University of South Carolina Libraries
?WS i Daily Paper $8 ? Year "Let our Just Censure PHONIX Attend the True Event.' Tri-Weekly $5 a Year BY JULIAN A.. SELBY. COLUMBIA. 3. C.. FRIDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 8, 1867. VOLUME III-NO. 199 THE PHONIX PUBLISHED DAUA' AND Titi-WEEK LA". EVEUT WEDNESDAY MOnKlNG. BY JULIAN A. SELBY, GITT riilhiisit. Office ot Main street, a few doors above Taylor (orCamdon) street. TEHMS-INAD VANCE. \ 8UB8011IPTIOM. Daily Tape! six months.$1 00 Tri-WeeklvA .? .?' . 2 50 Weekly, \ " " . 1 50 kuVEBTISEMENTS Inserted at "rt couts per square for tho first Insertion, aulSO cents foreaoh subsequent. Weekly 75 cots each insertion. JW A. liberll discount made on the abov<) rates when a&ortisements are inserted bv th? month or jtur. \ AGENTS. Spartanburi-Hiram Mitchell. W. O. MoortlAbbovillo. j. B. Allon, fester. ' .TuliuH Poppa Anderson C. H. 8. P. Kinardjiewberry 0. H. W. T/Sims,'tiion. J. M. Allen, (loenville. Connery dav o Convention. ADDRBSSVO THE PEOPLE. CJOIIUMBIA, I C., November 7. The Con vent! A re-assembled at 12 o'clock-Presilnt Obesnut in tho Chair. I The ?ames \ Messrs. W. H. Tal? ley, D. B. Delaussnre and A. R. im Taylor-of the jfchland delegation were accidental! omitted from the list of delegates ftiblished yesterday. The Committal on Business sub? mitted two reposa-one an address ; to the people of the State, and the . other decja?n certain principles which slv v d lie maintained. A spirited dita* ensued, which was , narticipated ii by! Messrs. Chesnut, ( Gilbert. \t\l later, Perry, IngliB, ( Townet?, Reynold*, Aldrich, Bland- , ing, Wallace, Haili 1 ton, Hampton, . ? Pope and ?hersT The sentiments , expressed ty (Iiancellor Inglis, j touched the karts bf all his hearers, ' and the worra of nlvice and caution given by till "oil man eloquent," ? will long be r?nen^ered. The report on princip?esete, l was laid on the table, and thenollo\ing unanimously ', adopted : Pl \ TO THE riiOPiii OF SOUTH OAKOII?NA. FKU?OW-CIT .ENS? In times of great j public da/iger^theunstinct of self- , preservation pnmptl a people to as- j semble and oo?\r together upon the issues that th(Vsteri logic of events . forces upon tl*ir attention. Tho . citizens of Sontl?jardina stand to-day . in this position.^ becomes our duty, therefore, to tau counsel together, . and to announci?ir oonclusions tem- ( perately, but firlW and fearlessly, to the public. In ?forming this duty, ; we snail avoid aft Irms of animad ver- ( M?^^ sion upon mcc^rtics or sections. ' v The vice of misreuesentatiou and de "Nej^ttction URS beconV tb6 order of tho 'PSn^atul both No?i and South have : flufrasl?ro^rom thdevils which had their ongBrV Jfmitful source of mischief. Tho muthern people, ' flushed with victd?V( hr.^e not been solicitous to ascerm?n tD0 u>uiper of the Southern mind?aml tho South ern people, crush* uv tu0 \oss Qf ! their cause and their]most cherished hopes, have been alii.0 iudifferent to 1 events for which t Ly j0 not feei themselves respons ^fo au? over { which they have iv t the power of 1 control. In the nv..utinrie, wicked and designing mei botu at the North and at tho .\,uth, have not been wanting, to kee). tlie fires of sectional hate, IKUQ now they threaten to involve U,e wuole coun? try in misrulo and anafcny Of t'?e lato war, it L uot our piir. pose now to speak-t\Q Raijgu.iuary fact will stand forth forover in the history of these Ain5r?cim states. Our duty now is TV itu in.e8ent, ^ and their future ?onso(,uoneps ^j10 emancipation policy of tuo ( jovern. ment was and is the greftt fountain? head from which spriggs, ftnd will continue to spring, t:ie thousand evils by which we ave e?lvj,.ODej What bul disaster ed^j follow in the footsteps of tho hasty axu\ iUCOn siderato policy, by whicli*4_^o.OOO of slaves, without ?ducatif nnti wjth ont tho least propan?;\/.tt ^0 cliauge, woro turned ? ?Lift. fLm the disciplino and iutcrcttt d crtrl pf tho master to provide ? ol J ihonVelves? Must it not be self -ey , \, .nfc \0 ftny thiuking man, no ni:ir wnW his pr?judices, that not; ml, i," Ca\ now propose will bo alu ; j ,, oouvVt au idle, roving, . thrift, e-s^ free V, {lopulution into thetd^.((jv |l?ft\Uy aboring population thaw ,A,.' f0rtr\rly employed in oar Holds w the SoAh. But, gloomy as tho pro:?' ?ot. may\o", the people at tho South i mn8t regan this disastrous result as iL0V). gSC(? a\? setiied beyond recall. feiaVery is \ on end. We do not *r0pOse thd what bas been done should be undone; but we do propose to show that, with the present free negro labor, tho in? dustrial resources ot' the South are in no condition to contribute to tho prosperity of the country. It is the part of wisdom to look our misfor iuuvn itt M?o ince. Wo should not decoive ourselves, either at the North or at the 3outh. Three years of ex? perience, by both Northern aud Southern men, attest tho fact that tho cultivation of both rich and cotton the great staples of tho South-is, under the present system of free negro labor, tho most uncertain, the least remunerative, and the most har? rassing employment in tho world. Had a gradual system of emancipa? tion been adopted, men would, by de? grees, have accommodated themselves to the gradual change, and tho indus? try of the country would lmvo re? ceived no such shock as now pros? trates the South und overwhelms her in despair. Upon tho agriculture of the country mainly depends the wealth and prosperity of tho coun? try. But a few years ago, tho cotton ex? ported from tho United States con? trolled foreign exchange, and held che monopoly in foreign markets. How is it to-day, and how will it be in the future ? Instead of 5,000,000 of bales, sent forward to exercise tho former influenco xipon trade, we have not more than one-third of the crop of 1660, coming into market, and that at a price per pound, in curren? cy-the revenue tax considered-very little, if anything, in advance of what was realized per pound for the large oropa of former years, paid in gold. Why is this ? it may bo asked. The lands are tho Bame-the seasons aro the same-the climate is the same why, then, tho difference ? We an siver, thc labor is not the time. Instead of industry, we have idleness; instead of system, we have disorder; and in? stead of profits, we have losses. Shall we be able to drive out competition in the future, as we have in the past? Surely not. But a few years before bbe war, one of our most intelligent planters represented this State at the World's Exhibition, in Paris; and, apon bis return, reported that ho saw apon exhibition there, tho cottons from Algiers and from the East, which were in every way equal to the finest productions of tho United States. He asked, why cannot these cottons com? pete with the American cottons? The answer was, because wo cannot pro? duce tho article for the same price; we are compelled to hire the labor wbioh you oten-ours is unreliable, idle and costly, while yours is under control, steady and cheap. For these reasons, you will always bo able to drive us out of the market. But what now is the condition of the Southern planter ? His labor is much more costly than that ot' Algiers or the East, equally unsteady, and, proba? bly, less under his control; and he finds himself now, after an exhaust? ing war, driven from the market by prices which his former competitors can afford to take. Tho present low price of cotton is but the ?videnco of tho causes already stated. And it may be that, in a few years, we shall bo importing cotton and rice into the United States, instead of exporting these great commodities. Wo are now eating, in- the interior of South Carolina, rico imported from China, and wo have bceu credibly informed that East Indian cotton has been im? ported into New York. How soon the State-craft of Great Britain may [ind it expedient to impose an import linty ripon American cottons, who can tell ? But it may be asked, is there no remedy for these calamities to the Southern people? Wo answer, most probably uo immediate remedy. Time is the great master of the situa? tion. If our people will give ap tho delusive hope of growing rich by tho cultivation of cotton-thereby proba? bly working their utter ruin-if they will eultivato less cotton and moro breadstuffs; raise for their own use and for sale horses, mules and stock of all kinds; cure their own hay, make their own baiter, and sell Jjw surplus; ii they will iab.ir to ?llq^h land with plenty, they will, in a short time, reuluki u change for the better iu thoir own condition and the condition of the South-at least, they shall not have debts aud disap? pointments added to their other calamities. And iu raising our own food and supplies at tho South, we should ulso manufacturo our own cloths und implements upon our own soil. Thorc can bo no moro auspi? cious momo.it than the present to begin in, nt '..he South, tho manufac? ture of goods from our own raw material. This was done to a great extent during the war. No mattei on how small a scale, let the work begin. ' To be successful, we mus) bogia nt tho beginning, and work upward, as our population and wealth increase. Wo repeat, that we would not now re-establish slavery at the South. It is too lato to correct the error of its sudden extinction. It is to OUr iglforOSt tn rnolT rhfiflt ul tho circumstances by which we are surrounded. We cannot recall the past. "Let tho dead past bury its doad." But let tis not be entirely hopeless of the future. 1 little moro than half a century ago, the great commodity exported from this State was indigo. It ceased to bo profitable here, because it could be moro cheaply cultivated elsewhere. Cotton was introduced in its stead, and was cultivated with unparalleled success. Tobacco and rico contributed to increase tho wealth of the South. If these staples cease to bc as reiiiuuerativo in the future as they have been in the past, wc still have n great country left to us, and, with something like good government, our necessities will givo rise to now expedients. To conquer our difficulties, we must meet them with patience, fortitude and courage. But Bhall wo have good government? That is the great question presented in tho next point that wo proposo to consider. To admit as a fact, as ha3 been as? sumed to be tho result of tho war, that the Government of the United States is supreme, and that tho States have no rights; or if they have rights, that they aro subordinate to the Go? vernment of the United States; or, which is the same thing, subordinate to the will of a majority having con? trol of the Government, is to admit tho abrogation of the Constitution, and to igtioro tho facts of history. In other words, it is to acknowledge that wo have a Government of absolute powers, instead of a Government of limited and delegated powers. It is admitted, that any Government, how? ever limited, may for a time usurp all power. A single man may rise np and say, "I am the State." Any as? sembly of men may, for a season, ar? rogate to themselves all power-exe? cutive, legislativo and judicial. But the question recurs, is this law, or is this usurpation? Is this good govern? ment, or is it revolution? Mero phy? sical force is not law, It may compel obedience, but it cannot give to its acts the sanction of law; unless it be in those countries where tho will of an absolute despot is the recognized law of the land. To admit that thc war has established such a power in tho United States, is to admit that all constitutional government is at an end, and that as States, or as indivi? duals, wo hold our life, liborty and property at tho will and pleasure ol any majority, which, for tho time being, may hold the power. Such, to-day, may be practically the condi? tion of ton States of tho American Union. But aro wo prepared to en? dorso theso proceedings and engraft so monstrous a proposition into om governmental polity? That is thc question that tho people of tho North, as well as of the South, aro callee upon to cousuter! Tho great object of laws, of gronstitutions, and of go vernment, is to protect tho weal against tiro strong-to shield minori ties against tho encroachments 0 majorities. It is a political aphorisn that a majority can protect itself Acting by tho aheor exorcise of arbi trary power, a majority may, for i time, sot at naught all laws withil these Stales-it may enforce an obe diencoto military decrees, from whicl there is no appeal-it may administe a purely military government accord ing to its own will, and as such i must he obeyed. But when wo ar called upon to sanction such govern mont as being in accordance with th constitution and tho laws, we have right to test tho question accordin to the rule proposed and to withhol our assent. Wo admit the fact tim martial law exists in South Carolins but wo do not admit tho prineipl that martial law has tho right t impose a civil government upo us without our consent. Far li it from ns to raise a factious oj position to the Reconstruction Ad of Congress. We believo that thoe acts and the n)en?"re? they pi? pose are destructive, not only to ot constitutionnl rights, but to our sooii peuce. With us it is not a qnestie of party, nor of politioal power. \^ car> nothing for theso things. \\ ar?i quito willing that others shou' enjoy all tho honors; all tho emol menta of office; all tho pomp ai circumstance of place. What wo d sire is peaces-not tho semblance peace, but tho substance of peace peace at our own fire-sides ai throughout all onr borders. V desire peace to enable ns build up our -waste places, o temples of worship, our sack and ruined cities now lying in ash? our dismantled dwellings end our prostrate credit. Wo desire peace for its own sake; for its holy Christian influence, and for the civilization and refinement whieh spring up in its path. JDo tho Reconstruction Acts of Congress propose to give us this peace ? No, they give us war and anarchy, rather. Thoy sow the seeds of discord in our midst, and place the best interests of society into the hands of an ignorant mob. They disfran? chise tho white citizen and enfran? chise the newly emancipated slave. The slave of yesterday, who knew no law, but tho will of the master, is to? day about to be invested with tho control of tho Government. In all popular Governments, tho two great sources of power may bo traced: 1st. To the exercise of tho ballot. 2d. To the franchine of thc jury box. Invest any people with these two great powers, and they havo at onco tho government of the country in their hands. By tho Reconstruction Acts of Congress, these powers aro conferred upon the negro-bo can mako and unmake the Constitution and the'.laws, which ho will administer according to the dictates of others, or his own caprice We are not unfriendly to tho negro; on tho contrary, we know that wo are his best friends. While he occupied tho position of a slave, he was protected by tho laws, accord? ing to his condition in life. And now, that ho has been made free, we are not only willing to confer upon him every civil right, but to protect him in the full and free enjoyment of those rights. In his property, in his life, and in his person, we are willing that the black man' and the white man, shall stand together upon tho same platform, and be shielded by the same equal laws. We venture the opinion, that tho people of Soitth Carolina are prepared to adopt as their own, tho Constitution of any New England, or other Northern State, wherein it is supposed ?hat the civil rights of the negro are most fully and amply secured. But upon a question involving such grave and momentous issues, we should be' un? true to ourselves, and unfair to our opponents, wore we to withhold the frank and full expression of our opinions. We, therefore, feeling the responsibility of the subject and the occasion, enter our most solemn pro? test against tho policy of investing the negro with political rights. The black man is what God and nature and circumstances have mudo him. That ho is not fit to bo invested with these important rights, may be no fault of his. But tho fact is patent to all, that tho negro is utterly un? fitted to exercise tho highest func? tions of tho citizen. The govern? ment of tho country should not bc permitted to pass from tho hands ol tho white mau into tho hands of thc negro. Tho enforcement of tho Re? construction Acts by military power, under tho guiso of negro voter* aud negro conventions, cannot law? fully re-establish civil government ii South Caroliua. It may for a tin? hold us in subjection to a quasi civi government, backed by militar] force, but it can do no more. Al citizens of tho United States, w< .should not cousent to live nuder negr< supremacy, nor should wo acquiesce in negro equality. Not for ourselves only, but on behalf of tho Anglo Saxon ruco and blood in this country do wo protest against this subversioi of tho great social law, whereby ai ignorant and depraved raen is placee in power and influence above tin virtuous, the educated and tin refined. By those Acts of Congress intelligence and virtue are put nude foot, while ignorance and vico ur lifted into power. In South Carolina, tho negro; toa jority, under tho Reconstrnctioi Acts, is much more than two tojone In most of the other Southern State? the negro majorities, it not so great aro almost as decided. In thos States where tho white vote is in th ascendant, tho election districts hav boen so arranged, as to take tho pol; tical power from the white vote an east it in favor of tho nogro vote What, then, is the inevitable result Ii invests tho negro with absolut political power in each of tho te Sonthorn States, and ai the sam timo, invests him with tho balance ( powor in tho United States. Nor i this all-tho reconstruction scheu closes tho ballot-box against tho bei informed and educated classes in tl community, and opens it to tho ni frro, of whom not moro thou ono in hundred can read a word, and n< moro than one in fivo hundred ca write his name; and multitudes i whom are so profoundly ignorant, as be unable to remember the names I wh ich they have been registered. Veril; this seems to be converting a pop? lar Government, of whioh wo ha^ been so justly proud, iuto a popular farce ; and we wonld bo content so to consider it, if it did not involve the issue of life and death to tho form of Government established by our fathers for the benefit of themselves and their pos? terity. If the object of tho framers of the Reconstruction Acts was to degrade the Southern people, it is time for them to consider whether tho degradation may not be brought to their own doors-whether the poisoned cup may not bo returned to their own lips. But it may be asked, why do not the Southern people accept tho situation and control the negro element? This qnestion is much more easily asked than an? swered. In tho first place, it may be said that the influence of the oorruDt uud intriguing demagogue, who will appeal to passion and prejudice, has always beeu found to bo more power? ful with the excited and ignorant mob, than tho wisest counsels of the best friends. Besides, tho founda? tion-stone upon which Republican Government rests is, that the election franchise is to bo exercised by a free, intelligent and unbiassed judgment; and whenever it is admitted that this franchise is to bo controlled, or, in other words, to be made the subject of undue influenco and of bribes, then, too, it must bo admitted that Republican Government is at an end, and must, sooner or later, give way to such other Government as may be forced upon a depraved aud already corrupted poopie. But if it is pro? posed in advance to place the enfran? chised negro nndor control, why con? fer the franchise at all? Surely, the j part of wise government is to pre? vent the evil, and not opon the dcoi to tho mischief which others are i admonished they must be prepared, I by trick or management, to avert. But why press tho subject furtheri It is enough for us to know that thif wild and reckless experiment comes homo to tho hearth-stone of everj citizen, and involves family and pro perty, society, liberty, and even li fe itself. Nor is this all. The court; of justice aro dragged into the mir? from their high position; our most intelligent white citizens are excluder." from the jury, while the ignorant negro is elevated to that responsible position; the jury lists aro made ur. from tho lists of registered voters, which, as wo have said, are more than two to ono in favor of tho negro. Not only, bo it remembered, is th? negro admitted to tho jury-box, but tho wdiito man is excluded therefrom Think you that when the great mas tcrs of tho common law of Englanc pronounced their encomium upot tho trial by jury, that they contem plated for a moment such ai j instrument as an ignorant negn panel? Think you, that when tin framers of tho Constitution of th? United States incorporated into tba instrument tho provision that tb< trial by jury should always bo belt inviolate, that they intended to on graft upon it such an enormity ai negro jurymen, fresh from the cottoi and rice fields of tho South? Thinl yon, that when John Rutledge aud hil illustrious compeers signed that in strument on tho part of South Caro lina, that they intended to forgo j chain whic h, in a period no longe than an ordinary life-timo, wouh drag their grand-children (who wer* then playing around their knees, an< some of whom are now liviug,) fo trial before a jury of their owl slaves? Talk of additional humilia tion, talk of confiscation, complain o clemency to rebels, after this! Goi forbid I The Governmeut of th United States has enforced again? the Southern people tho most stu pendons act of confiscation that hfl ever been enforced in tho history c nations; their property in slaves ha been confiscated to tho amount c three thousand millions of dol?an other personal property, in the snap of cotton, provisions, stock, plat and money, hos been captured fi destroyed, to the value of ono thou sand millions of dollars; and froi these cansos their lund has deteric rated to "lim extent of ono thotisuu millions <>f dollars-making iu th aggregate the enormous sum ol fiv thousand millions of dollars. Thea overwhelming pecuniary losses fa exclusively upon tho Southern pee plo. The political evils complains of will, ol course, fall chiefly upo the people of tho South, but Ot exclusively upon thom. Fasten nogr supremacy upon the South, and i must bo felt through all of her reh tions with tho North-whether con morcial, politioal or social. Should Northern man-and bow often mm Bueh necessarily be tho case-t brought to trial "in tho Stato or Fedi ral courts at the South, his life c liberty must bo passed upon by ignc rant negro jurors.' Should the moi difficult and complicated questions of property arise in Southern courts and how often must such bc the case, arising from inter-marriage, inherit? ance or trodfl-the cause of ?Le Northern man must be decided by the sam*.! ignorant tribunal. Nor is this yet all. Tho highest pre? rogative of government is the taxing power, and the efforts of the wisest statesmen have been expended to guard tbis great power against abuse. No power has been moro jealously watched than this. No power has given rise to so much strife and blood? shed in the history of the world. The contest between the mother coun? try and the colonies originated in ber assumption of the right to tax with? out representation. By tho Eecon qtrnof inn Acts, of CODgicw?, ibo tax? ing power is placed in the hands of those who own no property, and is taken away from those who hold the property and must pay the taxes. The war that has always existed be tweeu capital and labor is decided in favor of the latter, and the wealth of the country is prostrated at the feet of those who have nothing at stake but their daily wages and their daily bread. How will this power be ex? ercised? Can it be supposed for a moment that it will be exercised in any other way than to impose such burdens upon the tax- payers as will amount, in the end, to practical con? fiscation of the small remaining sub* stance of our people? But we must forbear. Such are some of the im? mediate consequences of the Tic con? struction Acts upon the people oi the South and upon the whole country. We have said, and we repeat, that we desire peace; but the policy now proposed cannot give us peace. It is contrary to the voice of reason and the law of nature. Instead of peace, under thc Reconst?nu Lion Aces, we shall have strife and bitterness. In? stead of the South recovering from . her poverty, and contributing her share to the common wealth and pros? perity of the country, she will become more and more impoverished. The blight of misrule will cut short her har-eats and dry up her resources. The law of violence, which has pre? vailed for more than two years in reconstructed Tennessee, will extend its sway throughout the entire South, and we shall reap, like her, the har? vest of crime and blood multiplied two-fold. We havo shown that free negro labor, under tho sudden emancipa? tion policy of the Government, is a disaster from which, under tho most favorable circumstances, it will re? quire years to recover. Add to this tho poboy which tho Reconstruction Acts proposo to enforce, and you place tho South, politically and socially, under tho heel of the negro; these influences combined would drag to hopeless ruin tho most prosperous community in the world. What do those Reconstruction Acts propose? Not negro equality, merely, but negro supremacy. In the name, then, of humanity to both races-in the name of ci'teenship-uuder the Constitution^ in tho name of a common history, in the past-in tho name of our Anglo Saxon race aud blood-in tho name of the civilization #f tho nineteenth century-in the name of magnanimi? ty and tho noble instincts of man? hood-in the name of God aud nature, wo protest against thone Acts, as destructive to the peace of society, tho prosperity of the country and the greatness and grandeur of our com? mon future. The people of the Soutly.ro power? less to avert the impending ruin. We have boon overborne; anefftho respon? sibility to posterity and & the world has passed into other huiMs. Mr. Townes submittcdHresointion relative to voting at the ^Liroaehiug eleotiou for delegates to^fc Conven? tion; which was laid on tho?iMe. A resolution of thanks tm T. S. Nickerson, Esq., for tho usomof his hall; and to Mr. Superintendent Wright for attention to tho mouthers of tho Convention-were h'treni mously adopted. Mr. JJ. B. UeSausRure introduced a resolution-which was unanii.iouJy agreed to-returniug tho thanks o'f tho Convention to thc President Hon. James Chosnut-for tho faith? ful discharge of tho duties of his offico. Mr. Chesnut responded in a few pleasing remarks; at tho conclu? sion of which, on motion, tho in? vention adjourned sine die. TH08. E. GREGG & CO., BROKERS. Cl TOCKS, Bond?; Gold and Exchango ? bought and ?old. OOico ar ?HEGO k OO.'fl. _ _ _ July 31 Ague ?nd Fever.-Tho only urcVsntiVe known for chills and fever is thc uso of Wolfe's Schiedam Schnapps.7H*!?:*