Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL.5I---NO._15 WINNSBORO, S. C.. THURSDAY MORNI1NG, JANA Y11, 1877. ,*,,:. THE WEAKENING CONSPIRACY. Grant Lowering his Key--A Vlair Finger in the Presidential Pie. Correspondence of the Now York Sun. There will bo no war. The wo man that hesitates is lost. Thei Ropublican confederates hesitato. They will lose. The question is arithmetical as wellas Presidential. If Mr. Morton succeds in whipping into party, traces every Ropubican Sonator, Mr. Hayes will be declared Presi dont. If nino Republican Senators value conscience and country higher than party, the will of the popl will be respected, and Mr. Tilden A will be peaceably inaugurated. Nine Republican senators-that is the question. There are twenty nine Democratic members in the Sonate; the other forty-six were all elected either as Independents or Republicans. If the Republican confederates lose but nine members, the Conservatives will have a iia jority of the Senate; a majority that could immediately displace Mr. Ferry ; a majority against which the conspiracy could never succeed. The Presidential problen, therefore, practically resolves in to the simple question whether these needed nine sen.ttors will b forthcoming. My f-answer, based upon closo observa tion, direct information, and peisol al conversation withi members of the Senate, is that these nino will be found on the right sido when they are really needed. Put down Roscoe Conkling for one. Though carefully bent upon avoiding any public avowal of his position, there is not the slightest .reasoni to doubt what that position will be. It will be in favor of honor and honesty and on the side of thc law and Constitution. It will be for the right of Congress to scrutin ize tile electoral returns and reject those that are frauduleilt. It will be against the power of either the Vice President or the Returnig Boards to in dic a President. Those who enijoy the confidence of Senator Conkling know perfectly well that those are his views, though h1e has obvious reasons for keeping them in reserve until the proper time nrrives. Put down James (. Blaine as all other. I see an incredulous smile. "W hat ! Jim Blaie ?" Yes Jim Blaino of Mline. I know whereof I speak. Strange as it imty or nist appear, the two most con spicuous men to thwart the con spiracy and to prevent the count-ing': in of Mr. Hayes will be his two m most prominent rivals for the nomui nation-will be two men who have totally different motives and charac ters, who are themselves nt fiends but old and unrelen ting enemie. I do not speak of Blaine with the same doree of positiveness witi wlii 1 I speak of Conkling, for the simple reason th tt the one is more uniicirtain than the other, But to-day, from trustworthy informa 1ion, it seems probable that Mr. Blaine wvill take Mr. Conkling's position in favor of an honest count. I shall analyze his motives some other time. Suffice it to say that theCy are so~und ,and if lhe does take that p)ositionl, the generous American peole will be likely to forgive and forget eairtain transac Lions, at present neither fully ex plained nor fully exaimined. There' will be no diflieuilty about seven followers if Conkiing and Blaine take the lead. It is thought znore than probable, almost certain, that Senator Robertson, of Southl Carolina, Alcorn, of Mississippi, and Hamilton, of Texas, will be amonmg them. It is known, that Soator Jones, of Nevada, entertains the profoundest admiration for the ab.lity and char'acter of Mr. Conk loi,, ani it is probable that Mr. 4(nos, as well as his colleague, Mr. $Liaron, and such men as Hlarvey, Hitchcock, Wadleigh, Christiancy, Paddock, B3urnside, -Dawes, and even jEdmlunds and Frelinghuysen, would be strongly influenced by -Mr. Conkling's views. But the greatest influence, after all, in favor of the peaceable inu guration of Mr. Tilden is the force of public opinion, the silent but i dient power of right, the daily in creasing evidence of the monstrous -fraud committed by the new con federates in order to count in Hfayes ? Let mne briefly present soe evidence of the ofh'ective operation of these moral forces upon the minds of some of thle most import ant of the new confedoerates ; let me sihow cone'usively that a change has come over the spirit of their dream ; that cmonftidenice in the suc cess of their plot has vanished, and # erious doubt has taken its place. Here are a few facts: Grant talks in an entirely new key. In recent conversation he has shown irritation at the "mistaken viewv of the public;" to use his own language, as to is position. I be liove that Grant's mind has under gone another change within the last fortnight. I know at least, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that in a recent conversation with a most V.. intimate friend, Grant said that lie never expressed or even indicated the opinion that Hayes was elected and would be inaugurated ;. that he (Grant) "would not mix in the matter." but surronder the Govern mont to whomso( 3r wats legally elected, "glad, most glad, to get out of the White House." How longI he will stick to this opinion remains to be seen. In this catego ry I may mention a thing both iu portant and aniusing. The friends of anl honest count havo an ally inl the White House. I trust it is no indelicacy (I know i is the absoluto truth) to say that Mrs. Grant is most emphnatically against tho scheme of the new confedorates to count in Hayes. The plain sonso and womanly instincts of the lady have convinced her that Tilden is fairly elected ; and whatever in fluence she possesses is oxorcised over Gen. Grant to abate his orce p)artisanlship and to neutralize the eOfect of the manipulations of Chandler, Don Cameron & Co. But of this, more some other time. Mr. Ferry, too, talks differontly. Hle, likewise, has changed his mind considerably. It was openly said by Morton that Mr. Ferry would simnply refuse to receive the Tilden returns from the disputed States. But Mr. Ferry has recived them all without a word of objection. It was openly asserted that Mr. Ferry would Count the Electoral votes, and not Congress, and Mr. Ferry for a very long time assented to this at least that studied silence which gives consent. But I hear from a distingu ished Senator from the East that MIr. Ferry has quite recently dentied that he ever clainedt any right whatever to count tho Elector al votes. It was generally asserted and generally believed that the majority in the Sen tto would insist upon )Mr. Morton's idea that the Vice-President, and not Congaos, hatt the power to count. But I near from another prominent Senator that this plan is abandoned, and that a majority of the Senate. will now unquestionably hold that Coll gross has the power to count as well as to reject Electoral roturns, and not the Vice-President. With the abandonment of this plan or with the impossibility of its cxecu tion, the plot must fail. The Re publican confederates are weaken ing all ilong the line. J. P. Governor Hampton and the Pfesidentia Election. Several of our contemporarics out of the State have o(mmonil1l1ted upon 'io recently published letter of G,>rcrn r Hampton to Governor Hayes. These comments have all been kind, and have don, full justice to the patriotism, good sense and oarnest purpose (if Governor Haimp ion. They tttribute to his exces sive love of his Stato and anxiety for its rehabilitation and prospority, and to his general good nature, his ad mission that Governor Hayes, as a p))ssible President, may possibly be instrummental in settling the vexed p,>litical questions which now agi tato the public mind. They difli r withili him upon that point, as we have ditlreed with him, but it may a j ustly formed conclusion of otter minds that it was his (duty to enclose a copy of his letter to the Repub iP (a'1 candidaLte. It was priepar1ed and first transmitted to Governor Til. den, but, upon01 secondl thought, and from a sense of courtesy, and be cause of tihe necessity of constantly maiking p1 dn and clear the peaceful disposition and law-abiding' tetmper of ouri peole, was likewise forwatrd ed to his commpetitor'. Its burden, in other resp~ects than those 1mon1 tioned, was that we of the South shiould discountenance a resort to force iln settling the Presidential qulestioni ; that we nieedl peace, and hope) to see it preserved in the most trying circumstances. So much for tile letter. If an error at all, it *was oneO which leant to the side of p~atriotism and The Columbus (Ohio) correspond - ent of the New York Jlerald has d me a seri.>us inljustic'. to Governor Ha~impton, ninmton tionally, no doubt, aulI through misconception of the statemnentr of Judge '1. J. Mackey as to his p)ositionI. It mlust be known that Governor Hampton had not tile slightest agency in Judge Mackey's visit to Ohio. He dlid not know or inquire what took him there. H-aving informed Governor Hamp ton lhe wasl going thither on p~rivate business, the Governor aivailedi him self of the opportunity of transmit tinig by him a duplicate of his letter to Governor Tilden. The correspondent may have ac-, oepted Judge Mackey's owr1 views to be the same ais G:>vernor IHampton's. But that was a great mistake, cor taiinly. Judge Mackey was a warm supp~lorter of Governor Hampton and did good service to the cause of the people of South Carolina in the late camp)aign. But his opinions are very different from Governor H unp ton's. He is a fine talker, 'but he spoke for himself only, and wve are sure did not claim to give anything more than the letter to which we havo aUudeod as coming from him. Gornor Hlamp ton, of course, thinks, as all well-informed mcor must think, that Governor Tildor was fairly elected President of th< United States. His opinion to thai offect is decided and has been un waivering from the first. He hopor and means that he shall be peaceful. jA inagurted. On the other hand he novOr regarded Governor Hayos ats Olected, and canl never do so until such a claim on the part of his friends and ou his own part has boon con stitiutionally ostablishod. That is as far off as the Grook Kalends. Colunbiu Reister. Crime North and Soutith--ianoralizing Intluences of Slavery. A favorito thomo of the canting organs of "the party of moral id ons" isij the allegod prevalenco of crimo in the South. According to suchi papors ias Iarper's I eekly, the Chicago Trluine, the Philadelphia A mreri(an and others of their class, tho white people of the Southern States iro but one dogroo above barbarians MAuirdor, especially negro killing, is represon tod by theso journals to h) a e oiluo pastime with our young men, while all the minor degroos of crimo are of universal provalonco among our poo ple. While these pious folks deplore our moral depravity, in their chari ty they attribute it to "the demoral izing influences of the institution of slavery." The South needs no viidication from such slanders. We do not claim ontire exIomption fr*om the crimes and vices that deform hit imanity and society everywhere. Our people 110are not free from the prompt ings of temper and passion, and the bad whiskey of the South is as fall of all devilishness as that of the North. Bat, while this is time case, wo lo claii that the criminal re cords Will doniiioiistrite that in pro portion to our population thero are as fow murders committed in the South as in any portion of the Union, and that for tile lesser crimes such as robbery, burglary, arsoI and theft, Georgia will compare favorably with any other section of tile Union. While this is true in general, it cannot be denied that we are far behind Clhie more civilized and onlightened North in morcon ary crime. For the contrivance and execution of mean. heartless and mercenary villainy-for such crimes as the Beecher seduction, the Piper belfry horror, and the Pomeroy murders in Boston, the Charlio Ross kidnapping e.so, for burg. l'ries and bank robberies, the rob bery of graves ani the sanctuaries o churches-tho 1y il, civilized and onlighten d North may justly claim pre-eminnicC. Of this fact the local columns of tile newspapers of the groat cities afford amplo proof. Tuo latest developma&i of t i, peculiar talent which has in the North clevated professional villainy to the rank of a fine art is the re cent hyen L perforiwico in Illinois, tihe star cracksmon in which exploit woro Chicagoans, and dooubtless liabitial ronders of that veracious sheet, brothcr Model'f Tribune. A few days since the co:mntry was shocked by the report that an attempt Iad been made to steal the body of the late President Abraham Lincoln from tie sarcophagus in which it reposes in the monument erected to his memtory near Spring field. There wore vai'ous surises5 ait thle time ats to' whiat coulld be tihe p)ossible object of the resurrection i ts who had b)een banlled iln an at temfpt to steal the remains of the deado iPresidenmt. Thme conclusion arrived at by tile loyal Chicago press was. thait it wais aL diabolical plot by Southern reb~els to desecrate the grave of thle author of the emi)ancipati on proclaima tion, and to "carry out thim ir oft-r'epeaited threat to s-catter whant remained of Father Abraham to the four wvinds of hecaven." An immes amount of pious1 indcignaitionl~L was arl ousd amonmg the loyal ChIicagoans ag'ainst time sacrilegious roboel vamndamls of the South. But we hlave now a very diferent solution of the affair. It turns out that the attonlpt to steal the remains of Lincoln was a purely local enterprise or speCculattion, pltanned and partially executed, not by t h Cicago whiskey ring, but by a ring of Chicago counterfeiters, whose objet was to nccure a large pecuniaury reward from tile govern mnont and' to procure the pardlon of one of thEIr gang by the name of Boyd, who hand recently been con vietedl and sent to tile Illinois peni ten tiary. Boyd is an engraver of cola~'terfeit p)lats, and is an imipor tant member of tile Chicago coun1 tarfeiting fraternity, who it was all important to themn should be set at liberty, Tile plan of the conspira tors was to steal the remains of Lincoln and secrete them, when they confidently exp~ected a large reward wVouldl b) ofiorod for thleit recovery b~y the family and1 by the govern men t. Then they in tendAd to offer through their agent to sAr render tihe romainse inl consideration of the sum of $200,000 and the un conditional pardon of their /con federate Boyd. By a more acdont they failed in the accomplishalnnt of their scheme, and one of th' gang having "poeached," the othe have been arrested, and their wv 1e con spiracy disclosed. Now we admit that, a cool business transaction, this affair has no parallel in the annals fSouthern crime. Could such a mnonstrousi piece of sacrilegious illailny have been planned and c. cuted any wvhere ont of loyal, nm al Chicago ? And yet those Chica hyena% woero never exposod *to I demoralizing influences of slav 'y.--Savannaa a. Nans. The Mackey Houco om Represontatives Is It a Lawful House? We have rocoivod a copy of tl report of a special committee ap. pointed by the Mackey Houso o lopresientativos rolativo to the or gapnization of that body and the con stitutional validity thereof. It is an ingenious and able papoi presenting the most plausible ar gutuent for sustaining the illega: action of Chamborlain and his part) in their usurpatiorL of the authority of the State. Summed up in a foNV words tbo arginout is this: The Board of State Canvassers had full authority to refuso cortificatos to the iembers clot from Laurens and Edgefield. Their action could not be reversed by the Supreme Court. That thus there woro only 116 mmburs elect to the House of Roprosentatives ; that the Clerk of the late House, having full authori ty in law to make up the roll of members, was justified in putting this number on his roll, and in ex cluding all others ; that the Mackey House, having boon organized with fifty nine members, 'the majority of one hundred and sixteen, was dily constituted, and that conso quently all its action is in strict accordance with the Constitution. It will be observed that the key stone of this argument is the legali ty of the action of the State Boar'd of Canvassors. If this position be not maintained the whole fabric falls to the ground, and the organiz tion of the House undor Mackey and all of the subsequent actions of the Chamberlain Government must per force be illegal. The legality of the action of the Board of Stato Can vIs':ers depends upon three propo sitons 1. Eithor that this Board ho-trd the protest and c o n t o a t with regard to the elections in Liaureni and Edgefiold, and do cided that they were fraudulent ; 2. Or that, without hearing the protest and conteAt, they had facts before them which iuiduced the belief that the elections were invalid, and that they, in consequenco thereof, refused to issue certificates of elec tion ; 3. And that in this they wore acting with authority of law. 1. No protest or content was in fact heard. The idea of a prooe.t or contest involves judicial action ulon a case made, in whicv. there aro parties complaining and parties defending ; the result of which do ponds upon facts established by ieg:d t.stimony, governed by law produced and relied upon ; it is a trial before a logal tribunal. In the presmolt case the prima facie count of the ballots cast in those two counties showed thnt certain Democrats had the highest number of votes. No notice of protest was served on any of them. No notice of contest was given. No testimony, in a legal tense, war. hoard. No witnesses wore exa:nined. Cortain e.c )arte statements, it seomus, were somehow made before, or pit into piossession of, the Board. But there was no pretenlce of any legal exami nation into the cases. Indeed the two memberra of the Boardl wYho had characters to lose (the Soerotary of State anid the Attorney General) votod against the action of the ma jirity in the case of JLmrons county, and the former filed his formal pro test agaminlst the action of thme Board irelation to bo0th of the counties, on the ground that they had decided uplonl an ex parte showing. II. But it may be said that the Board board1 no protest or contest, anid yet that they saw enough to prevenit them from issuing certifi cates to the immbers elect from Laurenis and lilgefieldl. It is diili -culht to catch the distinction be tweon this course of action and one adopted after hearing a pro test. Thbe election was either valid or invalid. If valid, the certificates wvere isaned ais a matter of courso How could it be declared inivalid without the exminantion of tes timnony, and h w cold testimony be examined unless the~ issue was made as to the validity of the election, and howv could the issue be made without a protest or a contest'? If the Board of State Canvassers pass5 at all upon the validity of tihe election, they must (do so in some judicial capacity. In th capacity they decide upon issues raisedl before thomn. How can these isues be made, except by parties mnterested in setting aside the result against parties interested in sustain ing it ? It must be borne in mind that there is no p~retence that Lmtrens and Edgefiold failed to hold an elec tion. The people met on tihe day fixed by the amendment of the Con stitution ; the managers of election opened the polls ; the ballot boxes wvere regularly prepazredl; the ballots wvere cast, andl after the polls woero closed the boxes were opened, tihe ballots taken out by the managers, and tile votes wvere counted, and tihe result certified Under these cir cumntunces could the Board of State Canvassers declare that there was nuot a valid election ? Fortunately we are not left to any theory of this subjoct, and we are spared a long examnin ition into the principles of law applicable to it. In the case of Gilbert Pillebury and others vs. tile acting Board ol Aldermen of the City of Charlestou (1 South Chrolina. nanorts, 20) th wholo matter is discussed. Th caso Was olaboratoly argued befo the Supreio Court by Messr Chamborlain and Corbin, and t Court, rocognizing tho force of thei logic, ruled with themii. That cau docides as follows : The 5th soetio of thu act to provido for the electio of officors of the imcorporated citic and towns of the State, &c., ratifie Septembor 28, providing that "th ianagurs of olectiol shall decid conitested cases, subject to the ulti mato decision of the Board of Aldoi men or Wardens whon organize( Oxcept the election of a mnajority o the personis voted for is contested () the mnagtors are chargid witih ilt gal con1duc0t, inl which cass tle r( turns together with the lballots shal ho examined and the caso investiguut od by the acting Board of Alder men, who shall declaro thu election and their decision shall be bindinm on all parties, does, not authori Mhe (wing Board of A Idermien in< case comting properly befor it t( adjudgUe the elttion to be illegal am Void. Its authority is limited to ai examination of the returns togethei with the ballots, and a declarution o: the results of the election." Ill. The olection hamving taken place the Board of Stato Canvassern had no warrant in law for hoarin' any protest or contest, or for pans ing any opinion upon thu validity oj tho eloction. The power of the Board of Stat. Canvassors iar derived eutirel) from thu Statuto : "The Boardl shiiall, upon the certified copics of the statements made by the Board of County Can vassors, proceed to make a statemniit of the whole nunber o; z'otes given at such election for thc various officors, and for each of thom voted for, distinguishing thu several counties in which they wore given. Thcy shall certify muich statomonts to bo correct, and subscri)o the samno with their propor names. They shall make and subscribo on the proper statemont a certificate of their determniniation, and shall do liver the sfame to tho Secrotary of Stato. Upon such statement they' shall thon proceed to dotermino and declare what persons have been, by the greatest umld/er !f Votes, duly elected to such oflicos or either of thon." This is their geacral duty with regard to all officos-to make a st ,toment of Jthe wholo number of vots given at su h election for the vario is oflicos and each of them ; to subscribe on such statoment a cor tificate of their determination, and deliver the s:ino to the Secretary of State. Upon such statemon't they should proceed to determine and declaro what persons have bein, by the greatest number of votes duly olected to such oilicos. Such is their duty on tho count, and it i:s manifestly simply ministerial--to count the votes and declare who has received the highest nunber. Tihe Act then d Is : "fltey shall h Lvo power, and it is made t'eir d ity to decide, all cases of protest or conto.t that may arise, n-hen the po e " to do ,9o does no't, by the Con st au'on, reside in some other bodg.' fum other wvords, no p)ower wv.mt 30 ever is given to them to do any-. thing but to make up, fro'n thme statements of the County Cjanvas sors, a statomont of thme whole number of votes given at the election, and from such statement to determine anid declare wyhat personis km tve been, by thme greatost number of votes, (11113 elected-except in certain cases of p.O test and contosi. which do not, under the Constitu tion, reside in seome othor b~ody. If an election takes place and the mana11gers count thme votes, anid the County Canvassers sond up their statomontsm to time Board of State (ianvassers, this Board can, under no circumstances,.(d0 but two thinigs: 1st. Make up a statement from thme statements of thu County Canvas sers of the whole number of votes. given at such election. 2d1. And decide conteusts and1 protests in cur tain excep)tod casos. Thu only inquiry left for us, therefore, is, w hether the poe to decide contests or protests in the case of an election for members of the House of Roprosentatives, by the Constitution, resides in soine other b)ody than the Board of State Canvmssors?7 By an oxpress p~rovision of the Constitution the Houso is the sole judge of the qualifications of its memubors. The Board of State Can vassers, in determining such a ques tion, violated the Constitution ;, and in detormining any question as to the validity of the election not only violated the Constitution, but mas sumned a power not con furred uponl it by "the Acts of Assembly. We have thus demonstrated thai the action of the Board of State Canvassers, upon wvhich alone reits the legality of the Mackey House, is illegal and void. But it is said tha: the Clerk of thme late House who by law and usage made up the roll o. the House, could not admit any othbr names upon his roll thar those of persons holding the cortili cates of the Board. of State (ani vassers. There is no la'. conferring thiu power on the Clerk. We deny the usage. It certainly did not oxis under itho old Constitution. No: hasm it existed under the last Con stitution. Thme first, session a. which the Clerk ason~ed to or is ganizo the House was in 1872, an 11 o ropoated it in 1874. At over j. previous 0sesion the neibers olc( . Met in the Iall of the House < r Repreell tatives, Called onl som o Imiember elect to take the chair',ulnd n WhoSe direction the roll of electiv n districts was c'alld, 'whoreupon th 4 mllemblers produced their credentiah 1, were sworn ill by the Chairman, an1 e when this was dono, voted for thoi o Speaker. - In 1872 and 1874, the sorvices o -- Chairian wore dispelnod wit] and the clerk called the roll. Bu f even in these cases the member V elect, when their names were called produced their credentials at th desk. Why ? That the Clerk shouh pass upon them ? Surely not ; fo: the House, as w hamve seen, is tll solo judge of the qualifications of iti members. But for the judgfmont o the House, shl1ould they be calloc imto question. But even admitting that som< evidence of election was necessary ome credential for tho appearanct and qualification of the memberi elect, what better evidence could x firnishied than that hold by the melubers who were excluded t The Board of State Canvassers had, under their hands, cortified a state. ment mado up from the certified statements of the County CanvasserE of the whole munber of votes given at the lato election for the various officors, and for each of thom voted for. distinguishiog the several countics. They had dolormined and declared what persons had received the highest numier of votes at tile election. And thisi statement was a record ill the highest Court of the State. Of this record every pors'on in the State had notice, binding upon him. So the acting Clerk knew that there were ono hundred and twenty-four members elect to tho House of Representa tives, and ho could not, ther'ofore, delaeo less than a ma.jority of this number a, qiorimn of tihe House. So that in anly point of view the organization of the Mackey House a illegal, and every act, deed, mat ter or thiing attempted to be done ald( Iperformed by it was, and is, utterly void.--News and Courier. The Pross on Hampton. The brave, moderate and inag nanimnous inaugural Message of Governor Haunpton, of South Caro lina, recently (levored at Colum, bji, commei1nds itself so fully by its tine to all reasonablo men that it would be superfluous to say one word in praise of it. If the Southern Demnocrats ill Congress do not un d.)rstand that the paramount object of good men at the North to-day is ti remit the carpet-bagged common VealthS of tile South to the mango ment of their own afltirs through snez-h muon ias the author of this ines S ige, thiey gravely mistako the torn por of the times and the needs of tho ni ttion. It is to secure this end, not only nlow but, for all time to Come, t.t it is noeessaly that the usu-pation of Presidient Granmt and of tihe 00on spirautors whlo surirounid him should bie rebuko1 and~ punished by the sap~ romoi law. This is anl objet far ab~ove the election of any individual or the triumph of any political party. Every utterance of tihe legally elected Governor of South Carolina brings his charactor out in striking and pileasing contrast to that of the man whol( has stolen the office and whose crimlo is up)hold biy the admin istr-ation at Washington. General Hampton's inaugural aiddro-ss, deliv orodl yesterday, is characterized by the spirit which might he exp~ected of the popu)lar header, who, under gro' pro.vocation, has kept his own tem per and restrained thec just indigna tionl of an outraged peoll. His inauwguration was more regular than thlat of Chamberlain, which took place a few days ago, but while bayonets instead of ballots rule in South Carolina, 1hampton wvill be Governor only in name, unless the State Senate retunms to roason in at reo)ognition of the .legal Execiu tivoe and legal House5( of Representa tivos.-Philadeipi Times/tfC. Govern >r Hampiton coldn'ht have been expecRtedl to "sp)eak wyith bated broath"' on suhl aln iccatsionl, and 1h0 will be b~etter able to roestrainm and control the patssions of his poo plo [ad koop thomn within tho limit-i of the law by letting thon\ see how fully lhe shares their indignation. There can be no do>ubt that he has acquired such a moral ascendancy over the citizens of South Carolina that there wvould be no substantial opposition to his government if the Fodoral troops were wiLthdrawnl. Hie is able to pre s'3rvo peace, maintain Order and trail (uilizo the State from the instant timt the righlt of local self-govern. mont is resp~eted. No intelligont observer can doubt thlat oey South Carolina intorest would be promoted under an administration so wise, just and considerate as his certainly wuld lie if outside elements of di's turbance woero taken away.-Nen - Y'ork, Aerald. Dr. J. J. Lee, a well known citizer of Abboville county, died ver~y sud denly Friday beforo last, from whal physicians pronounco 1 an attack o apoplexy, induced by congestion e thn hrin am1 stomach. d Governor Uampton's Regor4 Without a Stain. From the New York \Yorld. In its issue of Wodnesday the r Now York 7mes publishod a ttor from a correspondent in South OCarolina, substantially, and at great length, charging Gen. Wiade Ham1p. ton with dislionesty in settling with his creditors after the war. That General Hampton like very many f Southern planters was forced into bankruptcy by the total loss of all his slaves, the terrible depreciation of property and the damages inci dent to war, is undoubtedly true 3 othrwie the statements in the Times letter are a mero tissue of falsehoods. Gen. Hampton's largest creditor, who appears as such in the schedule of bis liabikties as printed in the Tines, happens to be now in this city, and yesterday denounced the letter as atrociously falso and libellous. "Gon. Hampton's settle, mont with us," said lie, "was strictly and in every respect honorable. The 1inze' statement that 'the creditors have never recoived a cent' in satis, faction of their claims is no less untrue than the whole tenor of the letter. He gave up every dollar of his property to his creditors, and I received a considorable proportion of my claim. It does not need," he added, "that Gen. Hampton's creditors should opposo their de nials to those libellous assertions in the Times, for no man who knows his singularly scrupulous and high, minded sense of honor but would pronounco any assertion to Rhe con, trary as false; but, in the face of such a publication as this, I cannot refrain from protesting against it as utterly base and unfounded. Had (Ion. Hampton occasion now to call upon me for assistanco, most cor, tainly I should not hesitate to give it." In contradiction of the entire sub stance of the Time.' charges, it may be well to statc-a fact well known to all his friends-that, having sur rendered all his once large fortnne to his creditors, he lived for some time after the wr in circumstances of actual poverty, being forced to soll evon the furniture from hie rooms and the carpets from his floors to support his family. In this he shared the common lot of very many neighbors and of planters generally throughout the South who were utterly impoverishod by the war. In the Timea' publication Gen. Hampton's schedule of liabilities foots up over a million of dollars, while his assets, as returned, fall very greatly short of that amount. This discrepancy is easily explained. The larger part of his debts was for money borrowed upon cotton and for the working of his plantation. During the war he had over fivo thousand bales of cotton destroyod by fire, which at a low estimate were certainly worth over $1,000,000. In slavo property Gen. Hampton be fore the war was worth fully $500, 000, while his landed estate was very large and very valuable. It was upon this prop)erty, wvhich the war reducedl to a comparatively insignif icant value, that the moneys were loaned. His case is the same as though a New York merchant had borrowed a large amount of money upon property which was conisidcrod by both borrower and lender as worth far more than thto amount of the loans, and as if that property had afterward been dostrojod by causes of which neither borrower nor lender hiad any thought and for which neither had considered a pro vision necessary. The charge in the TIimes that Gen Hampton, in making a settle mont with his creditors, so arranged it that a debt to his wife had prece dence of all claims is pronounced by a gentleman in this city, who is thoroughly conversant with Geon. Hampton's affairs, as bo0th false and malignant. Mrs. Hampton's prop orty, which she had inherited in her own right, had been turned over to her husband, and wvas swvallowed up in his own losses by the war. That she did not have precedence over other creditors is sufficiently proved bythe circumstances,ared alluded to, in which her husband, herself and their children wore forced to live after the war. One other statement-that Geon. Hampton is not a citizen of South Carolina, but of Mississippi-is also denounced as utterly false. Geon. Hampton has never boon a citizen of Mississippi, and has never ceased to be a citizen of South Carolina. A newspaper in E~ngland, speaking of American affairs, makes a very ridiculous blunder. It says, "As an evidene of the important part that American women are assuming in politics, the widowv Butler has just been elected to the United States Congress." A Paris journal makes a mistake equally ridiculous, when it informs its readers t at Messrs. Edlgefield and Laurens have been excluded from the South Carom lina Legislature. Forty years ago there was a an in Boston who had six or seven very corpulent daughters. When asked -how many children he had, his answer was generally something of this kind : "1 have three boys and Sabout thirteen hundred wolght, oi '4irs.