Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, November 14, 1867, Image 2
Scraps and Jaffa.
- The official returns of Registration in North
Carolina show an aggregate of 103,060 whites and
71,657 blacks, being a white majority of 31,303.
?? Gen. Schofield has ordered that the regular
session of the Virginia Legislature this winter, shall
not be held.
The amount of aid rendered to the South
since the war, throughout the North, is about ten
million dollars.
A caucus of the Legislature of Ohio has
nominated Judge Thurman (Democrat) as a candidate
for the United States Senate, to succeed
Ben. Wade.
Mexico is now more scourged by banditti
than ever. They are now so numerous and powerful
that they do not confine themselves to robbing
on the highway, but even attack garrisoned towns.
The Freedmen's Bureau in North Carolina
has assumed a new role. It has become an adjunct
to Shanks' Committee of Investigation into the
treatment of Union prisoners by the "rebels," and
has issued a circular calling for information.
On the 8th instant, the Senate of Tennessee,
reoonsidered its vote prohibiting distinctions, of
color to be observed on railroad cars, and the mo
tion to compel railroads to have special cars xor negroes
is pending.
The old "Charlotte Hotel," at Charlotte N.
C., formerly kept by Maj. Jennings Kerr, was
rented at public auction, last week, for the sum of
two thousand dollars, for the year 1868. So says
the -Pemonut. - ?
Hon. James M. Mason, ex-Senator from
Virginia, has published a letter, setting forth the
advantages of Canada, as a place of refuge for
Southerners. Mr. Mason has established his home
in that country.
The greatest "home run" ever made by base
baUoa, was performed recently by a lot of young
OHM*'Hannibal, Missouri. Some wicked person
jpffc^tobon oil in their refreshments, of whicn they
partook -freely on the ground, but none of Ufem
. remained to see the game out
The Freedmen's Bureau, of Vicksburg, has
apractical way of settling questions of ownership.
They are first allowed to De regularly tried, and
then the gallsbt chief reverses the decision, and
adjudicates the property to the first black man who
applies for it
The Agricultural Bureau report says that
present indications place the Cotton crop at 2,500,OOOai^es.
It will certainly exceed 2,000,000. The
Tionfipbina sugar yield is estimated at twenty per
per'Cent over that of last year. A decline in the
- * v A. j
toDaooo crop is maicaiea.
Of the [Radicals elected to the Virgina Convention
twenty-five are nogroes; a majority of
them very ignorant, and some of them notorious
criminals. That is a fair specimen of the sort of
Republican government for which the Radicals
are so loudly clamoring.
Advices fronr Washington purporting to be
reliable, State that the Government will be ready
to proceed with the trial of Jefferson Davis on the
25 tn. Both rides desire that Chief Justice Chase
shall preside with Judge Underwood, and it is
therefore possible that it may be postponed a short
time, to enable Judge Chase to make his arrangements
to preside.
A private letter from Glasgow says that, although
the price of ootton is nearly as low as it
was before tne war, there is no demand for goods,
and the manufacturers are as badly off for orders
and the operators for work, as they were in 1857.
He adds: "There is more starvation in Glasgow
and its neighborhood just now than at any time for
ten years past"
A Radical spread eagle orator, who recently
addressed a meeting in New York State, wanted
wings to fly to every village and hamlet in this
broad land, there to tell the story of Andrew Johnson's
perfidity to the Republican party He wiltr
ed, however, rather suddenly, when a naughty boy
sang out: "Dry up, you old fool; you'd be shot
for a goose before you flew a mile."
The Augusta Chronicle says: "We heard
yesterday that a number of colored men, working
on plantations owned by gentlemen here, declined
to take part in the late bogus election. These men
Bhuwed their oetme tit not* "participating in a
oontest which is destructive of the best interests of
both races. To their credit be it said this action
was of their voluntary accord.
:The Augusta Chronicle has election returns
from all the counties in Georgia, except twelve, on
the question of a Convention, which show that 8,i
201 votes more than a half of the registered voters,
were polled. The returns show that but a very
few wnites voted. In the Districts having negro
majorities, the white delegates elected are mainly
Yankee emmissaries and Freedmen's Bureau officials.
The statements recently published giving
the number of colored puplils attending school
throughout the country are incorrect, making the
number 238,000 more than there really are. Gen.
Howard says the corrected number, as reported to
him officially and unofficially, is 400,000 distributed
8s foDowB: In regular schools at the Sooth,
200,000: in plantation and family schools, 100,000;
ia schools at the North, 100,000.
A negro doctor, heretofore stationed in
Fredericksburg, left there Saturday with a white
Bureau school marm under his charge. The woman
was put into the ladies' car, and the darkey
attempted to follow her. The conductor refused
him admittance, when the Doctor quietly susided
and went into the negro car. What the "Buroo"
joins together, conductors ought not to put asunder
1
In Kansas and Minnesota, at the late elections,
the proposition to allow negroes to vote was
submitted to the people, and it was rejected by a
large majority. Tnere are but few negroes ineither
State, and they were born free, yet these Northern
people will not let them vote, but their Representatives
in Congress want to force the Southern
white people to put themselves under negro rule
almost entirely. Great hypocrisy and inconsistency.
?? It is understood that a strong effort will be
made on the assembling of Congress, to repeal the
tax on ootton. The New England manufacturers
are said to favor the repeal, and their voice is all 1
powerful in Congress now-a-days. There is every
probability that the tax will be reduced more than
one-half, if not absolutely withdrawn. Its effect '
upon the planting interests tend to cripple it, especially
during the present condition or affairs at
the South, growing out of the total overthow of
the labor system.
JtJrownlow is elected to the United States
Senate, and will make a fair representative of all
that is bad in our body politic. We should like to
hope, but cannot, that attaining this once high
r'tion; he will use the fading energies left him
expiring nature, to do some good, (if good
can come out of evil,) before he is gathered to his
Father?the King orPlutonian Shadows: He in- 1
tends to be the "Governor of Tennessee" until his
term of Senator commences, in 1868.?Memphis 1
Avalanche.
A Radical meeting was held in Richmond a i
few days ago, at which Louis Lindsay, a colored
delegate elect to the Convention, made a speech.
Alluding to the discharge of negroes for voting the |
Radical ticket, he said: "Before any of his children
should suffer for food, the streets of Richmond
should run knee deep in blood. He thanked '
God the negroes had learned to use swords and :
guns." All efforts of the more peaceable negroes
to stop these demonstrations were wildly voted !
down. The citizens here are apprehensive of trouble.
1
_ Mrs. Lincoln's brothers, as is known, were
in the Confederate army. The youngest or them 1
started in April, 1861, from Jsew Orleans, as a 1
private in the Chasseurs a Pied, and, being discharged
for sickness at Richmond, in October of i
the same year, returned to his home; but, though i
still suffering in health, he left a wife and two <
babes to join the Crescent regiment, in response to '
Beauregard's call, and fell at Shiloh. Another,
Captain Dave Todd, started with Col. Tom Taylor, {
of the First Kentucky Volunteers, and was also )
killed towards the end of the war. And the third. !
Dr. Todd, served throughout as a distinguished y
surgeon. j
A dispatch from Philadelphia says that 1
Thad. Stevens has a bill prepared which he will
introduce upon the assembling of Congress, provid- i
ing for universal suffrage in all tbe States by act of
Congress. Also, a bill defining the status ot execu- 1
tive and judicial officers pending their trial on ar- 1
ticles of impeachment ^and a bill similar to the r
one introduced in the Thirty-ninth Congress rcla- 1
tive to the confiscation of public enemies' proper- ;
ty. Mr. Stevens mil also propose that the Joint
Committee on Reconstruction he revived, for the ?
purpose of examining the constitutions and State or- *
ganizations of such States as have been reconstruct- *
ed under the laws of Congress. If
Maximilian, though hut recently executed in
Mexico, is already worshipped by a great portion
of the nation as a hero. The people have implored
the Archbishop of Mexico to procure his body for
their veneration in the cathedral; the women in
all the ci ties are draped in mourning for his loss, and
the wailing of the poor wretches in may of the
towns, such as Queretaro, are heard night and
day. They wear his photograph round their
nedcs, kneel before his image and hang his picture
on their walls. All business in tne capital
was at a stand-still, except the sale of pictures and
images of the Emperor. The old Mexican superstition
or prophecy of three centuries ago, that a
good ruler would be sent them from a far country,
and that he would be slain by those whom he
came to save, is applied to the Austrian Prince;
and the feelings and fears of the Indian part of the
population have been specially wrought upon. If
in the face of all these things Juarez has been elected
President, it must be remembered what a Mexican
election is, and how it is conducted. At all events,
there is no doubt that Maximilian has been apotheosized
even before the removal of his body from
Mexican soil. *
fjorkvilfc (Shujww.
EDITORS:
JAS. E. WILSON. JAS. P. HART.
YORKVILLE^S. C.s
THURSDAY MORNING, NOV. 14,1867.
f- tntstw?It must btj distinctly undorstood that
our terms for subscription, advertising and jobwork,
are cash, in advance.
X.?The paper will be discontinued on the expiration
of the time for which payment has been
made. A Subscriber finding a (X) cross-mark on
the wrapper or margin of his paper, will understand
that the time paid for has expired. .
ELECTION NEXT TUESDAY. J
We have heretofore refrained from any expression
of Opinion upon the question of Reconstruction
under the Congressional plan. First, because
of our unwillingness to assume a responsibility not
required of us; and secondly, because this paper
has always declined to take sides with any political
party upon politiwl questions. -In the present aspect
of the Reconstruction question, we feel that
our first objection 'to advising is not a heavy one,
and the second one is no longer of force, for there
can be no party among the intelligent voters of
South Carolina, upon this subject.
Believing then that the plan of reconstruction
now before the people, to be decided on the 19th
and 20th of this month, is one of wrong and injustice
to our people, ruinous alike to their prosperity
and peace, and destined, if successful, to
convert our land into a desert waste, we do not
hesitate to say that this monstrous wrong should
not be oonsumated, with their sanction.
Have we, the white people of this State, any
means left us, by which to oppose this measure ?
We have: and the strongest weapon of self-defence
we can use, is inaction. -The following clause from
the military reconstruction Act shows, that in order
to hold a convention, a majority of all the registered
votes must have voted either for or against
a Convention. . We give the paragraph from the
Act:
"If a majority of the votes, given on that quertion
[for or against a Convention], be favorable,
then such Convention shall be held as hereinafter
provided; but, if a majority be opposed, no such
Convention shall be held under this Act; provided
that such Convention shall not be held, unless a
majority of all such registered voters shall have voted
on the question of holding such Convention."
Gen. Canby's order for the election, also states:
"That an election be held in the State of South
Carolina, commencing on Tuesday, the 19th day of
November, 1867, ana ending on Wednesday, the
20th day of November, 1867, at which all registered
voters of said State may vote "For a Convention,"
or "Against a Convention," and for delegates to
constitute the Convention?in case a majority of the
votes given on that question shall be for a Convention,
and in vane a majority of the registered voters
shall have voted on the question of holding such
Convention."
So to hold *a" Convention, it is requisite, 1st.
That a majority of all the persons registered, shall
have voted on the subject of a Convention; and,
2nd, That a majority of the votes polled be "For
a Convention."
If either of these propositions fail, a Convention
cannot be lieR It is apparent then, that any registered
voter who is opposed to a Convention being
held in South Carolina, can make his opposition as
effectual by staying away from the polls and not
voting, as by going to the polls and voting "Against
a Convention." Nay, even more effectual; for by
voting on the subject he swells the number of those
registered and voting, and increases the chances for
the Convention being called under that clause of
the Act requiring that a majority of those registered,
shall vote on the question.
Now it is safe to assume that all the negroes
that go to the polls will vote "for a Convention."
Many of them, perhaps, may not vote at all*; and
if none of the white people vote, there is a probability
that less than a majority of the registered
voters will vote on the question. If this be the
case, the Convention will be defeated.
If, then, the Conservative white citizens of S.
Carolina are contented with the present Constitution
of the State, and do not desire to inaugurate a
negro anarchy, we advise them, one and all, to
stay away from the polls on Tuesday and Wednesday
next. ;
THE NORTHERN ELECTIONS.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, the
5th and 6th of November, elections were held in
New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin,
Maryland, Kansas and Minnesota. Sufficient
returns have been received to show the result in
each State. In some of the States the Radicals
will yet have control, though their previous ma
i-? i .i- ?J?j j ri
jonues nave ueen ieuuwu, tuiu tuc vi/u- ?
servative interest continues to gain ground.
In New York, the elections were for Secretary 1
of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General,
State Engineer, Surveyor, one Canal Commissioner,
one Inspector of State Prisons, State Senators,
and Members of Assembly. The latest returns
shows a Democratic majority in the State of
over 40,000. The Assembly is Democratic by
eight majority, and the Senate Republican by two 1
majority, giving the democrats a majority of six ;
on joint ballot
Massachusetts elected a Governor,"Lieutenant- <
Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney- (
General, Councillors, State Senators and Rcpre- i
sentatives. John Quincy Adams, a son of Hon. 1
Charles F. Adams, Minister to England, and a
grand-son of ex-President John Quincy Adams, j
was the Conservative candidate for Governor; and
the present incumbent, Governor Bullock, was the i
candidate of the Radicals. Adams has been defeated
by 20,000 -majority. At the last election 1
Bullock was elected by a majority of 64,350. There '
was a strong contest in the State on the question !
of "license" or "anti-license," which has been de- ,
termined in favor of the license party, by a decided ]
majority. The Legislature is largely Radical in '
both branches.
Jn JNew Jersey, one-tnira 01 tne state senators,
md the members of the House of Representees
were elected. The Democratic majority in the
State is put down at 12,000. The Democrats have J
i majority of 10 on joint ballot of the two Houses i
if the Legislature. Last year the Republicans 1
bad a majority of eleven on joint ballot In this 1
State there were no side issues, but the questiou 1
was fair and square, "For or against negro suf- 1
rage," and the result is that negro suffrage has i
>een defeated overwhelmingly.
In Wisconsin, elections were held for Governor, I
jieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treasu- 1
er, Superintendant of Public Instruction, Attorley-General,
Bank Comptroller, State Prison Com- t
nissioner, State Senators and Representatives, t
rhc Republicans have carried the State by a ma- c
ority of four thousand, though the Democrats *
[ain five thousand on the last election. The Leg- slatnre
is Republican, which will secure the de- .
eat of Senator Doolittle. This is much to be re- i
;retted by the people of the South. \
In Maryland, the elections were for Comptroller
of the Treasury, two Commissioners of Public
Works, one-half of the State Senate, and Members
of the House of Representatives. The Democratic
majority is over 41,000. We see a statement
that not a single Radical candidate in the State,
was elected.
In Kansas, the election was for memtters of the
lower branch of the State Legislature. The Republicans
are successful by a reduced majority.
The issue in the election was upon striking the word
"white" from the Constitution, in order to establish
' 'female'' and' 'negro'' suffrage. An exchange
remarks that in "Kansas, the idea of extending
the right of suffrage to women, was received with
more favor than any where else." Yet both propositions
have been voted down. Negro suffrage
by a large majority.
Minnesota has gone in favor, of the Republicans,
with universal Democrats gains. Negro suffrage
has been defeated by a large majority.
THE TIDE STILL TURNING.
The Charleston Mercury says: "We have reason
to know, that many letters have been received
from Radical members of Congress to gentlemen
in the South, proposing compromise, and a friendly
adjustment of the negro-suffrage matter."
orcntlflmen have heard the murmur of the
rising waves, and they have sailed on the political
ocean long enough to know that there is a storm
coming. They think it time to take in sail, and,
instead of ferocious threats of what they will do to
the South if she declines their reconstruction plan,
they propose compromise. The wind is blowing
so strong against them, that a chance of tack is absolutely
necessary to save them from shipwreck.
A few of the most reckless and despairing of theii
number, like Colfax, who is prating about restoring
Stanton and desposing Johnson, are still
talking about crowding on sail as if the wind were
fair^, but the majority are getting alarmed.
The Northern elections tell a tale too plain to be
misunderstood. Ben Wade may swear, Thad.
Steves threaten, and Sumner philosophize ; bul
their several labors are in vain. The Northern
people have lost faith in the Radical party. It maj
linger on in a nominal existence ; it probably will
seek to revenge itself on the South during itsjadl
year in Congress;'but its glory has departed, and
its doom is at hand.
THE FREEDMAN'S BUREAU.
Gen. Howard's annual report of the Freedmen's
Bureau is an instructive document, and contains
some interesting items. This Bureau will expire
by law next July, and Gen. Howard does not recommend
its continuance after that time. Whether
he has heard the thunder in the Western sky,
or has squeezed the sponge till it is diy, is not ol
much consequence. The fret that he no longei
desires the concern to.be kept up, is gratifying, a?
it is ominious of its collapse.
The report states that there are in the possession
of the Bureau 215,024 acres of land and 959 pieces
of town property. "This is facetiously termed "abandoned,"
though the owners have been trying
to recover it for two years. The appropriations
made to the Bureau for the year ending July 1st,
were $3,836,300, and the expenditures for eleven
months were $3,597,398. Transpoitation was
p?--1-j tto ?C. ? ift qui 4'kujmon
IUniiBUCU IU IIO iciugcco auu AVjm jiwu?w?
$553,916 were devoted to educational purposes,
which partly explains the prevalence of radical
sentiments among the "wards of the nation." The
The doctor's bill was $331,000, and the salaries oi
agents, clerks, &c., amounted to $5111,420, and
claims paid to colored soldiers, $350,000. The remaining
expenses were for subsistence, transportation,
clothing, quarters, fbel, and "special relief."
The numbor of scholars reported is 130,735, some
of whom pay tuition to the amount of $14,5^5
monthly. _
The Bureau is certainly a great institution, and
well worthy of being the pet elephant of a great
nation.
MERE-MENTION.
Land is offered to settlers near Jacksonville,
Florida, for fifty cents an acre. This is dirt cheap
and ohcap dirt Hon. James A. Seddon, exSecretary
of War of the "so-called," has been pardoned
by President Johnson. "The Charleston
Courier says that John M. Schnierle, formerly oi
that, city is now a Captain of Engineers in the
Mexican army. Capt Schnierle will be remembered
as at one time a Cadet at the King's MounMilitary
School in this place. A dispatch
from Charleston says that Gen. Canby has suspended
all municipal elections, and present incumbents
will continue to exercise the functions of the
position. Both Houses of Congress assemble
on Thursday next, the 21st inst, The President
will probably not send in any message until some
time in December.
Rev. Mr. Mack, of Sumter, has accepted the
call to the co-pastorship of Glebe Street Presbyterian
Church, Charleston. A first installment
of nearly four hundred emigrants has arrived at
Norfolk, Va., in care of the Virginia Immigration
Society.." "'" "Three Kentucky mules were recently
sold in Savannah for $240, $230 and $200 each,
respectively. 'A New Orleans widow, on the
sunny side of forty, has just taken to herself an
eighth husband. The treaty with the United
States for the sale of the Russian possessions in
North America, was ratified by the Russian Government
on the 21st. A fat cow of Durham
grade was recently slaughtered in London, which
weighed, when killed, 1,950 pounds, and yielded
340 pounds of rough tallow. "The War Department
has received from the Treasury the sum
of $110,000,000, since the 1st of last J anuary.
NEGRO VOTING IN GEORGIA.
The Savannah Republican gives the following
v:_ _i._j._i? _r- j.i j:
gnipmu ductuues ui iuc piuwcuiu^o vi mc ucgiu
voters, at the late election in Georgia; the facta
Bpeak for themselves, as to tho capacity of the said
voters, and the fairness of the election : "Some
amusing scenes occurred during the day.
One negro presented himself at the polls, and on
being asked liis name, gave John Smith. Finding
that it was not readily adapted to him, he said,
"No, datnotit?John Brown." Then thinking
he had again made a mistake, he exclaimed?"Decdar
to God I forgot; I'll run and find out," and
away he went to learn from the pereon who was
with him at the time, what name he registered.
Another venerable darkey calculated the cost
Said he, "Great God! I paid five cents for a
doughnut It will take three doughnuts for today?dat's
fifteen cents. To-morrow three more?
dat's thirty cents: next day, three more?dat's
forty-five cents. Declar' to God I can't stand it
Ise gwine home." The old fellow hacl made no allowance
for lodgings, and probably expected to
make his bed in the street One man, giving his
opinion of Bradley, said: "Bradley?he s a great
Massachusetts lawyer. He's got forty acres ofland
for us, and mules. He knows what for us to do."
Others who came in expecting one mule, when they
found things were going their way, declared they
would not be content with less than t wo. An ola
man came up to vote, and when asked his age, replied
"two years old," and insisted upon it that he
was two years old, which was probable, judging by
his looks."
ine negroes nnu taxes.
The Marion Star states that a negro clergynan
in that District, has written a letter to the
military authorities, declaring in substance that
'though it may seem egotism to say it, his word is
aw with the negroes in Marion District, and that
re will die before he will pay the State tax."
Whereupon the military authorities at Marion, imnediately
issued the following circular:
L The tax-layers of Marion District are hereby
nformed that in obedience to instructions from the
mmediate Commanding Officer, par. XVI. G. 0.
So. 10, will, in future be enforced.
TT. All tax-payers, white or colored, are notified
hat in case of their refusal to pay their just taxes,
heir property will be seized bv force, to the extent
>f such dues, in addition to the just dues of the
Sheriff for such forcible seizure.
III. Any resistance to the action of the Sheriff
n these cases will be met with prompt and instant
junishment, and the Sheriff's authority will be
'ullv supported by the United States forces now
inder my command.
LOCAL ITEMS.
HEW AE7EETI8E1CEHTS.
T. M. Dobson A Co.?Fresh Arrivals of Sugars
M 44 44 ?Molasses.
14 44 " ?Leaf Lard.
44 44 ??i-Coffee.
44 44 ? -i-Tobacco.
44 44 44 ?Cheese.
44 44 44 -Shoes.
44 44 44 ?Flour.
44 44 44 ?Liverpool Salt at $2.75.
44 44 44 ?Wasted. 1
Great Attraction at the Y<rk Drug Store.
F. C. Harris, O. Y. D.?Citation?T. W. Camp
bell, Applicant?Win. D. Poovy, deceasec
Homesley A McCanta?Cheese.
4 44 ?agar and Coffee.
4 44 ?Jails and Brads.
44 44 ?handles, Teas. Soap, Ac.
44 44 ?Starch and Blueing,
i 44 44 -Collins' Axes, Chains, Ax
44 44 -Worcestershire Sauce.
44 "u -Superfine Cotton Cards.
44 44 -Before You Buy.
i 44 44 -A Lot of Popcorn.
44 . 44 ?Preserved Cherries, Ac.
44 44 -plow Moulds.
R. H. Glenn?Ordinaty's Sales.
' A n?.iri Combination Show.
W. E. Rose?Public Speaking.
PUMITCIJB AT AUCTION.
1 An opportunity wil be .offered at Limeston
Springs, on Thursday. the 21st of November, t
persons in need of ftoritutt and other family ei
| fects, of supplyingtheir wsota without the expens
and risk of ordering from a distance. The. fumi
1 tare has.been well kept, and embraces some fin
articles of rosewood, nahogany and walnut, be
sides the plainer paptfiyals, -thus offering an excel
i lent opportunity forfaiting selections. "We cal
' attention to the advertisement in another column
CONSIGNEES BT K^'lIOtJNTAIN BAIL BO AD.
The following are 'te consignees by the Bang'
Mountain Rail Road* from the 6th,to the 11th c
I November, inclusive''
i T. M. Dobson & t;, J. & E. B. Stowe, Di
John May, Allison <SBratton, P. B. Darwin, H
> F. Adickes, CarroffJClark & Co., John McGil
Rev. T. R Gaines, i T. Allison, J. W. Secresl
i Rev. R A. Ross, (3 Steele, R G. McCaw, G
i Manigault, Kerr & Bach,: Johnson & Darwin. J
r F. Allison. ' \
AfiB^'oAUGHT.
In the Spring of uftwhile the families of Gen
' Wade Hampton aiKBen. John S* Preston
were refugees in thjuiwu, a large portion of th
family plate and jdMMeie concealed in a retire*
spot, near the village ? protect them from'sheh
( man's ''bummers!1 ^ The ''bummere" did no
come as was axpeotei, but the concealed valuable
were stolen' from the hiding plaice, and not unti
a few days ago, did t taest vigilant searches avai
anything towards ad icrrery^of thdfr whereabouts
On Saturday last, ( n. Hampton revived a tele
, gram from Knoxvilld Tennessee, announcing tin
( arrest of one Robert McLain, with some of thi
lost valuables in his issesaion; and also a state
ment from McLAtN, rhere the remainder migh
be found.
On Tuesday evenii a haul was made upon th<
, remaining articles, wich were concealed in th<
' house of a brother, AbHEUS McLain, about tbre<
miles from this place This property is of a vei:
valuable character, '< m prising jewels ted plate
( that have an untold \4ne to the owners as famil;
heir-looms. The aAal value of the articles re
covered in Knorvifyand here, is probably abou
I five or six thousand lobars. Very few of the ar
, tides are yet missing and th$se of small value
P McLain will probabljbe returned to this plaoe fo
I trial. He states thafoe found the box containinj
the valuables, whileiit hunting, a few days afte
it was hidden; and kving once appropriated it
he could not commaa courage enough to return i
to its lawful owners.-Very likely I
[ / For the jrtville Enquirer. '
s .YORK DltS.T|tI(r~B IBiTiE SOCIETY.
' The Anniversary iqeting of the above Society
' was held, on the 9th f October, 1867, in the Pres
byterian Church ?t?> Lrkvillo. . The President o
the Society, Rev. S. JL Watson, not being pres
ent, Judge Wm. C. Ratty took the Chair.
[ The anniversary serfon was delivered by thi
, Rev. W. T. Capers, ith great satisfaction to tli<
audience.
, Reports, by the Giirman of the Executive
t Committee, Rev. R. jathau ; by the Treasurer
J P. B. Darwin, Esq. ; nd by the Depositary, Jas
JeffarysjEsq.; were red and adopted
' .The follbwing resolutms were adopted:
Whereas The Amenan Bible Society has gen
erously made a donatio of three hundred vol
umes of the Holy Scritures to the York Distric
Bible Society through re Rev. E. A. Bolles, Stab
| Agent, by which nobleind timely contribution, w<
i have been enabled to retribute the word of lif(
among many of thederitute, both white and col
ored, m our District, b' it
Resolved, Tliat the tanks of this Society, aux
iliaiy to the AmericarBible Society, are hereby
tendered to the Amerjan Bible Society for saic
donatio^ with the assrance of our highest regarc
of christian fellowship and* an earnest desire foi
their continued succea undor Divine aid, in the
great work-in which ney have beenlaboringup
wards of fifty years, n disseminating the Holj
Scriptures. : v. .
Resolved, That all be Ministers of the Gospel
who have charge of cngregations in this District;
are most respectfully md earnestly requested U
deliver, at l^ast one a year, a sermon to theu
respective congregatios, on the importance of the
circulation of the Hiy Bible, and to receive do
nations, and take upjollections in their respective
churches by the firstof January next, or as soor
thereafter as convening to aid the York Districi
Bible Society to puroase Bibles and Testaments
and also to nelp the parent Society to enlarge it
labor of usefulness aid benevolenoa.
Resolved, That a jopy of the above, signed bj
the President and atested by the Secretary, b<
sent to the Board <? Managers of the America!
Bible Society.
Resolved, That th< Ministere, Church Officers
and Congregations, if the District, are, respect
ively, requested to sod two or more Delegates U
the next annual meeing of this Society.
Resolved, That tie thanks of the Society b<
tendered the Rev. V. T. Capers for his eloquen
and appropriate addess.
Resolved, That tie thanks of this Society an
due, and are herebytendered to Mr. L. M. Grist
the publisher and proprietor of the Yorkvill]
Enquirer, for the ire or its columns, in publishing
from time to time tfe notices of this Society with
out charge, and th'ft he is respectfully requestec
to publish the prob&dings of this meeting in hi<
useful paper. . ' #
Resolved, That ths Executive Committee of thi
Society are hereby, authorized and requested to se
lect a Minister of the Gospel, to deliver the nex
annual sermon of the Society, and that they als<
procure the serric^of some young man, to deliv
er an address siiitable to the occasion.
Resolved, Thit the present officers of the So
cietv be re-electtd ibr the next year.
Kesolved^ 'ThvL the next annual meeting of thi
York District BiMe Society be held, in the Metli
odist Church, at Yorkville, on Wednesday prece
ding the fourth Sabbath in September next
W. C. BEATTY, Acting President.
S. E. Moore, Secretory.
THE ALABAMA CONVENTION.
The Reconstruction Convention of Alabamans
sembled at Montgomery on tne otn instant, in
Mail says that it is "the most remarkable bod;
that has ever assembled in the Capitol of that State
The delegates number one hundred, composed o
fourteen negroes, and a few Southern white mei
of no character, while the remainder is compose!
of Northern political adventurers, in the interes
of the Kadical party.''
On the second day, resolutions were passed au
thoriaing the raising of proper Standing Commit
tees and the memorializing of Congress to remov
the political disabilities of all who materially aide*
"reconstruction." An Ordinance was introduce*
to restore all property'sold by Executors and Ad
ministrators, during the war, for Confederate cur
rency, to the legal heirs of estates, without suit ii
Court
On the third day, an Ordinance was tabled, by i
vote of 42 to 45, which was introduced by a negro
proposing to abolish the present State governmen
within twenty days. An ordinance was introdu
ced and referred to the appropriate Committee, t
organize a Provisional government for the State
and vacating all important offices on the first c
Januaiy next. The Provisional Governor to be ap
pointed by the Convention, who shall fill all office
by the appoinment of men who can subscribe t
the test oath. . .... . - ...
I
CHESTER CONTRIBUTORIAL.
BY WM. H. BRAWLEY.
i. CHESTER,
S. C., NOVEMBER 12, 1867.
PERSONAL.
James Hemphill, Esq., left Chester last week, as
a delegate to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, to be held at Nashville, Tennessee,
at the close of this month. Bev. Jas. E. White
? will leave, this week, for the same destination.
The Bar of Chester, and the citizens generally,
will regret the departure from our midst of Mr.
Solicitor Melton and family, who have removed to
Columbia, where they will live henceforth.
We were absent last week, at Winnsborough,
attending Court, and returned too late to send our
usual communication to the Enquirer.
TOTE TVTHTUTnT flOTTRT.
This Court was occupied during the greater part
of last week in the hearing of criminal cases;
Judge McLure presiding with his usual dignity
and efficiency.
The State was ably represented by Maj. E. C.
e McLure, who obtained the following convictions:
? Martha Walker?convicted of burning a fence.
Sentenced to pay $5 fine and two week's imprisone
ment
l" Jenny Walker?Assault and battery. lined
? $1 and costs.
p Shadrach Gregory?Petit larceny. Fined $10
,j and costs.
Jim Kee?Malicious trespass. Six months in
Penitentiary.
Caesar WaTJcer was convicted on three charges
s of larceny, and in one case of malicious tiespass,
?f and was sentenced to three years and three months
in the Penitentiary. Alas! poor Caesar! He
. once strode like a mighty Colosssus among the
* petty thieves. Jtfetrayed by the treacnery or an
I, accomplice, he has fallen a victim to the law, so
n often violated, and now there are "none so poor as
. to do him reverence."
In the case of the State vs. Richmond Pendergrass,
charged with assault and battery with intent
N vto kill, the Jury found a verdict of assault and
u battery. The Defendant appealed for a new trial
' \ POLITICAL NOMINATIONSj
At a meeting of the freedraen last week, at
Gethsemane Church, the following persons were
~ nominated as delegates for the Convention: Willis
Bladcxodl, Barney Humphries, Sancho Sctiv
? den, and Danid Witherspoon. All of the above
1 nominees are black?three of them Baptist preachres
of the most radical stamp.
This nomination seems to have been unpalatable
to the Methodist or Conservative wing; and on
B Monday, a meeting was held in the Court House
5 for ihe purpose of making a new nomination.
" The meeting was held, a negro in the Chair;
a nominating Committee was appointed, consisting
of four blacks and one white man, (an obscure
3 vender of eggs and butter), who after a short
3 deliberation presented the follewing ticket: Bar2
ney Burton, (black,) Penis Kennedy, (black,) San7
cho Sanders, (black,) T. M. Graham, (white).
' The first named is a Methodist preacher ; the
7 second an industrious blacksmith; the third a Baptist
preacher; the fourth is the Assistant Assessor
fc of Internal Revenue for Chester District
We'don't know whether Mr. Graham will ac'
cept the nomination or not He was not present
r at the meeting; and as he has not the ghost of a
? chance of being elected, he would do well to withr
draw,*if he wishes to retain the respect of the
' white people of this District, who have no stomach
fyPihe Loyal League and negro rule. As on__
Jy-tfiree delegates are to be chosen, it is evident
~ that by the nomination of four persons it was intended
that the blacks might choose a clean ticket
of their own color.
This meeting was almost exclusively of blacks.
0 A few whites straggled in occasionally, but soon
finding that it was no place for them, they did not
remain long.
1 COLUMBIA OONTRIBUTORIAL
, BY JA8. WOOD DAVIDSON.
? COLUMBIA, SOUTH OABOLINA, 11TH NOV. 1867.
The University.
Matriculates number 110. Dr. Darby having
" arrived from Europe, the Faculty is now complete,
j. Cotton is King.
> The cotton ctod of 1867 will probably be two and
3 a half million bales?nearly half what the full crop
J used to be.
University Lectures.
A new feature of the University is about to be
r inaugurated. A series of lectures is. to be delivered
j in the University by the professors, free of charge,
' to which the public at large is invited. One lec[
ture each week for tho ensuing twenty weeks, is
the present arrangement. The series, not a course,
r is to commence on Thursday evening, the 14th instant,
with the delivery of a lecture on the life and
i genius of the late Henry Timrod. This is to be
; followed by lectures on science by the Le Contes;
. and on other appropriate subjects by the other pro.
fessors in their turn.
We believe all are to take part.
J The Conservative Convention.
^ The meeting of this body in Columbia, on the
6th and day following, is the great event of the
j past week. It is one of the most respectable
bodies that has met here in many years. It is
7 hoped that good will come of its action ; but no5
body expects anything immediate in that way.
1 The great thing to be done by this Convention is
} to appeal to the sense of justice (whatever that is) of
- the whole country, to avert the calamitous results
) of the present Radical rule of the South.
We presume that the proceedings in another
j; column will speak for themselves. The address
adopted speaks solid truths in a manly and dispas?
sionate style.
All parties, negroes above all, should pray for
s the success of the measures aimed at by this Con5
vention.
j We say "negroes above all," because, while the
3 effect of continued Radical rule is loss, disaster,
and financial ruin to the white, it is extermination
s and death (o the negro.
The day of terror is near us now ; and nothing
1 should be left undone that may possibly ameliorate
if not avert it.
Books.
Months ago we had occasion to mention a series
of Southern Readers, published by Richardson &
I Co., of New York, under the supervision of Prof
. Holmes of the University of Virginia. The whole
series is called the Southern Pictorial University
Series. Messrs. Duffie & Chapman, booksellers of
Columbia, have this week laid upon our table the
Fourth and Fifth volumes of the series. The literary
contents is in every respect to be commended.
e There are now two scries of Southern Readers
y before the Southern public. We have spoken of
both.
f One is Sterling's Smthern Readers, which we
J have frequently mentioned with favor.
t The other is The University Scries of Southern
Readers, and is the one before us.
Sterling's Series is complete; the last of it?the
r Speaker?having appeared a few weeks ago.
e The University Series yet wants the SpeaJcer to
3 complete the set
3 The same publishers?Richardson & Co., New
York?arc issuing a series in Mathematics, also un^
der the patronage of tlte University. Professor
a Venable, formerly a Professor in the South Carolina
College, standssponsor for these books. Messrs.
a Duffio & Chapman nave put into our hands two of
i, this scries? Venable s First Lessons in Numbers,
t and Venable 8 Mental Arithmetic. These works
i- are fully illustrated, and are prepared upon the
o Pestalozzian method, which is now universally aoi,
knowledged to be the best The system is induof
tive and objective. The hoy is led on from first
- principles, by means of .familiar objects presented
s to the senses, up to the highest principles of the
o science. Both these Arithmetics strike us as very
.1 good. . j:
THE CONSERVATIVE CONVENTION.
As heretofore announced, the above named body,
composed of representatives of the Conservative
white citisens of South Carolina, assembled in Columbia,
on Wednesday of last week, the 6th instant
We make up a report of the proceedings from the
Chronicle. Two-thirds of the Districts in the State
were represented, as follows:
Anderson?John B. Sitton, B. F. Whitner.
Barnwell?Judge A. P. Aldrich, Augustus
Eaves, Junius Black, J. B. Bates, S. T. Dunbar,
Robert Aldrich, General Johnson Hagood.
Beaufort?Joseph Daniel Pope.
Chester?Dr. A. P. Wyhe, A. H. Davega, J.
R. Culp, S. P. Hamilton.
Chesterfield?Judge John A. Inglis.
Colleton?H. W. Rice. W. S. Harley.
Edgefield?R. W. Addison, Lewis Jones, R
W. Seibles. Thomas Jones.
Fairfield?W. J. Alston, Dr. John Wallace,
General John Bratton, G. N. Reynolds, H. C. Davis,
T. W. Woodward, B. E. Elian.
Greejiville?Ex-Governor B. F. Perry, G. F.
Townes, J. W. Grady, Davis W. Hodges, H. P.
Hammett, J. W. Morse.
Kershaw?General J as. Chesnut, General J. D. |
Kennedy, W. L. DePnas, A. D. Goodwyn.
Oranaebura?A. G. ?alley, F. M. Wannama
ker, W. F. Barton, J. R MOlhouae.
Lauren*? M. M. Hunter, N. S. Harris, James
W? Watts, Williams Wright, George Anderson.
Lexington?Henry A. Meetze.F.S. Lewie, John
H. Counts, Colonel John B. Palmer.
Marlboro'?J. A. Peterkin.
Newberry?Simeon Fair.
Pickens?A F. Lewis, J. W. Crawford, D. Bieman,
J. J. Norton.
Richland?General Wade Hampton, W. F. DeSaussure.
F. W. McMaster, E. J. Scott, JohnS.
Green, F G. DeFontaine, James G. Gibbes, John
Waties, F. W. Fielding, Colonel J. P. Thomas,
Jno. T. Sloan, William Wallace, John English,
ID. W. Ray, W. Adams, Hon. E. J. Arthur, Hon.
Theodore Stark, General John 8. Preston, L. D".
Childs, W. B. 8tanley,T. W. Radcliffe, A. R
| Taylor, S. W. Melton, W. H. Talley, D. B. DeSaussure,
Henry L Caughman, James Douglas,
J. H. Kinsler.
Sumter?A. A. Gilbert, J. D. Blanding, J. S.
Richardson, Dr. Mark Reynolds.
York?James F. Hart, General E. M. Law, R
G. McCaw.
Union?B. H. Rice, S. M. Rice.
On motion of James G. Gibbesj a Committee of
one from each Congressional District was appointed
to nominate officers for a permanent organisation.
The following are the names of the committee:
Messrs. Gibbes, Aldrich, Richardson, Peterkin
and Whitner.
These gentlemen retired, and after consideration,
made the following report:
For President?General James Chestnut
For Vice-Presidents?General Wade Hampton,
Ex-Governor B. F. Perry, Chancellor John A. Inglis,
Judge A. P. Aldricth, General John D. Kennedy,
General John Bratton, Simeon Fair, Esq.;
Joseph Daniel Pope, Esq.
For Secretaries?F. G. DeFontaine, Esq., John,
T. Sloan, Esq.
The report of the Committee was adopted.
' General Wade Hampton moved that a Committee
of one from each District be appointed to take
into consideration all resolutions, reports. Ac., and
report thereon to the Convention. The motion
was agreed to.
General Hampton stated that circumstances of a
nrivate character would not allow him to serve on
the Committee, and therefore begged that the
Chair would waive the rule which, as the mover
of the resolution, would make him a member of the
Committee.
The Chair thereupon named His Honor Judge
John A. India as Chairman of the Committee.
Colonel FT W. McMaster moved that all matters
submitted in writing he referred to that Committee.
The motion was agreed to.
Hon. F. W. Fiokling, EsqM submitted a communication
from a Committee of the citirena of Richland
District, in relation to a memorial to Congress.
Hon. Joseph Daniel Pope offered written suggestions
on the subject of reconstruction, for the
consideration of the Convention.
Hon. G. F. Tov/nes offered resolutions declaring
the principles and opinions entertained by the people
of this State on pubHo affairs. All
of which papers were referred to the standing
Committee on Business.
Hon. James G. Gibbes moved that when the
Convention adjourn, it be to meet at 12 o'clock,
M. Some discussion ensued and amendments were
offered, bnt the question being formally taken, the
motion was agreed to.
On motion of CoL McMaster, the Convention
then adjourned, to meet at the Hall in Nickerson'a
on Thursday, at 12 m.
The Convention re-assembled pursuant to adjournment.
Judge Inglis, from the Committee on Business,
reported two papers?one an address to the people
of the State, the other a remonstrance setting forth
existing evils.
Both papers were read to the Convention, and on
motion of A. A. Gilbert, Esq., of Sumter, taken up
in the order in which they were read.
Ex-Governor Perry moved that the address be
adopted. The President of the Convention, resigning
the chair to Hon. W. F. DeSaussure, opposed
the motion, on the ground that it was inexpedient
at the present time for the State to take'
anyaction. He thought the document ably prepared
and fully expressive of its purpose, but believed
that it might do more harm than good.
Ex-Governor Perry replied, and the debate became
general. Messrs. Reynolds and Gilbert, of
Sumter, Hamilton, of Chester, and McMaster, of
Columbia, took sides with General Chestnut They
were opposed by Messrs. BlandTng, Townest Ray.
Addison.Pope, Judge Aldrich, Judge Inglis ana
General Hampton. > . I
The address was finally adojpted unanimously
and about five o'clock, after passing a vote of thanks
to General Chestnut for the admirable manner in
which he presided over the deliberation of the body,
and to the superintendent of NickerSon's Hotel for
? ? i J _1 I
bis courtesy in providing bo convenient ana picas-1
ant a place of meeting, the Convention a4joorned j
sine die.
The following is the address adopted by the Convention
; which, we learn, was prepared by Hon.
Joseph Daniel Pope, of Beaufort:
To the People of South Carolina :
Fellow JJitizens-In times of great public
danger, the instinct of self-preservation prompts a
people to assemble and confer together upon the
issues that the stern logic of events forces upon
their attention. The citizens of South Carolina
stand, to-dav, in this position. It becomes our
duty, therefore, to take counsel together, and to
announce our conclusions temperately, but firmly
and fearlessly to the public.
In performing this duty, we shall avoid all terms
of animadversion upon men, parties or sections.
The vice of misrepresentation and detraction has
become the order of the day, and both North and
South have suffered from the evils which had their
origin in this fruitful source of mischief. The
Northern people, flashed with victory, have not
been solicitous to ascertain the temper of the Southern
mind; and the Southern people, crushed by
the loss of their cause and their most cherished
hopes, have been alike indifferent to events for
which thev do not feel themselves responsible, and
over which they have not the power of control.
In the meantime, wicked and designing men, both
at the North and at the South, have not been
wanting, to keep olive the fires of sectional hate,
until now they threatened to involve the whole
country in misrule and anarchy.
Of the late war, it is not our purpose now to
speak-the sang uinary fact will stand forth in the history
of these American States. Onr duty now is
with present evils, and their future consequences.
The emancipation policy of the Government was
and is the great fountain-head from which springs,
and will continue to spring, the thousandevilsby
which we are environed.
What but disaster conld follow in the footsteps
of the hasty and inconsiderate polity, by which 4,000,000
of slaves, without education, and without
the least preparation for the change, were turned
adrift from tne discipline and interested care of the
master, to provide for themselves. Must it not be
self-evident to any thinking man, no matter what
his prejudices, that nothing he can now propose
will be able to convert an idle, roving, thriftless
free negro population into the steady, healthy, laboring
population that we formerly employed in
our fields at the South. But gloomy as the prospect
may be, the people at the South must regard
this disastrous result as now fixed and settled beyond
recall. Slavery is at an end. We do not
i)utPwe do propose to show that with the present
free negro labor, the industrial resources of the
South are in no condition to contribute to the prosperity
of the country. It is the part of wisdomto
look out misfortunes in the face. We should ,pot
deceive ourselves, either at the North, or at the
South. Three years of experience by both Northern
and Southern men attest the fact that the
cultivation of both ike and cotton?the groat
rf
staples of the South??, under the present ays- tem
of free negro labor, the most uncertain, the
least remunerative, and the most harrassing employment
in theaworld. Had a gradual system
of emancipation" been adopted, men would by
degrees have aooommodated themselves to the
gradual change, and the industry of die country
would have reoeived no such shock as now
prostrates the South and overwhelms her in
despair. Upon the agriculture of the country
mainly depends the wealth and prosperity of the
country. Bat a few years ago, the cotton exported
from the United States controlled foreign exchange,
and held the aooopoly in foreign markets. How*
is it to-day, and how will it be in the future? Instead
of five millions of hales, sent forward to exercise
the former influence upon trade, we have
not more than one-third of the crop of1860, coming
into market, and that at aprioe per pound, in
currowwythe revenue tax considered?very little,
if any thing, in advance of what was realised per
pound for the large crops of former years, paid in
gold. Why is tins? it may be asked; ' The lands
are the same?the seasons are the ?the climate
is the same?why, then, the diflerenoe? We
antioer, the labor is not the tame, instead or industry,
we have idleness; instead of a system, we
have disorder; and instead of profits, we nave losses.
Shall we be able to drive oat competition in
the future, as we have in the past? Sorely not
Bat a few years before the war, one of our most
intelligent planters represented this State at the
World; s Exhibition, m Paris, and, upon his retarn,
reported that he saw upon exhibition there,
the cottons from Algiers and from the East which i
were in every way equal to the finest productions
of the United States. He asked why cannot tboee . ,,
cottons compete with the American oottons ? Tho
answer was, because we cannot produce the article
for the same priced we are compelled to hire the
labor whioh you own?oars is unreliable, idle andooetly,
while yours is under oontrob steady and
(heap. For these reasons, you will always be able
to drive us out of market. But what now is the'
oOndition of the Southern planter? His labor is
much more costly than that of Algiers or the East,
equally unsteady, and, probably, less under .his
control, and he finds himself now, after an exhausting
war, .driven from the market by prices which .
his former oompetitora can afford to take. The ..
present low price of cotton is hut the evidence of
the cauao already stated. -And it may he that, in
a few years, we shall be importing cotton and ribe
into toe United States, instead or exporting these
great commodities. We are now cxting, in the interior
of 8outh Carolina, rice importedfrom China,
and we have been credibly informed that East Indian
ootton has been, imported into, New York.,
How soon the State-craft of GreatBritain may find
it expedient to impose an import duty upop American
cottons, who can tell? But it may be adred,
is there no remedy,for [ these. calamities to the
Southern people ? , We answer, most probably no
immediate remedy., Time is the great master of
the situation. If our people will give up .the delusive
hope of growing rich by the cultivation of
cottonr4nereby probably working their utter ruin?
if they will cultivate less oottoo and more breadstuff;,
raise for their own use and for sale horses,
'mulesaod atookof all; kinds: cure their own hay,
make their own.tn&ef> and sell the surplus; if they.
will lahor to fill the"land with they will, ina
short rime, realize a change for the better in their,
own condition and the condition'of the South-; at. ,
least they shall not have debts and disappointments
added to their .other calamities. And in;
raising our own food au^-aopplies at the jSpulh, .we:
ments, upon oar. own soil There can be no mqrA
auspicious moment than the present to begin, at ',
the South^ ihe manufacture of goods from our owu
raw matenaL This was done to4greft extentdn?*
ring the war. JJo matter on how small a scale,
let the work begin. TobesuccessfuL we must ,
gin at the beginning, cod woik upward, asour P9R-ulation
and wealth increase. We repeat, .that we
would not. now re-establish slaveiy at the South.
It is too late to correct the error of its sudden *- m
tinction. It is to our interest to moke.thamostcf >
the drcumstances by- which we are surroundedWe
cannot recall the past ? "Let the dead peat,
bury its dead.". But let us not be entirely hopeless
of the future. . , ' .
Little more than half a century ago, the greatcommodity
exported from this State was indigo.
It ceased to be profitable here because it could
more cheaply cultivated elsewhere. Cdtton was'
introduced 19 its stead, and Was cultivated with unparalleled
success. Tobacco and rice'contributed
to increase tfie wealth of the' South. If these
staples cease to be as remunerative in the future
as they have been in the past, we stilTh&ve a great,
country left to us, and, with ; something like goods
government, our neoesaties; wffljpve^flpe to OSn
expedients. To conquer our difficuItiesT we m&str
meet them with patience, fortitude and courage.
But shall we have good government ? Thntis the
great question presented in the next point that
propose to consider; . y . ..
To admit as a fact, as has been assumed to'
the result of the war, that the Government of the,
United States is supreme, ana that the States hgvp*
no rights, or if they have rights, that they are subordinate
to the government of. the United States,
or which is the same thing, subordinate to thewill
of a majority having control of the Government,
is to admit the abrogation of; the Constitu-. ,
tion, and to ignore the faots of history. In other
words, it is to acknowledge that wb have a Gotejtp-;
ment ot acaome powers msteaa 01 a government
of limited and dusted powers. It is admitted,
that any Government, however limited, may for a
time usurp all power.: A .single man may rise up
and say, I am the State.1' . Any assemby of meor
may, for a season, arrogate to themselves all power;
executive, legislative and judicial But the ques-tion
recurs, is this law, or Is this usurpation r Is
this good government, or is it revolution? Mere
physical force is not law.N It may compel obedience,
but it cannot give to its acts the sanction of
law; unless it be in .those oopntries where the will
of the absolute despot is the recognised law of the
land. To admit that the -war has -established such
a.power in tHeUnited States, is to admit that all
constitutional government is at an end,'and that as
States, or individuals, we hold -oar life, liberty
and property at the will andpkasare of any majority,
which, for the time being, may hold the power.
Such, to-day, maybe practically the condition of
ten.States of the American Union. But, are we
prepared to endorse these proceedings and engraft
so monstrous a proposition into our governmental
policy? Thatis the question that thepeople of
the North as well as of the SwHh are called upon
to oonsider 1 The great object of laws, of constitutions,
and of government, ia to protect the weak
against the strong?to shield' minorities against
the encroachments of majorities. It is a political I
aphorism that a majority can -protect itself Act- '
ing by shea exercise of arbitrary power, a majority
may for a time set at naught all laws within
these States?it may enforce ap obedience to military
decrees, from which there is-no appeal?it
may administer a purely military government according
to its own will, andas such it most be obeyed.
But when we are cafled upon to sascrion such
government as being in accordance with the constitution
and the laws, we have a right to test the
question according to the rule proposed and to
withhold our assent We admit the factth&t martial
law exists in South Carolina: but we do not
admit the principle that martial law has the right
to impose a civil government upon us without our
consent Far beWfrom us to raise a factious opposition
to the reconstruction acts of Congress.
We believe that these acts and measures they propose
are destructive, not only to our constitutional
rights, but to our social peace. With us it is not
a question of party, nor of political power. We
care nothing far these things. We are quite wil
ling tnac omens snouia enjoy &u cue Donors, all the
emoluments of office. &D tne pomp and circumstance
of place. What we desire is peace?not
the semblance of peace, but the substanoe of peace;
peace at our own firesides and throughout our borders.
We desire peace to enable us to build up
our wasteplaoeSj our temples of worship, our sacked
and ruined cities now lying in ashes, our dis- I
mantled dwellings and our prostrate credit We
desire peace for its own sake; for its holy Christian
influence, and for the civilisation ana refinement
which spring up in its path. Do the Reconstruction
Acts of Congress propose to give us this
peace? No, they give us war and anarchy, rather.
They sow the seeds of disoord in our midst,
and place the best interests of society into the
hands o f an ignorant mob. They disfranchise the
white citizen and enfranchise the newly emancipated
slave. The -slave of yesterday, who knew, no
law but the will of the master, is to-day about to
be invested with the oontrol of the Government
In all popular Governments, the two great sources
ot power may be traced: 1st To the exercise of
the ballot 2d. The franchise of the jury box. Invest
any people with these two great powers, and
they have at once the government of. the country
in their hands.; By the Reconstruction Acts sfi
Congress, theee powers are oohfemd upon the negro?he
can make and unmake the Constitution
and the laws, which he will administer according
to the dictates of others, or has own caprice.
. We are not unfriendly to, the negro; on the
contrary, we know that we are his best friends.
While he oocoskd the position of a slave, he was
protected ttftte ^according to his condition
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