Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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T HE NE G Pa Prit I, t THEY FORM A CLSE AN TC12D OUGH PO L:T CAL N! T. N. Their Ox,'% en: i.:'i:a ' Account o their gro preach.s e organ ized tellsei\-t- ;:1k) u ion f- the urpose of gettin Lte l e ree s o: South Carolinacomp'aetly or* d. for the colingl ht on1 the ConStituuonal convention niauter..T -ate cont vention vesterdar was what *iav be termed a'athe gri'6F " poli'cal preach er isofar as plehes enter sto tu fight against .- ionventiol. The c(onvelltiol was ed in the Cavalry Baptist church and notwithstanding the deep snow and bitter cold weather something over 5-0 delegates were in attendance, representing most of the counties of the State. 3any letter.s were read from negro ministers in all sections of the State, expressing regret at their inability to attend, at the sane time stating that each was .in hearty sympathy and accord with the objects of the conventioii as set forth im the call. The convention was called to order by the Rev. E. I. Wil.oi and the pro ceedings were olwned with the siggin of the livnm. "A C torne Keep i Have. ~ Rev. -1. B. Middieton. of Camden, led in prayer. The eonven tion then listened to the reading of a lesson from the Bible-the 91st psalm by the Rev. J. G. E. Rowe of Charles ton. The Rev. Wilson then read the call for the conivention, which has al ready been published. He said this was the call in response to which they had assembled. He said he wanted them to do their work in a hurry ana get away by 3 o'lock. Ie did not think any of the preachers wanted of fice. The great trouble with their race was taiking too uinch., It had already caused iuich trouble. The Rev. 11. M. Rairford was then made temporary chairman. Raifford was as black a nqegro as you could find, yet he wore a clean white standing collar and a white four-in-hand tie. Raifford went up into tie pulpit and addressed tbc convention in the most dignified manner, with a suavity that was remarkaile aniid not a litie amas inc. He spoke of the peculiar oratory an'W home-made eloquence of others. and proceeded to deli .er an essay on it. He hoped that there were none such present today. (Cries "Amen Amen !) Hethen got'down to reading an essay urging everybody else not to do what he was doing. He then went on to give plenty of advice-poitical. T;:ey came here bound by no man-no pary. They were men-free men-and ti must now rise above all parties. -.mi hood and time are the tiings now. We don't wish for special, .gislatioi. etc. Their sentiment was "Their country, their State," etc. - He then went on to give advice. A minister's duty was to give warning of any wrong or danger or anything that mi'ght be tlireatened calculated to in jure the people. Just laws should be enacted for all the people. You mimuis ters have the people: you have their confidence: you can control them. You are the centre of advertisement among' them. Deliberate miuch,. plan well anad wisely, and co-oner-ate with that which is for the best ierests of every one alike. He defended the minisaters against the charge that they were mixing religion and polities. It is time that good men. wilhing to work for the people, should come to the -front for all the people. If the othices could be secured as things were he would refuse them. The Rev. Georg'e W . Rowe of Charleston was madie temporary secre tary. The Rev. W. D. Chappelle asked that committees .on address and reso lution, on constitution and one on ed ucation be appointed. He suggested that one from each Congr-essional dis trict compose the committee on ad dress. - The Rev. Elder: 'Mr. Cheer, I ax dat a committee on grievances be ap pointed too.'' (Laughter.) The convention then proceeded to make ..p the roll of delegates. Among the names enrolled were those of the follow ing, all ministers of various de nominations. Josh Laury, J. A. John son, Orangeburg; Lykes, Greenville; J. H. Lee, Union: G- F. Mills. Spar tanburg: J. K~. McDaniels, Newberry: J. S. Perry, D. Peterson, Richland; E S. Rice, Leesville, and M.- A. Rice of Chester. two aray-haired ante-bellum ;T. Hf Roof, T. M. Robertson, S. wkins, J. C. Daniels, W. Tay lor, A. P. Dunbar. Watkins. Green ville: Fred R. Wallace. Newberry; E. E. Williams, J. E. Washington, J. O. Allen. Greenville: R. E. Beckett, G. H. Herndon, Union: S. C. Jacobs, Charleston: W. P-. Jones. Spartan burg; W- King, Abbeville: D3. T. Mc Daniel, Newberrvy ;KE H. Ruff. R. E. Hart. J. C. Tobin, Columbia: E. D3. White, fTork, and many others. jNumerous letters from absent preach ers in sympathy with the convention were read. Attention was called to the fact that many delegates giving Co lumbia as their residence were really at work throughout adjoining counties. Wallace of Newberry said many of them had come here at their own ex ense, and they wanted the conven don to get to work quickly. The convention then took a recess for an hour. and reassembled at four o'clock. When it reassembled the committee on orgamizafioni made its report as follows: "We, your committee above named, beg leaveto submit our report: "Officers-Chairman, L. C. Brown: Secretary, A. B. Jones. "We r-econmnend that there be an executive commifl~ttee consisting of three minsters from each congressional, dis trict and that nine of said~ comittee constitute a quorum. "And that this -on pnittee be com nosedof the follo" i:1 l'rst d-r.iet V. WV. Beckelt. W. P. Ca~roh m. D. Chappelle: Secondt dis.trict, .;H Posey, R. Hf. Perrin: Tird di-stie:. D T. McDaniels. B. . ms-. A . Robinson: Fourth district. R. M. *l ford. J. L. Mills. H. Watkins-: Fif district, E. D). White: Sixth distrlet, (to be supplied by the conventuon': Seventh district. A. G. Goodson, .J. B>. Middleton a d J. A. Johinson. For State Chairman or Chairman of Executive Comruittee-R. E. Hlart: seeretary, J. R. Wilsoni and J. Xx-. Lykes, treasurer. There was then maua'~.- -- to the political feature of suecanor ganzation and the idea seemed to be general that die estab)lishinig of sLIuch an oraniization was carrymiiohue into religious circles. The d~seussmu was fast and furious. and h was easi!. seen that there was- mu~-ch opposit 1 by a few to uc-h an emrga;:nizat . motion was thein carr-ied that the re port be laid oni the tale t:nrar. F~or a half hour ter \s :~ worst kind of a tangle wh.ich w as ruh clear by J. ig. Wi l..nl making the point that tile con mt1o was sun ply to elect omeers a-i permouslz chairman and secrear of tue conuen~i tion. and had gone heoind its powers in making the sec(ond -pr of the re port.E. C. Brown of Ciarlston.was then made perma aient enirmiiia n,. and A. B. Jones. of spartanour~g. pernma nen serr- by the adoption of the op-wt o tie report. A. 1). \White wanted the chaipinan to e.iain to tobe conventson that they did n t wuot to organize a new party overl tho hi-ad of the "Grand old Re Wilso' then moved that the conm itnttee (ul constitution take the matter up and bring in a proper report. Hart said that the comiuttee on constitution should have reported first, and so on. The committee on constitution then submitted the following report: Preamble and constiution of the ministers' union. Whereas, there are patent causes wilich imlnpel the,- ministers-the lead ers of the race -to orginize themselves with such n-I o-ranizatiom as will bet ter protect us as zt a, rce 1. along zivil and political ines, aiid Whereas. we, tlei ministers of the State of Souti Catirolina. have met In convention, that we might secure to ovrselves and our children that price less le;gacy bequeathed to us by God and tie united effort of a common country. be it Resolved. therefore, that, to estab hsli justice. insure domestic tranquil ity, provide for the common defense, promote the general walfare and se cure the blessings of liberty to us and our posterity, we do organize ourselves into an organization known as the Ministers. Union of the State of South Carolina from and by which a State Executive committee shall be a ppointed, not consisting of more than five nor less than three in each Con gressional district, to work with and through the county executive commit tee, to organize in all the counties in the State. Section 1. It shall be the duty of the State executive comittee to appoint in each county a county executive committee 'hose duty it shall be to organize in every precinct 'in the county, and see that all of the mem bers of each club are furnished with registration certificates. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the State executive committee to canvass or cause to be eanvassed every county in the State, instructing the voters how and for whom to vote. Sec. 3. The executive committee I'shall have full power to act in the t.sence of this convention whenever and wherever emergency demands. Sec. 4. It shall be further the prov ince of the executive committee to levy a tax, which shall be apportioned to the various districts. sufficient to em ploy legal talent totest the legality of acts by which the laws governing us have been enacted that shall be enact ed against the rights and privileges of franchises guaranteed, to us by the Constitution of the United States. Hart moved to adopt, when Middle ton rose and said that they should strike the portion looking to organiza tion. It w-s dangerous; they would likely find that poiticians would grab up the orgralization andmoney would doubtlessle used to destroy its use fullness. He moved to strike out. J. H1. Johnson and A. P. Dunbar submitted the following minority re port: Whereas, there is to be a Constitu ional convention held for the purpose to disfranchise the colored citizens of this State, depriving them of the right guaranteed to them by the Constution, nd therefore be it Resolved, That we, the ministers of the State of South Carolina, urge upon our people to register to a man and be 'ready to vote for any man or set of men'who are opposed to such discrim Iination among its citizens irrespective Iof party or name. Hart'said it was wrong to ask the eople to organiz when "the men who vere to lead'them refused to organize. He went on at some length in an im passioned speech to say that orgtamza tion could not be dispensed with. They had to have men watching all the time, otherwise the people could not be informed who to vote for, etc. ~Middleton made a brief reply. Then the Rev. J. C. Tobin got the floor and he made "Rome howl." He was surprised to see men stand there Iand say "don't organize," even while the throats of our children yet uuborn are preparing to be cut. I, for one, am here to shed my last drop of blood and have my body burned and the ashes thrown to the winds before I'1l do it. (Groanas and "Yes. Yes.-') He was for a fight all the way through. We can leave this county, I can, for I haven't anything but my grip and coat and it's almost worn out. He talked war from beginning to end and said if there was any man there who was not aroused to his utmost he ought not to be there. Middleton-Where is the money to do this coming fromf Tobin-Where you get your support from-the people. The chairman said that it was time to stop talking and get to work. A motion was then put to lay the nnl nority report on the table. A standing vote wvas taken. the three old negro preachers-Middleton and the Rices sitttng. Tho motion was carried by a vote of34 to 7, It was then decided to adopt the majority report by sections. Whe1n the preamble was struck out, the men opposed to the orgamizaiion made an effort to strike out all refer ence thereto. Only sixteen supported this effort. A similar effort was made with another portion of the preamble. but it was voted down. Middleton said he was endeavoring t avoid political parties buying them. Chappelle said that this was an in sult to the Christian ministers. We came here to work with all the parties wnich will work with us to save our -ights from the wreck. (Applause.) We don't come here to please any man or set of men. We are here to keep a telegraphic wire running from the pre int to headauarters. The political leaders are loking down to '96. We don't want the State, and we are not ooing to 0-et it, Money, -intelligence nd senselave to run the government. We don't want to put ignorance back -in there. God knows there's enough of it in there now. We don't wantth otices. (Rice-I wants all I can get Out of 'em.) We dont want to be cogv ardly. The white people knew mis Itakes had been made even in 1876. If lyo dont believe it, read The State. It 'i s said that lhe who sits on a hot stove will rise again. Middleton sits on such a stoe. We've got to strike these kind of people out of the wa'y. Chappelle called for- the previus question on the whole matter. Middleton replied to the personal slashes of ChappeHe. D~aniels pleaded for unity of action. Jacobs had con siderable to say by way of explanation -as to whyli they wanted organir-ation. ie lijeveci th >ti a wvhite man who had to light daremet.cs any man who wont come out and fight. The cir cumstances had been so different. The pope of the North have been letting things lon ecause they knew we were ignorant. He went on for some ime to explain his attitude. Middleton satid if they organized the whie- would all get together again. Mddeton presented a brief report roi 'the committee on education whi'-h was most appropriate and xa wa ins mtantly adopted. The- report s'ted that the committee thought ed eaion w'as a most important question. "bt hi's is the htie for the considera tio1 of oter miatters." iLaughiter.) Then the~ latter portion of the rep)ort ~f te comm'ittee on organization was aken up again. After a long fight by te committeemen the chairman final itself to fill the various ollices proe ded for in the constitution. A large number were nominated for Stat - chairman. an!d the light nlariowe down to Hart. a imn whio would "-work from de sea board to d imounm tain top.- as a delegate expresd i. andN W. ). Clappelle. Chappelle was elveteId by a vote of :;:w to 12. T. .1. Clarke was elected secretary and D. S. Rice. "a man who was too ole ter run ter Kanedy." was made treasurer. A special committee w::s appointed to select the co ,mmitteelian. Bishop Salter was introduced to tei convention. an1d a! p. Iml. a recess was taken till 8. when the convention would reassemble in the Second Cal varv church. A't the night session the special com muittee reported recommending the members of the State executive coni mittee and they were elected as fol lows: First Congressional District-W.W. Beckett, W. P. Carolina, J. H. Gow dy. Second District-J. 1. Posey, R. H. Perrin, G. G. Daniels. Third District-D. T. McDaniel. B. J. Ramsey. A. R. Robertson. Fourth District-H. M. Rayford. G. H. Herndon. H. Watkins. Fifth District-E. D. White, M. L. Hall. N. A. Rice. Sixth District-J. E. Wilson. E. R. Roberts, J. P. Brockington. Seventh District-A. G. Goodson, W. M. Thomas, J. R. Johnson. The committee on address reported the following majority and minority view with apprehension the attemlpt reports. The following address. being the report of the minority, was adopt ed by the convention: THE ADDRESS. To the colored citizens of the State of South Carolina: We, the negro ministers of South Carolina, in con vention assembled, for the purpose of organization.that we may more effect ually assist our people in seeing their rights and privileges guaranteed to them by the Constitution of the U ni ted States, declare these principles as the platform on which we stand. We assemble, not for the purpose of furthering the interests, or to be swayed by. any faction or leaders of factions, but as Christian citizens, who now being made to secure in the com ing Constitutional convention, the practical disfranchisement of our peo ple in'this State; we assemble for the purpose of counselling together upon the wisest and best course to be pur sued by us in order to meet the ,mer gency that confronts us. and to issue advice to our people, which acted up .on shall bepatent in securing to them the full enjoyment of guaranteed civil and political rights. We believe that the wide influence of the ministers of th e Gospel lays up on him a corresponding responsibility and that therefore he should use his knowledge and influence for the good of his people in every way, as a reli gious teacher and leader, appreciating also the fact that good citizenship is a religious duty to be urged and incul cated. 1. By encouraging the men of the race to put forth every effort to secure registration certificates, that they may exercise the rights of free men and citizens and in case of denial of the right to register to be prepared to fur nish evidence as to the ground for such denial. 2. By encouraging ward and pre- 1 cinct meetings. in which information may be given as to the political situa tion and to arouse enthusiasm looking toward a broader and better citizenship in the State, based upon true patrior 3. By showing to the people the special dangers thiat menace even those holding registration certificates, who have removed since receiving such certificate from one place of residence to another, even in the same ward and precinct: such certificate not changed to correspond with the present place of residence being of no use in secu ing- the right to vote. 4. By encouraging our people to se cure information as to the purpose and policy of each party and to be pre pared to vote intelligently for those principles and candidates that stand for right and justice to all meni. To this end we recommend that ev erv minister of the race use his influ ece in the homes and gatherings of his people to inculcate right principles,, to spread information, to promote education and to impress upon the men of the race the importance of a true appreciation of the rights of citi cenship, that his rights may be res spected, his children educated and his home and family may be protected. And upon the work of this convention of ministers we askr the favorable con sideration of this entire State and country and invoke the blessing of Him whose name we bear before the world. We also recommend that our people sacrifice willingly their means to se cure their guaranteed rights through the highest courts of the land. Resolutions were adopted endorsin" the Atianta Exposition and the coloredl press of the State. and the convention adjourned sine die. A Shocking Story. ATLA Ga.. Feb. 15.- Andy Black, one of the Murray County Kuklux, plead guilty in the Federal Court to attempting to lynch Henry Worley, an informer on the moon shiners. He said lie was one of sixty men who rode up to Worley's home one night last spring and called him out. All of fhe men were armed. Blacks story was a thrilling one. It created a sensation among the wit nesses and other defendants. Black said several men took cotton balls sat urated with kerosene, which burned brightly as they approached the house. The leader of ~the crowd kncked at the door and asked for Worley. Wor le's mother came to the door and ask ed what we wanted with Henry. *We told her that we were going to hang him for reporting. Worlev's little daughter came to the door~ and all three of them stood there. We told Worley that wve had come to hang him, and that there wasnt any use of resisting: that he would have to conic and that we intended to take him aliv-e or dead. W\orley was terribly scared and begged for nmercy: said he wasin't guilty of reporting, and got down o his knees to us." The prisoner p~auisa here a moment to remark that lhe nev-' er was so sorry for a thing, and he would never f'orget Worley's pitiful looks as he crouched on the p~orchl of of his hummble home. "Wor-ley's mother was talked to by our imn, continued the prisoner-. " They told her that her son had been a tr-aitor to her people and that she otught to be willing to have him p~ut out of the way. Henry looked at hmis mother and asked her if she, too, was ag:uinst him. She said -yes.' she was goialg to let the men take im for all she cared. Wolev broke down then and cried like a baby, anid told the men that if his mother had gone back 0n himi they could take himl out an~d (10 what they pleased. lie never resisted tus anid w~hen we told nim to get on a horse he did it. WVorley was tied with hands b-hind him. a.nd rode in the middle of1 th crowd of menhh onl hIorsek. lHe never sp)oke. WXe wvent up the Blood ton road, through Bloodtown to Foodtown Gorge. WVorley- was swung up to a tree and left hanging by the mob. He succeeded. hiowever', in getting away, but was killed a few as. l.at,. by meamber of the band-' - WOMAN'S RGH TS WOMAN. iXy pople. niei and woineii. heard Mis. ASusanl %-\thn inl the opera1 house last niT.rh. These. people did not enjoy the lec are. Fierv. fervid, bu rn i_, words or ayithin else hot would have been I to heir ia:te because the opra !oiI-e Was siIpIV a cold storage v.m'eious'. There was notling to do but hide in over-Coats aid wraps. siver and keep coo!. It. was frigid and "roasts-are now inl order. A tall. gau womali. proinilent check bones. deep sunken eves, thin lace and iron gray hair snootidy par ted from the center of her high narrow fore-head. her person slightly bent and very angular, a red shawl about her shoulderis and a skirt of some plain dark stuff-that is 'Miss Anthony or as the comical papers call her "Aunt Susan." You have seen cuts of her in the illustrated novels of New Eng land life. While not unprepossessing she is severely, almost unmercifully ulaini in apearance even fora woman of perhaps seventy. Her voice is dis tinct. not over strong and rather mo notonous: she speaks rapidly and makes occasional gestures in straight lines. The burden of Miss Anthony's song was the power of the ballot. She spoke Of the reforms accomplished by Eng lish farmers after they were enfran chised. "This governnient," she said, "was based originally on a white male oligarchy of wealth." Black men could not vote and the suffrage of whites except in Vermont was limited by a property qualification. The Democratic party from Jefferson's time had strug gled to enlarge the suffrage and for forty years was therefore snccessful witi only occasional defeats. Then on the same principle the Republican party arose and tie vote was given to tile negro. The negro was freed as a mleasure of military necessity, then the ballot was placed in his hands, not from motive of philanthropy but from PRepublican party necessity." She placed stress upon the power which the ballot gave the negro, protecting all his equal political and civil rights. Then she told a sto:- of a negro meeting she had attended in Leaven worth, Kan., in 1S65. A number of eminent speakers bad been invited to address it. but all failed to do so and she explained it in her speech by tell ing the negroes that they had "no bal lots in their black hands to make their influence felt." Then she con trasted the welcome givei in the same city ten years later to Abram Revels, a negro' United States Senator. At the former meeting he would have been ignominiously driven from the hotels and raiircad cars where the white men were. Now he was shown the respect which his manhood merit ed. because lie represented a negro v ote powerful in ele ,tions. In these references to the negroes, Miss Anthony impressed her audience as a stranger to~ what is called the --race prejudice" of the South and as having no sympathy for it: as though to eat at the same table and forget all social and race differences would be neither unpleasant nor repugnant to her. She did not actually say so much nor did she to out of her way to ofend "Southiern prejudice" but she implied what to her hearers must have appeared an unpalatable ignorance of them: for instance, wvhen she referred with manifest satisfaction to the un purchasable vote of the enfranchised neagro woman in Leavenworth. bhe next proceeded to illustrate the influence of' the workingmnen in elec tions, and declared that political chan ges and reventioins were due entirely to it. Educ-atien, she said wvne the remedy and " the St te had no right to permit a child to grow up in ignorance and idleness." Miss Anthony. in condlusion, stated that a conunittee had been appointed and plans arranged at the convention recently held tn Atlanta to have the subject'of female suffrage agitated in South Carolina during the camnpaign for the election of delegates to thAe Costitutional coiivention. and to have people of the 'State familiarized and educated up to it. -State. A Very Sad Accident. CHARLESTON. S. C., Feb. 16.;-On Wednesday afternoon the Sun pub lished an account of a shocking acci dent which had occurred the day be. fore in the streets of Mount Pleasant. by which v-oung Elliott Smith. a thir teen year old son of Captain S. Por cher ~Smith. was shot and killed by Roy Hamlin, a young son of Mr. Thios. Hamlin. These two youths, who were best of friends, were together talking. Young Smith had a hamimerless breach loading bird gun and hamlin had a palor rifle. They were discussing Smith's new guii, which was a novel tv to them and especially to Hamlin, who had never seen one of the kind. He asked Smith to let him see the gun. The latter did so. Hamlin drew the cartridge and looked in the barrel re nmarking that "it was dirty." Smith said "No :" that lie had not long before cleaned it. The cartridge wvas re placed and the youths talked awhile. Hamlin asked Smiith to let hiimtry the un on a robin. lHe. Hamlhin. put the gun under his arma. He had on an vercoat. Sooni after a roin aippeared in sight. Hanmlin quickly drew the gni from under his arm to shoot the 1rd, when it wvent off. the contents entering Smith's right breast. Smith fell immediately but soon got up and exlaimied: "Oh Roy, y-ouve shot me:" He fell again a nd never spoke ao th er word. Hamlini terrily alarmed. r-an for Dr. DuPre w~ho lived near. by anid related what had hap ened.' The' doct->r hastened to the cne mC i inistered to the weounded outh and had-himn qiuicelv removed t is ho me. There, everthing ' was done for hiim that could be. hut in ao ut a half an boari i the bright and proiing yo)ung life had paissedi away. A jurv of inquest was summoned and a verdict of accidental shooting was redeured. The sad occu:rrentce threw a dark shiadow. over the entire village. Young Rlamlin is terribly- affected, as young Smith v*s a niear- and1 dear friend to him. HaeIging Too Good. mNaw OrIam~s. Feb). 13. -Late yes trdry evening t wo sticks of dyn:amite we'i(lscovered imbedded in a bale of cotton loaded into the British steaml ship Floridian. now taking cargo at South Port. Hand this dynamite in the hale gotten safely into tile hold and been screwved in, as is (lone in odinjg cotton vessels, tihe operaltioni wouhl have exploded the dy-namuite and blhown a hole in the ship's bottom. The Floridian belongs to the British ine. wvhih oil accounit of labor troules ann~iousied it wvould emplloy o lv negro labor hecreafter. A whiate maii unmed Thio. C'akes wias ar-rested as the guilty personi. H~e was loiter ing aroli nd the shot and the 1police be U.ieve they have the right mlan,. whethi er or. not lie' is a serewiani calm hot lie ascr'-un leu. Wrekedl. B.\LT'mi1.\loi:. Md..- Feb. ..- - A pi vute telegranm states that at party of Baltiimo're-al's hand been& shipwrecked on Roaok( Island. o1Y dhe coast of North Cjarolinia. The sieainier was caught in severe ormis anud wrecked a shorut dis tace f rom tile island. Thei passengers tuok to the life boats and reached and. wher they wil renmain until rescued. The -i1auek Vla;f, Cj.( ace tor. Under the abov' fait in te News and Courier of hist \ed ned had a mnost tml itrd he -ea mlent !4o the atetWprsto l white men. ( 1ta' caten pora' -ays, iII speakiniiIig of the- reini lialie white people of this late 1 t liIoI1 Cal leaeris See tirtj pprnity.:md tider Lave e1n wi:itic Ito seizo it. hie addiress whlich tiier have sient out i.. plausiblec and adroit. It is ca .ine ait once.( to arouse. the neg-ro anld p:1dI thte white mlanl into a. faia -enlse 4f security. Its statenient of the race si'natilm as an elemenelt o the. p.itical problei is as ingellious as it is .alla ciots. ile Repul)bli(an address rep resents the colored In'ple as the( t recipients of all niaIinerof wrongsat the handsof the whlite people, who are charged yith breaking faith with them and depriving theni of their civil rights. and with the intent to render theiI ever after poweriess to assert those rights. yet there is declared to be no attempt to overthrow white supre macy, no Repulican or colored candi dates are put forward, but the Republi cans, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of whom are colored, are advised to vote for those white men whom they can best trust. Now, we take it that the intelligent white peo ple of this State have no desire to mi pose upon the negroes. nor do they wonder that the colored people should look at the Constitutional Convention from a racial standpoint and seek to accomplish what thcy think best for their race. But the white people must be permitted likewise to look at it from a racial standpoint and be ex pected to do what they ihink best for the white race. Will it be best from that point of veiw that the, delegates to the Consitutional Convention owe their election exclusively to white men, or that they shall owe it to white men aided by negroes? Can any white man hesitate as to the answer: Are all or a majority of the wiiite people of South Carolina ready to rally round the polls, cheek by jowl witi outr col ored fellow-citizens, on a footing of perfect equality, and choose the best men for the Convention. regardless of color or political prejudice? Certain lv not: However desirable such a political millenium may be from a purely abstract point of view, it does not exist. This election must be either the white man on one side and the negro on the other, or some white men on one side and the negroes and some white men on the other. In the lat ter case what will be the result? In our humble opinion the white men who have negro allies will be beaten out of their boots. But supposing that the white men and their negro allies should win. What then: Would there ever be peace in South Caroliaa with a party in power that depends on the negroes for its majority ? It is an ugly dilmma, but we had as well face it once for all. Let the Convention be a white man's Convention out and out. elected and supported by the white people of the State. We can trust white men to do right by their inferior race. biut we cannot trust the inferior race with power over the white man." The St. Matthews SIortage. The ColurmbiaState says Gov. Evans has received from Dispensary Inspec tor Scruggs his report of his investiga tion of the accounts of the dispensary at St. 3atthews. He reports thi-t the total shortage is $2,282.83. The 1.ulk of this amount falls on the State and not on the county, as Governor Evans thought. There is now due tie State, so Mr. Scruggs reports, $2,038.36G. The amount due the coutnty on acunt of unpaid profits is only $244.147. The stock on hand at tihe dispensary as ac counted on Monday by Mir. Skrugg.. when he took1 charge of the dispensary. was worth $1L516.16. Dispenser Evans has purchased from the Sta1;e since the reopening of the dispe'nsaries in Au gust last, $6,2S9.14 worth of, liquors, and the total stock ca-ried since the re opening amounted to $7,550.19. Governor Evans now believ-es that the shortage has been accumulating for some time, and he thinks that there must have been. somethiing misleadin about the reports or the shortage woulu have been discovered long ago. Gov ernor Evans has already forwarded all the necessar-y papers and instruc tions to the attorneys in O)rangeburg representing tihe State and lie says the State will lose nothing and Dispenser Evans will be made to suffer. Governor Evans says this should be a warning to other dispensers. lie says that all dispensers and all others connected with the system might as well understand that the State's busi ness is nomt a thino to be "monkeyed with." He says lme intends to show absolutely no leniency withx any one in such a matter where State's money is involved. Governor Evans had Mr. Dukes. one of the members of the Orangeburg county board of control in Columbia and went over with him the entire matter' of the shortage of D:ispeniser Evans of St. M1atthews. The members of the board, it seems. had divded up the dispensaries in the county. so that one incumbent could look after cer-taint ones ;only. MIr. Dukes could not un derstand'hows MIr. Evans manmged to make such a shortage, as lie had noted nothing wrong during his perio dical visits. C'ouala Not (iveC iBow4. BL'TLER,. 0-. Feb. 15.-Se veral of the officers recently elected by the' pop1 uists ini this county have failed to give b)ond and have returnied their commnis sions to Governor' Atkinson. Th ey were C. A. J. Pope. Shier'itf: A. B. Peed. treasu rer:' .J. E. lBreweri. coro nr: B. H. Newsomie. sur'vyor'. MIr. Pope has held the place of shierirf for miore. thant twenty y'ear's, under Demo catic ruLle, b)ut two years ago bei joinied the p~opulists, and~ has iheret oi're had 1n0 trouble to make his bond. AlIl tih' above were'( rl'ected exc'ept i. E1 wer'. A new electionh wil be ordler'ed at an early date. Judge C'olbert. of the county coutt is to appr'ove thet bonds off'ered by the oilicers. anid they lav it to his beinie a Democrat and the ppulist's hatred for th.!ecotunty emuli that lie irefuses to accept any- bond that does not come upl to that presermeid by law. Lively times are' ahead. Died fromk Ex posu.re. Hutlstetler, a blacksmith, who lad just moved from Pendleton to this place died on MIonday fr'omi th' el'ects f the cold. He was dri':ing' alone in a buggy and was found that mor'niang in the Eighiteen-mile Cr'eek. near' Pein dleton. His horse had left the place of for-ding and. travelled up thle ('reek two 01' thri" hui'ndr'ed yards. WVhen tme unfortunate mani was founid lie was ini the wtateri upi to his neci: al-I mot fr'ozeni: lhe was taken ont and cai'ried to Penidletoin. whlei'e restor'a tives were used. but lie wvas t.' far (ronle to reco'iver.' A\ good dea of wh Iis. ktv was found in his bug1' y ad it is sa'posedl that lie miust ha'v- heen drunkc. H is horse laid br'okna l ose fom ithe buggyv and weas 1.in dou 'ourier._____ i the Courilt of (Cornmlan Pleas r'eI'a.i to natura-~lize two italians he''-inse they could not spieak Enlish. He, an i inuced that for'eigr~l who could not speak the language of' lie United StatesI need not app)ly to him foi' citizeasup l)alers. JUST A FEW XL;MUMUGS. .i..a h-is.g.-IeUght tol be .Swindm V!!,nwnus roiiInat in.g the tutiw'r : ' thitnsin general and hard nn p rti..'akr and made the re mir tha~t the( ( people thirev away to liwy hadoeartIhily use for'. Thie man w iho hasit been in the clutches of the m t gued ageiit and been talked imo investing from -10 to t00 in some hm;iinbug or other is few and far be t weein. The fellow with the 05 patent du bl~e hack action stove came along and sold them by the score. His victim. while listening to the word paining of the oilytongued agent would wonider' how he had lived here tofore without such a necessary arti cle. Then the $440 clock man came along and convinced hundreds that the one thing lackiadg in life was a clock that would not only tell the time of day, but also record the phases of the moon and not let him forget the day of the month. And lie dian't forget-especi al y the day when that $40 note fell due. Then came the hedge fence man, and many a farmer was bamboozled into wondering how he ever managed to raise corn and cotton without the aid-of a hedged fence. And he never cane back-that hedge fence man. He planted out his switches, was to be back the second and third years and make that hedge a thing of beauty and never caie back, neitheir did the thousands of dollars he carried off with him. Next was the get-rich quick order. Pav us $20. they said, and in a year we'will give yolu p100. Town folks were, if anything, bigger fools than their country friends on this line. All bit at this alluring bait, like the perch do when the 'Pilco is low and green oak worms are ripe. Last on the list was the fruit tree 7man. He was herein the early sum mer when a note payable in December seemed a long ways off-and those pictures cif lucious-looking fruits and strawberries in a bottle asbig as your fist, lookea so tempting and the agent was such a talker. 0December came, likewise the fruit tree man and his switches. Too late to kick then had us signed up and when he left there was $2.000 or $3.000 less in the county. And the plow man-we came near forgetting him-but his memory is dear to many, and they have not for gotten him-and won't for some time. Then there's the s' wing machine agent, the lightning rod agent, the life insurance agent. fhe patent smoothmio iron agent, the agent for this, that an< the otlier-for everyting under the sun we either don't need, or, if we do need, can buy in S partanburg for one-half o 1 one-third the money. We have paid $65 for a stove, when we could have bonght a better one at home for $20: $4, for a clock. when we ought to told the time of day by the sun: $30 for a lightning rod, when the Lold had no idea ofIitting us with lightning: $30 or $100 on a hiedge fenice whien we ought to have been splitting rails-and so it has gone. Thousands and thousand, yes, tens of thou~nmds of dollars have been thrown. away b- people who love to be hum bugged.-J'rald. Their scheme E~xpos.ed. ToOnTo. Feb. 17.-H. P. Hyams and Dallas Theodore Hyams. twin brothers doing business as brokers in this city, have beeni arrested on a charge of having murdered William C'. Williams on Jan. 16. 1893. Seven years ago the two brother came to To -onmo from Kington and opened a brokerage od:ice, and five years ago they became acquainted wit.h Martha andi William Wells,. sister and brother. The Wells family came from Somer set, England, and consisted. of two boys and two girls. In the fall of 102. Harry Place Hyamns and Martha Wells became engaged to be married, and young W'ells, who was than 21 vears cold. entered the employ of I~'yams. In August, 1892. WVells was induced1 to take out a life insurance for '.1.000. A feiu days later a policy for "1,000 wvas also taken out. Four teen days later application was made for $.30,000 insurance on Wells' life in the N'ew~ York Life, and the half year ly premium of $384 was paid by H. P. Hvamis. Three months later a sec onld policy of $1.000 was taken out in the Covenant Mutual on Wells' life, the assessment of which was also paid by Harry EHyams. In Novemiber, 1892, the Hyams broth ers sublet a warehouse, saying they in tended to conduct a gen'eral auction business. Omi January 16, 1893. 'the police 'were notified that young Wells had been accidentally killed in the el evator. The only person in the build ing at the time was Harry P. Hyarns. He said lie found thme body lying at the foot of the elevator shaft. An inves tigation was made by the insurance company, but they failed to ascertain ano facts that would warrant an arrest for mur'der. and paid the insurance on the young man's life amounting to :;.000 to his sister, Martha. In the May following Harry P. Hyams and Mithma Wells wei'e married. Ten days ago a Toi'onto paper learned that an attempt had been made to place 290,000 insui'ance on the life of Mrs. Hari'y Hvams. When Mirs. Hyams learned tilat, she became alarmed. had a detectiume to guard her, refused to re turn to Montreal with her husband and asked the companies to cancel the pol cies. The Hvams brothers were kown not to possess sufficient capital to warrant the incurring of a liability of $000 a year in insurance pr'emi us. and further invesigationi has re sulted in the arrest of thle two brothers for the murder of their brothier-in-lawv. The Hyams brothers were borni in New Orleans :;5 years ago. A Big Fire. Covmma.. S. C., Feb. 15.-Ex-com msin emr Tr'axler, who arrived ini this city vester'dar umorninig, brings news of a destruactive fire which visited Tinnonsville Tuesday night. A block of ten stores situated almost in the heart 'of the town was t-ompletely des tryed b- lire. All the buildiings were of woo~ and were soon in ashes. The o is abouit $15,000. with little or no To- Wash bington correspondent of lhei.tlat Conistitutioni says that PreidentiL Cleveland is very much ex 0reised toer the uch talked of al liance between the free silverites of te outhm and West. The presidenit c lis al~ l lkiimocrats who are in favor of fr'' coinia'ge Populi:ss and hie is athingi~ carerilym " thme lirst. sign of a break The nerstanding is thmat whien the '-outh m' nd Westbegin show 'e will drawv c'l'oer to thme Sherman .o h r)ilt,publim parity. anid p bl'i dve'lop) into a full . Jmens A. H arriis, of Citra. one lie best4 infori'med orange growvers mi 1 Psida. says ithat 9i5 per' cent. of the r'p is kinlledt. anid that next year s ol w'ill not reach 100.10 b111 oxes, enns 5 IU.00 boxes last y'ear. The r::rl e ve"'t ble erp. the entire straw bruv erop. and four-fi fthms of the pine appie planst are destroyed. A con -. \,.m etinsite nla(cs thme loss at A GANG OF FIREBUGS. A D)a.,ltarcly AttempI t to1)- I4are a st eamshiAI I. EW ORtLEANS. j4'l*). 114. !evee at South 1port zilud is h:r'd with havillg witli tie a01tant; o, two or morel confederates or collspirators. un known. cut open the e(Ids of two bales of cotton ready to be stored on7 thestea mner Floridianl, and secreting therein a quantity of combustible material for the purpose of blowing up the vessel or destroving the same by ire, was ar ranigied before Commissioner Wri it Yesterday morning and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges preferred. The act for which Oaks is held to answer is in violation of section 5364 of the Revised Statutes of the Tiiited States. The prisoner was in conse quence placed under appearance bond in the sum of $5,000. When the Judge pronounced the size of bond that would be required, the accused stated that it was unnecessary to make the bond so heavy, as he was a stranger in town and a bond of $100 would serve as well. Commissioner Wright replied that it was not his business to know what amount of bond the person was able to supply. therefore the bond would remain as first fixed. Oaks has the appearance of a hard looking customer with a face on him that probably will not prove of great benefit in his behalf when he is called to look a jury in the face. He evident ly is a man beyond the meridian of life and says lie has not been in the city more than two months and came here from Savannah, Ga. He claims that he is not a member of any of the vari ous labor organiztions, but admits that lie knows something about loading cotton on board of ships. The sticks taken from the two bales of cotton, wrapped up in wet cloth and which were first generally thought t' be dynamite, proved today to Iave been composed of phosphorus and it was therefore probably the intention of the perpetrator not to blow up the ship or injure any of the workmen employ ed in loading the ship, but evidently to destroy the cotton in the vessel by fire. The combustible material was carefully laid up on the back of one of the large record books in the mar shal's office last night with a glass covering it, so that no one would be come endangered by interference with it. This morning it was found that the stuff concealed in the wraps had caught fire during the night and there was nothing left but the charred re mains. For some time past steamship burn ing has been a frequent occurrence at Savannah, and the various steamship companies doing business at that port have expended large sums in attempt ing to ferret out the guilty parties, but it seems that the conspiracy was so thoroughly organized that until now it has proven impossible to even appre hend any of the burners. Detectives from Savannah, it is said. have only recently visited New Orleans on such an errand, but as usual could not lo cite or effect a capture. It is therefroe the general supposi tion that the man who is now under arrest here and who goes by the name of Oas, and states that he came from Savannah, belongs to the conspiracy which has so long made that port quite risky for vessels to receive cargoes from. However, the proof at present does not sustain such a theory. The fact that there have been a number of fires on ship board here, and that gen erallv vessels after leaving here have been"'discovered en fire. taken in con nection with today's discovery, would seem to bear out the theory that a ship burning gang can be at work. Brayton's~ Speech. In commenting en the speech of E. 3. Brayton in the recent Republican State Convention, a gathering that was called into existence by Brayton himself, the Columbia Evening News very truly says that "this wild~scheme of desperate men to bring the negro i nt o line will reacton their own heads The negro is staggeringlikea drunken man on the brink of a precipice. He will miss his footing and be hurled to destruction before coming to his senses. It is a pitiable spectacle. Brayton made clear his intentions. He cher shes the wish to revive the Republican party, and hopes, of course, by a coali istion to get power. What becomes of his ignornt followers he neither knows nor cares. Such speeches engender bitterness in an otherwise peaceful race. He and his aiders and abettors may be charged justly with whatever disasters overtake the negro. The men who follow him will find they reckon without their host. The Con servatives, we are sure, will sprun such an alliance. For such a speech we mean his calling on the negro preachers to arouse their people-he would have been run out of the coun try in 1876 and perhaps gone on the: single rail route. It need not be dis cussed whether the negro has a right to act. As a practical, every-day mat ter, he is hatching trouble for himself: his vote will not count, and he jeop ards the safety of his race." These are plain, sober words, and we believe voice the sentiments of nine-tenth of the' Conservatives in die State. Bray ton's speech will be found in the pro ceedings of the Republican State Cor vention, which is p)ublished in this is sue. Hunt it up and read it. It will make you think of 1876. A Brilliant Meteor. SPARTANBURG, S. C., Feb. 15.-At 12:10 yesterday morning there was a srangely beautiful light in the heav ens. The clouds had cleared away and the light was particularly brilliant but it was impossible to distinguish the cause. A few minutes later the news flashed over the wires that a very large meteor had fallen within ten feet of the telegraph oper-ator~ at te Southern railway depot at Gaines ville, Ga. The operator' was the only mani up at the station and up to 2 o'clock he could not be iduced to go outside the othice. No amount of per suasion. neither love nor monre could make him investigate. He says it looked to be nearly as big as a flour barrel and millions of stars Ilew from it as it struck the earth. A dispatch from Atlanta says the flasih was ac compaied by aloud rumbling noise. Houses trembled as though shaken by an earthquake. Those who saw the brilliant illumination and felt the swaing of the buildings without wit nessing the flight of the rocket. sup posed that either a terrific explosion had oc'irr'ed or that it was an earth ani ~th a v'olcanic eruiptioin. .Joel Chamuer11C Harris. who1' observed it, sas that it appeared wo be traveling at the rate of ninety -ailes an hiour. as near as lhe could judge. Tidal Way. NoRTH SYDNEY. C. B., Feb. 15. A dvices from Meat Cove. C. B.. say s the tidal wave whlich swept thlat coast Tuesday and Wednesday ~of last week did great damage to shippling on St. Paul Island. The waves wvashed clear over the top of the northwest light house. Several stores and hlouses with their contents were swept into the ocean. Telegraph wires wer'e blown down for' a distance of twenlty miles. F~rozeni to Detath. BEAFORT. Feb. JW.---Thle weather has been bitterly cold for the last week, and so far as reported there has POWDER AbsolutelYI Pre. A cream of tartar 1amng powder Highest- of all in leavening strength.-L test United States Government ood Be port. Royal Baking Powder Company, 106 Wall St., N. Y. Who Does He Represent? An analysis of the vote in the house of representatives on the proposition to banish silver from our financial sys tem, by making the word "coin" ap ply only to gold, or to make the pro posed issue of bonds payable in gold, shows that the president is not in sym pathy with any of the three pdlitical parties that had strength enough to put out a platform and candidates in the last electi --. Ninety-four Demo cratic represent ttives voted against the demands of the so-called Democratic president, against 91 for his masure. The Republicans stood 45 with the president to 57 against him. The 10 Populists were solidly against him. Thus it is seen that there is a clear majority in each of the three parties represented in congress against him. Who then does Mr. Cleveland repre sent? We have never questioned the honesty of the president. When - he was denounced as a tool of Wall. street, we thought the accusation too strong, but whether he is their tool or not, his policy is the Wall streetpolicy. Recent developments, from the presi dent's own message show that while he was asking congress -to devise some measure of relief for the treasury, he was at that moment negotiating with Wall street and London bankers. The remedy he proposes is not only the policy these men want adopted, but they have dictated the terms, and they alone axe the beneficiaries of the deal. New York, New Jersey Pen nsylvania, Massachusetts :and Con necticut, the five States that already have thiscountryunder mortgage, and are consequently interested in making money as high, as dear, as hard to get as posible, so that the money they have and the money that is paid to them in interest every year will buy all the more of the product of the farm and the labor of the artisan, gave more than two-thirds of the vote Mr. Cleveland got. So far as we can see, the only advantage of the gold stand ard,,and the only necessity that exists for maintaining the system of fiance Mr. Cleveland and Wall street are urg ing, is that it will ena ale the bank-to obtain European exchange at par. The five States mentioned do fully nine-tenths of the business directly with Europe that is done in this coun try. That is probably why they voted so solidly with the president; but the question naturally arises: Is .it the duty of the government todirgd the interests and desires of the thry nine States in order that the bankers of the five States may get exchange at par Where is the sense or justice in hold ing on to a policy that is daily grind ing the life out of the producers of 39 States, that the bankers of 5 maygrow richer? We see that gold and silver are getting further apart every day. We know that the divergence is due, the appreciation of gold, becausethere is a corresponding decline in all of the products that gold buys. it is not dif ficult to see, that to do asthe p resident desires, creates a new demand for gold by stipulating gold payments, will as surely . tend to raise the price of gold still higher, as that the law of supply and demand regulates prices. If we are to be fastened to the gold standard, and gold is to be made still dearer, by increasing the demand while the sup ply cannot be increased corresponding ly, then, it does not take a philosopher to see that it will take more cotton to buy the gold dollar, it will take nmore wheat, it will take more hours and days of labor. But wve cannot believe that this great country is ready and willing to sur render to the banks. We cannot be lieve that the people are going to sub mit forever to a policy which robs the poor and makes money harder and har der to get, while it makesthe rich man richer by increasing the purchasing p'- wer of'the money 'he has. We can: not believe that the Democratic party, that great party founded to protectthe weak and to represent the people, giv ing the greatest good to the greatest number, will ignore the interests of 39 States and allow New York, ,New Jersey, Pennslyvania, Massachusetts and Conneticut to dictate our financial policy. Wall street and the gold bugs may wea~ve into their web a stragling Democrat here and there, they may even induce a leader now and then to desert. but the Democratic party is safe. The great body of the people who voted for the Chicago platform, and their representatives who framed it stand today where thev did then. They stand f'or the "coinage of both ooland silver, without discrimination against either metal or charge for min tage.~ Who does Mr. Cleveland rep resent ? The policy under which we are now suiering is attributed to the Republi can party, because its prophet, John Sherman. struck the first blow against silver in 1873. But Mr. Cleveland goes a depth into gold buggerv that makes Sherman tremble, and where Czar Reed refuses to follow. When Mr. Cleveland asked congress to devise some plan to sa ve the treasury. seeing that it would never consent to more bonds. Mr. Reed proposed that instead of long term bonds, due bills or notes of the government for temporary loans be used. "Make themi payable in gold,"si the president. But Czar Reed refused to become the reputed father to such an infamy. And now it is seen that the very moment Mr. (Caveland asked congress to help him solve the problem, he was secretly negotiating with Rothschilds & Son, of London. and Morgans, of Wall street. for sixty-five millions at four per cent., not even going through the form ality of advertising for bids. It is a terr-ible charge to brng against the Democratic party tb-at a president elected as a Dec.:rai, was less willing to carry out the platform of that part than the leader of the party defeate. But while the charge is true, itis equal ly clear th~at the president misrepre sents his t~arty. He represents Wall