment_.

"As to the frequency of these shocking occurrences, the writer has some opportunity of being correctly impressed, by means of a yearly tour through many counties of the State. He has also been particular in making inquiries of our most distinguished legal and political characters, and from some has derived conjectural estimates which were truly alarming. A few have been of the opinion, that on an average one murder a year may be charged to the account of every county in the state, making the frightful aggregate of 850 human lives sacrificed to revenge, or the victims of momentary passion, in the course of every ten years.

"Others have placed the estimate much lower, and have thought that thirty for the whole state, every year, would be found much nearer the truth. An attempt has been made lately to obtain data more satisfactory than conjecture, and circulars have been addressed to the clerks of most of the counties, in order to arrive at as correct an estimate as possible of the actual number of homicides during the three years last past. It will be seen, however, that statistics thus obtained, even from every county in the state, would necessarily be imperfect, inasmuch as the records of the courts _by no means show all the cases_, which occur, some escaping without _any_ of the forms of a legal examination, and there being _many affrays_ which end only in wounds, or where the parties are separated.

"From these returns, it appears that in 27 counties there have been, within the last three years, of homicides of every grade, 35, but only 8 convictions in the same period, leaving 27 cases which have passed wholly unpunished. During the same period there have been from eighty-five counties, only eleven commitments to the state prison, nine for manslaughter, and two for shooting with intent to kill, _and not an instance of capital punishment in the person of any white offender_. Thus an approximation is made to a general average, which probably would not vary much from one in each county every three years, or about 280 in ten years.

"It is believed that such a register of crime amongst a people professing the protestant religion and speaking the English language, is not to be found, with regard to any three-quarters of a million of people, since the downfall of the feudal system. Compared with the records of crime in Scotland, or the eastern states, the results are ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING! _It is believed there are more homicides, on an average of two years, in any of our more populous counties, than in the whole of several of our states, of equal or nearly equal white population with Kentucky._

"The victims of these affrays are not always, by any means, the most worthless of our population.

"It too often happens that the enlightened citizen, the devoted lawyer, the affectionate husband, and precious father, are thus instantaneously taken from their useful stations on earth, and hurried, all unprepared, to their final account!

"The question, is again asked, what could have brought about, and can perpetuate, this shocking state of things?"

As an illustration of the recklessness of life in Kentucky, and the terrible paralysis of public sentiment, the bishop states the following fact.

"A case of shocking homicide is remembered, where the guilty person was acquitted by a sort of acclamation, and the next day was seen in public, with two ladies hanging on his arm!"

Notwithstanding the frightful frequency of deadly affrays in Kentucky, as is certified by the above testimony of Bishop Smith, there are fewer, in proportion to the white population, than in any of the states which have passed under review, unless Tennessee may be an exception. The present white population of Kentucky is perhaps seventy thousand more than that of Maine, and yet more public fatal affrays have taken place in the former, within the last six months, than in the latter during its entire existence as a state.

The seven slave states which we have already passed under review, are just one half of the slave states and territories, included in the American Union. Before proceeding to consider the condition of society in the other slave states, we pause a moment to review the ground already traversed.

The present entire white population of the states already considered, is about two and a quarter millions; just about equal to the present white population of the state of New York. If the amount of crime resulting in loss of life, which is perpetrated by the white population of those states upon the _whites alone_, be contrasted with the amount perpetrated in the state of New York, by _all_ classes, upon _all_, we believe it will be found, that more of such crimes have been committed in these states within the last 18 months, than have occurred in the state of New York for half a century. But perhaps we shall be told that in these seven states, there are scores of cities and large towns, and that a majority of all these deadly affrays, &c., take place in _them_; to this we reply, that there are _three times as many_ cities and large towns in the state of New York, as in all those states together, and that nearly all the capital crimes perpetrated in the state take place in these cities and large villages. In the state of New York, there are more than _half a million_ of persons who live in cities and villages of more than two thousand inhabitants, whereas in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri, there are on the largest computation not more than _one hundred thousand_ persons, residing in cities and villages of more than two thousand inhabitants, and the white population of these places (which alone is included in the estimate of crime, and that too _inflicted upon whites only_,) is probably not more than _sixty-five thousand_.

But it will doubtless be pleaded in mitigation, that the cities and large villages in those states are _new_; that they have not had sufficient time thoroughly to organize their police, so as to make it an effectual terror to evil doers; and further, that the rapid growth of those places has so overloaded the authorities with all sorts of responsibilities, that due attention to the preservation of the public peace has been nearly impossible; and besides, they have had no official experience to draw upon, as in the older cities, the offices being generally filled by young men, as a necessary consequence of the newness of the country, &c. To this we reply, that New Orleans is more than a century old, and for half that period has been the centre of a great trade; that St. Louis, Natchez, Mobile, Nashville, Louisville and Lexington, are all half a century old, and each had arrived at years of discretion, while yet the sites of Buffalo, Rochester, Lockport, Canandaigua, Geneva, Auburn, Ithaca, Oswego, Syracuse, and other large towns in Western New-York, _were a wilderness_. Further, as _a number_ of these places are larger than _either_ of the former, their growth must have been more _rapid_, and, consequently, they must have encountered still greater obstacles in the organization of an efficient police than those south western cities, with this exception, THEY WERE NOT SETTLED BY SLAVEHOLDERS.

The absurdity of assigning the _newness_ of the country, the unrestrained habits of pioneer settlers, the recklessness of life engendered by wars with the Indians, &c., as reasons sufficient to account for the frightful amount of crime in the states under review, is manifest from the fact, that Vermont is of the same age with Kentucky; Ohio, ten years younger than Kentucky, and six years younger than Tennessee; Indiana, five years younger than Louisiana; Illinois, one year younger than Mississippi; Maine, of the same age with Missouri, and two years younger than Alabama; and Michigan of the same age with Arkansas. Now, let any one contrast the state of society in Maine, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan with that of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and candidly ponder the result. It is impossible satisfactorily to account for the immense disparity in crime, on any other supposition than that the latter states were settled and are inhabited almost exclusively by those who carried with them the violence, impatience of legal restraint, love of domination, fiery passions, idleness, and contempt of laborious industry, which are engendered by habits of despotic sway, acquired by residence in communities where such manners, habits and passions, mould society into their own image.[43] The practical workings of this cause are powerfully illustrated in those parts of the slave states where slaves abound, when contrasted with those where very few are held. Who does not know that there are fewer deadly affrays in proportion to the white population--that law has more sway and that human life is less insecure in East Tennessee, where there are very few slaves, than in West Tennessee, where there are large numbers. This is true also of northern and western Virginia, where few slaves are held, when contrasted with eastern Virginia; where they abound; the same remark applies to those parts of Kentucky and Missouri, where large numbers of slaves are held, when contrasted with others where there are comparatively few.

We see the same cause operating to a considerable extent in those parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, settled mainly by slaveholders and others, who were natives of slave states, in contrast with other parts of these states settled almost exclusively by persons from free states; that affrays and breaches of the peace are far more frequent in the former than in the latter, is well known to all.

We now proceed to the remaining slave states. Those that have not yet been considered, are Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and the territory of Florida. As Delaware has hardly two thousand five hundred slaves, arbitrary power over human beings is exercised by so few persons, that the turbulence infused thereby into the public mind is but an inconsiderable element, quite insufficient to inflame the passions, much less to cast the character of the mass of the people; consequently, the state of society there, and the general security of life is but little less than in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, upon which states it borders on the north and east. The same causes operate in a considerable measure, though to a much less extent to Maryland and in Northern and Western Virginia. But in lower Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, the general state of society as it respects the successful triumph of passion over law, and the consequent and universal insecurity of life is, in the main, very similar to that of the states already considered. In some portions of each of these states, human life has probably as little real protection as in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana; but generally throughout the former states and sections, the laws are not so absolutely powerless as in the latter three. Deadly affrays, duels, murders, lynchings, &c., are, in proportion to the white population, as frequent and as rarely punished in lower Virginia as in Kentucky and Missouri; in North Carolina and South Carolina as in Tennessee; and in Georgia and Florida as in Alabama.

To insert the criminal statistics of the remaining slave states in detail, as those of the states already considered have been presented, would, we find, fill more space than can well be spared. Instead of this, we propose to exhibit the state of society in all the slaveholding region bordering on the Atlantic, by the testimony of the slaveholders themselves, corroborated by a few plain facts. Leaving out of view Florida, where law is the _most_ powerless, and Maryland where probably it is the _least_ so, we propose to select as a fair illustration of the actual state of society in the Atlantic slaveholding regions, North Carolina whose border is but 250 miles from the free states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and Georgia which constitutes its south western boundary.

We will begin with GEORGIA. This state was settled more than a century ago by a colony under General Oglethorpe. The colony was memorable for its high toned morality. One of its first regulations was an absolute prohibition of slavery in every form: but another generation arose, the prohibition was abolished, a multitude of slaves were imported, the exercise of unlimited power over them lashed up passion to the spurning of all control, and now the dreadful state of society that exists in Georgia, is revealed by the following testimony out of her own mouth.

The editor of the Darien (Georgia) Telegraph, in his paper of November 6, 1838, published the following.

"_Murderous Attack_.--Between the hours of three and four o'clock, on Saturday last, the editor of this paper was attacked by FOURTEEN armed ruffians, and knocked down by repeated blows of bludgeons. All his assailants were armed with pistols, dirks, and large clubs. Many of them are known to us; but _there is neither law nor justice to be had in Darien! We are doomed to death_ by the employers of the assassins who attacked us on Saturday, and no less than our blood will satisfy them. The cause alleged for this unmanly, base, cowardly outrage, is some expressions which occurred in an election squib, printed at this office, and extensively circulated through the county, _before the election_. The names of those who surrounded us, when the attack was made, are, A. Lefils, jr. (son to the representative), Madison Thomas, Francis Harrison, Thomas Hopkins, Alexander Blue, George Wing, James Eilands, W.I. Perkins, A.J. Raymur: the others we cannot at present recollect. The two first, LEFILS and THOMAS struck us at the same time. Pistols were levelled at us in all directions. We can produce the most respectable testimony of the truth of this statement."

The same number of the "Darien Telegraph," from which the preceding is taken, contains a correspondence between six individuals, settling the preliminaries of duels. The correspondence fills, with the exception of a dozen lines, _five columns_ of the paper. The parties were Col. W. Whig Hazzard, commander of one of the Georgia regiments in the recent Seminole campaign, Dr. T.F. Hazzard, a physician of St. Simons, and Thomas Hazzard, Esq. a county magistrate, on the one side, and Messrs. J.A. Willey, A.W. Willey, and H.B. Gould, Esqs. of Darien, on the other. In their published correspondence the parties call each other "liar," "mean rascal," "puppy," "villain," &c.

The magistrate, Thomas Hazzard, who accepts the challenge of J.A. Willey, says, in one of his letters, "Being a magistrate, under a solemn oath to do all in my power to keep the peace," &c., and yet this personification of Georgia justice superscribes his letter as follows: "To the Liar, Puppy, Fool, and Poltroon, Mr. John A. Willey" The magistrate closes his letter thus:

"Here I am; call upon me for personal satisfaction (in _propria forma_); and in the Farm Field, on St. Simon's Island, (_Deo juvante_,) I will give you a full front of my body, and do all in my power to satisfy your thirst for blood! And more, I will wager you $100, to be planked on the scratch! that J.A. Willey will neither kill or defeat T.F. Hazzard."

The following extract from the correspondence is a sufficient index of slaveholding civilization.

"ARTICLES OF BATTLE BETWEEN JOHN A. WILLEY AND W. WHIG HAZZARD.

"Condition 1. The parties to fight on the same day, and at the same place, (St. Simon's beach, near the lighthouse,) where the meeting between T.F. Hazzard and J.A. Willey will take place.

"Condition 2. The parties to fight with broad-swords in the right hand, and a dirk in the left.

"Condition 3. On the word "Charge," the parties to advance, and attack with the broadsword, or close with the dirk.

"Condition 4. THE HEAD OF THE VANQUISHED TO BE CUT OFF BY THE VICTOR, AND STUCK UPON A POLE ON THE FARM FIELD DAM, the original cause of dispute.

"Condition 5. Neither party to object to each other's weapons; and if a sword breaks, the contest to continue with the dirk.

"This Col. W. Whig Hazzard is one of the most prominent citizens in the southern part of Georgia, and previously signalized himself, as we learn from one of the letters in the correspondence, by "three deliberate rounds in a duel."

The Macon (Georgia) Telegraph of October 9, 1838, contains the following notice of two affrays in that place, in each of which an individual was killed, one on Tuesday and the other on Saturday of the same week. In publishing the case, the Macon editor remarks:

"We are compelled to remark on the inefficiency of our laws in bringing to the bar of public justice, persons committing capital offences. Under the present mode, a man has nothing more to do than to leave the state, or step over to Texas, or some other place not farther off, and he need entertain no fear of being apprehended. So long as such a state of things is permitted to exist, just so long will every man who has an enemy (and there are but few who have not) _be in constant danger of being shot down in the streets_."

To these remarks of the Macon editor, who is in the centre of the state, near the capital, the editor of the Darien Telegraph, two hundred miles distant, responds as follows, in his paper of October 30. 1838.

"The remarks of our contemporary are not without cause. They apply, with peculiar force, to this community. _Murderers and rioters will never stand in need of a sanctuary as long as Darien is what it is_."

It is a coincidence which carries a comment with it, that in less than a week after this Darien editor made these remarks, he was attacked in the street by "_fourteen_ gentlemen" armed with bludgeons, knives, dirks, pistols, &c., and would doubtless have been butchered on the spot if he had not been rescued.

We give the following statement at length as the chief perpetrator of the outrages, Col. W.N. Bishop, was at the time a high functionary of the State of Georgia, and, as we learn from the Macon Messenger, still holds two public offices in the State, one of them from the direct appointment of the governor.

From the "Georgia Messenger" of August 25, 1837.

"During the administration of WILSON LUMPKIN, WILLIAM N. BISHOP received from his Excellency the appointment of Indian Agent, in the place of William Springer. During that year (1834,) the said governor gave the command of a company of men, 40 in number, to the said W.N. Bishop, to be selected by him, and armed with the muskets of the State. This band was organized for the special purpose of keeping the Cherokees in subjection, and although it is a notorious fact that the Cherokees in the neighborhood of Spring Place were peaceable and by no means refractory, the said band were kept there, and seldom made any excursion whatever out of the county of Murray. It is also _a notorious fact_, that the said band, from the day of their organization, never permitted a citizen of Murray county opposed to the dominant party of Georgia, to exercise the right of suffrage at any election whatever. From that period to the last of January election, the said band appeared at the polls with the arms of the State, rejecting every vote that "was not of the true stripe," as they called it. That they frequently seized and dragged to the polls honest citizens, and compelled them to vote contrary to their will.

"Such acts of arbitrary despotism were tolerated by the administration. Appeals from the citizens of Murray county brought them no relief--and incensed at such outrages, they determined on the first Monday in January last, to turn out and elect such Judges of the Inferior Court and county officers, as would be above the control of Bishop, that he might thereby be prevented from packing such a jury as he chose to try him for his brutal and unconstitutional outrages on their rights. Accordingly on Sunday evening previous to the election, about twenty citizens who lived a distance from the county site, came in unarmed and unprepared for battle, intending to remain in town, vote in the morning and return home. They were met by Bishop and his State band, and asked by the former 'whether they were for peace or war.' They unanimously responded, "we are for peace:' At that moment Bishop ordered a fire, and instantly _every musket of his band was discharged on those citizens_, 5 of whom were wounded, and others escaped with bullet holes in their clothes. Not satisfied with the outrage, _they dragged an aged man from his wagon and beat him nearly to death_.

"In this way the voters were driven from Spring Place, and before day light the next morning, the polls were opened by order of Bishop, and soon after sun rise they were closed; Bishop having ascertained that the band and Schley men had all voted. A runner was then dispatched to Milledgeville, and received from Governor Schley commissions for those self-made officers of Bishop's, two of whom have since runaway, and the rest have been called on by the citizens of the county to resign, being each members of Bishop's band, and doubtless runaways from other States.

"After these outrages, Bishop apprehending an appeal to the judiciary on the part of the injured citizens of Murray county, had a jury drawn to suit him and appointed one of his band Clerk of the Superior Court. For these acts, the Governor and officers of the Central Bank rewarded him with an office in the Bank of the State, since which his own jury found _eleven true bills_ against him."

In the Milledgeville Federal Union of May 2, 1837, we find the following presentment of the Grand Jury of Union County, Georgia, which as it shows some relics of a moral sense, still lingering in the state we insert.

Presentment of the Grand Jury of Union Co., March term, 1837.

"We would notice, as a subject of painful interest, the appointment of Wm. N. Bishop to the high and responsible office of Teller, of the Central Bank of the State of Georgia--an institution of such magnitude as to merit and demand the most unslumbering vigilance of the freemen of this State; as a portion of whom, we feel bound to express our _indignant reprehension_ of the promotion of such a character to one of its most responsible posts--and do exceedingly regret the blindness or _depravity_ of those who can sanction such a measure.

"We request that our presentment be published in the Miners' Recorder and Federal Union.

JOHN MARTIN, Foreman"

On motion of Henry L. Sims, Solicitor General, "Ordered by the court, that the presentments of the Grand Jury, be published according to their request." THOMAS HENRY, Clerk.

The same paper, four weeks after publishing the preceding facts, contained the following: we give it in detail as the wretch who enacted the tragedy was another public functionary of the state of Georgia and acting in an official capacity.

"MURDER.--One of the most brutal and inhuman murders it has ever fallen to our lot to notice, was lately committed in Cherokee county, by Julius Bates, the son of the principal keeper of the Penitentiary, upon an Indian.

"The circumstances as detailed to us by the most respectable men of both parties, are these. At the last Superior Court of Cass county, the unfortunate Indian was sentenced to the Penitentiary. Bates, as _one of the Penitentiary guard_, was sent with another to carry him and others, from other counties to Milledgeville. He started from Cassville with the Indian ironed and bare footed; and walked him within a quarter of a mile of Canton, the C.H. in Cherokee, a distance of twenty-eight to thirty miles, over a very rough road in little more than half the day. On arriving at a small creek near town, the Indian [who had walked until the _soles of his feet were off and those of his heel turned back_,] made signs to get water, Bates refused to let him, and ordered him to go on: the Indian stopped and finally set down, whereupon Bates dismounted and gathering a pine knot, commenced and continued beating him and jirking him by a chain around his neck, until the citizens of the village were drawn there by the severity of the blows. The unfortunate creature was taken up to town and died in a few hours.

"An inquest was held, and the jury found a verdict of murder by Bates. A warrant was issued, but Bates had departed that morning in charge of other prisoners taken from Canton, and the worthy officers of the county desisted from his pursuit, 'because they apprehended he had passed the limits of the county.' We understand that the warrant was immediately sent to the Governor to have him arrested. Will it be done? We shall see."

Having devoted so much space to a revelation of the state of society among the slaveholders of Georgia, we will tax the reader's patience with only a single illustration of the public sentiment--the degree of actual legal protection enjoyed in the state of North Carolina.

North Carolina was settled about two centuries ago; its present white population is about five hundred thousand.

Passing by the murders, affrays, &c. with which the North Carolina papers abound, we insert the following as an illustration of the public sentiment of North Carolina among 'gentlemen of property and standing.'

The 'North Carolina Literary and Commercial Journal,' of January 20, 1838, published at Elizabeth City, devotes a column and a half to a description of the lynching, tarring, feathering, ducking, riding on a rail, pumping, &c., of a Mr. Charles Fife, a merchant of that city, for the crime of 'trading with negroes.' The editor informs us that this exploit of vandalism was performed very deliberately, at mid-day, and _by a number of the citizens_, 'THE MOST RESPECTABLE IN THE CITY,' &c. We proceed to give the reader an abridgement of the editor's statement in his own words.--

"Such being the case, a number of the citizens, THE MOST RESPECTABLE IN THIS CITY, collected, about ten days since, and after putting the fellow on a rail, carried him through town with a duck and chicken tied to him. He was taken down to the water and his head tarred and feathered; and when they returned he was put under a pump, where for a few minutes he underwent a little cooling. He was then told that he must leave town by the next Saturday--if he did not he would be visited again, and treated more in accordance with the principles of the laws of Judge Lynch.

"On Saturday last, he was again visited, and as Fife had several of his friends to assist him, some little scuffle ensued, when several were knocked down, but nothing serious occurred. Fife was again mounted on a rail and brought into town, but as he promised if they would not trouble him he would leave town in a few days, he was set at liberty. Several of our magistrates _took no notice of the affair_, and rather seemed to tacitly acquiesce in the proceedings. The whole subject every one supposed was ended, as Fife was to leave in a few days, when WHAT WAS OUR ASTONISHMENT to hear that Mr. Charles R. Kinney had visited Fife, advised him not to leave, and actually took upon himself to examine witnesses, and came before the public as the defender of Fife. The consequence was, that all the rioters were summoned by the Sheriff to appear in the Court House and give bail for their appearance at our next court. On Monday last the court opened at 12 o'clock, Judge Bailey presiding. Such an excitement we never witnessed before in our town. A great many witnesses were examined, which proved the character of Fife beyond a doubt. At one time rather serious consequences were apprehended--high words were spoken, and luckily a blow which was aimed at Mr. Kinney, was parried off, and we are happy to say the court adjourned after ample securities being given. The next day Fife was taken to jail for trading with negroes, but has since been released on paying $100. The interference of Mr. Kinney was wholly unnecessary; it was an assumption on his part which properly belonged to our magistrates. Fife had agreed to go away, and the matter would have been amicably settled but for him. We have no unfriendly feelings towards Mr. Kinney: no personal animosities to gratify: we have always considered him as one of our best lawyers. But when he comes forth as the supporter of such a fellow as Fife, under the plea that the laws have been violated--when he arraigns the acts of thirty of the inhabitants of this place, it is high time for him to reflect seriously on the consequences. The Penitentiary system is the result of the refinement of the eighteenth century. As man advances in the sciences, in the arts, in the intercourse of social and civilized life, in the same proportion does crime and vice keep an equal pace, and always makes demands on the wisdom of legislators. Now, what is the Lynch law but the Penitentiary system carried out to its full extent, with a little more steam power? or more properly, it is simply thus: _There are some scoundrels in society on whom the laws take no effect; the most expeditious and short way is to let a majority decide and give them_ JUSTICE."

Let the reader notice, 1st, that this outrage was perpetrated with great deliberation, and after it was over, the victim was commanded to leave town by the next week: when that cooling interval had passed, the outrage was again deliberately repeated. 2d. It was perpetrated by "thirty persons,' "_the most respectable in the city_." 3d. That at the second lynching of Fife, several of his neighbors who had gathered to defend him, (seeing that all the legal officers in the city had refused to do it, thus violating their oaths of office,) _were knocked down_, to which the editor adds, with the business air of a professional butcher, "nothing _serious_ occurred!" 4th. That not a single magistrate in the city took the least notice either of the barbarities inflicted upon Fife, or of the assaults upon his friends, knocking them down, &c., but, as the editor informs us, all "seemed to acquiesce in the proceedings." 5th. That this conduct of the magistrates was well pleasing to the great mass of the citizens, is plain, from the remark of the editor that "every one supposed that the whole subject was ended," and from his wondering exclamation, "WHAT WAS OUR ASTONISHMENT to hear that Mr. C.R. Kinney had actually took upon him to examine witnesses," &c., and also from the editor's declaration, "Such an excitement we never before witnessed in our town." Excitement at what? Not because the laws had been most impiously trampled down at noon-day by a conspiracy of thirty persons, "the most respectable in the city;" not because a citizen had been twice seized and publicly tortured for hours, without trial, and in utter defiance of all authority; nay, verily! this was all complacently acquiesced in; but because in this slaveholding Sodom there was found a solitary Lot who dared to uplift his voice for _law_ and the _right of trial by jury_; this crime stirred up such an uproar in that city of "most respectable" lynchers as was "_never witnessed before_," and the noble lawyer who thus put every thing at stake in invoking the majesty of law, would, it seems, have been knocked down, even in the presence of the Court, if the blow had not been "parried." 6th. Mark the murderous threat of the editor--when he arraigns the _acts_," (no matter how murderous) "of thirty citizens of this place, it is high time for him to reflect seriously _on the consequences_." 7th. The open advocacy of "Lynch law" by a set argument, boldly setting it above all codes, with which the editor closes his article, reveals a public sentiment in the community which shows, that in North Carolina, though society may still rally under the flag of civilization, and insist on wrapping itself in its folds, barbarism is none the less so in a stolen livery, and savages are savages still, though tricked out with the gauze and tinsel of the stars and stripes.

It may be stated, in conclusion, that the North Carolina "Literary and Commercial Journal," from which the article is taken, is a large six-columned paper, edited by F.S. Proctor, Esq., a graduate of a University, and of considerable literary note in the South.

Having drawn out this topic to so great a length, we waive all comments, and only say to the reader, in conclusion, _ponder these things_, and lay it to heart, that slaveholding "is justified _of her children_." Verily, they have their reward! "With what measure ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Those who combine to trample on others, will trample on _each other_. The habit of trampling upon _one_, begets a state of mind that will trample upon _all_. Accustomed to wreak their vengeance on their slaves, indulgence of passion becomes with slaveholders a second law of nature, and, when excited even by their equals, their hot blood brooks neither restraint nor delay; _gratification_ is the _first_ thought--prudence generally comes too late, and the slaves see their masters fall a prey to each other, the victims of those very passions which have been engendered and infuriated by the practice of arbitrary rule over _them_. Surely it need not be added, that those who thus tread down their equals, must trample as in a wine-press their defenceless vassals. If, when in passion, they seize those who are _on their own level_, and dash them under their feet, with what a crushing vengeance will they leap upon those who are _always_ under their feet?

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES.

Footnote 39: A few years since Mr. Bourne published a work entitled, "Picture of slavery in the United States." In which he describes a variety of horrid atrocities perpetrated upon slaves; such as brutal scourging and lacerations with the application of pepper, mustard, salt, vinegar, &c., to the bleeding gashes; also maimings, cat-haulings, burnings, and other tortures similar to hundreds described on the preceeding pages. These descriptions of Mr. Bourne were, at that time, thought by multitudes _incredible_, and probably, even by some abolitionists, who had never given much reflection to the subject. We are happy to furnish the reader with the following testimony of a Virginia slaveholder to the _accuracy_ of Mr. Bourne's delineations. Especially as this slaveholder is a native of one of the counties (Culpepper) near to which the atrocities described by Mr. B. were committed.

Testimony of Mr. WILLIAM HANSBOROUGH, of Culpepper, County, Virginia, the "owner" of sixty slaves, to Mr. Bourne's "Picture or Slavery" as a _true_ delineation.

Lindley Coates, of Lancaster Co., Pa., a well known member of the Society of Friends, and a member of the late Pennsylvania Convention for revising, the Constitution of the State, in a letter now before us, describing a recent interview between him and Mr. Hansborough, of several days continuance, says,--"I handed him Bourne's Picture of slavery to read: _after reading it_, he said, that all of the sufferings of slaves therein related, were _true delineations, and that he had seen all those modes of torture himself_."

Footnote 40: The following is Mr. Stevenson's disclaimer: It was published in the 'London Mail,' Oct 30, 1838.

_To the Editor of the Evening Mail:_

Sir--I did not see until my return from Scotland the note addressed by Mr. O'Connell, to the editor of the Chronicle, purporting to give an explanation of the correspondence which has passed between us, and which I deemed it proper to make public. I do not intend to be drawn into any discussion of the subject of domestic slavery as it exists in the United States, nor to give any explanation of the motives or circumstances under which I have acted.

Disposed to regard Mr. O'Connell as a man of honor. I was induced to take the course I did; whether justifiable or not, the world will now decide. The tone and report of his last note (in which he disavows responsibility for any thing he may say) precludes any further notice from me, than to say that the charge which he has thought proper again to repeat, of my being a breeder of slaves for sale and traffick, is wholly destitute of truth; and that I am warranted in believing it has been made by him without the slightest authority. SUCH, TOO, I VENTURE TO SAY, IS THE CASE IN RELATION TO HIS CHARGE OF SLAVE-BREEDING IN VIRGINIA.

I make this declaration, not because I admit Mr. O'Connell's right to call for it, but to prevent my silence from being misinterpreted.

A. STEVENSON

_23 Portland Place, Oct. 29_

Footnote 41: Mr. WISE said in one of his speeches during the last session of Congress, that he was obliged to go armed for the protection of his life in Washington. It could not have been for fear of _Northern_ men.

Footnote 42: A correspondent of the "Frederick Herald," writing from Little Rock, says, "Anthony's knife was about _twenty-eight inches_ in length. They _all_ carry knives here, or pistols. There are several kinds of knives in use--a narrow blade, and about twelve inches long, is called an 'Arkansas tooth-pick.'"

Footnote 43: Bishop Smith of Kentucky, in his testimony respecting homicides, which is quoted on a preceding pages, thus speaks of the influence of slave-holding, as an exciting cause.

"Are not some of the indirect influences of a system, the existence of which amongst us can never be sufficiently deplored, discoverable in these affrays? Are not our young men more heady, violent and imperious in consequence of their early habits of command? And are not our taverns and other public places of resort, much more crowded with an inflammable material, than if young men were brought up in the staid and frugal habits of those who are constrained to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow? * * * Is not intemperance more social, more inflammatory, more pugnacious where a fancied superiority of gentlemanly character is felt in consequence of exemption from severe manual labor? Is there ever stabbing where there is not idleness and strong drink?"

The Bishop also gives the following as another exciting cause; it is however only the product of the preceding.

"Has not a public sentiment which we hear characterized as singularly high-minded and honorable, and sensitively alive to every affront, whether real or imaginary, but which strangers denominate rough and ferocious, much to do in provoking these assaults, and then in applauding instead of punishing the offender."

The Bishop says of the young men of Kentucky, that they "grow up proud, impetuous, and reckless of all responsibility;" and adds, that the practice of carrying deadly weapons is with them "NEARLY UNIVERSAL."

* * * * *

INDEX.

* * * * *

To facilitate the use of the Index, some of the more common topics are arranged under one general title. Thus all the volumes which are cited are classed under the word, BOOKS; and to that head reference must be made. The same plan has been adopted concerning _Female Slave-Drivers, Laws, Narratives, Overseers, Runaways, Slaveholders, Slave-Murderers, Slave-Plantations, Slaves, Female_ and _Male, Testimony_ and _Witnesses_. Therefore, with a few _emphatical_ exceptions only, the facts will be found, by recurring to the prominent person or subject which any circumstance includes. All other miscellaneous articles will be discovered in alphabetical order.

* * * * *

A.

Absolute power of slaveholders Absurdity of slaveholding pretexts Abuse of power Acclimated slaves Adrian Adultery in a preacher's house Advertisement for slaves Advertisement for slaves to hire Advertisements Affray African slave-trade Aged slaves uncommon Alabama Alexander the tyrant Allowance of provisions Amalgamation American Colonization Society "Amiable and touching charity!" Amusements of slave-drivers Animals and slaves, usage of, contrasted Antioch, massacre at "Arbitrary," Arbitrary power, cruelty of " " pernicious Ardor in betting Arius Arkansas Atlantic Slaveholding Region Auctioneers of slaves Auctions for slaves Augustine Aurelius Aversion between the oppressor and the slave

B.

Babbling of slaveholders Backs of slaves carded " " putrid "Ball and chain" men Baptist preachers Battles in Congress Beating a woman's face with shoes Bedaubing of slaves with oil and tar Begetting slaves for pay "Bend your backs" Benevolence of slaveholders Betting on crops " slaves Beware of Kidnappers Bibles searched for Blind slaves Blocks with sharp pegs and nails Blood-bought luxuries Bodley, H.S. Bones dislocated

BOOKS.

African Observer
American Convention, minutes of
" Museum
" State Papers
Andrews' Slavery and the Slave Trade
Bay's Reports
Benezet's Caution to Britain and her Colonies
Blackstone's Commentaries, by Tucker
Book and Slavery irreconcilable
Bourgoing's Spain
Bourne's Picture of Slavery
Brevard's Digest of the Laws of South Carolina
Brewster's Exposition of Slave Treatment
Buchanan's Oration
Carey's American Museum
Carolina, History of
Channing on Slavery
Charity, "amiable and touching!"
Childs' Appeal
Civil Code of Louisiana
Clay's Address to Georgia Presbytery
Colonization Society's Reports
Cornelius Elias, Life of
Davis's Travels in Louisiana
Debates in Virginia Convention
Devereux's North Carolina Reports
Dew's Review of Debates in the Virginia Legislature
Edwards' Sermon
Emancipation in the West Indies
Emigrant's Guide through the Valley of Mississippi
Gales' Congressional Debates
Harris and Johnson's Reports
Haywood's Manual
Hill's reports
Human Rights
James' Digest
Jefferson's Notes
Josephus' History
Justinian, Institutes of
Kennet's Roman Antiquities
Laponneray's Life of Robespierre
Law of Slavery
Laws of United States
Leland's necessity of Divine Revelation
Letters from the South, by J.K. Paulding
Life of Elias Cornelius
Louisiana, civil code of
" , sketches of
Martineau's Harriet, Society in America
Martin's Digest of the laws of Louisiana
Maryland laws of
Mead's Journal
Mississippi Revised Code
Missouri Laws
Modern state of Spain by J.F. Bourgoing
Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws
Necessity of Divine Revelation
Niles' Baltimore Register
North Carolina Reports by Devereaux
Oasis
Parrish's remarks on slavery
Paulding's letters from the South
Paxton's letters on slavery
Presbyterian Synod, Report of
Picture of slavery
Prince's Digest
Prison Discipline Society, reports of
Rankin's Letters
Reed and Matheson's visit to Am. churches
Review of Nevins' Biblical Antiquities
Rice, speech of in Kentucky convention
Robespierre, Life of
Robin's travels
Roman Antiquities
Slavery's Journal
Slavery and the Slave Trade
Society in America
Sewall's Diary
South Carolina, Laws of
South vindicated by Drayton
Spirit of Laws
Swain's address
Stroud's Sketch of the Slave Laws
Taylor's Agricultural Essays
Travels in Louisiana
Tucker's Blackstone
Tucker's Judge, Letter
Turner's Sacred History of the world
Virginia Legislature, Review of Debates in
" , Revised Code
" , Negro-raising state
Visit to American churches
Western Medical Journal
Western Medical Reformer
Western Review
Wheeler's Law of slavery
Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry
Woolman John, Life of

Books of slaves stolen Borrowing of slaves Bourne, George, anecdote of Boy killed Boys' fight to amuse their drivers Bowie Knives Boys' retort Brandings Branding with hot iron Brasses "Breeders" Breeding of slaves prevented "Breeding wenches" " " comparative value of Bribes for begetting slaves Brick-yards "Broken-winded" slaves Brutality to slaves Brutes and slaves treated alike Burial of slaves Burning of McIntosh Burning slaves Burning with hot iron Burning with smoothing irons Butchery

C.

Cabins of slaves Cachexia Africana Caligula Can't believe Capital Crimes Captain in the U.S. navy, tried for murder Carding of Slaves Cat-hauling Cato the Just Causes of the laws punishing cruelty to slaves Chained slave Chains Changes in the market Character of Overseers " Romans " Slave-drivers Charleston " Infirmary at " Jail " Slave auctions " Surgery at " Work-house Chastity punished Child-bearing prevented Childbirth of slaves Childhood unprotected Children flogged " naked Choking of slaves Chopping of slaves piecemeal Christian females tortured " martyr " slave-hunting " slave-murderer Christian, slave whipped to death Christians, persecutions of " slavery among " treat their slaves like others Christian woman kidnapped Chronic diseases Churches, abuse of power in Church members "Citizens sold as slaves" Civilization and morality Clarkson, Thomas Claudius Clemens Clothing for slaves Cock-fighting Code of Louisiana Collars of iron Columbia, district of " fatal affray at Comfort of slaves disregarded Commodus Concubinage Condemned criminals Condition of slaves Confinement at night Congress of the United States " a bear garden Connecticut, law of, against Quakers Constables, character of Constantine the Great Contempt of human life Contrasts of benevolence Conversation between C. and H Converted slave Cooking for slaves Correction moderate Corrupting influence of slavery Cotton-picking Cotton-plantations Cotton seed mixed with corn for food Council of Nice Courts, decrees of Cowhides, with shovel and tongs Crack of the whip heard afar off Crimes of slaves, capital Criminals condemned Cringing of Northern Preachers Cropping of ears Crops for exportation Cruelties, common " inflicted upon slaves " of Cortez in Mexico " Ovando in Hispaniola " Pizarro in Peru " of slave-drivers incredible Cruel treatment of slaves the masters' interest Cultivation of rice Cutting of A.T. s throat by a Presbyterian woman

D.