The daily phoenix. (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, November 30, 1865, Image 7
?with enmity and suspicion, it cannot be expected that he will make your j
country the home of himself and his descendants ; and other States,- more
sagacious, will derive the benefit of his skill, capital and citizenship.
Our last want is capital to develope the great and varied resources of this
State. It is to be obtained by labor, and from abroad, by making its
profits remunerative to the owner. With these wants supplied, there is
no reason to view our future gloomily ; on the contrary, there is muoh to
hope for ourselves and our posterity.
We have emerged from a long and disastrous war, with our cities and
towns burnt, our houses destroyed, our fields and plantations ravaged,
and our wealth scattered, but we are in no worse condition than om- fore?
fathers when they came out of the revolution. Their virtue and labor
and economy soon made them a more prosperous people than cv?r before.
Why may not the same qualities work out the same happy result for us ?
It is vain to indulge in repinings over the misfortunes o? the past. Our
work is with and for the future. If we are to deserve well of the country
and of posterity, it must depend on the fidelity with which it is executed.
A new Constitution has been adopted, and by it your Government has
been liberalized. Every citizen may aspire to its honors; and if esteemed
I worthy by his fellows, may occupy its high places. It merits a fair trial
Lfrom the people, and will doubtless receive it. The hope is ardently
r cherished by me that every change made in the old Constitution may prove a
I ment of the criminal law, the evil passions of bad and inconsiderate men
f will be restrained, and order soon restored to society.
The total destruction of large tracts of country by au invading army,
and the exhaustion of tho'entire State, cons?quent upon a long war, inca?
pacitates the people from paying thc usual amount of taxes, and it be
k hooves all departments of the Government to practice and enforce a rigid
economy. The annual appropriations heretofore maje will undergo the
closest scrutiny, and whenever a reduction can be made, or the appropria?
tion entirely dispensed with, it will be done. All supernumerary offices
abolished, and the salaries of those continued reduced whenever it can bc
done without detriment to the public service, so that the expenditures for the
support of the Government will be reduced to the most frugal standard.
I The Executive Department will cordially co-operate with you in all
measures to reduce tho expenses of the State to the lowest standard com?
patible with its efficient administration.
Invoking the blessing of Almighty God on our united efforts to ame?
liorate the condition of our desolated and afflicted country, and appealing
to Him for wisdom, moderation and fortitude in the discharge of our grave
iand arduous labors, I am prepared to take the oath to support the Con?
stitution of this State and the United States, and enter upon the dutio3 of
Chief Magistrate of South Carolina.
, Hon. B. F. Dunkin, Chief Justice of the State of South Carolina, then
Idministered to the Governor elect the Constitutional oath of oilier.
I The Senate retired to their Chamber.
I On motion of Mr. WARLEY,
f Ordered, That when this House adjourns, it be adjourned to meet to
?iiorrow at ll o'clock A. M.
I On motion of Mr. WARLEY, the House was adjourned at half-past 2
Relock P. M.
H Tho West and South.
V Before the inauguration of thu late
?var, the intimate commercial and
?political relations between these two
Sections was universally recognized.
?The most effective arguments em
Bployed in tho North-west against the
?recession of the Southern States,
?.ere based upon these relations. The
?Bouth afforded a mrrkct for a large
Kiortion of the surplus products of
?the West. The Mississippi Ri ver was
?he natural highway by means of
?which the corn, the flour and the
?provisions of the West were ex?
changed for the sugar and other pro
Bluets of the South. So intimate were
Bliese commercial relations, so essen
|Bal did the one section seem to the
?ther, that there were many states
9ien at tho South who predicted that
?iyen if the war should terminate in
[?Amthern independence, but a few
Bpars would elapse before the North
BP?st would bu part of the same
Mundry. There were Western states
Bfcn who entertained ii Similar view
Sf the question.
?V The political affinities between the
HEwo sections, based upon commercial
?interests, were scarcely less decided.
?Both sections were essentially agri
?cultural. Manufactories, it is true,
B?xisted in both, but the manufactur?
ing interest was subordinate to thc
Srreat interests of agriculture. There
B?xisted in the whole Mississippi val
Wey a strong feeling of hostility to thc
? New England views of a high pro tee
?tive tariff, which taxed heavily th(
?agriculturist for the benefit of th?
? manufacturer. The policy of these
^ectionw was less aggressive to othei
Bnterests than the policy of tho New
?England statesmen. It was essen
^?tdly conservative in its character
BB sought to prevent their own inte
H-sts from being invaded, rather thai
?Bj encroach on the rights and ?ute
HB ' of other sections. Tho Wes
BBng resisted the spirit of propagand
HUm sent forth from New England
BLT hey felt that tho conservatism of th
?youth was ?ssential in the Union t<
?Prevent tho continual encroachment
?ff the New England policy. An
??here were multitudes altin- Sont
?kvlio regretted the action of the South
H'm States in seceding, because i
?Levered thein from faithful politic:
Bailies, who, had they remained in th
BUnion, would have continued to roi
Bier their powerful aid at tin- bailo
Bk beat back the wave of revolutio
?continually rolling from Nev.- En?
BS Those conservatives at the We
?Jw i io bad hitherto been disposed I
Vprotect tho Constitutional rights i
Stjie South were irritated at the a
nj ' i secession. They charge
??jb't ii.-y h i-l been abandoned I
Br ir al!ies anil left to the mercy i
HRm I h.-rn radicalism. They felt th;
Bc could not afford to be left tin
BL They became at once tl
most persistent advocates of coercion.
They insisted on following the Missis?
sippi to its outlet, and on vindicating
their theory that the South could not
be dissevered from the West. They
fought for the restoration of the
Union-not for its destruction.
They, moro than any other section,
have succeeded in breaking the power
of the South.
And now, that armed opposition is
at an end, it remains for it to be seen
whether the West will permit the
State organizations of the South to
be blotted out of existence, and the
country converted into satrapies under
military commanders, or whether they
will insist on the restoration of the
Union for which they so successfully
fought. The interests of the West
and South are still almost identical.
The New England politicians, en?
couraged by success, have become
more aggressive than ever. Their
interests aro set up as a guide for the
policy to bo pursued by the Govern?
ment. They insist that tho West
shall enter into their feelings of vin?
dictiveness against the Sou*h, and
shall aid them in humiliating still
further an unresisting people. Thc
Southern States have ceased theil
opposition. They have laid dowu
their arms. In doing so, it was not
to become slaves. They recognized
that the struggle would result eithei
in independence or in returning t<
the Union. The whole North soundec
but one war-cry : "The Union as i
was, and the Constitution as it is." JJ
giving up the contest, the South ac
cepted that result. They now clain
its fulfillment.
They claim a concession by th
country of the rights guaranteed b
the Constitution. Every State an
every citizen is interested in th
granting of the claim. The North
west, especially, whose prosperit
depends so much on that of tb
South, is vitally interested in th
restoration. If ono State may V
blotted out of existence, so ma
I another. New England will nev*
cease to wield a revolutionary pow?
until her policy is effectually checkt
in the halls of legislation. For hi
own aggrandizement she will encroa<
upon any other rights and upon ai
Other interests. Will the West saci
fice her own interests to kneel at tl
throne of New England? Or w
she assume the position in tim natioi
Councils to which she is entitled, ai
restore tin; Union and the Constii
tioii as they were before the war, a
cause the arbitrary rule of milita
authority to yield again to the ;
prcmacy of civil law ?
( Nt-ir Orleans ( 'rescent.
j Several of tin- prominent dry go
houses in New York are having wi
: extended from their establishme
to the general office of the telegra
j company.
I Heni?rki .mt Speaker Col Tax ?a ike
Admission of Southern S?ombfn.
On Saturday last, a large number
of the friends of ex-Speaker Colfax
complimented him with a serenade by
the Marine Band, in Washington
city, on which occasion he made a
speech. After thanking them for the
honor done him, and referring to the
condition of the country, now as
compared with the time of the closing
of the last Congress, he proceeded at
length to speak of the probable action
of the next Congress, when represen?
tatives of the States lately in rebel?
lion would be seeking admission tc
take part in the legislation of thc
country and said :
Tho Constitution, which seem;
framed for every emergency, gives tc
each xlouse the exclusive right tc
judge of thc qualifications, clectioi
and return of its members, andi ap
prebend they will exercise that right
Congress, having passed no law 01
reconstruction, President Johnsoi
prescribed certain action for thesi
States, which he deemed indispensa
ble to their restoration to their for
mer relations to the Government
which T think eminently wise an;
patriotic. First -That their conven
tions should declare the various ordi
nances of secession null and void, no
as some have done, merely repealin
them, but absolutely, without an;
force or effect. Second-That thei
Legislatives should adopt the Cor
stitutionai amendment abolishin
slavery, that this cause of dissensio
and rebellion might be utterly extii
pated. Third-That they shall foi
nially repudiate the rebel debi
though, by its terms, it will be a lou
while before it fell due, as it was t
be payable six months after the recoj
nition of the Confederacy by th
Uni* d States.
Tnis reminds me of an old frien
in Indiana, who said he liked to gi\
his notes pavable ten days after coi
venience. [Laughter and applausi
and cries of "good. '] But there ai
other terms on which I think thei
is no division among the loyal mc
of the Union. First, that the D?
claration of Independence must I
recognized as the law of the lan<
and every man, alien or native, whi
or black, protected in the inalienab
and God-given rights of life, libert;
and the pursuit of happiness. M
Lincoln, in that emancipation pr
clamatioii, which ia the proude
wreath in his chaplet of fame, [a
plause,] not only gave freedom to tl
.lave, but declared ^hat the Gover
ment would maintain that freedoi
[Applause.] We cannot abandc
them and leave them defenceless
the mercy of their former owners.
They must be protected in thc
right of person and property, ai
these freemen must have the right
sue in courts of justice for all ju
claims, and testify also, so as to ha
security against outrage and wron
I call them freemen, not freedme
The last phrase might have answer
before their freedom was fully f
cured, but they should be regard
now as freemen of tho Republic.
Second-Tile amendments of tin
State Constitutions, which have be
adopted by many of their convc
tions-so reluctantly under the pr
sure of despatches from the Preside
and Secretary of State-should
ratified by a majority of their peop
We all know that but a very sm
portion of their voters particip?t
in the election of delegates to th?
conventions, and nearly, if not all 1
con ve a tions, have declared them
force without any ratification by 1
people.
When that crisis has passed, (
they not turn around and say tl
these were adopted under duress,
delegates elected by a meagre v
under provisional governors and n
itary authorities, and never ratil
by a popular vote ; and could tl
not turn anti-Lecompton argnme
against us, and insist, as we did, t
a Constitution not ratified by
people, may have legal effect, but
moral effect whatever.
Third-The Presiden* can, on
occasions, insist that they sho
elect Congressmen, who could t
the oath prescribed by the Act of li
but in defiance of this, and insult
to the President and tho country, t
have in a large majority of instai
voted down mercilessly, Union i
who could take thc: oath, and ele<
those who boasted that they c
not, would not, aye, and would
disgraced if they could. Wit!
mentioning names, a gentleman el
.d in Alabama by a large majoi
(leelan d in his address to the pe
before this election that the iron i
of history would record the ema
pation act as the most mons!
deed o? cruelly that ever darke
the annuls of any nation.
And another one, who avowed
ho gave all possible aid and con
to the rebellion, denounced that Con?
gress of 1862, as guilty in enacting
such an oath. [A voice-"Put them
on probation."] The South is filled
with men who can take tho oath ; it
declares :
"I have not voluntarily taken part
in the rebellion." Every conscript
in the Southern army can take that
oa*h, because he was forced to the
ranks by the conscription act, and
every man who staid at home and
refused to accept civil or military
official positions could take that oath.
But these were not the choice of the
States lately in rebellion.
Fourth-While it must be expected
that a minority o? these States will
cherish, for years, perhaps, their
feelings of disloyalty, the country has
a right to eipect that before their
members are admitted to share in the
government of this country, a clear
majority of the people of each of these !
States should give evidence of their
earnest and cheerful loyalty-not hy
speeches, as are so common, "that
they submitted the issue to Hie ar?
bitrament of war"-but that they are
willing to stand by and light for the '
flag of the country against all its j
enemies, at home and abroad. The
danger is in too much precipitation.
Let us, rather, make haste slowly,
and we can then hope that the founda?
tion of our Government, when thus
reconstructed ou the basis of indispu?
table loyalty, will be as eternal as the
stars. [Applause. )
He then wound up with a laudation
of the patriotic course of President
Johnson, and a tremendous eulogy
on the benefit of free labor and the
benefits of the Union.
The Washington correspondence
of the Baltimore S;ai says, in com?
menting on the above speech :
The topic of to-day is the speech of
Mr. Colfax, at the National Hotel,
last evening. He has said that he
had only a brief interview with the
President, therefore his remarks are
not to be regarded as indicating the
character of the forthcoming message.
But Mr. Colfax has been speaker and
is likely to be again. He is demon?
strative, as was shown last winter, by
descending from the chair to institute
proceedings against Mr. Harris, of
you i- State. He is ambitious, and
therefore has recalled his expressed
determinatiou of retiring from Con?
gress, and he probably looks higher
than to the third office in honor iu
the Government.
Mr. Colfax, like Mr. Forney, and
perhaps a very few others, throws out
ideas which he intends shall influence
the course of tho President and enlist
the support oi the country. These
views look to legislation that will dis?
turb the South for a decade, if they
are not tabooed by a sound public
opinion. They as much as desired
of the President to make other re?
quirements of the South than he has
done. Nothing short of that condi?
tion that will make tho rebel States
what the East Indies are to Great
Britain will satisfy the plunderers
whoso names are legion. I believe
that they will fail in their man if they
much depend upon the President for
aid and comfort.
KcronmriK'tion mid thc Constitution.
The letter of Wade Hampton to
the people of South Carolina, which
we published a few days since, con?
tained the following declaration in
reference to President Johnson's
policy for re-adjusting the Southern
States: "The President had no
shadow of authority, I admit, under
the Constitution of the United States,
to order a convention in this or any
other State; but as a conqueror ho
had the right to offer, if not to dictate,
terms." If Wade Hampton intend?
ed to convey the idea that the
power used by the President, in II?B
efforts to re-organize tho South, is
extra constitutional, he is right in his
inference. The President has no
power, according to the letter of the
Constitution, to pursue the course
which he has adopted in his recon?
struction policy. But Wade Hamp?
ton and the class of men who look
upon our present condition from his
stand-point fail to comprehend or
understand the expansive power of
the Constitution-a power not ex?
pressed, but inherent in it as a neces?
sity for self-preservation.
The framers of our Constitution
provided for the suppression* of a
rebellion <>r insurrection, and gave to
the President and Congress ample
authority to adopt measures to ac?
complish that purpose and enforc<
the laws in every Locality. All this
is included in the w ar provisions o
the Constitution, and it is here tin
we find the expansive power of tha
charier. While the authors of tlu
Constitution provided for thc sap
pression of ti rebellion, they did no
incorporate in that instrument explici
provisions for reconstructing a State
for no such emergency was ever
expected by them to arise. But
common sense tells us that it was not,
therefore, intended that a State was
to be left without a local government,
and its citizens in an unprotected
condition, as they would be, when
the rebellion -was put down. It seems
to us that the inference is clearly
deducible that the power given to the
President under the war provisions
of the Constitution carries with it, as
a necessity, the authority to re?
organize those localities which have
' been in rebellion ; that this, in fact,
j is a part and parcel of the war power
I vested in the President and Con?
gress; for the work of enforcing thc
laws and suppressing the insurrec?
tion is not completed until the
machinery of the local or civil
government is fully adjusted and
placed in efficient working order.
There is not to bo found in the
Constitution cac word or syllabic
authorizing tho President or Congress
! to hold a State which has been in
! rebellion as conquered territory. Any
j such attempt ou the part of either
' would be unquestionably a direct
violation not only of the letter but
j the spirit of that instrument, as well
as of fundamental law. It follows,
therefore, that tho only course is for
the President to adopt such measures
as will secure immediate organization*
of thc local governments and enforce?
ment of the civil laws which existed
I in the rebellious States previous to
j the insurrection. This is the authority
I which the President is now exercising
in his efforts tore-organize the South.
No person would for a moment
claim that a proclamation abolishing
slavery, issued in time of peace,
would be constitutional; but it is
clearly constitutional when promul?
gated during a rebellion as a war
measure. Thc same rule will apply
to tho appointment of Provisional
Governors. They come in under the
war power and aro part of the
machinery used to perfect and
complete the Work of suppressing the
rebellion. If the framers of tho
Constitution intended that an insur?
rection should be crushed out, they
could not have desired the work to
be half completed, but thorough in all
respects. Nor was it possible for
them to enunciate tho precise mode
of proceeding as soon as the organiz?
ed resistance had been overcome,
for the simple reason that it was
beyond their power to tell whare or
how a rebellion would rise, and,
furthermore, no two cases would
require the same treatment in tho
final settlement. All this had to be
left to the expansive power of tho
Constitution and the common sense
of those who administered it at the
time that the events occurred. It is
here that the President obtains the
right to demand that each of those
States which have been in rebellion
shall ratify the constitutional amend?
ment abolishing slavery. It is hero
that he finds thc power to justify him
in insisting that the late slaves shall'
bo allowed to testify in courts of
justice. It is from this source that
he has the authority to declare that
the rebel debt shall be repudiated.
Unless we deny that the Constitution
gives to Congress and the President
ample power to suppress insurrec?
tion and enforoe the laws in all
sections of tho country, it must be
admitted that tao authority to set
aside the rebellious local governments
in the States which have been in
rebellion and to re-organize hiern, is
also fully inferred and intended,
although not explicitly expressed.
Any oilier conclusion would plunge
us into endless confusion and lead
us step by stop until we finally landed
in chaos and ruin.-JV. Y. Herald.
G?NERAI KILPATRICK.-The dis?
tinguished political services of Gen.
Kilpatrick in stumping New Jersey
are rewarded. He goes to Chili, with
twelve thousand dollars per annum
in gold, besides his yiay as Major
General in the regular army. Tho
Worl'l. commenting on this sigrid
cant illustration of the ancient adage
that "loyalty is the best policy,"
alludes a's follows to the Secretary's
other compliment to Kilpatrick:
It is Hither to Mr. Stanton's credit
that upon granting Gen. Kilpatrick,
in his usual royal style, an "audience
of leave," he turned tolas Adjutant
and ordered the name of "Fort
Runyon," near Washington, to bc
changed to "Fort Kilpatrick." (?er.
Kilpatrick himself probably failed to
feel, as his fellow-soldiers and the
country will, thc sarcastic imperti?
nence of the compliment by which a
fort, baptized throughout the war
and omler fire liv the name of ;0
gallant o soldier UH General Runyon,
is selected, upon thc return of peace,
to commemorate his own achieve?
ments on tho safe and profitable
"stump. "