Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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9? E* B. MURRAY, Editor. THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 31, 1877. ? .;,u;?;-??-' i Whittemore has resigned as a member fthe Senate, to take effect upon the ad? journment of the extra session of the Legislature. Tne press;of South Carolina are advo? cating., .the.. presentation of. a handsome memorial to Gen. John B. Gordon, of Ga., for his efficient and gallant services in-the redemption of out State. We hope the movement will soon take shape and be .carried into effect.. The Legislature has passed the bill submitting to the voters of most of the comities; of South Carolina, and the townships in them, the question of fence or no fence. We will try to publish the bill.^n full next week that our people may inform themselves as to its provis? ions, which will be the subject of very genera^ dj^ussion at an early .day. Tie Senate on last Friday, by an al? most unanimous vote, released Senator Meetze from his obh'gatio'ns,-to'pair his vote with the absconded.cadetuhip seller. We -would: not: mind Whittemore's de? parture if he had told us good-bye, and settled the various little bills that the State has against him, but it is too bad for him to go off to Massachusetts to en? joy the cool climate of the grand old Bay Stete, whiteirisihrother Senators have to endure' the hot rays of a Columbia sun, and hence; we would be -pleased to see Mb burly-form once more on Carolina's; soil. If lie finds the State Capitol too warm, there is a thick granite building in sight whose walls never allow the sun's parch? ing" heat to pass through them;; and perhaps if he was back his" ser? vices could be spared from the Senae and quarters assigned him there. We should like to see Gov. Hampton send him an invitation through the Governor of Massachusetts to return to us again.; and although our people* are heavily bur? dened with taxation and greatly im? poverished, we can assure the ex-Con-, gressional cadetahip;. peddler that it would afford them much pleasure to pay his expenses back and furnish him' .free diet and raiment for the remainder of his days. Surely such an invitation could not be declined;' OFFICIAL GREED. C; W.: Butte, who has been exercising the office of Solicitor of the First Circuit, embracing the counties of Charleston and Orangeburg, has the average Radical propensity for obtaining and holding offices. He has been Solicitor for several years on the Charleston Circuit, and at the last election-he was. promoted, to the dignity of Congressman from the Second District, of this State, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the. refusal of the last. Con? gress to-seat ;E. W. SL Mackey. He served for one session as Congressman, and'has held on to his position as Solid tor. Col. Hutson, a member of the.bar of the first Circuit, did not think.he was entitled: to all the public positions, and called the attention of Judge Cobketo the fact at the Orangeburg Court last j week, and he very properly refused to recognize Mr. Butte until the question of his right to tiie of&je 'is settled. This course of Judge Cooke deserves the ap-. probation of the public, and we only wonder that the point has not been made j against Butt?1 before this' term of the j Court. A GOOD LESSON. Mr. Peier Papin, a lobbyist for the "Port Eoyal Harbor and General Ship? ping Company," which was; endeavoring to secure a charter from the General As? sembly, after working for the passage of ] his bill,' and at last feeling despondent: as to the prospect of success, determined; to try the ohf tricks to secure the desired.] measure, and accordingly offered to pay Messrs. Youmana and Verner, members of the committee on Incorporations, if they would secure the passage of his bill. These gentlemen reported the facts of the case to the House, which had Papin ar? rested, brought before its bar and sen? tence,to'imprisonment during the session of the Legislature for contempt of the | House.. On last Saturday they pardoned Peter, and sent him on his way rejoicing. It is to be hoped that this little' circum? stance -will not.only teach Peter that a great change has come over the govern? ment of South Carolina;; but that others may takei warning from his- fate, and re? frain from a practice which has been as common as it was disgraceful in the past, few years.- We trust that such an at? tempt1 will pever be heard of again in South Carolina. THE SCHOOL TAX. The House of Representatives has post? poned action .upon the constitutional amendment requiring the levy of a tax of ] two mills for school, purposes. This ac? tion on the part of the House was sensi? ble and proper. The whole law of the ?t?te needs revision, and the fewer per? manent acts or constitutional amend? ments passed before the general revision is begun, the: better it will be for our system of law. It is probable the next General Assembly will, at its next meet? ing, begin the work of. renovating our laws, and of course it can better judge at that time whether such a constitutional provision is desirable than it can now. Another advantage of postponement is that the members can, before it comes up for ratification, see their constituents, and better'' repte^t';lhefr views upon this subject next fall than now; We. favor a liberal system of public education, and' would .not object to the' full tax of j two mills if it can be utilized; but when the mooey'is properly expended it may turn ^tj^gg^W^m be suffi? cient, to meet the public demands, pnd, if | so, the amendment should be rejected. We do t?M&t?:t?t&?t?:maM have run our schools under Repnblican ism, but as that party has given place to, the intelligence and honesty of our State, we may find that what w? necessary-un? der Republicanism would be more than enough under 'Democracy/; We should j look carefully into this question before inaking.it a,iuandate of the Constitution to levy two mills for public schools. Our educational policy ought tobe lib? eral,, but not extravagant. If two; inflls canlfe adviurtagewsly used, jt shquldW levied; if it cannot, a smaller amount should be agreed on. THE BONDED DEBT. The communication from a portion of the Anderson delegation, which appears elsewhere, calls for some remarks vindi? cating the position we assnmed last week, opposing the levy and appropriation of a tax to pay the interest of the bonded debt of the State, before a thorough in vestigatipapf every particlejofJt.^ .The. statement of these gentlemen that no in? terest is to be paid until after the next session of the General Assembly, in a large measure meets our approval; but it was not understood by the press of the State to provide for any action on the part of the Legislature as to the payment of the coupons; The commission to be appointed was to pass upon these bonds and pay the interest, and then report to the Legislature. If this has been chan? ged so as to require the commission to report to the General Assembly, i? la, a decided improvement upon the measure, as: it was originally conceived. E ven if this is the case, however, it seems to us improper to have made the appropriation before the investigation. The tax might have been'levied and the money paid into the treasury,; and | allowed to await such appropriation as might be made, next session. One of the argumenta urged: by every campaign speaker last year against Re? publicanism was the fraudulent bonded debt, and one of the pledges made was that this, debt should be thoroughly in? vestigated before one dollar was paid upon it. Should the first Democratic Legislature appropriate as much as the Republicans ever did for the payment of this-interest? If so, then all that we have said against, the Republicans upon this subject was unfounded. The people of our State desire a full investigation of the debt before we-virtually accept the Republican figures as correct in such an important matter. The position taken by these gentlemen relative - to the bills of the Bank of the State only shows what infamous thieves have infested our public offices, and if they have acted so fraudu? lently about these bills, is there any rea? son to suppose that they have been any better about the bonds? Does not the fact of these discoveries prompt a more rigid examination into all classes of the debt? And''should wo virtually admit the legality of the consolidated bonds by appropriating as much money to pay in? terest oh them as tbe Radicals did? Again, these gentlemen arraign us for calling on the Senate to interpose its Radical arm to prevent tbe appropriation. They surely forget that' the Senate is a Democratic body also. They'surely-for-. get that nearly every Radical in the Honse--if not every one?voted with them to appropriate this money, and if they accepted Radical votes to pass it in. the -House, we see no reason why the same class of votes might not reasonably be called on to defeat it in the Senate. The Radicals have done us so mach harm that we do not believe it is any crime to ask them to do one good act, though we did not call on any party to do this. We called upon the Senate and tbe Governor. If we had, however, called upon the Rad? icals they should not object, as the present policy of the administration is not Very hostile to Republicans ; but, on tne con? trary, we find them: occupying, by Dem? ocratic election and appointment, offices from the. highest to the lowest. As to the^crime of opposing Governor Hampton's wishes, we have only to say that we supposed we were in full accord with him on this important question; but if it be true that we see the matter dif? ferently from; him, we are certainly not the only Democrat who does so. Go v. Hampton is not, and we do not believe that ho desires to be, a dictator. This is a free government, and a man cannot be ruled oat of the Democratic party because he does not think as Governor Hampton thinks. Dr. Brown, one of the Repre? sentatives from this County, does not ' agree with the financial policy proposed, j and a number of other leading Democrats in the House and Senate agree with him, but they do not mean any antagonism to the Governor, nor disrespect to him. They are not responsible to tbeGover-: nor, bot to their constituents. The will of the Legislature was never intended to be subservient to the Executive. If so, this' department would be abolished si an expensive and useless portion Of our jurisprudence: . The discussion of all measures freely, but courteously, is the greatest safety which onr people can have under our form of government, and we know Governor Hampton well enough to believe that he desires such discussion, that the public will may be ascertained;1 Wa believe that the Bonded debt of South Carolina contains some immense frauds, and it is very probable it will be much larger than is now supposed. Eat even if it stands now. about the same amount as the just debt of the State was before reconstruction, we would not be willing to pay it without examination. Ouly half of the original debt is in this consolidated' debt; the balance may be fraudulent; if so, it should not be paid. We have no axe to grind in this! matter and do not believe the delegation has any. It is a simple difference of opinion to which we are entitled, and in which we believe both parties:are sincere. We do not desire directly or indirectly to have this immense debt saddled upon our oppressed people, and therefore want the financial .policy of the new administration to be carefully considered, that we may escape the impending evils which may result from speedy and inconsiderate action._'? ? _; ?? ? Plaktjhq White Skin on a Black Man.?There is a coal-black negro man in oar- vicinity' who will soon. have a beautiful white stomach?a stomach cov? ered with as pure white Democratic skin. as ever grew in Edgefield. This no doubt sounds both ridiculous and alarm? ing, but we will explain. Some weeks back, Dr. Walter Hill and Dr. Wallace Bland cat off from the stomach of. this negro a huge tumor weighing many pounds, and upon the large Dare spot left by the operation they have planted num? berless little stars of akin nipped from their own arms. These, stars have taken root-and are fast spreading out to meet each other, so that, as we have already said, the black man will soon have a beautiful white Democratic stomach?at all events on the outride. Science is wonderful, and in this case noble. Skin is about all the Radicals and negroes hp^e left us. and to be thus generous with it is certainly very magnanimous.?Abbe viileMdittm. ?; ? The cars on the Spartauburg and AflheviQe Railroad will run to the ?iock. House, twenty-five miles from Spartan burg, by tbe 10th of June. THE POLITICAL TRIAL. The great political prosecution, or more properly s :eaking, persecution of ] Borae of tiie citizens of BaruweU. County for complicity in the Ell en ton riots, has been progressing in the United States Circuit Court in Charleston for the past two weeks. D. T. Corbin has been em? ployed as counsel for the United States to assist Messrs. Stone and Wm. E. Earle in hounding down honest men in Barn- j well,, for the purpose of making political capital out of the case. These three worthies of-unenviable'notoriety, have pushed the prosecution with all of ..the venom and malignity.which it is possible for their well known hate, disappointment and revenge to command. The testi? mony of perjured witnesses has been piled up against the reputation of our people, to. tie.enormous satisfaction of j the bloody-shirt minions ; but 'the testi? mony' offered by the defense has been dear, convincing, overwhelming in re-1 buttal. It has been shown that the de? fendants acted in self-defense, and did nothing more than was necessary to pro? tect their homes and their families from ruthless invasion and destruction at the hauds of ignorant negroes, prompted and encouraged by mean and cowardly white men, to commit the most fearful and revolting crimes. It shows that the present prosecution is for political capi? tal, and that the great mass of testimony so far adduced by the prosecution has been perjured. White and black wit? nesses from both political parties have been sworn by the defendants, and their testimony, instead of proving that the defendants were guilty of a conspiracy, indicates pretty clearly that a conspiracy has been entered into* to convict them, in order, to keep the outrage mill from forgetting how to run. We think it probable that a verdict of "not guilty" will be rendered; if not, it is certain there will be a hung jury, for no man Who regards his oath as a juror can afford to agree to any conviction under the proof in the .se. We have no doubt that Corbin ia doing his uttermost to se? cure a conviction, in order to advance his chances of securing his seat in the Sen? ate, by creating a sympathy for the South Carolina Republican , but the testimo? ny against his aide is so strong that it wilt not avail him. Hence we expect to hsive the pleasure of announcing the disappointment of this "vulture," as Judge Mackey terms him, on two occa? sions; first, when he fails to convict the EUenton prisoners, and second, when he fails. to secure a seat in the United States Senate. THE TALE OF A LITTLE BOOK. While the House of Representatives was having its sensation over Peter Papin j the Senate Was strained to the highest pitch of excitement over the effort to obtaiaa little insignificant book which was said to be in the possession of one J. M. McKay, who was op to this time unknown to She public of South Carolina. The contents of this docu? ment were said to be of such ?. nature as to induce Whittemore to remain in the favored clime of Massachusetts; and hence, the Whitterr.ore-Woodruff inves? tigating committee summoned; McKay, and when he refused to deliver np the book the Senate delivered him up to prison, whereupon he thought it better to part with the little memorandum than to j choke on- the da ap of a prison cell for the sake of shielding the crimes of j Radicalism. The beck was accordingly delivered to, the committee, and McKay was released from confinement, and will be examined as to the meaning of thj entries in it, which show that the Repub? lican Printing Company paid sixty thou? sand dollars in bribes to secure the pas? sage of $225,000 for public printing for the session of 1873-4. The News and Courier gives the following statement of J the contents of Ihn mysterious little document: I ' The amount paid Cardozo, "for paying ''out the money from. the treasury," was, as the littte book shors, $17,866. , . ? The amount paid' ex-Governor Moses, "for approving the bill," was $10,804.50. The amount paid to Nash, "for services in the Senate and as chairman of the finance committee," was $5,000. The amounts paid Whittemore and T. J. P. Owens, "for services in the Senate,'" was $5,000 each. The amount paid T'im Hurley, for ser? vices that can better be imagined than described, was $7,600. - E. W. M. Mackey, it appears, received about $1,600 "for important services.". The book contains a large number of other entries of other amounts paid out to members, running down as low as $25, which make up the grand aggregate. These entries are a transcript from the books of the Republican Printing Com? pany, made by their clerk, W. H. Jack? son, who has been spirited away to avoid giving testimony. The committee are after him, however,' and as soon as he can be found no doubt criminal actions will be instituted against the members of the Legislature who are alleged to have been bribed, and against Woodruff and Jones, the Clerks of the Senate and House, who constituted the Company, and are said to have done the bribing. This matter should be vigorously pushed, 'and the miscreants, who have assisted in ' plundering the State so shamefully ought to receive their much-merited, though long-delayed, punishment. There is one feature about this little book, however, which has not been fully ventilated, and that is the connection which certain Democrats are said to have had with these transactions, as shown by the entries in this precious little volume. The affair ought to be freely ventilated, and a full publication of its contents given. It was the people's money which was squandered, and the public have a right to know all. t-n parties connected with the matter. "Let no guilty man escape," is a most excellent motto, and we hope it will be adopted in South South Carolina to-day in order to show to the world how much more meaning there is in it when uttered by Democratic officers of the law than when it emanates from a Republican administration. We insist that if Democrats have been en? gaged in any such jobbery, their political rights should not be denied them. They should be granted the same privilege which is accorded to Republicans. They should be allowed to stand a trial for their crimes, and th-ir association with thieves in public robbery should not be allowed to go unnoticed. Give us all the news from this precious little book,'which is worth more than its weight in gold. INTERNAL REYESTE COLLECTOR. President Hayes i^etei^ei^?^ito^ ship of the 3d Internat Revanuepistitct of South Carolina-to Tfcps. jbj rjann^t^jk. Cass Carpenter. Dann refused the prof? fered honor, and the Mends of Senator - Cochran urged his name for the position, as a moderate Republican whose appoint* , ment would give satisfactionto both.par-, ties in South Carolina; but Ex-Gov. Chamberlain arrived in Columbia' in' time to interfere to^preventhis sypoan^-j ment by endorsing a carpet-bagger by the name of Bray ton. Upon- this- fact being ascertained, Mr. Cochran sent the following sarcastic message to Washing? ton: Son. John J. Patterson, Washington, ' J>. C I have the honor to withdraw my. ap? plication for the position of United States Internal Revenue Collector. 'Ex-Gov? ernor ? Chamberlain's recommendation should be carried out front the fact of his having fully identified himself and his political future with the Republican party in this State, by establishing an office in New York. As usual, carpet? baggers to the front. 1 nave every reason to believe my ap? pointment would have.given satisfaction to ninety-nine men out of every hundred in the State?the odd man in each in? stance an ousted carpet-bagger or a thief. (Signed) ? John R. Cochran. j Mr. Hayes has appointed Brayton upon the recommendation of Chamber? lain, who professes to be a citizen of New York. If there is any cause to doubt the propriety of affiliating with the Hayes Southern policy, we cannot perceive it. We have contended all along that Mr. Hayes is a fraud, and it will not require many more appointments like that of Dunn and Brayton to convince all honest men of the correctness of our be? lief. NATIONAL DEMOCRACY. The prospect for a united organization of the Democratic party, of the United. States was never better than to-day. Whatever the chances for the organiza? tion of a third party under the policy of President Hayes may have been imme? diately after his usurpation of the Presi? dency on account of his apparent honesty of purpose and action, they have utterly vanished now, and every one is gradually .oscillating back, towards Democracy or Republicanism straight out. It was but natural that the people of South Caro? lina and Louisiana should feel grateful for deliverance from the infamous tyranny of carpet-bag governments sup? ported by national bayonets; but after the. flush of rejoicing was over it was equally natural that an honorable and pa? triotic people would have a contempt .for the man who would take the Presidency of this great nation knowing it to be stolen goods. We have never entertained .a; doubt that our people and the people of this whole government-would ultimately class Mr. Hayes as an' usurper, and his party as political thieves, but we must confess we did not expect him to assist in bringing them to such a conclusion by making such miserable appointments as he has so far given ns in South Carolina. The man who appoints such characters as Stone, Dunn and Brayia'on* to i ruportant positions cannot play ionger the role of a reformer. The ono deed of removing the troops from South Carolina and Louisi? ana, which was a party necessity, cannot shield him from the just indignation of honest men at his miserable course- in stocking the Federal offices with aliens, whose lives have proven them unworthy of public confidence; . Many of our peo? ple believed Mr. Hayes entitled to the credit of removing the troops, when in fact he was simply doing what the vast majority of both political parties de? manded, and was no.more entitled to the credit of removing the troops than the Radical party is entitled to the credit of freeing the slaves. It was as much a political necessity for Mr. Hayes , to re? move the troops as for the Republicans to pass the reconstruction acts. Both measures were the result of self interest, and the parties perfbrmipg them. are; | not entitled to thanks for taking care of their own political interests. Some of our people think that because Morton and Bhune opposed Mr. Hayes that he was doing right, but -they forget the tricky ness of these leaders. Both of them op? posed tbe passage of the electoral, bill simply to induce the Democrats to favor it, and they both raised the pretense of war against Hayes for withdrawing the troops to induce the Democrats to sup-. ! port him, and thereby secure the election of a Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, which would give the Republicans control of both branches of Congress. The Democrats have a ma? jority in the House of Representatives, and to elect a Republican Speaker it is necessary for a number of them to vote j with the Radicals, and of course Morton and Blaine were willing to appear to fight Mr. Hayes long enough to secure a sufficient number of Democrats to elect a Speaker. It has, however, been clearly shown that there are not enough Demo? cratic Congressmen who are willing to pocket their principles in order to help Mr. Hayes out, and hence he has, as we believe, thrown off his sham pretense of reform,and intends to continue Repub? lican rufc in its true sense. He never intended to really found a new. party;, His only, effort, has been to; divide the, Democrats, which would result in a. con? tinuation of Radicalism. Morton and Blaine understood this, and although they abused him, yet now that the- sham has been found ineffectual, Morton is out in a letter sustaining the President, and it is announced that Blaine has given up his opposition. ? ,. ??.<: ? From this time forth we had as well make up. our.minds.either to,support Democracy or to espouse. Radicalism straight out. There will be no middle j course, and if out people. pereUtjin.en deavoring to throw a. veil over the official;, faults and political crimes of Mr. Hayes, they will only be aiding and abetting Republicanism in its worst form. We I may set it down as an infallible political maxim, that men who accept the spoils derived from fraud are frauds themselves, and honest men will never be. benefitted by giving them aid or comfort Let our political motto continue to be "not one j particle of principle shall be. sacrificed to ! secure any temporary advantages," and ! then the purity of our nation will be im S)ved and its public morals elevated, t us subscribe to the motto of "Mr. Clay, that "to be right i$ better ttian to be President," which fir only another* form of expression for the sublime''doc-' trine, that it is better to fail in the pur? suit of right than :to succeed by acepting error. Let us have no more time serv ; ing, but henceforth let every Carolinian .and every patriot be found beneath.the, banner of principle, whether it be in State or National politics. PAY OF THE LEGISLATORS. Much has been said by some papers in this State against the members ? of: the -House of Representatives for taking ex? cessive pay for their services, and; so far ?s we can judge from the actions of the House up to this time, a more groundless complaint for which to vent their denun? ciations could not have been found. To express an opinion as to the course the House should pursue, and urge its adop? tion, is all very proper/ and might no doubt do good/ but ~to charge members with improper conduct before they have acted, is simply judging men in advance of their deeds, which is, to say the least, an undesirable and unsafe judgment, if it emanates .from any- source less than Omniscience. The members of the House of Representatives were as rea? sonable and unselfish in.regard to their compensation last winter as any person could justly expect or desire, and it ill. 'becomes us to-criticise these men unchar? itably, before .they have given us some cause, of complaint. The members, of the Senate have received, eight hundred, dollars , in money .and pay certificates, while those of the House have only taken one hundred dollars.: Hence, it seems to ! us reasonable that if either body is to be abused the Senate is.-the . proper one. Eight hundred dollars is more than the State ought to be required to pay in its present . impoverished condition, and we are satisfied the people do not approve the action of the Senate. The remune? ration . for the. last winter's session and the present session together1 'ought not to exceed six hundred dollars in all, and we think five hundred would be enough un? der all the circumstances. Dr. M?ller, of Lexington, has submitted to the House a resolution to take for both sessions five, hundred dollars and. ten- cents a mile go? ing and returning by the ordinary route, of travel. This resolution seems to us - objectionable in principle,- and we have no doubt that it will be modified by the House. The provision to pay mileage at double the rate charged is unreasonable ; and, indeed, no mileage ought to be al? lowed, for nearly, if not all, the mem? bers of the Legislature have free passes over the railroads, and their travel costs them nothing; hence., the result would simply be to pay members considerably more; for living a distance from Columbia, without their expenses being any more. We would prefer to see this feature of the. resolution changed, but every one who has any knowledge of the services rendered by the members of the General Assembly will at once admit that the amount is a reasonable one, and if adop? ted by the House will, entitle that body to the credit of checking the extrava? gance of the Senate. It is due to the Democratic Senators, however, to state that their salary was fixed when the Re? publicans j held, s way, and we have no doubt they will heartily unite with the ' House in securing a reduction to a rea? sonable and proper amount. na?T5?3?!?... s? . . ...-; . Ma. Editoe: "A" declines a discus? sion of the usury question with "B." Should; the summer "monotony'' prove oppressive-to the "old woman with the ! new pot," I would advise him to procure an elementary work on political economy, and.give it his careful attention; or, should tbis fail to be interesting let him devote his leisure hours to the game of quoit*, and, take our word for it. at the end of the summer, if he has not a clearer, conception of the laws that govern capi? tal,- his muscular: power will be more ful? ly developed, and a "cheap popularity" [will be at a discount; though interest may be higher. Besides, a mutual ben? efit will be conferred. "B" will be im? proved in muscles, the public will not have been.bored,;and you, Mr. Editor, will feel thankful. A. One of Abbeville's Prides?As far back' as 1766, a colony of Huguenots set? tled in the county of Abbeville. Among these thrifty settlers there was a physi? cian?Dr. De La Howe. He was. a man of letters, of science, and becara o eminen t in his. profession. He heyer married, and died possessed of a handsome estate and.some money, which he left to a body of trustees for the benefit of a limited number of orphan children who were to be educated through the proceeds of the estate. . This number was limited to twelve bojs and twelve gh-ls. Dr. De La Howe died in 1812, since which time the original trustees and their successors have faithfully carried out the letter and spirit of the testator's will; and each succeeding year has wit? nessed the prosperity of the estate and the good accomplished for the down boys and as many girls who the devisee de? signed to benefit'.' During the reign of the harpies in this State, which is now happily drawing to a close, every effort was made to get pos? session of the magnificent property (some 2,600 acres of land and $24,000 in money.) The trustees skillfully managed matters, however, and kept the estate out of the hands of the thieves who so persistently endeavored to rob the. orphan sot it; and it is now in a prosperous, thriving con? dition, ? monument of the philanthropy of its founder, who lies buried in the centre of a dense forest upon the astate, and justly one of the prides of Abbeville; County.?Columbia Regitier. Sek?t?b Butler's Conduct. At the Captube op Chambebsbubg.?The Philadelphia Time* says: "Mr. G. R. Messersmith, who was a bank cashier at Chambersburg at the. time Gen. Jeb Stuart raided that place, has written a ' letter to Senator M. C. Butler, of South Carolina, who-was one of the raiding party, which letter is full of the spirit of food-will which;the President's policy as inspired. Mr. Messersmith says that long ago he decided that as soon as all irritating traces of the war were oblitera ted he would write Gen. Butler and thank him for bis kind and gentle. treatment of his family, at the' trying time when Chambersburg was in the hands of the Confederates. -How,' sayB Mr. Messer smith. 'that.. President Hayes has re? leased the last of ? the States from military rule, I deem it a fitting occasion to do so, and to assure you of my pleasant recol? lection and good wishes, and'to say to you now, what I could not say .'when .last we met/ that I would be glad to see you at my home, where a warm and cordial greeting will always await you.' This' is a good kind of reconciliation, and Mr. Messersmith's letter will doubtless give Senator Butler a somewhat different character than he has had in the eyes Of moat Northern people." ? Ex-Governor He nd ricks has been interviewed by the Cincinnati Enquirer, ' He says the ''policy adopted by Hayes in, to the South.is identical with that foreshadowed by Tilden. Mr. Hayes saw what the country demanded. He i saw that the people were uneasy, and that they were galled by a military yoke, and that they were not likely to submit, to this, yoke much longer." Mr. Hayes does' not think the Democractic party' will be divided. ===========-? COLUMBIA CORRESPONDENCE. g j Colt^bia,AIrj! 28jth, 18*7.. % life. EDrroB?Tout e?ltorial m^tbi/ Inte^ij^ekotr of May the'%h, .npori;; the actio^: of the Legislature in levying and appropriating $270,000pay|the' interest oh" the' consolidated 'bonded in? debtedness of the State, so clearly misap? prehends the purpose and intents of the bills passed by the lower House of the General Assembly, and also the reasons which actuated the mejmbera; who favored the appropriation, that we feel it incum? bent upon us to disabuse your mind as well as the minds of such of our * constit? uents as may hare, arrived at the same conclusions as yourself, r Yoe object to leaving to a commission of five men to pass upon the validity of the bonds, and I claim that' no coupon: should be paid until the validity of the I bonds should be fimrly established. Now if you will refer to the bill raising acorn- j mission to investigate the .validity of the bonded indebtedness of the State, you will sue that the commission is required I to investigate and report to the Legisla I tureat its next session, and the Legisla? ture having their report will decide and pass , upon the validity of each of the separate bonds, and will order interest paid only on such as are valid. We ven? ture to say that there is not a single member who favors the appropriation who desires the payment of a single dol? lar before investigation, and, what ? is more, every word uttered by tbem has I advocated such' a course, and' such a. course only... In this connection we will give the reasons'for making the appro? priation at this- time/ The original bonded indebtedness of the State was $20,000,000?16,183,000 of' which was I contracted by the State prior to the be I ginning of the war. The Radical, party,. I during the session of 1873-74, passed an act known as the "Consolidation Act." I The act specified what' bonds should be: I consolidated, and the specification .in I clnded the entire debt known as the ante I bellum debt, amounting to $6,183,000, and I a certain class of bonds issued since re-, construction, including the bonds issued during Go v. Orr's administration, in all amounting in round numbers to nearly $6,000,000 more, or $12,000,000 in all. j The rest of the debt (bonded) was repu? diated?this embraced the conversion I bonds. and the Blue Ridge . Railroad script, together amounting to $8,000,000. [Then by the consolidation scheme $6,000,000 were gotten rid of, which I made the entire amount repudiated and I compromised $14,000,000, leaving a bonded indebtedness still- due by the State of $6,000,000, or $183,000 less than I the debt owed by the State before, the I war. Now with the consolidated debt we alone have to deal with' $6,000,000, and this is the debt the interest of which j $270,000 is appropriated to pay, and to j investigate which a commission is raised. I If this debt is to be investigated, the question will naturally arise, why. levy a : tax to pay .it until the investigation is I made ? The answer is plain and simple. By the, consolidation act itself the, Stete agreed if the, specified bond? holders would submit ? to.-a scaling of their bonds at the rate of two old bonds j for one new ouei the State would pledge itself to levy! a. tax of two mills. annually to pay the interest,. and, as a further security, pledged the-State to receive the j interest in the shape of coupons for the taxes for State purposes. ? Upon this pledge, of the State the contract was en? tered into, and the bonds were consoli? dated. Now, as no State has a right to . pass an act impairing the obligations of a contract, we are powerless to prevent I County Treasurers 'from receiving these coupons when offered for taxes, and there I need be but little, if any, expense in I curred by those offering coupons, for as j the coupons bear npon their face all.the j evidence of their genuineness necessary I to a decision in their favor, one test case .1 in a judicial circuit would'cover all other j cases." - That the people are tod patriotic Co use them is not to be relied on by any hnanner of means. Not more than one I third of the people showed their patriot? ism by contributing to the Hampton tax,' I and if the other two-thirds would not aid I the government in its' direst 'extremity, I would it be expecting too much of them I when taxes were legally levied that they j would pay their taxes in coupons which they could perhaps purchase f?r fifty j cents on the dollar? We'thought not, fand concluded it would be riskiug1 too; I much to let the success of Hampton's j newly established government rest upon I so slender a foundation. The next rea-: eon for levying the tax at this time is this: If the'hohd-hoider^^ to use"his coupons for payment for taxes, is it reasonable to suppose they will select I to submit their bonds to an investigation 1 unless there is some guarantee that the I interest will be paid when their bonds are I foand to be valid ? Will they not prefer to hold on to a right they already possess,' land which cannot be taken away from them, namely, to use them for taxes, than ' to risk all to an investigation, which j would be doubtful, to say the least of ? I And, remember further, the coupons can only be used for ' taxes during the fiscal1' I year in1 which they fall due, and if the I holder neglects to use them for taxes I while taxes are being collected, he will Ihave lost the opportunity while the in-' Investigation is going on. You will see j then that the very thing we desire, name? ly, the investigation of this bonded in? debtedness, we can never secure unless we give some guarantee to the bond-, holder that the interest will be paid when his bond has been proven to be genuine. If we should levy no tax, then, but simply pledge our faith to the holder' that when his bond is proven to be valid, his interest shall be paid, we not only will have to levy a tax of four mills next j year to meet the two year's' interest, but we necessarily pledge ourselves to pay all I interest past due and unpaid, which is considerable.' As it r.is, we. pledge our-: [selves to nothing. We simply levyian amount to pay the interest on the bonded) debt accruing from the time Hampton I came into power,' and provide that no ?part of it shall be paid nntil the debt is I investigated ; there is no pledge about it; land the Legislature is left free to pursue' any course hereafter it sees fit. Now suppose we should have adopted the ex? pedient offered by the opponents of the appropriation, and levied a tax of $100, 000 to meet'deficiencies by reason of ?taxes' being paid in coupons, we would I have incurred all the odium of falsifying our pledges, whilefwe "would have re? ceived none ofihe5'benefits of the pro? posed repudiation, for in reality we would have been flecrefljr paying a debt we were were a^idjo^cknowledge. The fact that each wa> the plah? proposed by the opposition is proof conclusive that i( was admitted on all hands that a large part of the taxes wouid be paid in these cou? pons, and the - Hampton appropriatiorr would be short to. that amount, unless this levy for interest should be made. In [-this connection let us- -state that-it-ts** .great error to suppose that only $55,000 off last years''tax" was paid in'bills of the bank of the State; $55,000 were, forced upon the Treasurers by reason of judicial, decision, While $283,000more were pre 'seuted and sealed up, and are still in the bands .of those offering them, and for which the State received nothing. There is also another great mistake on the part' oif many in supposing that these consoli? dated bonds are only held or a few'bloat 1 ed foreigners. The truth is very many j of our.citizens have invested their money I in these bonds, simply to be provided at all times with'the means, to pay their taxes, knowing that the State was com? pelled to receive the coupons whenever offered for taxes. Now it. is not reason I able to ask these men to throw away j their investments and voluntary go about I to hnut up other money to pay taxes' {with when they have coupons the same I as cash in their pockets. I. The largest number of the tax-payers [pay small amounts, and from, the small. j amounts they have to pay, and in many instances owing to location, they cannot avail themselves of these coupons; con? sequently, the men of means enjoy a monopoly, in the privilege, and pay their taxes at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and that fifty cents in. a-currency which necessarily falls dead in the hands of the government, while th; bulk of the tax-payers, who are poor men,, have, to I pay in currency dollar for dollar.. Con? sequently, upon them alone falls the.en tiro burden of supporting the govern? ment. It is this great injustice we have squght to avoid, and " the only/ way in which it can be avoided is by providing for whatever debt we. justly owe, and then prohibit the payment of taxes in coupons, which we can. only do by providing to pay such of them as are valid. You call upon the Senate to save the State from the threatened danger, pro? posed by paying the legal and bona fide debt owed by the State; ,in .other words you call upon the Senate to.interpose its Radical arm and upset and overturn the policy laid down and advocated by Gov. Hampton. That the levying and collec? tion of the $270,000 to pay the -interest I on the consolidation debt as provided in Section 5th of the Appropriation .BUT is ; approved by G^y.^^jWptonj.we mU state. ' the following facta.,., When/the Ways and Means Committee saw the. opposition, to the 5th Section which provided for the, interest, Sec., and when they saw that the I opponents of the Section were using it to [defeat Gov. Hampton-and his policy, (which was their ultimate policy,) by ap? pealing to the prejudices of the people, the .Committee sent a sub-committee, of I .which Mr. Simpson was one, back to see j Goy. Hampton/andurge hint to agree to some kind of a substitute, if:we could find one, which would save the Govern? ment from this certain Hud impending J danger. His reply to -the - Committee corresponded with . Such utterances as have made him famous the length and ' bredth of our entire land as amah of in? tegrity and honor, and in whom all could impiidtly place their faith. Gentlemen, I he said, we are bound to raise the amount necessary to pay the interest on such of j the bonds as a Commission or the Legis? lature shall decide to be valid, and it I must be raised now, for three reasons: I Without this guarantee the bondholders Twill not submit their bonds to an inveeti j gatdon, hut will, use them - to ? pay- taxes, ? I which we can not prevent. 2nd. If we post? pone it until next year it will largely'in? crease the tax- levy for that year, and it I wonld be much easier for the people to pay part this year and part next' than to pay it all next year. 3rd. Onr party has (too recently come into power to go before j the people with so large a tax as will ne I cessarily have to be levied next year; I if this year's interest is not collected this I year, and to do so might endanger all we j have gained by onr recent canvass; Be? sides these reasons we are pledged to this1 I course/and pledged in such a way and at such a time as would make it shameful to falsify or'fail to carry out He urgedthe Committee to make or accept no offer of I a compromise, but to stand up to the Ser> ) tion as provided in the bill. Let the [ Senate then' defeat the bill if it sees Iproper, and in all probability it will de? feat it, but we have this satisfaction/that the first effective blow aimed at Gov.' Hampton's- administration: and policy, 'came not from the House of which we were members, i Gov.-Hampton is one man at least, who is not swayed or in? fluenced by selfish motives; be is the people's choice, and his policy is the peo? ple's policy; he has proven himself a ?capable leader, equal to all emergencies,: true and worthy to be trusted, and so long; as he pursues the policy laid down in the campaign, Upon which policy we were elected, we feel we have no other alterna? tive but to sustain him in every measure advocated by him to carry out his policy, and render it effective for the good of the people, i .. .' As to the hills of the Bank of the State; being as just a debt as the bonded'debt; we cannot concur in the statement, and we think the following facts will relieve all doubts on the subject. The Legisla? ture in 1858 passed an act repealing that "clause in the charter of the bank making the bills of said bank receivable for tar es. A question afterwards arose as to whether the charter was so amended Or not | The Supreme Court of this State decided it was'amended;and the Supreme Court of the United States sustained the decision, -but afterwards, when Chamberlain came into power, the bill-holders obtained from the United States Supreme Court, a new hearing, and by a failure on the part ?of the then Attorney General to defend the interest of the State, by reason of tile fact that Chamberlain was the paid at? torney of the bill-holders, the Court de? cided in favor of the bill-holders, and declared: them receivable for taxes. This is the way the decision was obtained. Now let us look at the bills themselves. In 1868 or '69, the Legislature called in all the ^J^I^^S^?lt?^ required them to be faaM^m^^ f These bonds are included in the list au? thorized .'to be funded^) $1,200,000 In of these' bills were: turned ov?r to the State, for which bonds dollar for dollar were issued,, and all other bills issued prior to I860 and not funded were barred. These bills, amounting to $1,300,000 in round numbers, were placed into the hands of Joe Crews and two other Radi? cals to be burned, but instead of burning ?theWia??flffi ftsit out between them, and Mp^rtod"the1m burned",. embracing all that were issued prior to. the war of 1860 have been paid, and the bona fide holders received bonds in their stead ; and all bills luring date prior, to I860havetheD ^^b^jpji^^bw^d^ by.a refjual.pn ^^id^tlB^^f^i fund them as required^by, law. Th& Con- 's ? 'stitutiou ;of,tbe United States and the- ? 'CkwMtiturion.p^ the..B^rb^.^hav>4er-^ clawed null and invalid any,debt issued;., or contracted in aid of the rebellion. As* ; the bills toied;arW that purpose, and loaned to the' Confed erate Government, they ave of course in? valid, unless the holder can prove that. - the bills held by him were not so issued.. 'These two classes embrace all the bills- . One class has already bee n paid or barred,,; ? the other is invalidated by the, Conaatu tioa of the State and the United 'Bates. Besides this/the plates upon' which the bills have been printed have been in the hands of the ring ever since rettmstrtnS tion, and there Is no telling ho^ metvp ^additionaljbills have:|beien JbrHd-v.^a^.j ('holder presents'one of these bills'for taxea 1 he will ^required to^ye'thal hcnk/'oP-'" the frauds specified attach to his bill. By' this process we are in hopes of sgaia ?y getting before I" United States, to set ' aside obtained; Buch a decision' would quash, the bills entire; hence, instead , of these bills occupying apposition -equal to the* bonds or coupons^they occupy in point of . justiceor equity no-position at alh :! ' : These are some of the reasons which influenced us and a majority of ;the- . House to advocate the levying of the tax. With the distinct understanding, however, that not a dollar of it was to be applied to the coupons until they had been passed upon by the ? Legialature-at its next session. -. . ... ''^r ; b. w.simfs?n; . ' ^ ?? h. b; VAirDxTBB/7 JASvTfc OBB. * j -??..' i.... l -I.. vrv' ..^j ?i.'Ari.i' ? The Democrat* yesterday elected! their entire municipal ticket at Lynch-' burg, Val.B?ir/f Ji^M^litamm^1 Radical, for mayor, by 260 votes. : "t? <? Fletcher Harper, the youngest sod! -.' last surviving. m firm of Harper & lying at the point of d I fever. < ': i ?n -.ad) ,*?????? i ? ws <??' bfc TheGottoo Convention will meet h>. Liverpool on the 11thof July ;zex~Nir?,.. delegates and as many alteniai^ will be .. appointed to 'represent iHeAjneTican Bx^ change. " ''??* ' ?*- - ' ? ? Attorney General De vena has given...,-.. Simms whom," as United States, Marshal' of Maas?chusetts under Mffio^h^ overhauled as * ?^&it?**to&v Georgia.,;:;.:;.! irt f,i ,>???. n-r-i, ''.vtHiii sented to Hon. W. D. Porter-StateSena? tor, and believed to have been burned in ?" the-Colombia-State- House, is'itttbepo?-4"1 shortly be. return^toMr. Porter. .\ ? r, J?? A secret political society in oppoai- . tion to Hayes has been formed in i ngtofi, the1 wol hisappointmeata. mentis in theinterest of friends say the action is. wi knowledge. ''. ' ?The Torkish minister of policegave orders that all Turkish women must dis- ? -: the Turkish formula of fashion. The ... Turkish women, by way of showing their contempt for the minister Of police, straightway out-Parised Paris:in the :aa-i--: J ti-Turidshi .charactez,oJ?theie ?is said that when "Honest Jpl Patterson received (S>ciira#s i/fsK didate ^jt' the place which Mr. Hayes1 conferred upon '/Seven-api^ ?Bjrayton*<'-,;f '/Old Pat" turned tea Oolnn^r.mer. chant, at present in Washington and re- ' marked : ''These rebels are very insolent, and I don't Bee how l am ever to eoncil iato them so as to be elected to the-Sen-.,.; I ate again." Merchant??B?t.,then, tou ??.. have the colored v?te left?:6enaterr.2s Honest John?"Oh, di-^:ta^h1gj*t** AS they are of no account without Northern -! I Republicans to ; teil, them ,how to work ; Carol)na who doubts that these words , aonndlike honest'John^wtfa^b'Jor him to show his hand. They are Patter- ' sornan* a^!oyer^Wtt?j^j2g^,. ?The.managera.of the f^re^jjEapo- ; si tion of 1878 have informed our govern? ment that if the United'State? is' tb'bar (tippate in^?iat/exliibi?on,^t?wiU beTne-*: 1 cessary to take imnedhUe stea?*r repre-.', sentanon in the Ameri.can section.. The. .. Cabinet has* had'the matter under con- :'.' sideration, and will probably decide this ' week as to what action shall be taken by: ourGovernmeAt. BecreJ*ry JEvarts's po-. aitipn^ und^rstool to.be t^ian^men^^ can Commission should be appointed . provisionally upon the ?riderstanding' that the Commission shall have no com- :' pensation unless Congress shall ratify - .their appointment Upon careful in? quiry it is stated that there ia no consti tutional impediment to such a ('and in the cas6of the Vienna Exposrtion ? the invitation to participatein it.waa ?c^; V cepted by the Department pf State before , action was taken by Congress. The Sec- .' retary of State has been tioti?^^nat&r u our Secretary of Legation at Paris that ? the space reserved for the United States & is still available. The minimum expense r supposed to be necessary is $^,00pV : -TAn Alabamian, visit?ig New York;-^' had 'an interesting* intervieVr wMSP??xV^ Governor Tilden on Monday last^ He said to Mr. Tilden that the people of the South were convinced that, he; nad. been , fairly and lawfully elected1 to the office of r \ President of the United States; that the' people. of that section, in common with I. the great body of the people oftiiewhq^r rj United ,Stite8,:thoiight that Mr. TJtoen^,:, as thelaw?iIly elected roler o7thrcoatf'!,r try;' shbnld have taken early after the W election a decided attitude, and insisted upon his rights,* that,had he done so, ... vented: the House- of Rx:presenta?tes " would have elected him according to the ? forms of law, and made itself reepousible jl for his induction into longed to him. Mr. Tilden listened w tently -to the remarfe of hU m?r; ^ Sntieman nearly twenty years his senior.-; < e replied that he had thoaght carefully : in all its possible phases7; that he had'be- .-' come convinced that should headopt'the - course suggesteditwoaldfbe resisted-by' ?ii the Radical party to the extent of dreucb- . ing the land in blood; that he shrunk - from the responsibility of precipitating another terrible civil war npon life' eodhi' " trymen, and consented to the compromise ' which averted so dread a disaster. He felt as keenly as any one the impro of the means bv which' the present had been brought about, but for all he did not regret his own action. As it was the people of the United ?tat? u?--:: de?tood.^; ?i occupied auch a proud attitude beiore tiie ,, 'country^as ft ViSbdve'H'?pied belore^1 ?and no mortal power could resist its tri-; ? nmplial march to success in 1880.