Abbeville press. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, September 21, 1866, Image 1
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. . *
BY W. A. LEE AND HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1866. VOLUME XIV. NO. 23.
r i i . .
EVENIHO BOAT BONO.
EDWIN noSSITEft J0IIX80N*.
The shadows creep along the deep
And up the silent river,
"While softly through the central blue
Faint rajs of starlight quiver.
So fade lire's light, so falls its night,
And mantles all in sadness,
Till stars of love shine out above
And fill the soul with gladness
Tito homeward main we slowly gni'i
With every oar stroke's cadence,
And Icavo a shore nil peopled o'er
With fairy men and maidens.
'Tisthus we glide on Tiina's dark tide,
To Inbor's solemn measure.
Death's shore to find, and leave behind
The Flowery isles of pleasure.
^ ? ?
A MIRROR,
IN WHICH MANY PEOPLE HAY SEE
THEMSELVES REFLECTED.
BY SYLVANUS COBB, JR.
'Albert, I wish you would let me Lave
seventy-five cents.'
Kate Landman spoke very carefully,
for sbe knew that her husband had not
roach money to spare; yet she apoke earnestly,
and there was a world of entreaty in
her look.
'What do you want seventy-five cents
for V asked Albert, not very pleasantly.
'I want to get some braid for my new
dress.*
'I thought you had the materials all on
band fbrthfet.'
'So I thought I had ; but Mrs. Smith and
Mrs. Thompson both have a trimming of
braid upoa theirs, and it looks very preltr.
I* r?i.: Li. ?i .
it is ?c?y mamuuiiiiiu. vnu nceriaiuiy aaus
much to the dress.'
Plague take these women's fashions!
Your endless trimmings and thiug-a-magigs
cost more than the dress is worth. It's
nothing but shell out money when onco a
woman thinks of a new dress.'
'Surely, Albert^! don't have many new
dresses. I try to be as economical as I
cin.' ........
'It's a funny kind of economy, at all
events. But il you must have it, I suppose
you must.' - ;
And Albert Landman took out hia wallet,
and counted out the seventy five cents;
but he gave it grudgingly, and when he
put the wallet back into his pockct, he did
it with an empliAais which seemed to say
nini ug nuuiu'l l> UtKC lb OUC BgHW IOf B
week.
When Albert reached the outer door, on
his way lo his work, he fouud the weather
so threatening t'jat he concluded to go
back and get.his umbrella, and upon re-entering'thd
eitting-room he found bis wife
in tears. {fte tried to hide the fact that she
had been weeping, but she bad been caught
in the act, and she was asked what it
hieant.
'Good gracious!'"cried the husband. 'I
should like to know if you are crying at
what I s&id/about Jour dress !'
wasn't crying at wbat you aaid, Albert,'replied
Kate, tremulously; 'but you
were so relactant to grant me the favor. I
was thinlcing how hard I work--bow I
am tied to. the house?how max\y_ little
things X lTftve to perplex me; and then to
;
O, pebavif! Wha( do you want to Wso
fooliJi for 2'
And away started Albert Landman a second
time; but not to escape so easily.
In tb9 ball be was met by bU - daughter
Lizzie, a /bright^eyecj, rosy-cheekfd girl,
ten years of age.
O, papa, give mo fifteen cents.'
.'WbattV ' !
'O, I want fifteen cenla.. Do please give
it to me,,' ,
'WUaiiq't$}fr worfd do'yoti wwt of it!
Are tbey changing echool?books again ?'
lf0
?Bet* I ?T- . *
47oown?e t u ff youwant a boop go upd
get one off from an old barrel. J can't ?f>
. Tleaie. papa.' T '. r - . H - *- -
" JoS r ' ' , } " * vr: K-1
i* ?U?*i -wiw <0*ti itritk,
Iwuw, ?nd ?nh<? cbitd'B sobbinff-brdlref atvooibk^^li&^&ed
fro*
^.._ -<- '' ..... ...= - -ifaOfa&fi*
that household; for llio husband and
wifo really loved each other devotedly,
and wore, at lieai t, kind and forbearing.
When Albert came to his dinner
Kate greeted him with a hiss, and in a moment
the sunshine came back ; and had
tho lesson ended there the husband might
have fane'ed that he had dono nothing
wrong?that tho clond had been but the
exhalation of a domestic ferment for which j
no one was particularly responsible ; though
bo might not have banished tho conviction
that women's fashions wero a nuisance and I
a humbug, as well as a frightful draft upon |
husbands' pockets.
After tea Albert did a few chores around
tho house, and then ho lighted a cigar and
walked out. lie had gone but a short1
distance when he mot Lizzie. In her right'
band she dragged an old hoop, which had |
been taken from a dilapidated flour-barrel, j
wmie wun ner ieii sne was rubbing bur,
red, swollen eye3. She was in deep grief, .
for she was sobbing painfully. lie slopped
his child and asked her what was the
realtor.
She answered, as well as her sobs would
let her, that the other girls had laughed at
her, and made fun of her old hoop. The}'
had nice, pretty hoops, while hei\i was ugly
and homely.
'Never mind,' said Albert, patting the
little one upon the head,?for the child'B
grief touched him,?'perhaps we'll havo a
new hoop some time.'
'Mayn't I have one now ? Mr. Grant's
got one left?O ! such a pretty one!'
The Bobbin? bad ceased as the chil(?
caught her father's hand eagerly.
'Not now, Lizzie?not now. I'll think
of it.'
soooing again llie child moved on towards
home, dragging the old hoop after
her.
At ono of the stores Albert Landman
met soma of his friends.
'Hallo, Albert, what's up ?'
'Nothing in particular.'
'What d'ye Bay to a game of billiards
?'
'Good ! I'm in for that.*
And away went Albert to the billiard
hall, where he had a glorious timo with his
friends. He liked billia* Is. It was a
healthy, pretty gatuo; and the keeper of ;
the hall allowed 110 rough-ecuff upon his
premises.
They had played four games. Albert (
had won two, and his opponent had won ,
two. ,
'That's two-and two,' cried Tom Piper.
'What d'ye say to saddling 'em off?
'All right?go in,' replied Albert, full of
animation. ,
So they played the fifth game, and lie
who lost was to pay for the five games.
It was an exciting contest; both made capital
rans; but in the end Albert was?beatten
by just three points, and, with a light (
laugh, lie went up to settle the bill. Five
games?twenty cents a game?just one
dollar. Notmuoh that for such sport;
and he paid out the money with a good
grace, never once seeming to feel that he
couldn't afford it.
'Have a cigar V said Tom. ,
Ye#.1"
They lighted their cigars, and' then
sauntered down the hall to watch other
players.
By and by Albert fonnd himself seated
over against a table at which some of bis
friends were playing, and close by him
ftlnnil I.WA rrant lomnn ~ * ?
?..w gwubiviMHU UVIU OH ail^CAO LU
bira?one of wborowras explaining to Ibe
other tbe mysteries of the game.
It is a healthy pastime,' said be wb*.\
bad been, making,-th'e^ explanation; 'and
ceoUiifily^U-is oba irliioli can baveno evil
tendency.'
: Albert beard tbe^emarks very plainly,
and be bad ? curiotnity to bear. what tbe
other, who seemed unacquainted with billiards,
would say. ' v
. 1 cannot,- of course,, assert ? that puiy
whiob Ufree A^.the. Attendant corse of
gaming, is of itself an evil,' remarked the
second gentleman. 'Such things aro only
W'Ufa. M *
game,' raid the first Bpealrc*.
I fallow iintwo^' Fir?V: It ??o lead
Mfc*oiTfciw?; and, S*
l|K
will .uuUmudao, t ?#nl4*<*?y *w?
? i > v. - .'
- - '
\ *
i ..' '/ ' . v .. ' .
but whenever I visit a place of this kind I
am led to reflect upon a most strange and
promiuent weakuess of liumnn nature as
developed in our sex. For instance, observe
that young man who ia just now settling
his bill at the desk. He looks like a
mechanic; and I should sny,from his manner,
anil from tho fact that he feels it his
j duty to go home at this hour, that he has a
| wife and children. I see bv his face that
| ho is kind-hearted and generous, and I
[should judge that he mcajit to do about as
near right as ho can. He haB been beaten,
and he pays one dollar and forty cents
tor the recreation of some two hours' duration.
If you obecrve, you will see that ho
pays it freely, and pockets the loss with a
sinile. Happy facility ! But how do you
suppose it is in that young man's homo ?
Suppose his wife had coino to him this
morning and asked him for a dollar to
spend for some trifling thing?some household
ornameut, or some bit of jewelry for
tho adornment of her person,?and suppose
his litllo child had put in a plea for forty
cents to buy paper dolls and picture-books
with, what do you think would have been
the result? What do you think he would
have answered ? Of fifty men just like
him would not five?and-fortv have der.lnr
ed that they had not the money to ppare
for any mch purpose? And, moreover,
thoy would have said bo, filing that tliey
wore telling llio truth. Atn I not right?'
'Upon my soul,' responded the man who
understood billiard*, 'you speak to the
point. I know that young man who has
just paid his bill, and you hare not misjudged
bim in a single particular. And,
what 13 more, I happen to have a fact at
hand to illustrate your charge. We have
a club for nn excellent literary paper ir.
our village, and last year that young man
~ e 1 mi
wuo uiie ui me uuomjriuers. j.uis year ne
felt obliged to discontinue it. His wife
was very anxious to take it for it bad become
a genial companion to lier in ber leisure
moments ; but he could not afford it.
The club-rate was one dollar and fifty
cents per year.'
'Aye?and so it goes,' said the other
gentleman. 'Well that man's wife may
at this very moment bo wishing that Bbe
had her paper to read, he is paying almost
its full price fcr a year ?for what? And
yet see how btniling he does iu Ah ! these
poor, s3'mpalhizing wives 1 Dow many
/i 'jfl-nn imnn f? **** l -
wMinvu u|;vu kUUMI IIUIU IUO UlUWH
of their husbands when they ask for trifling
iuma of money, and how grudgingly the
mite Is handed over when it is given. What
perfect floods of joy might that dollar and
forty cents havo poured upon the children
of the unsuccessful billiard-player. Ah !
it is well for such wives and children that
they do not know whero all the money
goes 1
The game had finished at the nearest
table; the two gentlemen moved on; and
Albert Landman arose'from bU seat and
loft the ball. Never before had be buch
thoughts as now possessed him. He bad
never dwelt upon the same grouping of
ideas. That very morning his own true,
faithful, loving wife had been sad and heart*
sick Decause be had UarahJy and unkindly
met her request for a small sum of money.
And his sweet Lizzie had crept away to her
home almost broken-Hearted for tbe want
of a simple toy such aa hW mates possessed.
And yet the sum of both their
wants amounted not to so much as he bad
paid away that evening for billiard-playing.
Albert Landman wanted to be an honest
husband and father, and the lesson was
not lost upon him. On his way home he
stopped at Mr. GrAnt>, apd purchased the
best and prettiest hoop to be found, with a
driving-stick painted red and white and
blue, and in tbe morning, when be beheld
his child's delight. and bad received ber
grateful, happy kiss, the question came to
hi* ?- .u. v?. ? ^ *
...... - .. Uivu nM I LSD UtSDl HHU ncp- |
pleat result?this, or the five games it Bil~
liardB* The hoop h ad coat tlliHjf c^=?
He copM play, two game* lees. At billia rd*,
and be the aba olate miner of ten oentl by
;&U* morningi, t|<Wr tbi?MAlbert
UOH from the breakout table, he A&ttnd
sn abeaay, wistful took ^ufcon jbk wlWi
&04. j ,.V'. ' . . ^
lex this morning.' ,& ,tmimiv I
<G*fcfoJy< mf U**. Anything in n><
_ ?? * a?r.jA' .r4*>'--m L*? . ...
y?p WJ* Ana om WM
the waDct, ?ad the tnooef Ml b*6d?d
iftfeM Wwitpowt^
Xs . iv. . 1 .- '. *
scenes on his part, Ibnt so pimple an act ol
loving kindne&s thus affected hor ?
How many games of billiards would be
required to give such satisfaction as Albert
Landman carried with him on that
morning to his shop?
A very simple 6tory, is it not? But how
many may gain lasting profit by giving
liced to the Icseon ?
SPEECH OF MR. HA8KEL.
Mr. Haskki.?The legislative authority
the pxpmilivn nnilmriin nn^
M.IV..VI??J Ullli bliu JUUI^Itt
power?tho branches forming our government,
arc vested in Iho General Assembly
the Governor, and superior and infciiot
courts of law and equity. The one tc
frame, another to execute, and the third tc
determine the law, and the three intended
to act in concert, to furnish, sustain and
balance their co-ordinate powers, and ont
lias not the right, in the spirit of our Constitution,
to intrude the letter of its powei
upon tho other, to distort its figure and de'
IrtTT Ua mi- I Ml
I upoianuii. i no out now brought
beforo llio House introduces this Radical
usurpation of power for the suppression ol
equal and co existent authority. Upon
the Legislature was originally imposed the
duly to elect the Governor and to frame
the court. Would it not have been revolution
and tho Legislature in the first instance
deemed it expedient to delay the
performance of these duties ? Is it not
equally a violation of tho Constitution to
suspend tho operation of an existing power
?
A Stay Lnw has been passed. Under
tho iaw it was brought before the Judicial
power, contained in a body of men who
are placed by the wisdom of our Constitution
nlin*n tlio loini nf ?t
_ .mm * ?>! ? vi pumiuni (JOirupilOD,
who are chozen by reason of the integrity
of their character, the power of their intel?
lcot and their high legal attainment. By
this body it was pronounced unconstitutional
; and we thought that the subject
was exhausted.
But Mr. Speaker, a popular clamor has
beon raised ; a spirit of party and of individual
interest prevails, and has b ought
before this House a bill, the immediate effect
of which is to violate the balancing
strength of a Republican power; to cause
ihfl Legislature to usurD the authority nf
and to chain and fetter its compeer; a bill
whose ultimate results is injury beyond our
power to realize. Sir, the subject has been
exhausted, llie decision of the Court of
Errors lies before us balanced by the solitary
voice of one dissent. If that decision
has not produced conviction, it is vain for
one of my crude and unlearned mind to
lay hasty and all-digested arguments before
this House. But something called
popular feeling is driving us forward to a
new form of action equally unconstitutional
in a direct legal point of view, and ten
times more disastrous in the political revolution
to wbicb it gives birth. Not only
does this bill impair the obligation of contracts
; not only does it annul, by suspending
the enforcement of obligation of contracts,
the fundamental principle by wbicb
i .1 : - ...... -
uau ia uuuuu iii (Bouiai lies wiin Dta teliow
creatures And constantly reminded that law
exista and tbat penalty will be inflicted ;
not only does it tbaa foster crime and impair
justice; bat in addition to all this it
grosely violates tbe Constitution by a subterfuge
; it assumes control and direction
of tbe judicial power, and under cover of
tbe letter it evades tbe spirit. I said tbat
we are told that popular feeling drives ua
forward. But I say that the feeling has
been excited by previous unwise legislation,
has been developed by ingenious ma?
clunation, and baa bean wrrmerlit t/? ?<??
WV ??
highest pitchby some who came forward
as its representative*, who gave aid to its
creation and then fall back upon It for support.
To meet and refute this sentiment is
all that I can do. To declare the Constitution
with the breath drawn from the tils*
tory of its founders, bus been donet btft fasts
(ailed to jftoduce calmiug effect upon Radical
Slay Law legi?latore. Tbey hare indulged
in a mere \ form,of argument, and
tfaatforf^Valctfflhe jrtfe spirit rnanlwa>
cry b*en rataed. The first who
brought, fonrard.this anesliofl. (he mntU
man fromNewWry,-hue di*cWm*d bia re'S5sE?SSS
[ toow. tte feMBltofcf fttf
i lo**d oid?r U|? cover of a?JMfc *hre*t?*#
[ weight. Bui, Mr. Speaker, I cannot cast
my vote against this bill without expressi
ing my abhorrence of its nature and roak?
ing one effort to ward off the harm which
; would result from its passage.
Tlio chairman of the Special Commmittee
declares that he looks not to individual
; cases but to the condition of the State,
and this he strive?, as we should strive, to
amend. His principle is correct, but his
, estimates are wrong. Ind' iduals have
[ lost proporly to the amount of several
hundred millioni; but it is a blunder in
, I>uiivi\>iii tvwuumjr uj a?v tlini IIIU OIB10 1188
lost beyond the amount of military rnvai
ges and the disorder of its laboring power
? produced by material change in political
I and domestic relations. What is the
wealth of a State ? It is its productive
> power, and that in our Southern State do
ponds upon the soil and tho labor. The
r soil remains the same, tho material for la
bor remains, the possession of labor having
1 passed from the whito master to the colorI
ed frcedman, and if the government is rcr
storod the strongest intellect and the great
est energy will control the labor. But by
i interruption nod revolution, and the wastoi
ful spirit or expenditure engendered and
sustained by the Stay Law, our people now
stand without Ibe means requisite to coni
duct our wort. To get this, the country
mast bave credit, and to obtain credit, tbe
creditor must know that the obligations ef
a contract can be enforced, and more tbau
that, thnt he lends to a creditable people
who are not Imbitunied to look to repudiation
and stay as tbe result of indebtedness.
When tbe gentleman speaks in the
name of the people he must look to the
interest of the State?for that constitutes
the public weal, he must restore credit by
denying the Stay Law and restore our oro
ductive power by the capital which credit
will invite. If he is true to the State, as
we know bim to be, her welfare mustovercome
individual claims. Our present condition
is the result of an honorable effort
to sustain our constitution. Did he not
incite ua to the steps which led to the
war ? And now can he bewail its results
instead of enduring them, and vainly endeavor
correction bv abandoning the great
spirit of our law wntoh has for nearly a
century psst made our credit intangible by
slander and all powerful in our need ? Is
it an argument to us to evade the Constitution,
to cite that it has been violated by
others; to quote from the gentleman's
speech, "that a Republican President by
tbe stroke of his pen has destroyed our
properly?" Does this example qualify
this legislative body to violate tbe Constitution,
in whose support our great patriots
have died, leaving us here a remnant, feeble
id hand, but strong in heart I trust, to 1
preserve, inviolate that portion of the Con
stitution which tbe rude victor has left
unsullied t And I would remind the gen- 1
tleman that tbe gift of a patriot's labor 1
was not to ba offered mile whilo iIia <
lasted, but should be now and after it as j
was then, and that its object never dies. 1
Tbe war was for what we deemed the '
spirit of the Constitution, and against what 1
we deemed evasion of that spirit The 1
same spirit of the people should survive
our loss or we may well be told that tho
intemperance of prosperity led us to rash
war, and that fortitude in adversilv doea
not adorn our virtues. To retain our vir* I
tue ia our only hope; pass this bill which <
tends to destroy it and we are doomed.
Before the Stay Law was again passed in
1865,1 heard no citizen ef my constituent
cy advocate repudiation of private debtsu
?ince that time it is urged by men who
one year ago would have loathed auch an
insult to law and morality. N?w their
conscience is relieved by legislative action,
and repudiation ia their cry. It ! is true
that the gentlemen who, carried the Stay
Last brought forward ' resolution most
honorably aud broadly denouncing repudi
m* ' x
: r!$?t i f
of that which delays the eqforociaeni of ;
worthy when the tl^ptioMO? *i 4he(.aft- '
' ihi-'p&tfh?' W? *1
t*M be?n Ibe acU&a of $H ? ? H?i- '
u fc- ^ ^ 1
mTu'J"u 7T !
ud waipm^ot. M.mi. Ml ,<#** J
Oooftfor tfa? f ra??at; bat wfcm }
+mm fee wUlukaaow, Mr* It tfa* to 4
noon* ^ R*K*1 <
Oohtrt*. * ;<*v' '"**.?<( ?.***? V.?>*Kv'? na ' &
I'*.. 'i ??! ,')*?;; ?ii j't..;,v;^'', ... . u-t
? " .</ -V'W&Zi
> '.'' -.-r:.
The chairman of the Special Committee
from which this bill has emanated, who
will perhaps permit me to jecognize him *
as the able leader of the Stay Law faction,
has called upon this assembly to listen to
the demands of the people. I appeal to
the samo, tbe sovereign power of the peo- *
pie, of whose government wo are con
tinent part, and whoso will, as represented
in their Constitution, wo are bound to.obey.
lie refwrs to popular clamor, I, to the great
voice of the whole people. This is the
Constitution of the State, and the power
yielded to enter the United States. In
both it iB forbidden "to pas* an ex post
facto law, or law impairing the obligation
of contracts." I do not enter hero into legal
discussion, and only look .to history to in?
terpret. Tho time was, shortly after the
war of the Revolution,circumstances much
the same as now exibt, and it iB clearly
shown by the simple referenco made by tho
Court of Errors, to tho opinions of L. Mar tin,
Davie, Madison and Pinckney, that
this section was meant to prohibit to the
pcoplo the right to yield for a moment to
inr.niilaA or niifForinrr tn mh. ?? l?<? ?
?v a ion ttuivjU
delays, suspends or dimmish^ the power
which the law promised, to enforce r^'Sa"
tion. A learned chief justice says : "Thd
evil which the Constitution intended to
guard against?was not the act of passingtho
law, but the effect incident to the operation
of such a law." The first effect is
plain; it will be tho annihilation of publichonor,
and the impairment of private honesty
which will force the continuance of this.
delay. No gentleman will deny that the>
absolute suspension of the action of the
Court would be unconstitutional, and, if *
for one terns, why not for two, and why
not indefinitely, and bow does this not im
pair ?fae obligation of the contraot? 1 aak
uow if it is not cruel, if it is not unfair, and .
if it is not dangerous to advocate a course and
frame a law which will make our peo- pie
wish and attempt to do that whioh they
hare no right to do, and which 'was surrendered
to the United Staes, and by the i
United States, nnder whose govrernment
we exist. 1 eay dangerous, because it ia
fraught with evil which the gentleman .
may not have contemplated. The bill bus*
pends the action of courts in civil cases
(except perhapa^cases of tort, why not tort.)
The President of the Uuited States has
issued proclamations which remove milita- ry
government for the reason expressly *
slated tint the civil government has been -< *
restored, and is now in operation. Can a
stronger contradiction be thrown before
bim tbnn the absence of power to enforce
the obligation of a contract f Sir, the gen*
tleman closes our court. The first and
plain effect is to make rapid transfer of all
debts over $500, bevond the State, to be
brought before tbo United States Court.
The next may be to revive the worst form
of military government to suppresa domestic
revolution, and place a blue coat in our
courts, to be called the administrator of
justice. The Civil Rights Act and Freedman's
Bureau together will afford adjudication
to the negro and ho will be rnnde
the medium through whom the white man
may strive to obtain bis rights, Sec. 4 .
aw Tv nf t.-.'
>un I > Ml tug vuuotlkUUUU Ui Witt . UDlMd
States. - x "
VThe United States aball guarantee to
every State in tint Union ^Republican
form of Government." 8ec. 8 Art. VI. in
directing the oath of office $ be taken by
the constituent parte of the Republican
form of government in each States does
not say simply all the offioers of the government,
but says, "The members of the
several State Legislatures, and all execu-*?;?a
?4 -e iv_
<?u juuiuim uiuuflu ui me wnru
State# shall hp, Soupd byoaih
tion, to rapport tb.if CoBftiUition^ w,
A Radical l?d?rbM r?*nUy Jadtfed
tbati if Bbod*'Ulsi^ fight of
valua M ***
vonia d*prfea4*Mptopfe of ? Jfc^Hfeui
4jN*Him*ni,' *b* tfcatOotfgiafc
would inUf$ow?Uod?tlwI^C*mu
fMhu iMf *>*rl?t fattridti*
rhuifti gimthwa *? vguemt; *w?k
tfffltterfcftpc Ioom to tmali
irtilch ft*
*&*?*
('j i iit
t?V?l ?xv &>itf* ->-,$ $* ?m >je*v;o? '