Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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COLUMBIA. Tuesday Morning, Jone 30, 1868. Editorial Retirement. Kineo the meeting of the Democra? tic Convention in April last, the un? dersigned has been in charge of tho political columns of the Phoenix. In dosing his brief editorial term, he asks the indulgence of tho readers of thia journal, whilst he briefly reviews tho course of political events in thia State for tho past' three months; In tho April Convention, the under? signed was one of those who frankly deolarod himself a conservative, and yet progressive, Democrat. He de? sired his State to take a bold and brave step forward, and alone, if ne? cessary, to grasp nnd mould the new elements that had sprung up around hor. Abating nothing of fidelity to the memories and sentiments of the past, he proposed to himself, and ventured to recommend to the State, a line of policy adapted ' to the new order of things. The great question that divided the. country was the re? lation whioh should exist between the two rapes , that inhabit the.South standing, osrespeQts numbers, 8,000, 000 whites to 4,000,000 blacks. As a matter of right; as a matter of policy; as an inducement to the North to re? mit to us the settlement of this grave subject of State concern, the under? signed advocated the concession to the colored race of a qualified parti? cipation in the government of the country. He thought that this, con? ceded by the State generally, and ac? ceded to by the North, would prove the peacoful solution of a problem whioh, in its. violent settlement, would result in disasters to both races, but in especial disaster to thc weaker party. At tho same time, thc undersigned took occasion to suggest tb at, in his opinion, this course was in no wise prejudicial to the interests, tho rights and the diguity of the white race, to whom he regarded th( control of tho South as being securec by immutable circumstances. Having faith in tho prestige of his race, in iti Caucasian blood, in that Anglo Saxon, and Celtic, and Germanic and Gallic energy, which commin gling and combining its diverso ele ments and forming one powerful com posite whole, had conquered whereve it had marched, ho expected that tin freedmen of the South, fairly deal with and humanely treated, wouh ultimately, abd at no distant day yield to influences that they coul not resist, and under the influence o moral and equitable principles, woul find the peaceful lovel which God ir tended thom to occupy. He con tended that it was our part to dei with tho emancipated negroes of th South as members of tho body pol: tic. For to deprive them of all pal ticipution in tho Government, h held this to bo inconsistent with th peaco of society, contrary to princ pie, contrary to policy, contrary t the genius aud spirit of the age. A the sumo time, in making this liben advanco towards tho political recof nit iou of tho negro, the undersigne took occasion distinctly to declare t tho colored man-tittil he must nevi expect lo govern in thc South. "M will give him that just and proper part cipalion in the Qovernmentto which h qualifications may entitle him; but x will never consent that he shall rule ti free wJiilo men of the Soulh." Th was his language. These sentiments and these view expressed in tho April Conventio: and received with marks of hear approval and sympathy by that di tinguished and ablo body, for tl past threo months, we hove i affirmed in tho columns of tho Phi nix, and advocated again and agai Upon these principios, with the a of our co-laborers in the cause, i have urged tho formation of Dom eratic Club.; in tho State, and ha invited a generous rally of all t conservatism of thc State. To thi efforts, tho people, especially of t upper and middle country, ha nobly responded, and the fruits the policy adopted may be sc illustrated in Districts bristling w Democratic Clubs, in colored Den oratio Clubs, in tho rallying of wh mon, and in tho carrying of sixtc Districts out of thirty-one by 1 Democrats in the recent election. In withdrawing now from political control of tho Phoenix, undersigned desires to extend acknowledgments to those generous friends, at home and abaoad, who have sustained bim in his course; to re-affirm, his faith in the principies ho has advocated; to suggest that time is vindicating their wisdom; to renew the pledge of his devotion to the noble people of the State; and to urge upon them, in this Bupreme crisis of the State's affairs, a spirit that never despairs, au energy that never flags, and a policy that, bravely accepting the logio of events, wisely grasps the elements of BUCO ess and moulds them to the enduring inte? rests of the commonwealth. Let us hope that the good work begun will be carried on with un? faltering trust and unfailing efforts. Let us hope that the Democracy which we shall embrace for safety and success, will not be dainty, or effete, or Bourbonic; but vital, and practical, and progressive; at once toned with principle, and instinct with living issues. As one man, let tho South Carolina Democracy unite upon the nominee of the forth-com? ing Convention. Let ns with hope and confidence await the proclama? tion to come from that body of patriot- soon to assemble in the metropolis of tho Union; and when it shall reach us, pervaded, as it no doubt will be, by the memories and fraternal spirit of 177G, let the entire South, in tho pride mid strength of her 8,000,000 whites, put forth her old energies, and in saving herself, participate in thc glory of saving the common country. J. P. THOMAS. Owing to the pressure of his pri? vate business, (which requires his un? divided attention,) Col. J. P. Thomas, after the issue of this paper, will re tiro from the political management of the Phoenix-which position he has occupied for tho past three months. During the brief period with which Colonel Thomas has been connected with tho paper, he has ex? pressed his sentiments freely, made his suggestions ably, and, at tho same time, so convincingly, that numbers havo been won over to his way oi thinking. "Wo are free to say that, notwithstanding his editorial with? drawal, Col. T. will occasionally con tribute to tho columns of tho papei the bcuefit of his well-considerec1 opinions. Tho undersigned, in "go ing it alone," will exert himself tc continue tho good name of tho Pho nix; but would respectfully ask th< indulgence of its readers lor am short comings. JULIAN A. SELBY. THE FOIST TROUBLE.-In the Geor gia Constitution there was a clause repudiating private debts, which i? said to have secured many votes foi the ratification of that instrument Congress provided in the omibus Ac that that .clause should be Striekel out by the Legislature. But we lean from an Augusta letter in tho Nev York Times, that Governor Bullocl intends to treat this requirement as i nullity, and will allow no man to hoh tho office of -Judge in Georgia wh< will not agree to uphold as much re pndiatiou as thc Constitution pro vides for. Supposing this to be so we would respectfully ask of Cou gress, "What aro yon going to d< about it?"_ A bill has just quietly passed bot! Houses of Congress, without attract ing general notice, that is destined t havo a very important influence upo: the finance of this country. Th bill referred to is that legalizing a contracts made in gold. This is ur. doubtedly tho first step toward th resumption of specio payment. I commerce an unchanging mono} c basis will always bo preferred to on of fluctuating value; and, moreovei as all foreign contracts are necessaril mado in gold exchange, it will not b long before it nsurps the place c. greenbacks as the standard in tradi tho latter only being used at the current rato of discount. Win effect, cither immediate or remot the passage of this bill may ha\ upon tho value of currency, timo an the vicissitudes of trade can alor determine. <-*?-> Saturday last was devoted by tl attaches of the Charleston Nexos I the removal of their publicatic office to No. 140 East Bay. The no offloe is commodious and well lightet and possesses many advantages ov< the old one. Success attend the pr prietors. .' . 1 1 '? ' -'-~ i Protest Against the Admission ot the Arkansas Representatives. ? In the HOUBO of Representatives, ou Monday, Mi. Brook?, on behalf of tbc D?mocratie members? offered tbe following protest, which was ordered to be printed in the official journal cf Congressional debates: The recognized presence three Sersons on the floor of th., ^onse, rom the State of Arkansas, sent here by military force, acting under a Brigadier-General of the army, but nevertheless claiming to be members of this Congress, and to share, with ns, tho. Representatives, from free States, in the - imposition of axes and customs and Other laws upon our people, makes it our imperative duty in this, the first case, to remon? strate most solemnly, and to protest as solemnly, against this perilous and destructivo innovation upon the principles and practices of our hith? erto Constitutional self-government. The so-called reconstruction Acts which created the military govern? ment in Arkansas, and like govern? ments in other Southern States, to share with us in the legislative power of the Northern and Western free people, wo have every reason to believe, have been held to be uncon? stitutional by tho Supreme Court ol the United States, the public declara I tion of which fact was avoided onbj by tho extraordinary and . strang? device of this Congress in snatching jurisdiction from the court, in the McArdle case when such a public decision was about to bc made. Ol the three great branches of th( Government, it seems, then, that, after the Executive vetoed these Act? as unconstitutional, the Judiciary adjudicated them to be so, while ( Congress-the creation of but twenty seven of the thirty-seven States o the Union-over-ride these equa! and co-ordinate branches of tba Government, first, by voting dowi the vetoes; next, by nullifying th? judgment of the court. In au era o profound peace, when not an armet man rises against the Government from tho Potomac to tho Rio Grande there, in ten States, our Americai historical way of creating the organi law has been utterly subverted b; thc baj-onet. Ever since the Declara tion of Independence, with ?careel; au exception, and even amid th battles of thc Revolution, Conven tions have been convoked throng! and Constitutions created by th electors of thc States, tho oui authorized depositories of the sove reign power of every State, withou exterior dictation, as, under th existing Federal Constitution, th hardest and harshest test oath r< quired, from 177G to tho peace c 1783, was au abjuration oath of all? gianco to George tho Third, whil some of tho now so-called bayoue made Constitutions from tho Sout propose absurd and cruel tests-al surd, as in Arkansas, whero is inte: woven in the organic law a mei party test between thc radical recoi structioniats and the Democrat' conservatives, such as would exclud from voting, if living there, tl thousands and tens of thousands an hundreds of thousands of Dcmocra in the free States (article 8,- sectic 4;) or cruel, as iu Alabama, whei no white mau can voto who will n< forever forswear his own race an color, aud perjure himself by swea ing, in defiance of tho law of Go< that the negro is his equal, and fo ever to be his equal, at the balle box, in the jury-box, with the ca touch-box, in the school, in tl college, in house and home, and 1 the fire-sido-in short, in every wa everywhere (article 7-, section 4 Now, in theso and the other Sout ern States, in tho midst of wo President Lincoln, in his proclam tion, December 8, 18G3, offered ai nesty and pardon to rebels then arms if they would lay down thc arms and take thc oath of fidelit while now, not a Union mau Arkansas or Alabama can vol unless, in tho first place, he swet allegiance to the majesty of this Co gress; and, in tho next, swears offl Americanism and Africanizes himse Hitherto Constitutions with us hn been the outgrowth of popular li springing from the exuberance of o enterprise and energy in tho sett ment of the forests or prairies of o country; but here before us n< wc havo nino Constitutions, wi one, if not three, more yet to coi from Texas, which have all been i posed upon the people by five mi tary satraps, or pentarchs, in a mi ncr never before known under c law, but borrowed, at best, from i perial Roman colonization, or fr tho worst precedents of the Frer Revolution. Franco is then recort to have had five Constitutions three years, so frequently Bindo n so frequently changed, thattheyw ironically classed by tho Fret people with tho periodical literati of tho day. Louisiana, a colony I that France, has had four Consti tions in four years, and a Consti tion thero has now become peric cal literature, as in France in agonies and throes of tho groat re lut ion. Laws, more statute la which can never be oreated by G stitutions, are appended, mo KO less, to all these Constitutions; t these bayonet-created, one-branch ? vernments, with no' Exeoutive, Senate, no House of Repr?sentatif no judiciary, have ordained irrep< able, irreversible laws in tho very or-1 gonism of the State, each as. cannot | thus be created by the Executive, the Senate, and the House of Represen? tatives of ? legitimate Governments,, when acting in unison, and all com? bined. All this has been done with? out regard to preceding Constitu? tions or precedents, or thc oom mon law of the States, or the law of na? tions. The military, which under legitimate. institutions can. only bo used in times of peace to conserve or preserve the State, have here b>vn used to destroy States. The general of the army, who represents the sword, and only cue sword, of the Republic, has been exalted by acts of Congress above the constitutional Commander-in-Chief of the .rmy and navy, in order to execute those military decrees, nud as the surer way to root out every vestige of con? stitutional law or liberty. The same General of the army, in order to pro? long and perpetuate this military domination North and West, as well as South, has been selected in party convention at Chicago to head tho electoral vote for tho Presidency in ten of our States, which r.re ns much under his feet ns Turkey is under the Sultan, or Poland under the Czar ol Russia. But, as if ouly to add in? sult to tho injury of this military out? rage upon the popular government in these ten States, either by Act ol Congress or by these Congres* soldier-made State Constitutions, al least 250,000 whites have beeu dis frauchised, while 750,000 negroes, inexperienced in all law-making, ant" ! more ignorant, than our children have been enfranchised in theil stead, and have thus beeu created ab solute masters aud sovereigns ovei tho whole white population of tin South. j Becnnse of all this, and in opposi tion to all this, we, representatives o the people from the free States, ii behalf of our constituents and o thousands and tens of thousands o others, who would be represeuted i the popular power without ooah now constitutionally act here within earnestly and solemnly protes against this violence upon our Con stitution and upon our people, am do hereby counsel and advise al friends of popular government t submit to this force only until at th ballot-box, operating through th elections, this great wrong can b put right. There is no law in th laud over the constitutional law There is no government but constitc tional government; and hence a bayonet-made, all Congress-impose Constitutions ure of no weight, av thority, or sanction, save that er forced by arms-an element of powt unknown to Americans in peace, an never required but as it acts in an under the supremo civil law, th Constitution, and the statutes enac ed in pursuance thereof. We pr< test, then, iu behalf of the free pet pie of the North and the Wes against the right of this militai oligarchy, established in Arkansas < elsewhere in the now re-enslave States of the South, to impose upc us, through Congress, taxes or cu toms, or other laws to maintain th oligarchy, or its Freedmen's Bureai We protest against going into tb now proposed copartnership of mil tary dictators and negroes in the ai ministration of this Govornmen We demand, in the name of tl fathers of the Constitution, and fi the sake of posterity, not its reco struction, but the restoration of th sacred instrument which has been us a pillar of fire from 1787, on to i present overthrow; and in ali solet nity, before God and man, under full sense of the responsibility of i we utter, we do hereby affix o names to this protest against the a mission of these three persons, claii ing to bo members of Congress fro Arkansas. THE TEST OATH OF LEGISLATO DISPENSED WITH.-General Can' has issued General Orders No. ll containing an official copy of tl law, familiarly known as thc "Omi bus Bill," to which the following i structions are added: "Tho provisions of thc second a third sections of the foregoing la authorizing and requiring tho Leg lutures of tho several States e braced in its operation to 'convene tho cud of twenty days from t time this Act takes effect, unless t Governor elect shall sooner conve tho same,' and directing that \vh any State shall, by its Legislatu duly ratify article fourteen of t amendments to the Constitution the United States, proposed by t Thirty-ninth Congress, the officers such State 'duly elected and qu?li?) under tho Constitution thereof, sh be inaugurated without delay,' aro garded as dispensing with the oath office prescribed by tho law of Ji 2, 1862, so far as it concerns the me bcrs elect of the Legislature who i not qualified by the oonstitutio amendment known as article fo teen. Accordingly, so much of t provisions of General Orders No. of May 2, 1868, and No. 83, of Bl 22, 1868, as requires the memb elect of the General Assembly of ( States of North Carolina and Soi Carolina, respectively, to take 1 oath of office prescribed by the i of July 2, 1862, before entering nt the discharge of tho duties of tl offices, is hereby revoked." ' The Sandwich Island Volcanoes. TERRIBLE CONVULSIONS-LATER AC I COUNTS. From Honolulu wo.have the fol? lowing additional particulars of the late eruptions: At Keaubou, the following results of the earthquake, on Thursday, have been reported. Mr. Stackpole, who had charge of the place, had been up to the Volcano House during the day, and was returning in the after? noon. While descending tho pali to Keaubou, the shock occurred, pre? cipitating an immense amount of earth, stones and boulders down the pali after him. Escaping these, bc arrived at the plateau, below the pali, and looked in the direction of the village of Apua, but not a house was to be sien! He then; rode down to the edge of the plateau, from whence Keaubou ought to have been in sight, but nothing of it could be seen. Descending to Pehoehoe, he met the men working at Keaubou running up Mauka, who reported that nothing was left of Keaubou; that immediately after the earthquake the sea had rushed in and swept off every dwelling nud store-house, aud all their contents, and that they had barely escaped with their lives. There was some 1G7 bales of pulu in 6tore, ready for shipment, all ol which was swept away. They repre sent that the sea went up as far as the two basaltic columns indicating tho road down to Keaubou-a deptl: of wave at least forty to fifty feet. At Punaluu, at the moment of th( shock, it seemed as if an immense quautity of lava had been dischargee into the sea at some distance fron the shore, for almost instantly a ter rible commotion arose, the watei boiling and tossing furiously. Short ly afterward, a tremeudous wave wa; sweeping up on the shore, aud wher it receded there was nothing left o' Punaluu. Every house, the bi< stone church, even the cocoa-uu trees-all but two-were washei away. 'The number of lives lost ii not ascertained. All who wore ou fishing at the time perished, nut many of those ashore. A big chasu opeued, running from the sea uj into the mountain, down which, it i said, lava, mud, trees, ferns au( rocks were rushing out into the sea. The same wavo that swept awa; Punaluu, also destroyed the village of Niuole, Ka waa and Honuapo Not a house remains to mark the sit of those places at Honuapo, where i small "halo halawai," on tho bro\ of the hill, above the village, stooi on Friday last. The large cocoa-nu grove at Honuapo was washed away as well as that at Punaluu. A par of the big pali at Honuapo, on th road to Wajohinu, had tumbled iut< the sea, and people coming fron thence are now obliged to take th mountain road through HUeajnka. The sea swept Kaalualu on Thurs day last, as it had swept Honuap and the other places along the coast washed away several houses an> killed a number of people-hoi many is not yet known. The eart has been shaking almost constant!; and severely every day and night A largo land slide occurred on tin West side of Waiohinu Valley, nea where Swann's tannery was formerl situated. Fire had been in th mountains above, but now had com down on tho low lands betwee Kahuku and Waiohinu, where it lei on Mouday morning, a large holt sixty feet in diameter, and opened o the flat below Kahuku, with no bot tom visible from the brink of i and emitting quantities of sulphuri vapor. I have just been told nn incideu that occurred at Ninole during th inundation of that place. At tb timo of the shock, on Thu-sday, man named Holona and his wifo ra out of the house and started for th hills above; but, remembering th money he had in the house, the ma left his wifo and returned to bring away. Just as he had entered tl house, the sea broke out on tl shore, and, enveloping tho buildin? first washed it several yards inlam and then, as tho wave receded, swe] it off to sea with him in it. Beit a powerful man, and ono of ibo mo expert swimmers in that region, 1 succeeded in wrenching off a bom or a rafter, and with this as a pa] hoenulu (surf board) ho boldly strut out for tho shore, and landed safe with tho return wave. When v consider the prodigious height of tl breaker on which ho rodo to tl shore, (fifty, perhaps sixty feet,) tl feat scorns almost incredible, wero not that ho is now alive to attest i as well as tho people on the hill-sit who saw him. Tho latest advices from Hawa states that tho island is still shakii and quivering, making forty-ono da; of earthquakes. Nothing new as y regarding lava flows, although tl inhabitants feel confident anoth flow must take place before quiet w be restored. MAIL AIUUNGEMENTS.-The po office open during the week from 8 a. m. to 7 p. m. On Sundays, fro 4 to 5 p. m. The Charleston ind Western mai are open fordelivo-y at A\% p. m., ai close at 8j? p. m. Charleston nig mail open 8,'/. a. m., close A\% p. m Northern-Open for delivery 8>? a. m., closes at 2.45 p. m. Greenville-Open for delivery 5 p. m., closes st 8>.i p. m. Local ttems. Turtle soap this day, at ll o'clock, at the Exchange Restaurant, rear of Gregg's Hall.'- It gives one an appe? tite for dinner. ' --B>^?^JJ^ We had the pleasure of a visit, yesterday, from W. P. Price, Esq., formerly a member of the House, from Greenville District, but now a resident of the "gold region" of Georgia. Mr. Price was elected to the Georgia Legislature, and also to the Democratic Convention ia New York, and was ou his way to tho latter city, when ho received a tele? graphic call to return, as a full meet? ing of the legislative body is impera? tively necessary. We have been requested to state that Bailey's Southern Dramatics will perform to-morrow (Wednesday) evening, in Gregg's Hall. Two new pieces-the drama of the "Daughter of the Regiment," and the farce of "Paddy, the Tiper." Miss Parrott will introduce several new plays and dances. For particulars, see pro? gramme. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.-Mr. Schultze keeps fresh vegetables and choice fruits on hand constantly at his stall in the market, adjoining the Clerk's office. Examine his stock. Mr. Schultze requests us to say that ho is informed that several colored boys sell vegetables around the streets in his name. This is not the case. He has an elderly man named Stevenson in his employ, who Bells fruit only. FOR NEW YOKK.-Excursion tickets to New York, via Wilmington, cnn be obtained at the office of the South Caroliua Railroad Company. Pas? sengers from the up country, by taking the G o'clock a. m. train, avoid a delay of ten hours iu Colnmbia; they also have the choice of three routes from Weldon to New York. The fare is $29. COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA UNIVERSITY.-An assemblage of ladies and gentlemen attended these exercises on yester? day. The following essays, selected for the occasion, were delivered: The Utilitarian System of Educa? tion-Ira E. Hill, of Darlington Dis? trict. The Relations of Innovation to Civil? ization and Progress.-D. Z. Dantz ler, of Orangeburg District. Fiction-F. C. Furman, of Georgia. Physics and Metaphysics-W. Le Conte Stevens, of Georgia. These essays evinced thought and cultivation, and were creditable to the essayists. The degrees and certificates of dis? tinction and statement of graduation in the various schools, came next; aud finally the honored and esteemed President of the University, Mr. R. W. Barnwell, addressed the graduates in language of advice and friendly consideration. The Professors of the University, the heads of its various schools, were present OH the shige; and of the Board of Trustees, there wero in attandance Gov. OIT, Ex Governors Pickens and Bonham, and Prof. Carlisle aud Col. F. W. Mc Master. THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLA TUSE.-Thc following proclamation was issued, on Friday, by the Go? vernor elect, Gen. R. K. Scott: A Proclamation.-By virtue of au? thority vested in mo by an Act of the Congress of the United States, passed June 25, 1868. entitled "An Act to admit thc States of North Carolina. South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Florida to representa? tion in Congress," tho members elected to the Legislature of South Carolina, in pursuance of the provi? sions of an Aot entitled "An Act for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, and the Acts supplementary thereto, are hereby notified to convene in General Assembly, at the city of Columbia, at twelve (12) o'clock noon, on Monday, tho sixth (6th) day of July, Anno Domini 1868. Done at the city of Charleston, South Carolina, this 26th day of June, A. D. 1868. R. K. SCOTT, Goveruer elect of South Carolina. NEW ADVERTISEMENTS.-Special at (mt ion is called to the following ad? vertisements, published for the first time this morning: D. C. Peixotto-Auction sales. Notice to Merchants. Limestone Springs School.