The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, November 28, 1867, Image 2
AN ELOQUENT SPEECH.
A. Democratic ratification meeting
was field at the Cooper Institute, New j
York, on the night of the 31st ultimo, j
At this meeting Hon. 1). V.\ "Voo-!
rhees, of Indiana, was the principal
orator, and lie came fully up to tlie
occasion, delivering a speech rarely
excelled in power. We extract from ;
it the following sad but truthful delineation
of the oppression of our country:
"In our school books we learned to
mourn over the cruel fortunes of IV ,
land, and to flame with indignation ;
against her barbarial executioner; the
funeral and wailing shadow of murdered
Hungary convulsed this couti-j
nent a few short years ago, and made j
the name of Austria hateful to the;
ears of the cililizcd world; the per- j
turbed spirit of Irish liberty walks j
the earth at all hours, in all its dis- j
tant four quarters, adding every disci- j
pie of freedom in every clime beneath |
the sun to their train 01 lonowcrs,
and pointing to England as the odious
assassin of a people entitled to he
free; but, at our own doors, under
the folds of our own flag, a vast and
magnificent portion of the American
Itepublic lays this hour in a condition
beside which Poland, Hungary,
and Ireland arc the radiant homes of
happy freemen?it lays there a victim
to a needless, vengeful and remorseless
tyranny, beside which the
worst tyrannies of the old worid are
liberal and respectable forms of government.
Instead of ten States existing
in their original beauty and
strength, as our fathers made them,
we have incorporated into the same
work of the American Itepublic, live
military districts entirely unknown
to the Constitution, and utterly inconsistent
with the first and plainest
principles on which our Government
was founded. Not a vestige of civil
liberty remains beneath the shadow
of this stupendous usurpation. The
great muniments of freedom?those
high and adamantine walls of personal
4V>,. wlintu ?'L'ilOr
ill St'l/Ul 1 1 Ul ations
have toiled with bloody .sweat,
have all perished under the destructive
and treasonable assaults of Congress.
The right to the wtit of hobcen
corpus?that resplendent right of freemen
by which the hand of unlawful
power can alone be restrained, now
lies dead, powerless and despised on
the very battle plains where its enjoyment
was secured by the surrender
of Cornwallis to Washington.?
Trial by jury is a mockery, a delusion,
and a snare at Eutaw Springs,
the Cowpens and Guilford House.?
Over the sunken graves of the Revo
A. uxor ** <1.
of Congress, controls elections and
dictates the use of the elective franchise
at the mouth of the cannon and
with levelled muskets. Aye, the Southern
sky of the American heavens is
shrouded in black. Once it was
filled with stars more radiant and
lovely than Arcturus, Orion, or the
Pleiades. Our fathers of immortal
memory planted them there. They
burned with the light of liberty rcg?Kxt
l.iir "Rnf-. tlmv burn tin
ui aiui u j inn. -^v?w v
more. Rayless and quenched they
wander in a dark and trackless void.
The baleful wrath of Radicalism, coming
up thick and poisonous as the
"dimmest suioke of licll'" lias extinguished
one-third of the constellation
of the American glory. Who
will question the fidelity of this picture?
Who so bold as to deny that
Congress has overturned every institution
of free government in those
regions now held by military power?
And who dares to say that lie finds a
warrant for this action in the C011stitutiofi
which an oath requires him
to support? But the stable and miserable
answer to this terrible accusation
is that the people of the South
have been in rebellion and deserve
no better at the hands of victorious
power. Does this fact, even if it
were so, justify revolution, usurpation,
broken oaths and deliberate
treason on the part of Congress ? Ad- j
mit that the South attempted to rcv4-lia
fi-z-umvumnn!' n ml
UlUtlUliJZi^ v.w
stroy its institutions, does that mitigate
the crime of the North in completing
what the South labored for in
vain ? No ! Nor can this destructive
and despotic policy be pursued with
impunity to the North itself. While
it is only your neighbor who is prostrate
by the wayside, bruised and
bleeding, the priest and the levite of
Radical vengeance will pass on heedless
of his groans. While the Soutli
alone suffers in chains, the North
may still sleep softly on the bed of
luxurious wealth. But the day is
close at hand when the blighting influences
of a standing army and military
power in one section of the
country will be spread and be felt
over all. Indeed, the day is now already
upon us. The public mind of
the North is almost fatally accustomed
to acts of Federal usurpation?
We have stood with folded arms in a
species of astonished apathy, while
pillar after pillar of the temple of
nr institutions has been torn away,
ntil I fear, at times, that if the sa- j
crcd edifice itself should fall, we1
would be content to emerge from!
the ruins Avitli no present intention
of rebuilding its glorious proportions.;
A wandering Committee of Congress j
is now tra /cling at the public expense
over the face of the country, commissioned
to enquire whether certain*;
States, some of whom were born with ,
the 11 evolution, have republican forms !
of government. The public mind;
scarcely heeds such monstrous proceeding.
This committee is as lawless
iii its formation, and with no more
legal power to enter upon such a mission
than so many Italian Banditti,
and so all men km-Tv; yet they arc at
their work at the home and grave of j
Henry Clay and by (lie tomb of!
Pinckney, preparing to destroy other
and more States and subject them to
the increasing and insatiate demands
of military force.
ti-i3 alabama convention.
aiuxtgo.mliiiv, A i.a., November 21.
The following is the article on the
elective franchise, as finally adopted
| by the Reconstruction Convention as
! a part of the nev.' constitution:
iSi?tJ. 1. Every mala' person, born
in the United Stales, and every male
person who has been naturalized, or
who has legally declared his intention
i-/ '
to become a citizen of the United
States, twcnty-onc years old, or upwards,
who shall have resided in this
State six months next preceding the
election and three months in the
County in which lie oilers to vote, except
as hereinafter provided, shall be
declared an elector. Provided, That
no soldier, sailor or marine iri the
military or navai service of the United
State, shall hereafter acquire a
residence by reason of being stationed
on duty i.i ibis Slate.
SKt*. 2. It shall be the duty of the
General Assembly to provide, from
time to time, for the registration of
all electors, but the following classes
of persons shall not *e permitted to
register, vote or hold office: First?
those who, during the late rebellion.
inflicted, or caused to be inflicted, any
cruel or unusual punishment upon
soidier, sailor or marine, employee or
citizen of the United States, or vlio,
in any other way, violated the rules
of civilized warfare. Second?those
who arc, or may be, disfranchised by
the proposed Constitutional Amendment,
known as the fourteenth article,
and the Act of Congress passed March
2, 1807, except such persons as have
aided the plan of reconstruction proposed
by Congress, and accepted the
political equality of all men before the
law. Pro nTli a t General A^~
' semwy sIiuIT have power to remove
the disabilities incurred under this
last chaise. Third?that (Iiosc who
shall have been convicted of treason,
embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance
in office, crime punishable
by law with imprisonment in the penitentiary,
or bribery. Fourth?no
idiot or insane person shall be permitted
to register or vote in this
State.
Six'. 3. All persons, before registering,
must take and subscribe the
following oath : "I do solemnly swear,
(or affirm) that I will support and
maintain the Constitution and laws of
the United States, and the Constitution
and laws of the.State of Alabama;
that I am not excluded from registering
by any of the clauses in section
2 of this article; that I will never
countenance or aid in 1 ho secession of
this ?tate from the United States;
that I accept the civil and political
equality of all men, and agree not to
attempt to deprive any person or
persons, on account of color, race or
nvoviniw r>niu1if'irm nf !imr nnlii-tful or
I ^ , ?J
civil right, privilege or immunity enjoyed
by unv other class of men; and,
furthermore, that I "will not, in any
way, injure, or countenance in others
any attempt to injure, any person or
persons, on a ccount of past or present
support of the Government of the
United States, or the principle of the
political and civil equality of all men,
or of affiliation with any political party-"
Resolutions were adopted, express- j
ing entire satisfaction with the military
administration ofMaj. Gen. John
Pope, and tendering him the thanks
of the people of Alabama, for the firm
and impartial course which he has
pursued. Three votes were given
against these resolutions. Several
brunches of the Constitution were considered
and adopted, involving unimportant
changes in the old Constitu
tion, except the creation of the ofiicc
of Lieutenant-Governor. The Convention
"will probably complete its
work this v.*eek. .
??
reconstruction policy of TILE j
South.?Via extract the following'
from an article in the National In- j
telligcnccr, upon the subject of recoil- j
struction, giving its opinion as to the !
policy of the South under existing j
circumstances:
"It is now probable that all, or
nearly all, of the ten Southern States '
will have Conventions under the Mil-1
itary Reconstruction Acts. For va i
rious reasons attempts to defeat the
call of Conventions have failed. In
some of these States, persevering
efforts will he made, and probably
with success, to reject, by the necessary
majority, any Constitution which
may be submitted to the people for
their acceptance, unless it shall he of
a just and liberal and anti-radical
character. Possibly, in some of the
Stales, the form of a Constitution
may he such as to secure the acquiescence
of the people generally. A
constitution removing from citizens
all disabilities arising from participation
in the rebellion, and placing
suffrage upon the same basis which
exists in Pennsylvania, Connecticut,
Ohio, New Veil:, and other Northern
j States; but such a Constitution would
be rejected by Uongrcss. v> cji, 11 it
be thus rejectci!, t!ie State will sim])]y
remain under military government,
till the process of organisation
be again undertaken.
"It is absurd to suppose that
Congress, in litis case, will resort to
positive measures?to Confiscation,
disfranchisement, &c. The people
will not tolerate this. The only salvation
for the South and J#r the
whole country, is to he found in the
possible chance that the Southern
people will reject Constitutions fixing
upon them and upon the whole Union,
the despotic rule of the radical party,
through the establishment of negro
supremacy.
Tiik Deaiockatic Emblem?"Ye
Roostee."?A correspondent of the
Ohio Statesman enquires why the
Rooster is used by the Democracy as
an emblem of victory. That paper
replies:
Because the game Rooster is the
gam est bird, when encroached upon
by his fellows, that ever existed, and
the Democracy is the gamest party
that ever voted at an election or
resented oppression. Both the party
and its emblem, when they go into
the figlit, make it a matter ol hie or
death. Both may be whipped, but
act conquered, fur giving up when
once in the fight, is a word unknown
to the practice of the Rooster aml.is
net found in the Democratic vocabulary.
The following historical incident
induced the adoption of the emblem ;
During the war of 1312, the British
fleet on Lake Champlain was attacked
by the American fleet under Commodore
McDonough. The fleet of
McDonough, much inferior to that of
the English, suffered terribly in the
first part of the battle. At the moment
when it was xacin.c.-fiov^i* i-Lo.
heaviest fire of the eneny was directed
against the flagship of McDonough
?his men driven from their guns by
the fierce cannonade, and dismay sat
upon every countenance, aiidtheslorui
of iron bail which seemed to threaten
destruction not only to the ship but to
every living soul therein, was at its
height, a cannon hall struck a chicken
coop and knocked it to pieces, killing
ill if f ?i 11 /wl Knf i iimiYiAiif
I Uil 4 1/ VVMJ illll I v\i wm- JiiUHltlll MV/iUlV)
save only a game lloostcr, whose battered
comb bore tlie marks of man}7
a death light. Flying upon the bulwarks
of MeDonough's flagship, the
noble bird, undaunted by the noise
and confusion and carnage around
him, with clarion voice rang out his
notes of defiance and victory.
Sailors arc ever superstitious, and
when, iri the pau.-o of the thunder of
the enemy's cannon, they heard the
shrill "cock-a doodlc-doo," of the undaunted
bird, they gathered new
courage, and repairing again to their
guns, returned anew the fire of the
enemy, cheered by the loud crow of
the brave emblem of the Democracy,
until the battle ended, and MeDonough,
on Lake Champlain, like the
Democracy in Ohio and Pennsylvania
was victorious over the enemies
of the country.
Every naval historian makes mention
of the fact, and history says that
1.11 i J
t:io nravcry snown on that occasion
b}r the Booster was the cuus? of the
victory, by the renewed courage it
gave the sailors in McDonough's fleet.
From that day to this, in political
contests, the lioostcr has been the
Democratic emblem of victory, and
when it is scon in the act of sending
forth its "cock-a-doodle-doo," at the
head of a Democratic newspaper, it
is right to say the country is safe,
for the victory is with the Democracy.
The Cotton Tax and a General
Funding Scheme.?A special
dispatch from Washington to the
"Baltimore Sun," under date of the
lltli,says, that, from the members
of Congress who have been here recently;
and others now in the city,
it appears that there is strong probability
that the tax on cotton will be
repealed shortly after Congress convenes.
The pressure in favor of this
repeal, in all directions of the North;
from influential citizens, is almost
irresistible.
From the same source it is learned
that there is also powerful influences
in favor of a general funding scheme,
covering the whole national debt,
thus extending the time of payment
of our liabilities, and iri the meantime
providing for the gradual liquidation
by judieious'systcm of taxation.
THE JOURNAL."
Thursday, Ravctiibor I8G7.
Superior Cotton Seed.
1Wo call attention to Mr. David Dickson's
advertisement in this paper, of
his select cotton seed, and invite planters
to call at the Journal offieo, or at
the store of C. J. McDowall, Esq., and
see a specimen of the stalk with the
bolls and lint upon it. This cotton
has for some years, borne off the palm
from every other, and been pronounced
unequivocally, the lesl by all who have
trind it. In some resnocts. however.
tlio specimens excel even what wo had
imagined of its superiority. Especially
with respect to its early and uniform
maturity. There being scarcely a boll
which was not fully matured and opened
before frost, among the many with
which the stalk and branches are loaded
and heaped until there is no room
for more.
A few bags of these invaluablo cotton
seed have been left for sale at this office,
and at tin1 store of C. J. McDowall
Esq., where orders will be received for
them until tho supply, which is limited?
shall have boon exhausted.
The Trial of Mr. Dsvis.
"While wc write, another scene in
the great drama of the revolution is
being enacted at Richmond. Mr. Davis
is at last put upon his trial for
treason, a crime so clearly defined by
judicial writers, that no tyro in tho law
can doubt for a moment, his acquittal
from the charge, if anything else be
consulted than the bitter prejudices of
party interest It may be that his conviction
is predetermined in the councils
of Radicalism, as surmised by the
.Foreign Press, and perchance the office
of the Chief Justice is to be invoked to
add the externals of dignity and solemnity
to a party mout court, but iu the
great forum of tho eulightencd public
opiuion of the world, Mr. Davis stands
acquitted now, and must ever remain
so, of amenability to?tho law of treason.
Tlio head of a great belligerent power
which measured the strength of a
great nationality with tho United States
for four years of mortal struggle, taxing
the full power of the great Bepublic
its inmost strexen or endurance, mu9t
bo treated in law as a public enemy,
entitled to tho protection of tho laws of
civilized warfare, and cannot be condemned
as an obscure leader of seditious
agitation against tlio peace of tho
State. But when \Vc come to consider
the groat constitutional principles upon
which State secession rested, wo encounter
tho nether millstone, upon
which tho flimsoy arguments of the
treason of Mr. Davis must bo ground to
powder. The very incorporation of the
abnegation of the right of secession into
tho oath of allegeanco, and the corresponding
amendment of tho Constitution
of tho United States, is sufliciont to
show that 110 such principle as the perpetuity
o; tho Union against the will
of tho States, was heretofore a settled
and recognized feature of tho Government,
and is quite enough for the dofouco
of Mr. Davis. That principle
was incorporated into our system as a
result of the war. It was the one necessary,
logical sequence of the bloody
issue, and henceforth, secession will be
treason, but that decision cau claim no
retroactive force to affect the case of Mr.
Davis. For ourselves, we are freo to
confess, that we have long desired that
this trial should take place, because it j
will furnish the triumphant argument j
of the jurist against tho criminality of
those who obeyed the mandates of their !
nntivo States to which, they believed
their primary allegiance to havo boon
justly due. The proceedings of this
trial will bo read throughout the world,
and millions will learn therefrom, the
true nature of this government, before 1
the war, and the great principles which j
arrayed the tvisest and best of the land !
on the side of the seceding States.
Since the abovo was written and put
in type, the telegraph informs us, that j
the trial of Mr. Davis, at the instance !
of the Counsol for tho Government, has !
been postponed till the :22nd of March, j
The postponement was made in order to !
havo Judgo Chase to sit with Judgo .
UiiDEiiwooD on tho trial.
The Impeachment^of'President Johnson. ,
It is a singular coincidence that the 1
impeachment of Mr. Jouxsox" and the .
trial uf Mr. Davis should bo engaging
tho public attention at the same moment.
That anything serious will como
out of the attempt to impeach the Pros- :
Ldcnt, we cannot bring ourselves to bo-'
lieve. It is a party measure and noth- i <
ing more, and in the present temper i:
of the people, is, fur more apt to recoil >
upon the heads of the agitators than to
advance their views. It is dictated by
passion and passion is a blind guide
that inevitably leads its followers into
the ditch. Among the acts proposed
to Congress, is 0110 that is intended to
provide for tho suspension from office,
any civil officer during tho pendency
.of the charges against him. If this is
intended, us appears to be the case, to i
apply to Mr. Johnson, it is the boldest
specimen of an ex post facto law ever enacted,
and unparalleled in the annals
of the Anglo-Saxon race, since the tyranny
of the Stuarts. If the bill pusses
Ave shall see whether tho President
will yield obedience to a Iuav so utterly
violative of the snirit of libertv and jus
tice. If lie should so yield, tho radicals
will liavo accomplished in advance, all
that thoy could gain by successful impeachment,
and we venture to say tho
trial will never bo had until after tho
next Presidential election. If he should
not submit, then wo shall have something
exciting from "Washington.
"Southern Opinion."
Under this title wo have seen a paper
published weekly at Biclimond
edited by Paul H. Hayne. It is a
large and handsome sheet with much
and most interesting reading matter, in
lino clear type and printed on excellent
paper. Tho vignette at the head of
the paper is well conceived and handsomely
executed and altogether our
first impressions were most pleasing and
favourable to this claimant for Southern
favour. We regret however, that
we are obliged to say, that tho character
of tho correspondence from New
York and Washington in tho number
which wo sow, is such as should iu our
opinion, exclude it from the circle of
any Southern house. The gross scandal
of tho unfortunate Mrs. Lincoln in
the "Washington letter and the meretricious
description in that from New
York of the sensual pantomining
scenes disgracing that city cannot meet
with favour where /Southern opinion
prevails.
Norfolk Oysters.
Friend Rodgkus, of the DcKalb Rouse,
having received a supply of Fresh Oysj
ters, as he always does, rememlxered
J the printers, and on Monday last, sent
| tlioni a sample Can. Our devil, who
has an extensive, if nut long experience
as an epicure in that line, pronounces
them superior to any he has seen for a
long time, and advises those who are
fond of tho article, to call on Mr. It.,
and take a plate fixed up in his inimitable
style. ,
Wheat
We paid a flying visit to tho country
tho first of this week, and are glad to
find that the planters of Kershaw have
sown largely of wheat. On Lynches
Creek, we learned that the breadth of
I laud sown is much larger than was ever
j # #
I known in that section. On several
I plantations by which wo passed, tho
wlioat is up aucl looks very hue.
Tlio farmers of that section, aro pursuing
the right plan?sowing small
grain, and hiring few or no laborers.
Congress.
This august body assembled on
Thursday last.
The proceedings are important only
j so Tar as they iudicate the Radicals.
! "We notice in tho proceedings that
bills liavo been introduced, to enquiro
j the reasons, if any, for continuing tho
! Freedmen's Bureau?to inquiro into
; tho expediency of reducing the regular
army?a resolution returning thanks to
Gen. Schofield, Sickles, Pope and Sheridan,
and a resolution to repeal the tax
on cotton. Tho latter will probably be
passed at an early day.
Jtfc Convention.
1 J} a.1. _ ~
\v u ieu.ru jrom tae v.uiu.iei9i.uij papers
that there is a strong probability that a
majority of the voters of this State has
determined that wo will have no Convention.
Tho JVcics publishes a table
of tho number, who registered and
thoso who voted, and says :?
"It will be observed that the total
registration of blacks was 79,535, and
yet the total black vote "For Convention"
has been only "0,139, or onethird
of tho former number. It is true
that returns havo yet to bo received
from Anderson, Clarendon, Georgetown,
Greenville, Horry, Lancaster,
Lexington, Spartanburg, Sunitor, and
Williamsburg; but bearing in mind .
the ratio of votes in the Districts from
which wo havo received returns to the <
registration therein, it is fair to presume
that not more than 8,000 more J
votes remain to bo reported. Wo have '
not taken into consideration tho num- '
bur of registered while, voters, and it will
therefore be observed that the col. s
J
#
ored people themselves are responsible
for this extraordinary and unexpected
decision. They have remained away from
the polls of their own accord."
The Sqcabe axo Compass.?We have
received a very neatly printed pa- ' A
per of eight pages, bearing the above
title, published at Raleigh, N. C. As
its name indicates, it is a Masonic publication,
but Temperance and General
Literature are not neglected. From: V
the specimen before us, we should say *' V
it is well worthy of the patronage of the y J
craft. With our brother of the Daily
Chronicle, we say, "More light" would ^
certainly be beneficial to Masons; and
we know of no bi tter source from wliichi
to receive it than from such journals as.
the one above mentioned. ^
TheTjCoticn^Q^otationa.
C.VMDKX, 13 to 14c.
- t/v /
clt.vitlf.stox, 15 7-8 to tuc.
Liverpool, 8il to 8 l-4d.
General Joseph Kersiiaw.?
Wo were privileged, during the session
of the Court, last week, to meet
and grasp the cordial hand of General
Joseph B. Kershaw. The General
seemed in fine health and spirits?
his manly form as erect and vigorous
?his intelligent and benevolent eye M
as brilliant, as when he led the brave ^
sons of Carolina in the fight. In ma- I
ny respects, General Kershaw stands;
i forth as one of nature's noblemen.?
| With a sentiment and sympathy as.
tender and humane as that of woman
?and yet with a spirit brave and
fearless, with high manly instincts
and principles, and with a talent of
wh&li any man might well feel proud, ^
he justly ranks among the first men. ^
of the State.?Sumter Watchman.
Wealth^ Coloured Men.?The
following paragraph is going the
rounds of the press:
"There are two coloured men in
Georgetown, D. C,, named Lee and
Conner, who are said to be worth,
fifty thousand dollars each; the first* 4
keeps a feed store, and tho second is a, \
teamster."
The persons referred to arc Alfred;
Lee, the feed dealer, a resident of'
Georgetown, who is well known
throughout this District, where he is,
much respected, and whose property
may no sately set down at a figure
nearer $100,000 than $00,000, and
John Council (not Conner,) a team-. ^
ster, also a resident in Georgetown*
where he has many friends among
the whites, whose fortune does not
reach the latter amount. Besides. ^
these there arc several other respectable
coloured men- in business here
who have accumulated fortunes byindustry
and prudence. Alfred Jones,
a well known feed dealer, of this,
city, is one of these, and he has probably,
made more money than
any other coloured man except A1-.
frcd Lee.
It may be added that the prominent
coloured men above named have
persistently refused to waste their
time and money in the unrcmunerative
business of dabbling with local
politics, and the records of ward
meetings will be searched in vain for
any mention of their sayings and
doings.? Washington Star.
Impeachment not Piiobable.?The
Judiciary Committee held another
session to-day, and all the members
were present, Mr. Woodbridgc, of
Vennnnt. lm.vm<r lino mnm
ing. There is good authority for saysng
that the complexion of the committee
has changed since the last
session?a fact only discovered by the.
committee since the arrival of Mr.
Wood bridge. This change seems to
C O
have taken the members themselves
by surprise. In the meantime, the
Republican friends of General Grant
have inaugurated a movement
looking to a defeat of impeachment,
and the entire suppression
of the testimony. Thcv regard,
the testimony if published, as damaging
to the General as a Radical candidate.
and would suppress it if possible.
The action of the committee
today in determining not to allow any
copies of the printed testimony to get
into the hands of the correspondents
of the press, would seem to prove
that the outside movement for the
suppression of the testimony has some
friends upon the committee.
( '/!) n.4
VV/ jLSt/Otf/C -L Udl*
War and Suicide.?Suicides are
said to have been usually more frequent
after great wars than at other
times. Certainly they have been
more numerous in this country since
the war than ever before. But it i's
not possible, by any analysis or com-'1
parison of cases, to discover any connection
between them and the war.?
There is more, probably, in conncc:ion,
with the corrupt and corrupting
item tore in reading. Suicide lias
generally been deemed infamous.?L'he
law that excluded the remains of
elf murderers from christian bur id