NORTII CAROLINA. 



551 



I respectfully reply : That Colonel Oeo. W. Kirk 

 made the arrests and now detain* thu prisoners 

 liy my order. Ho was instructed firmly l-nt 

 respectfully to decline to deliver thu prisoners. No 

 one goes before me in respect for the civil law, or for 

 those whose duty it ia to enforce it, but the condition 

 of Alamance County, and some other parts of the 

 State, ban been and ia such that, though reluctant 

 to use the strong powers rested in mo by law, I 

 have been forced to declare them in a state of insur- 

 rection. 



For months pant there has been maturing in these 

 localities, under the guidance of bud and disloyal 

 men, a dangerous secret insurrection. I have in- 

 voked public opinion to aid me in suppressing this 

 treason 1 I have issued proclamation after procla- 

 tion to the people of the State to break up these un- 

 lawful combinations ! I have brought to Dear every 

 civil power to restore peace and order, but all in 

 vain 1 The Constitution and laws of the United 

 States and of this State are set at naught ; the civil 

 courts ore no longer a protection to life, liberty, and 

 property ; assassination and outrage go unpunished, 

 and the civil magistrates are intimidated and are 

 afraid to perform their functions. 



To the majority of the people of these sections 

 the approach of night is like the entrance into the 

 valley of the shadow of death ; the men dare not sleep 

 beneath their roofs at night, but, abandoning their 

 wives and little ones, wander in the woods until 

 dav. 



Thus civil government was crumbling around mo. 

 I determined to nip this new treason in the bud. 



By virtue of the power vested in me by the con- 

 stitution and laws, and by that inherent right of self- 

 preservation which belongs to all governments, I 

 have proclaimed the county of Alamance in a state 

 of insurrection. Colonel Geo. W. Kirk is command- 

 ing the military forces in that county, made the ar- 

 rests referred to in the writ of habeas corpus, and now 

 detains the prisoners by my order. 



At this time I am satisfied that the public interests 

 require that these military prisoners shall not be de- 

 livered up to the civil power. 



I devoutly hope that the time may bo short when 

 a restoration of peace and order may release Alamance 

 County from the presence of military force and the 

 enforcement of military law. When that time shall 

 arrive, I shall promptly restore the civil power. 



W. W. HOLDEN, Governor. 



A motion was now made in the Supreme 

 Court in behalf of the prisoners " for an attach- 

 ment against G. W. Kirk for failing to make 

 return," and " for a -writ to be directed to the 

 sheriff of some county, commanding him with 

 the power of the county, if necessary, to take 

 the prisoners out of the hands of said Kirk, 

 and have him before the chief justice." 



While these proceedings were pending, Gov- 

 ernor Holdcn addressed the following letter to 

 President Grant asking that Federal troops be 

 sent into the State : 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT oy NORTH CABOLIIT&., ) 

 KALEIQH, July 20, 1870. f 

 To the President of the Vnittd States. 



SIR: I have declared the counties of Alamance 

 and Caswell, in this ,St at c, in a state of insurrection. 

 I have power to do this under the constitution of 

 this State, and in pursuance of laws passed by the 

 General Assembly. I have embodied a considerable 

 number of the militia, have occupied the counties 

 above named, and have made a number of important 

 arrests. Four of the persons arrested have sued out 

 writs of habeas corpus, and the matter has been argued 

 for several days before Chief-Justice Pearson or the 

 Supreme Court. It is expected that the Chief Justice 

 win deliver his opinion on Friday, the 22d inst. 



I have no meant of knowing, with certainty, what 

 his decbion will be, but I incline to the opinion that 

 he will substantially sustain me. There are threats 

 of resistance, whatever his opinion may be. Colonel 

 Kirk, who commands at Yanoeyville, apprehend* re- 

 sistance, and an attempt to rescue the prisoners. lie 

 baa 360 resolute men, native white loyalists, many of 

 whom are ex-Federal soldiers. But the Ku-klux 

 largely outnumber them in the counties referred to, 

 and, if they should take the field and be joined by 

 others from other counties, the State troops would 

 certainly be in peril. 



1 have in Uolcigh one hundred colored troops, sixty 

 white troops, and at Hillsborough fifty white troops, 

 and in Gaston County one company of sixty. My 

 whole available force is not more than six hundred. 



I think it very important that a regiment of Fed- 

 eral troops be at once sent to this State, and that the 

 Federal troops now here bo ordered to come to my 

 aid promptly. The defeat of the State and Federal 

 troops in any conflict at this crisis would be exceed- 

 ingly disastrous. It may be that the crisis will pass, 

 and that I may be able to punish the guilty without 

 encountering resistance. I have deemed it my duty 

 iu this emergency to acquaint you with the condition 

 of things, so that you may judge of the expediency 

 of ordering that I be further aided and supported by 

 Federal troops. 



I am satisfied that important disclosures will be 

 made as to the Ku-klux organization during the prog- 

 ress of the investigation before the military. It is 

 believed from evidence already in hand that ex-Presi- 

 dent Johnson is at the head of the order, and that 

 General Forrest is the commander for Tennessee and 

 North Carolina. The organization is wide-spread 

 and numerous, is based on the most deadly hostility 

 to the reconstruction acts, and is in all respects very 

 unfriendly to the government of the reconstructed 

 States and to the United States. 



I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

 Your obedient servant, 



W. W. HOLDEN, Governor. 



To which the President replied as follows : 



LONG BRANCH, N. J., July 22, 1870. 

 Hon. W. W. Holden, Governor of North Carolina. 



DEAR SIR : Your favor of the 20th inst.. detailing 

 the unsettled and threatening condition of affairs in 

 North Carolina, is just received, and I will telegraph 

 to the Secretary of War immediately to send more 

 troops to the State without delay. Thev may be used 

 to suppress violence and maintain the laws, if other 

 means should fail. 



With great respect, your obedient servant, 



U. S. 'GRANT 



On the 22d of July, the opinion of the Court 

 was delivered by Chief-Justice Pearson, who 

 said : " The privilege of the writ of habeas 

 corpus has not been suspended by the action of 

 his Excellency ; that the Governor has power 

 under the constitution and laws to declare a 

 county to be in a state of insurrection, to take 

 military possession, to order the arrest of all 

 suspected persons, and to do all things neces- 

 sary to suppress the insurrection, but he has 

 no power to disobey the writ of habeas corpus, 

 or to' order the trial of any citizen, otherwise 

 than by jury. According to the law of the 

 land, such action would bo in excess of his 

 power." 



The motion for an attachment against Colo- 

 nel Kirk was denied, on the ground that that 

 officer, acting under orders of the Execntire as 

 commander-in-chief of the militia, had a "suffi- 

 cient excuse " for refusing to deliver up the 



