Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY ?TO THINE OWN SELF BK TUUE, AND IT MUST FOLLOW, AS THE IIOB'T. A. THOMPSON & CO. iummMmnmt?i?fm*?m)?mm i m j '-_ ^ M I I - - rn Milli II I I I I i i n II irn?ri?. m.mi mniii PICKENS COURT HOUSE, S. C. SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1801. NIGHT THE DAY, THOU NO. 5& Wbilo lt is Called To-Day. ?V PASSY TRUIt. Let ?n love while life IK givoti, For we cannot tell il? length ; Death moy cull UH in our weakness, It moy snatch un in our strength. Let. us love ! oil, fully, freely, Let thc Messed fuimiuin play, IV .1 s h i tig every Htain of nager. From each bosooi, nil away. Lot us love in work nnd act inn ; Not alone in word ?nut thought ; Time is swiftly, surely passing, llave wo on its pages wrought .Sume kind net. some silent blessing, Prompted hy a loving heart, Daily, with nu em-nest purpose, Choosing thus the better part ? Lot UH love ! oh, love will lighten F.very burden or complain! ; It will strengthen weary footsteps, lt will olicer the ead ?nd faint. Let us love ! give out the sunlight, On the darkened ways of life, Let its sweet r*yH melt the hardness. And subdue the wrong uno strife. Let us love! ?li, love will hallow F.very duty, pain or cure ; Olve it frc dy. give il fully, lt is needed everywhere. Let us lovo while life i? given. For we cannot tell its length. Drat h iney call in in our weakness. Il may snatc ns in our strength. Presided Johnson s Eemarks to the Com mittee of the Philadelphia, Couveution WASHINGTON, August 18.-There was u great crowd to day to hojir thc President, iu response to R< vcrdy Johnson, who presenti d the official pr.-ceedings nf th,' t 'mivcution. H? seid, referring wiili feeling to tho scene overcome, pttd could not but conclude that au overruling Providence was directing us ?right. Ile said our bravo men have per formed their duties on thc field and have won 1 Hirds iui perishable ; but, (turning to (len. Haudall,) ho continued, thorn arc greater and more important duties to por'brm, and while we have had their eo opor.-.tion in thc field, we now need their efforts to perpetuate pence. [Applause.] The Executive Depart mont had tried fo pour oil on the. waters, and ro?ior? the Union ; but it had not entirely succeeded. We have Been, he s-id in one de partment, of tho Govern ment, every effort to perfect, the. restoration of peace and harmony in thc Union. Wc have seen banging on thc verge, of thc Government, as it were, a budy called, or which as>umcd to bo, the Con gress of thc United .States, while in fact it is u CongvesH of only pot of tho Stales. We have seen this Congress nssumc and pretend to bc aiding the I Inion, when its every step and act tended to perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of States inevitable, in stead of promoting reconciliation and harmo ny. Tts legislation lum partaken of thc char acter of penalties, retaliation and revenge.. This hns been tho course and tho policy of one portion of your Government. The humble individual who is now addressing you stands the rcprcscnative of another department of the Government. The man nev in which bc was eallcd upon to occupy that position, 1 .hall not allude to on this occasion ; suffice it to say, that bc is here under tho Constitution of the country, and being hero by virtue of its provisions, he takes his stund upon that charter of our liberties us the grout rampart of civil and religinus liberty. [Prolonged rihcoring.J Having been taught in my early lifo to hold it sacred, and having practiced upon it during my Whole public career, i dinll ever continue to reverence tho Constitution of my fathers nnd make it my guide. [Hearty applause ] Thc President proceeded and denied thc chargo thnt bc hud ever been tyrannical or n despot. ; but ho said such charges were simply intended to deceive and delude the public mind into the belief thnt there is some ono in power who is usurping and trampling upon thc rights of thc Constitution. It is done by thoso who mnde ouch charges for the purpose of covering their own acts. [That's so, and applause.] I have felt it my duty, in viii diontiou of the principles of tho Constitution of my country, to oall the attention of my countrymen to these proceedings. When we come to examine who bas been playing tho ty rant, by whom do we find despotism CXcr eland ? As to myself, the elements of my na ture, the pursuits of my life, hove not made me in my foolings or in my praotico, oppres sive-my nnturo, on tho contrary, ls rather de fensive in its charaotcr ; but I will say that, having takon my stand upon tho broad prin ciples of liberty and the Constitution, there i* not. power enough on earth to <|rirc mo from it. [Loud und prolonged appluUse.] Having placed myself upon that broad platform, 1 have not been awed, or dismayed, or intimida ted by either threats or encroachment* j but. have stood there, iu conjunction with the pa riotic spirits, soundiug the tocsin of alarm, when 1 deemed tho citadel of liberty endan gered. [Loud and prolonged applause-good.] I suid on a previous oconsion, and rcpout now, that all that is necessary in this great strug gle against tyranny and despotism, is that the struggle should bc sullieiently audible for thc American people to hear and properly under stand. They did hear, looking on ?ind feeing who thc contestants ?rere, and what the ?>trug^ gie wannbout. Determined that they would set tic this question on thc side of thc Constitu tion and of principles, proclaim hero to-day, as 1 have on previous occasions, that my faith is in thc great mass of thc people. Tn thc midst <?f this struggle, when the clouds seemed to be most lowering, my faith, instead of giving way. loomed up through the clouds, beyond which I saw that all would bc well in the end. My countrymen, wo all know that, tyranny and dcspntisin, in the language of Thomas Jefferson, can bc exercised and exerted more faithfully by the many than tho one. We have seen a Congress gradually encroach, step by step, and day after day, upon the constitu tional rights ?ind fundamental principles of Government. We hnvc seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise power which if al lowed to bc carried out, would result ?ti des potism or monarchy itself. This ip the truth, and because others as Well as myself have seen proper to npponl to the patriotic and re publican feeding of thc country, wc. have been denounced in severest ter-.s ; slander upon slander, vituperation upon vituperation of this villainous diameter hus made its way through the press. What, gentlemen, hue been yours and my sin ? What bas been thc cause of our offending ? I will tell you. Dar ing to stand by the Constitution of our fath ers. I consider the proceedings of this Con vention thu more important thou those of any convention that over assembled in the United States. [Great applause.] When I loo!; wit!: my mind's oyo upon that collection of citizens ?i?njins. 4???^ .and.aiulncc-in eonime.nsuiT.tc with all thc. Slates, und co-ex tensive with thc whnlo p?riple, and contrast it with the commotion of persons who are trying to destroy thc country. I regard it as more im portant than any convention that has sat at least since 1787. [Renewed applause.] 1 think that 1 may also say that tho declarations that were there ni tide are equal to thc Decla ration of Independence itself. I herc, to day, pronounce them a second Declaration of In dependence. [Orien of " glorious," and a must enthusiastic anil prolonged applause.] Your address and declarations aro nothing more nor less than a reiteration of thc Consti tution of the United Slates. Ves, 1 will gc father, ami my that the declarations you lin VC made-that the principles you have enuncia teil in your address-are a second proclama, tion of emancipation to thc people of the Uni ted St iles, [ll enc wed and enthusiastic np plauso,] for in proclaiming and rc proclaim mg these great truths, you have laid down i constitutional platform upon which till cai make common cause and stand united togctb er for restoration of the States and preserva tion of the Government, without reference t party. The question only is tho Salvation o the country-for our country rises above al party considerations. How immy are there i (ho United States that now require to be free They have the shackles upon their limbs, un are bound as rigidly a? though they wero i fact in slavery. I repeat, then, that your di duration is the scoond proclamation of emat oipntiutl to thc people of the United Stntci and offers a common ground upon which a parties can stand. [Applause] Mr. Chairman nnd gentlemen, let me, i this connection, ask what have I'to gain mo: i ! ia II tho lulvuhOUlllOM Of tho public wollun 1 am ns much opponed to thc indulgouoo egotism as soy otic, but livo in a conversntio al manner. While formally receiving tl proceedings of this Convention, I moy be pc milted again to ask what have I to gain, co suiting human ambition, more than I ha' gained, excepting ono thing? My raco nearly run. I liuvc been placed in tho hjf office whioh I oocupy under tho Conetitutii o? the country, and may say that I have bc - from thc lowest lo tho highest-almost c cry position to which a mar. may attain in o Government; and surely, gentlemen, tl should bo enough to gratify a ronsnnnble'a bition. If I wanted authority, or if I wub to perpetuate my own power, bow essy would have been to hold and wield that /bi was placed in my hands by thc measure call tho rrejdmcn'a Dureau hill. ' [Prolonged i plauso.] With on army whioh it placed my disposal, I could have remained at t capital of tho nution-and with fifty or si: millions of appropriations at my disposal, w tho maohinory to be workod by my satri and dependant?, in eve?y town and villo^ and thon, with tho oivil rights bill follow! as an auxiliary, [laughter,] In oonnootion w all tho other appliances of tho Govornroont j could have proclaimed myself fiietator. Hut, j gentlemen, my pride and my?ijnbitioo have i been to occupy that position which leaves all ! power in thc hands of thc people, lt is upon I that I have always relied; it ia upou that I i rely now. And I repeat, that ueitbor the plaudits or jeers of Congress, ijor of a subsid ized ouluminating press, can drive mo from my principles. [Great applause.] I acknowl edge no superior-except my ?od, tho author of .my existence, and tho pcoph) of tho United States. [Loud nnd prolonged^-uppluuso nnd cheer?*.] For tho one, I try jto obey all his communds us best I can, compatible with my poor humanity ; for tho other, io n political and representative sense, thc high behests of the people have always becu respected and obeyed by mo [Applause.] IWr. Chairman, I have said more than I had anticipated; and for thc kind allusion to my self contained in your address, and in thc rcs olutions adopted by thc Convention, lot mo remark, that in thin crisis, and at the present period of my public life, I hold above nil price, and shall ever recur with feelings of profound gratification to tho hst resolution, containing thc endorsement of a Convention emanating spontaneously from tho great mass of thc peo ple. 1 trust and hope that my future action may bo such that you, nnd tho Convention you represent, may not regret thc uBsurawoo of confidence you have expressed. ttcforo separating, my friends, ono and all. please accept my sincere thanks for the kind manifestations of regard and respect you have exhibited on this occasion. I repeat, that I s?mil always continuo' to be guided by u con scientious conviction of duty thnt always gives one courage, under tho Constitution, which I have made my guide At the. conclusion of thc President's re marks, three enthusiastic ohcers wore given for Andrew Johnson and three more for Cen. (irant. The President then took n position near the door opening into the hall, with Cen. Qrant by his side, where, as thc gentlemen of tho Committee arid members of tho Conven tion passed out, he grasped each by tho hand, sud had a smile or a cheering word for all. After which they passed on to take Cen. Grant hv fhn.hand..--..-V--,_ BY REQUEST. Stay Laws-To the Editors, Legislature nnd People of South Carolina: Thc Legislature will soon bc convened for tho purpose of modifying our District Court syst Oin, so as to meet thc requirements of thc l?gislation of the late Federal Congress. It is the design "of a strong influence in the State to usc this extra session for the purpose ol passing laws to delay or hinder thc collection of ?lebt. 1 wish briefly, to state thc effect ol the attempt to carry out such a design. Such laws cannot bc made valid without ar amendment of thc Constitution of tho Unitet States. Lawyers who say otherwise aro bndlj informed or wilfully mislead thc pooplo. Our present distress is owing, uot so mud to thc devastations of w%r and emancipation as to the shock given io our credit, by thc pas sage of our late stay law. Otherwise, Nev York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, with mil lions seeking investment, would not refuse t sell to us on a credit. This is not opinion bu fact. Thc merchants of these cities so say They arc alarmed at thc aninius of our legi? lation, and it will require at least ono regula session of our Legislature to pass, without a attempt at thc passage of suoh laws, to restor commercial confidence. No law hus ever bee passed, interfering with the laws of trade, tin has not produced evil and harm to those ii tended to be benefitted There are oases whe/ the prevention of tho collection of a debt woul bc almost a moral erimo. There nre othc whore thc sacrifice of a debtor's property won! bo an act worthy of Shylock. An honest pu lio opinion will regulato thc nrm of tho hi in th CHU oases. Why is it that uow, wii i Sheriffs armed with ft. /tt.'f, very fow levi aro made ? Tho agitation of tho subject of stay fol hoids out false hopes, and prevents credit and debtor from compromising. It is not truo that creditors, as a genei rule, design tho collection of their claim thoy desire to have them secured, which, 1 ing done, they arc ready to grant any reaaor ble indulgence. Our Legislature, if they close thc ci courts and leave thc criminal courts open, w thereby leave tho Judges in a position whi will enable them, ns honest Judges, to dech all laws delaying or hindering tho collectl of debts, " repugnant to tho Constitution the United States." To close the civil com thon, nil courts must bo closed. What i lows ? Vide, Con. Grant's ordor : " The U ted States militury will hove cognizance of crimes and misdemeanors, without regard tho oolor of tho parties ! Liberty has airer gone, this will toke away hor shadow now 1 us. Supposo, however, tho civil courts to oloscif, what then ? Tho Freedmen's Bur? will c?lleot tho debts owing to 'freedmen What follows ? Tho whito mon will trane his dead olaim te a negro I This is not o jeetured -it was done In one District, to sc ???--.i r-T f ? ifti ml M??r-*-f*^-1- II ??linn i nfiii oxtcnt, before tho aunulling of the lute stay law. Apniu, suppose tho hands of creditors, who aro citizens of tho State, to bo tied j then creditors, who ore oitizeus of other States, (now a large class,) whose claims exceed $?3QQ, will sue iu tho United States courts, und the marshals will collect, aided by a po?so of Fed crnl bayonets, if noccssnry. This is not all, Debts abovo SGOO, found ed on bills of exobango, (Act of Sept. 24, l?bU, ?eo. ll,J promissory uotcB, (1 Masoni 2.01,) and notes puynblo to bonror, (ll Pejteraj 818,) lona julo, conveyances of titles to laud, (II Sumner, 252,) which four classes of cau ses of action will embroco in amount three fourths of all debts, will leave thc State and become tho property of citizens of other States, who will sue in the United States Courts. Is it true that croditors buve n? conscience ? Is it true that all debtors are honest? Is it .true that creditors nro always rich and the debtors poor? Is it just to disregard tho rights of tho creditor, although a poor widow or orphan, and to protect tho debtor who limy be In possession of the widows' or orphans' property, without any consideration paid ? fa it not true that those who favor repudiation and stay laws are, ns a general rule, either popiilarity-set-kcrs, or owe more than they ex pect to collect from their debtors? I pity thc man reduced to poverty by the late war, and cnn sympathize with him In Ins struggles, even where, in his extremity, ho desires to stay the band of justice; but great is my contempt, for thc lawyer or well-informed man, who for a little popularity, will delude his fellows and ruin bis country-for it is too true that our honor and our credit arc all thut are left us; take them away and we are poor indeed. Let public opinion alone, and fear not thc bug-bear of t hc poor debtor being " sold out of house and homo." ^ I ask when, and in how many instances in our State, from its earliest history, bas a man and his family been sold out of house and home and turned out of doors by his creditor, unless tho debtor connived at it himself, in ordor to take tho benefit of tho Insolvent Duhtor's Act, or where tho debtor Restored. The Fr?sidont of tho United States bas is sued a Proclamation, declaring tho insurrec tion to be at un end, nnd that civil authority has boen restored throughout thc whole coun try First, bc recites tho various proclama tions and laws contained in tho former procla mation, rostoriug the Southern States to their rightful position in thc Union, and then says : " And whereas, .subsequently to thc said second day of April, one thousand eight hun dred and sixty-six, thc insurrection in thc State of Texas bus been completely and every where, suppressed and ended, and tho authori ty of thc United States has been successfully and completely established in the said Stato ol Texas, and now remains thorein unrestricted and undisputed, and such of thc proper Uni ted States officers as have been duly commis Stoned within thc limits of tho said State an now in thc undisturbed exercise of their officia fonctions ; And whereas thc laws can now bc sustained and enforced in the said State of Texas bj' tin proper civil authority, State or Federal, ant the people of tho said State of Texas, like Un people of other States before named, arc wei and loyally disposed, and hove conformed o will conform in their legislation to thc coudi tiou of affairs growing out. of thc amondmcn of the Constitution of the United States prc hibiting slavery within thc limita and jurif diction of thc United States; And whereas all thc reasons and conclusion set forth in regard to thc several States thor? in specially named now apply equally and i all respects to tho State of 'J nxas. as well II to the other States which had been involve in insurrection ; And whereas adequate provision bas bee made by military orders to enforce tho oxeoi tion of the.net? of Congress and the civil ax thorities, and secure obedience to tho Const tution and laws of tho United States witbi t ho State of Toxns, if a resort to military fin e for such purpose should at any timo hcooni necessary ; Now, tberofore, I, Andrew Johnson, Pre ident of the United States, do licroby proclaii and declare that tho insurrection which her toforc existed iii the State of Totas is at an em and is to bc henceforth so regarded in th: State, as in tho other States before named, i whioh tho said insurrection was proolaimcd bo at an end by thc aforesaid proclamation the second day of April, ono thousand eigl hundred and sixty-six. . Andido further proclaim that the sui insurrection is at an end, and that jicacc, o der, tranquility anti civil.authority noya exi in and throughout the whole of the Crnit* States of America, In testimony whoroof, I havo hereunto a my hand, and caused tho real of tho Unit Statos to bo a (fisted. ANPRKW JOHNSON. Declaration of Principles. The following " Declaration of Principles'' was unanimously adopted hythe Philadelphia Convention before its adjournment : "Tlie National Union Convention, now un scmblcd in thc city of Philadelphia, composed ?f delegates from every State and Teri ?tory in thc Union, admonished by the solemn lessons which,'for tho last live years, it has pleased thc Supreme lluler of the Universe to givoto tho American people; profoundly grateful for fho roturo of- poooo; defliriouw, as arc a 'argo majority of their countrymen, in all sincerity, to forget and to forgive tho past; revving tho I Constitution as it came to tts from our ances tors ; regarding the Union in its restoration rs moro sacred than ever, looking with deep anx iety into tho future ns of instant and continu ing trial ; hereby issues and proclaims thc fol lowing declaration of principles and purposes ou which they havo with perfect unanimity agreed : 1. Wo hail with gratitude to Almighty Cod the cud of the war, nnd the return of penco tonn nfllictcd and beloved land. 2. Tho war just closed has maintained the authority of the Constitution with all the pow ers which it confers and nil thc restrictions which it imposcd.upou the General Govern ment, unabridged and unaltered, aud it has preserved thc Union with the equal rights, dignity, nnd authority of the States perfect and unimpaired. ^ ft. Representation in thc Congress of tim United States nnd in tho JOIectoral College is aright recognized hythe Constitution na" abi ding in every Stnte, and os a duty imposed up on its people, fundamental in its nature and essential to thc existence of our republican in stitutions, and neither Congress nor the Gen eral Government lins any authority or power to deny this right to atty State or to withhold enjoyment, under tito Constitution, from the people thereof. 4. Wc call upon thc people of tho United States to elect to Congress as members thereof none but men who admit tho fundamental .. right of representation, and who will rcceivo to seats therein loyal representatives from cv ?CILY.SlateJn Jillemanco.t_-tlio I Tnitrd Stttl_&._ quuHHcations of its own members. ft. The Constitution of tho United Stoics and thc laws made in pursuance thereof aro the supreme law of the land, anything in tho Constitution or laws ol any State to thc con trary notwithstanding. All the power not conferred by the Constitution upon tho Gen eral Government, nor prohibited by it to tho States, are reserved to the States or to tho people thereof j and among thc rights thus re served to tho States is the right to prescribo qualifications for thc elective franchise there in, with which right Congress cannot inter fere. No State or combination of States hns the right to withdraw from thc Union, or to exclude through their action in Congress cr otherwise, any other State or States from tho Union. Thc' union of these States is perpet ual, and its Government is of supremo au thority, within the restrictions aud limitations of the Constitution. G. Such amendment to tho Constitution of the United States may bc made by thc peo ple thereof as they may doom expedient, but only in the mode pointed out by its provis ions; and in proposing such amendment?, whether by Congress or by a convention, and in ratifying tho same, all tho States of tho Union havo nn equal and indefeasible rigid, to a voice mid a vote thereon. 7. Slavery is abolished and forever pro-, bibi ted, and there is neither desire nor pur pose on the part of the Southern States that it should ?Wer bc re-established upon the soil or within the jurisdiction of tho United Stntes ; nnd tho onfrauohiscd slave in all thc States pf the Union should receive, in common with all their inhabitants, equal protection in every ritrht of perso? ?'i>d of propurtv, ; ' 8. While wo regard as utterly invalid, and never to bo assumed or made of binding torce, j any obligation incurred or undertaken in ma king war against the United States, wc hold the debt of thc nation to be sacred and invio lable, and we proclaim our purpose to main tain unimpeached the honor and thc faith of thc republic. 9. It is thc duty of tho National Govern ment to recognize tho services of tho lu-dernl soldiors and sailors in thc contest just closed, by mcoting promptly all their just and rightful claims for tho services they have rendered the nation, and by extending to those of them who havo fallen thc most generous aud con siderate caro. 10. In Andrew Johnson, President of tho United States, who, in his great office, has proved steadfast in his devotion to tho Con stitution, thc laws and interests of his coun try, unmoved by persecution and unswerved by reproach, having faith unassailable in tho .people, and in tho precepts of tho Govern ment, we recognize n Chief Magistrate worthy of tho. nation and equal to thc great crisis up on which his lot is east ; and wc tender to him, in tho discharge of his high and responsible duties, our profound respect o"*1 ?^?Ornnec of our cordial and mm-erc wnpport. ll!