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An Independent Family Journal?DeToted to Politics, Literature and General Intelligence. VOL. 3. ANDERSON, S. C, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1867. ~N0. 8. TERMS: ^ tt? jjQH&ss: Ssb^? fa7,p pas' Ajrinrg, V ? ; is . IN .TOMS? STATES CUBRXKcV. RATES OF ADVERTISING. - . Advertisements inserted at the rates of One Dol? lar nor square of twelvelines.for the firsiinsertion . and Fifty Cents for eabh subsequent-insertion. Liberal- deductions made .to those who advertise by tho year. For announcing a candidate, Five Dollars i:i advance. . Letter from Htm?;W; H, -Trescot. ?H?zlewo?D, (near Pendieton,) V August; 1^1867. j Felloio Citizens: The relation which, as your EopresentativeL I bavo held towards you during the last. few eventful years, has now been dissolvedby.no act of yours px"'mine. There is no longer a State Leg? islature, in which I could represent you, and evenif there were, I am as you know, one of-those who, by. the Reconstruction ?Actj-are probibited.from voting or holding bifice iri'tho Sta'te, or in: tie^nited States. Of this. I., do not. complain- I am sure th at if those'who aro situated like myself, could only feel-that .their tiisfranchise-1 inijnt. would purchase. the restoration of yc ux* rights, they would cheerfully* accept | their exclusion from- political privilege,' and would find in your peace and pros . -*. j|rerityiample compensation for the honors 'r.udoISces to which they are forbidden to -aspire. . I am aware that it has been said in a| very ungenerous. spirit,.that those who 4ire disfranchised, are actuated'' in their advice now, by the desire of conciliating the favor of tho Federal Govern ment, and thus recommending themselves to a Radi? cal Congress, as fit persons t? be relieved . from their political disability. But surely it requires only ordinary intelligence to perceive that such a course on the part j of one ambitious of future public honor, in South Carolina, is fatal as well as fool? ish. "Whatever such a man may hope roust come from you, and the mercy of the XJovernment, which made him an excep? tion to his fellow-citizens,'would be more fatal than its wrath, to-his influence and. reputation. - Isolated from the sympathy of his own people, separated from the honorable association of those with whom hp had sacrificed and suffered, the disability from which he would be re? lieved, is nothing to that- completer and ?" immoreab'le/disability which would' be registered in the hearts of his indignant countrymen. But the men who have . been disfranchised, are not obscure men. You know them, you have known them for many years. Through the-long period of your trial, to them you entrusted your honor in the field and your interests in the council. For you.they met danger] and death, imprisonment and -poverty. '-~ Their fame hangs like a trophy over the graves of your children, and their words ... are-recorded in history as your vindica? tion to posterity. If you believo that such men can betray the honor of South Carolina, can sell their place in the affec? tions of the State, for the poor privilege of votes or honors, which will be a re? proach to their names, forever?if at the gravest' crisis of our fate, we can forget all we have done and suffered together, and break our own counsel with angry crim? ination?it hi not worth while to discuss our future. Our failure "has, indeed, be? come ignominious, and it matters little who completes the degradation of this once famous Commonwealth. I know that you shrink, with a very natural aversion, from a roue wed partici? pation in "politics." Disheartened by the pact, embarrassed and disgusted with the present, you aro tempted to stand apart, and let tho future take care of itself. The necessities of daily life press liardly upon you, and you have/ scarcely the time or temper! to meot promptly and reso?utely the difficulties which surround you. But this is not a question of "politics." It is a question of life or death, of home or exile. It will not.be one month after the adjourn? ment of the Convention, soon to .assemble, before you will feel the consequences of its action in jTour courts and in your churches, in your schools and at your fire? sides, in your taxes, and upon your labor. What sort of society, that is to be, in which for the future you will live, move, and have your being, depends upon the Constitution which that Convention will frame. It may bo very painful, it may make the heart sick and the head weary to join in such work, but at such a crisis the only question, with every man, ought to be, what is his duty to himself, to his children, to his State ? For the purpose of the argument, which I wish'to address you, only a very brief j reference to tho past is necessary. In 1860, the State of South Carolina severed her connection with the United States, joined the other Southern States in establishing a new and independent government, and for four years maintain? ed that independence before the world. At the" end of these four years our armies were disbanded, our treasury empty, our I people exhausted. With the surrender of) General Leo, tho Confederacy, of which we formed a part, ceased to exist, nothing remained but the States of which it had been composed, and they were occupied J and held by the military force of the vie- J torions United States Government. The most ardent secessionist, who claimed for the State the right to withdraw from the Union of her own free will and accord, neverpretendedthe same right to return, and six weeks after the surrender, there was not anywhere within the former ter? ritory of the Confederacy, either ability or "intention, to resist the power of the United States. The question then, which immediately arose, was, were the seceded States to be restored to the Union ? if so, upon what terms, and by whom were those terms to be prescribed ? If, at that time, the .Government of the United States had distinctly declared its terms of re-admission, they would have- been ful? filled without question, but unfortunately for us, the Executive: and Legislative branches of that Government differed, bqtiv as to their jurisdiction, and "as to the mode of reconstruction. This, differ? ence, excited a. political contest, which lasted two/years, daring which we were not only excluded from the Union, but held in a most painful and anomalous con? dition. The contest was terminated in 1867, by the passage of the Eeconstroc tion Act. This Act was vetoed by the President, but passed.by the requisite constitutional majority over his veto, and* became, thereby, as much a law, as if it had passed with his approval. Its con? stitutionality was tested before the Su? preme Court, and that tribunal declined to interfere with its execution. The President made the appointments it re? quired, and put it into active force, giving to its provisions, under the opinion of the Attorney General, a construction favora? ble to tho existing State governments. Congress re-assembled, passed an Act for? bidding this Executive construction, and taking the administration of the law away from the Presidont, and he, while pro? testing against the military despotism which, it creates, declares that for the present, that law cannot be constitution? ally repealed, that despotism cannot be removed or controlled. To-day, there? fore, the Reconstruction Act stands unim? peachable upon the Statute Book, and what is more, without power anywhere of interference with its execution. That Act declares the Stato of South Carolina to be a part of a Military Dis? trict, its local government to bo illegal and void, its State officers to bo tho mere agents of the Military Commander, and it theu directs that officer: 1. To have made a registry of all the male inhabitants, without distinction of color, who. are twenty-one years of age, and have resided for twelve months within the State. It then makes all these regis? tered inhabitants voters of the State, ex? cluding from the right of registry and suffrage, all those citizens who have held certain specified offices, taken the requi? site official oath, and afterwards partici? pated in the rebellion. 2. Having comploted this registry, be is instructed to order an election for a Convention of the people of tho State, and to appoint time and place for its as? sembling. But at this election the voters have the right to vote for or against a Convention, and, of course, if the majority vote against a Convention, none will bo held. Tho point to which I would first draw your attention, is, that the Reconstruc? tion Act is a law, not an agreement, a law made for you, not an agreement made with you. And that to talk about accept? ing "terms," as if tho State was negotia? ting with the Federal Government, is simply absurd. You might as well talk of accepting the Military Commander. The law directs a registry to be made. You can obey or disobey this law as you can any other, and if 3'ou prefer tho penalty of not voting rather than regis? ter, you can pay .the penalty, but the law stands whether you obey it or not. In plain words, the Government of the United States, having taken military pos? session of South Carolina, has passed a law creating the voters of the State, or? dering a registry of thoso voters, and ap? pointing an election, at which they shall decide whthor they wish or do not wish a Convention, to take such steps as will give them full representation,^ the Union. The practical question then submitted to you by the Act is, Convention or no Con? vention ; and that question, tho Act itself, gives you right and power to decide. If you desire to voto against a Convention, you will, of course, register. If you wish to vote for a Convention you will equally register, and endeavor to sccuro the elec? tion of proper and competent delegates. I Is it, then, the policy of the State to vote for a Convention ? You have been advised by very high authority that it is not. Gov. Perry, whose position and charactor entitle him to your respect, has, in a series of letters addressed to the vo? ters of the State, advised you to register, secure your right to. vote, and' then to, vote against a Convention. However honestly intended and sincerely given, I believe-this advice not only injudicious, but disastrous, and as the most convenient way of discussing the whole subject, I will review the argument he has submit? ted to you. I will endeavor to state his positions fairly. He advises you to vote against a Convention for three reasons : 1. Because you have already done all that was required of you by the Presi? dent, and have not been restored to the Union, and you have no reason to believe that further compliance with the requisi? tions of Congress will be any more suc? cessful. 2. Because, if you refuse to call a Con? vention, the present military government will be continued,, and thst government is better than any which the Convention would frame. 3. That if you call a Convention, you will have to recognize the principle of universal suffrage: that this principle will place the control of the State in the hands of the numerical majority, which is colored, and that the legislation of the State will, in consequence, be used to the injury and degradation of the white citi? zens, who are a helpless minority. Let us examine them, and first: That wo have already done all that was re? quired by the President, and have not been restored to the Union. This is un? questionably irue. "Wo obeyed the Pres? ident's Provisional Governor, elected a Convention as he directed, abolished slavery, rescinded the ordinance of seces? sion, and by a vote of the Legislature adopted the first constitutional amend? ment that was submitted to us. But surely there is a very simple question to be answered before wo can claim the ben? efit of this action. By what authority did the President call upon us to do these things, and what power had he to guar? antee our restoration if we complied ? Nobody denies that after the surrender some action was necessary on the part of the United States to restore the seceded States to the Union. Who was author? ized to represent the United States for that purpose ? You recollect that Prosident Lincoln undertook to answer this question in De? cember, 1863, by a Proclamation, in which he declared that whenever in any of the Southern States one-tenth of the inhabi? tants, who were lawful voters in 1860, should re-establish a loyal State govern? ment, complying with certain conditions, tha<. such State should be restored to the Union with full representation. Congress refused to sanction this scheme, and you cannot have forgotten the scorn with which this "Executive pretension" was received throughout the South. Now. in 1865, the only difference iu the condition of things was, that the Unitod States held military possession of the States which, at the date of ^Ir. Lincoln's proclamation, had not been overcome. We must, there? fore, on this question of reconstruction, take one of three positions. We must cither sustain the proclamations of Pres dents Lincoln and Johnson upon the same ground, viz: that the President of the United States hud the right, without re? ference to Congress or to us, to prescribe the terms of read mission for the South, and must admit that at any time after the proclamation of 1863, one-tenth of the people of South Carolina could have re? established a loyal State government, re? stored the State to tho Union, and made rebels and traitors of tho rest of the com? munity. Or, wo must assume that there were certain relations inherent to our character as sovereign States which enti? tled Ud to resBmo our places in the Union. And then the President's scheme of re? construction disturbed these rolations and violated our rights as openly and reck? lessly as the Congressional Act of recon? struction. For tho Act disfranchises cer? tain citizens; the Proclamation did the same by confining tho privilege of voting "to that portion of the peoplo of said State who are loyal, and no others." Tho Act calls a Convention without tho slightest roferonce to tho requirements of thoStato Constitution for the assembling of such a body; tho Proclamation did tho same thing. The Act declares tho State government illegal and void; the Proclamation declared that "tho rebellion" had "deprived tho people of the State of South Carolina of all civil govern? ment. The Act appoints a Military Commander, and the Proclamation of the President, as Commander-in-Chief, appointed a Provisional Governor, and as far as the Constitution of the State of South Carolina is concerned, there is qot an act of Gov. Perry, while officiating as Provisional Governor, that is more lawful or regular than an order of Gen. Sicklos. And further, upon this assumption, it is impossible, upon any sound ground of constitutional interpretation, to say whence the President derived his right to prescribe "terras" on behalf of the Uni? ted States, or where a Provisional Gover? nor, appointed by the President, and a Convention, irregularly and unlawfully convened, found their authority to accept them oh behalf of the State. Or, finally, we must assume that the President held possession of the Southern States as con? quered territory, over which he exercised the power of Comraander-in-Chief of the army and navy. And this is the ground upon which the Presidont did place his Proclamation. "Whereas," he says, "the President of the United States is, by the Constitution, made the Commander-in Chief of the army and navy, as well as chief executive officer of the United States." "Whereas, the rebellion which has been waged, &c, &c. but whose or? ganized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has, fn its rev? olutionary progress, deprived the people of the State of South Carolina of all civil government; and, whereas, it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and ' enforce tho obligations of the United States to the people of South Carolina, in securing them the enjoyment of a re? publican form of government" &c, &e. Then tho action of the President was the action of military authority, wise and ju? dicious it may bo, necessary and justified by the exigency, but which could estab? lish no permanent political relations with the United States until it had been con? firmed by the law-making power thereof, j I admit that Congress could have con? firmed the President's action, and it would J have been eminently wise had they done so : but they did not, and would not, and j the President's action was therefore only an effort for good, for which ho deserves all honor, but which could not possibly give us a right to claim readinission. Now, the Eeconstruction Act does give us this right. Its provisions may be harsh, but once complied with, our right is established by the law of the land. It has terminated the contest between the conflicting powers of the Executive and Legislative departments of the govern? ment- it has been passed with the neces? sary constitutional forms; it has stood tho test for all practical purposes of ex? amination before the Supreme Court, and it is now in active, unchecked, lawful operation. To say that becauso we have not been admitted, thereforo we will not be, is to forget that the whole question at issue has been?who has the right to ad? mit us, and upon what terras, and that this question is only now settled by the passage of the Act itself. This Act rep? resents the sense of tho Northern people; it passed Congress after prolonged dis? cussion, and by a large and decided vote. In a special session called for tho express 1 purpose, it has been reconsidered and reaffirmed. The leaders of the Republi? can Party?Sherman, Fessenden, Wilson, Frelinghuysen, Colfax, the most influential of the Republican press, have declared that it was meant to be. and would be, treated as a finality. In the two years of angry strife, tho necessity of a restoration of the Southern States to their natural place in the Union has been forcing itself upon all the great interests of tho coun? try. Considerations of foreign as well as domestic policy urge the healing of our internal divisions, and reasoning, as mon must do, upon the probabilities before us, there is no just ground for doubting that if its provisions aro complied with, it will be fairly and promptly executed. But suppose it is not. Is not this a practical question well worth your consideration ? If there is still in Congress a malignant will, and behind that will a power to den}' you tho poor benefits of ovon this Act, what further oppression will not that will and that power make your rofasal to obey an excuse for perpetrating ? 2. The next reason givon why you should vote against a Convention is, that if you refuse to call a Convention, tho present military government will be con? tinued, and that government is better than any which tho Convention would framo. Now, in tho first place, what possible assurance have you that if you reject a Convention, the present military govern? ment will be continued? Are uot all tho probabilities the other way ? It is fairly to be presumed that whon the Reconstruc? tion Act was passed, it was because those who passed it wished tho restoration of the South on these terms, and in this way, and believed that the people of the sece? ding States would use the means which the Act provided for this purpose. If you reject the Convention, it will be in order to defeat tho purposes of the Act. Ib it at all likely that those who framed the Act without reference to your wishes, will allow you to use it for the purposo of defeating their ends ? If you refuse to voto for a Convention, are there no voters m the State to whom Congress could, by a new law, give the exclusive right to vote, and who would very readily call a Convention ? Suppose a now law, which should extend the diafranchisement to "all who participated in the rebellion," and wtere would the white vote of the State be? The United States Government has saicf, call a Convention, frame your own consti? tution, provided it be republican; insert cer? tain provisions which we think the late civ? il war renders necessary for the future qui? et of the country, and come back to your old places in the Union. You reply?no, we will have no Convention, no dictated constitution, wo will not come back to tho Union on your terras. Will not Con? gress say?very well; if you will not come back freely, you can be brought back forcibly. A military government is a costly experiment at best; give power to the freedmen, and they will soon place the State in loyal relations with the Union. And when you have rejected this plan of reconstruction, you will find, too late, that you have misunderstood the temper and underrated the power of those offered it. You know that the Republi? can Party was divided on this very meas? ure; that the more violent and extreme wished, and still wish, to pursue a harsh? er course. Will not your rejection of this plan be a reckless defiance, which will strengthen those who wish to com? pass your utter destruction ? But suppose that your rejection of the Convention is not followed by any such vindictive legislation?that the present military government is retained. What have you gained ? What is this military government, which is so much better than any you can frame, but the armed repre? sentative of the very power you wish to defeat ? Is it reasonable to suppose that when you reject a Convention, for the ex? press purpose of avoiding tho consequen? ces of the Reconstruction Act, that the military commander, who is the creature of the Act itself?who exists soleiy^to ex? ecute it?who is part of the Government who has imposed it on you?cither can or will join you in carrying out your pur? pose ?, This is not matter of argument, but of experience. You know ~ already what this military government is, and what is there that the Convention can do, except restore you to the Union, which it cannot and will not do?nay, which it has not done? The Act, by express pro? vision, has conferred upon the freedraan the privilege of suffrage, which neither you nor the military commander can take away; and within tho last few months, the orders issuing from military headquar? ters, have, in anticipation of the Conven? tion, declared that the colored voter is entitled as an equal of any other citizen, to take out licenses, ride in public con? veyances, sit on juries and hold offices. Indeed, in the very last order appointing Registers, he has been put in office. Does it need argument to convince you that this military government must be and is simply an absolute .power, irresponsible to you, and bound by tho very law. which created it to do for the negro all that you will not do, or that you refuse to call a Convention for fear that tho Constitution will do for him ? And this brings me to the third?reason urged against the vote for tho Conven? tion?that if you do call a Convention you will have to recognize and incorpor? ate into your State Constitution tho prin | ciple of universal suffrage?that this prin? ciple will place the control of the State in j the hands of tho nuraercial majority, which is colored; and that the legislation of the State will, in consequence, be used to the injury and degradation of the white citizens, who aro a helpless minority. The first and most practical reply to this argument, is, that if it is so, you can? not prevent a Convention. This numer cial majority which you fear will either excrciso its power, and call a Convention against your wishes, and in spite of your votes, or if you have, influence with it to divide it, then it is obvious that the same influenco which could induce them to act with you to prevent a convention, would induce them to act with you in tho Con? vention when called. An organized op? position, therefore, against tho Conven? tion, is simply resistance to tho action of Congress, and the excitement of a fatal ! antagonism between the races, without a j single advantago in the contest you will thus inaugurate. But, what is the real danger before you? Let us look it fully in the face. It is true, that if a Conven? tion is called, one of the conditions im? posed, is, that the Constitution whioh it frames, shall include a provision for uni? versal suffrage. It is true, also, I think, that universal suffrage is a great misfor? tune, that the privilege of voting is not only a privilege but a very responsible duty, which no one, white or black,should be permitted to share who is not quali The Intelligencer Job Office. Having recently made considerable"*addition* to this department, we are prepared to execute M WMRK ?IF MS* MOT? In the neatest- style and on the most reasonable terms. Legal Blanks, Bill Heads, Posters, Cards, Handbills, Pamphlets, Labels, and in fact every style of work usually done in a country Printing Office. R?* In all cases, the money will be required upon delivery of the work. Orders, accompanied with the cash, will receive prompt attention. fied by character and intelligence to ex? ercise it wisely and conscientiously. This highest right of citizenship has been given to a large portion of the population of the State, who are not fit for it, by a power which you cannot resist, and which does not intend to be resisted. Wo action of yours in voting against a Convention, can deprive them of it. I assume, upon the general statement, although I doubt its correctness, that there are in South Carolina about sixty thou? sand black votes, to about forty thousand white ones. But this black vote is not, and cannot be made a combined majority, except in cases of a general popular elec? tion. For delegates to the Convention, for representatives to the Legislature, it cannot act together. The disparity iu numbers is local. For example, if there is a majority of five thousand negro voters in Beaufort or Georgetown District, the majority of the whole vote is so much di? minished in the rest of the State, and can count in such election no more than a majority of five, for it can only se? cure the return of members from its own district. In fact, this dis? parity exists chiefly in the low-coun? try. In your own district, and those ad? joining it, the negro vote is in a very, marked minority, even if it act as an unit. If, then, the antagonism was all that is represented by the most apprehensive, you, the white men of the upper-country, cannot be deprived without your own neglect, of your fair representation in the Convention and the Legislature. But, what, in fact, to-day, is this antag nism between these two classes of voters ? Not what it may be made?but what is it in the opinion of practical men who gov? ern their every day action by their every day experience ? It is certainly not an exaggerated calculation to suppose that of this sixty thousand, at least forty thousand are engaged in the work of agriculture, in daily communication with you, depending upon your capital and thrift for profitable employment, utterly ignorant and utterly indifferent as to political questions which they do not understand. If you are just in your dealings with these, have you any doubt of your influence ? Has there ever ever been a time anywhere, even the most troubled, in which finally brains and capi? tal have not governed ? You know these people. For two centuries you have held them as slaves; were they not docile, af? fectionate, trustworthy ? During the war, when in many sections of this State, there were not at home white men enough to do patrol duty, and when they knew as well as you did, that their freedom depended on your failure, were they less industrious, less faithful to all that was yours ? You have seen them now for two years in pos? session of their freedom?has there been violence or riot. As a general rule, has there been even insolence ? They rejoiced in their freedom. Was it not natural ? At first they seemed like children, to think that their new life was to be a perpetual holiday; but the crop of last year was some evidence of their industy, and the universal testimony is that they are work? ing this year a hundred per cent, better. I know there are portions of the State in which the persistent mischief of very fool? ish or very wicked men have demoralized them, and that among themselves there aro not a few who have had excited a danger? ous and very preposterous ambition. But taking them in the mass, I see nothing to cause you to fear that, with the land of the State in your possession, with the cap tal of the State in your hands?with the education and iutellect of the State in your service, you need lose the influence which naturally belongs to you. I do not mean to say that your position is without difficulty. The position in which the State is placed, is an unaccustomed one to both white and black, and it will take time and good temper on both sides to adjust the new relations harmoniously. On the one side there will be old prejudi? ces, inveterate hahits, rooted opinious to be overcome. On the other, there will be suspicion and an angry exactingness of extravagant pretensions. In the Con? vention itself, you may be obliged to see much done that you disapprove, and much left undone that you think the inter? est of the State requires. Miserable men will bring their baseness to market, and until their quality is known, may succeed in driving a fraudulent bargain to the danger and disgrace of their State. But this will not last. You are not acting for six months, or a year?you are preparing the future of your State?not less your State to-day, because she no longer owns four hundred thousand slaves. You need neither fear the negro nor flatter him; but you must do him justice. Not simply the justice between man and man, but the higher justice between citi? zen and citizen. The rights and privileges which have been given him, he will use. If he becomes an industrious, educated and