CONDITION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES.

Press, Volume XVIII, Issue 2553, 7 July 1871, Page 3

CONDITION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES.

[From the Zfav York Triiune, March B.]

Those members of the present Congress who were members of the last are naturally tired of their long winter in Washington, and nnxious to see the coming of spring at their own homes. The new members are, of course, greatly influenced by the superior tact and experience of the old ones, and it is to be feared that in a mere movement of impatience the House, of Congress may separate with some

[ wofic imffaVfrinve tinWone.—- -We beg -aUewti©w v ' and the most serious thought of the I country, to the recent alarming deve I lopment of the spirit of lawless jvblenee in the South, which imperatively demands the consideration of the legislative and executive power.

It is with unfeigned ivgvet and reluctance that wo-find ourselves compelled to enter once more upon this most unwelcome subject. The irre sponnble opposition which profits by these disorders contents itself by pimply denying their existence when they are referred to, and asserting that the object of the Republican party in endeavoring to put an end to them is purely a partisan one. We cannot wasfe words upon so discouraging a manifestation of reckless malignity. We are satisfied to refer to our authority for the statements we make in regard to the existence of the widespread and murderous organisation which now ravages the South. We quoted a few days ago the denunciation of the Ku-Klux recently uttered by John C. Breekinridge. AYe cited from the columns of the New Yor7c World an apologetic admission of their gaol deliveries and murders in South Carolina, and our latest despatches bring the ominous announcement that the Governor of that State Mas asked for a force of regular troops to protect it fr.-m this armed organisation, which, as Governor Scott states, is" thoroughly equipped, having jits field-staff, aud line officers, and established lines of communication." In a recent charge of Judge Piyor to the Grand Jury of Frankfort County, Ky., this lawless organisation is described and qualified in terms which could gain no force in the mouth of Mr Sumrier ; and these honest and spontaneous utterances of a Kentucky Conservative are sustained by an indignant editorial from tha Louisville Cornier-Journal, in which that leading orgnn of the Democratic party of (he South-West thus denounces theruffiun bands whose crimes now threaten the very foundations of society in a halfdozen States: — "They have usurped the powers of Government; made murder their pastime and terrorism their sceptre ; conferred upon their adherents the right of private vengeance and assumeu to protect them from the penalties of outraged law. No home is safe, no place in sacred from their invasions. To show their strength and their utter contempt tor all departments of the State Governmentjthey fill the-vicinity of the capital during the brief period of 'the legislative session with deeds of blood, and carry their lawless violence with insulting defiance to tl.e very doors of our legislative halls." From the. same State comes the disgraceful intelligence that the Government has been forced to discontinue the mail route between Frankfort and Louisville on account of the incessant outrages committed by the Ku-Klux upon the carriers- Is the war over, when the Government is powerless to protect its communications between the capital and the commercial metropolis of"a great central state ?

This is a condition of tilings which cannot be suffered to continue. The evil is a present and crying one. It is a scandal which lowers the national character in our own eves and saps the national self-respect. When the whole country sees the infamy and shame of it, it will not do for Congress to pass it by with languid indifference or apathetic magnanimity. These offences against life and property"nre Hot political demonstrations, which a generous opponent might overlook and pardon. They are crimes like those of the" pirate and the "highwayman, more scandalous and dangerous because organised and and based upon a sinister sympathy among a large class of the population. We say these things with deep regret. Our fellow citizens will bear witness to the earnest and persistent efforts we have made to bring about the peaceful close of all our dissensions by the adoption of the related principles of impartial suffrage and universal amnesty. We reaffirm our devotion to that beneficent scheme. But we as?ert that no truce can be held with riot and rapine ; and in the interest of the distressed and harassed South, no less than in behalf of our insulted and endangered national repute, we call npon Congress to remain in session till it shall have adopted some means to teach the outlaws who are waging a one-sided war against the weak and defenceless that treason and murder are the costliest of games.