Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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161 . V 1 ESTABLISHED 185 ___ NEWBERRY, S. C., THURSDAY) AUGUSI,19.__ ____ THE RIGHTS OF TtUE MINOI:rIT. Unrestrained Majorities in Our Le:ie:ii Bodies Are a Menace to Civil Liberty. Majorities are Not Infallible and the Weaker Power Must be Re.pected. BY 11ON. 1. C. 1:TLER. Gentlemen o fth Exelx,or am t Irna kosrnlan Societiec, Lmlies and Gen tlemen: * There are some fallacies lately sane tioned and promulgated by men in high public station that ought to be exposed. and to which I beg to address myself to-night. The doctrine has been enunciated that ours is a government controlled by majorities, and that legislative assemblies should be organized solely with a view of carrying out the will of its majority. This proposition has been approved in a manner that makes it dangerous. There was a time in our history when the science of governneat, the most complicated and difficult of all sciences, was studied and taught by inen with leisure to study and ability to teach. They were deeply imbued with the spirit and principles of popular govern ment, and had the courage and inde pendence of their convictions. There was a time also when the press and periodicals and the hustings were presided over by men of genius and matured thought. These agencies furnished a ready and convenient medium of communication to the pub lic of the most acceptable and best principles for our guidance. The con flict between the centralist and home ruler was "a battle of the giants" and.the people were intelligently in structed in what was the real founda tion of our popular represertative sys tem. Some of those teachings are now regarded as heresies, but whatever the choice or predilections of those holding conflicting views, the outcome of the intellectual controversies was instruc tion and information to the public. It cannot be denied that there are now many men of commanding talents in public life and many.-brilliant writers connected with the pr< ss, but the trouble of our time is the rapidity with which we live and raove about, and in the pressure of this wonderfully industrial age for making money we have too little time to think or reflect maturely. ' Much of the best talent of the country finds channels of employ ment in the pursuit of fortunes, and commands high salaries in the lines of business, in the arts and sciences 'nd what may be termed material, in con tradistinction to strictly intellectual, pursuits. The result is, men of high attainments, of trained minds and sound judgments take up avocations for the money that is in them, and make traffic of their abilities. This observation is not made in a spirit of reproach or .adverse criticism, but to point a fact which I am sure will not be denied. I presume this condition is a neces sary incident to the great material de velopment in progress, especially in this country, and more or less throughout the civilized world. Whatever the cause, it is not unaccompanied by danger to our popular form of govern ment. We have so little time to think, that false teachings and vicious theories of government, plausibly presented, are too apt to find a lodgment in the minds of good men, and warp their judgments. Men of intelligence and patriotism, absorbed by the busy, active pursuits cof our modern life, are prone to be misled by tie attractive audacity of charlatans and s&nagogues and their zeal for party succe- . They have not the time, or will not take the time, to investigate for themselves and conse quently yield their better impulses and judgment to the failacies of those whose business it is to achieve party success at all hazards-and take for granted that which ought to be care fully, inquired into and mat urely con sidered. More than that, there are men in public life at this time, and many not in public life, of ability, edu cation and well trained intellects, of independent fortunies and incomes, who do not believe in the principles of popu lar government established by the Con stitution, and developed by the fathers of the republic. Prudence alone pre vents their open avowal of distrust in the people for self government, and the next great conflict in this country will be between this class and the ad herents of popular soverignty. What do I mean by popular soy erignty? This is a miuchi hackneyed phrase, as common almost as the al phabet of our language, and yet is not as well understood, or as fully comipre hended, as it behooves a liberty loving people to understand and comprehend it. Persons living under the brow of great mountains, made common by constant proximity, rarely inquire into their origin or source, or the g reat ranges of "eternal hills'' of which they are a part. They scarcely observe the count less and ever varying lights and shad ows reflected on their rugged sides, or study the phenomena or atmospheric influences of their great altitudes. Residents on the banks of a great river, daily witnesses of the downward flow (ofits ex haustless.curren t, seldom kn ow of its source or terminus or inquire of its origin. So with us, we hear so much of popular soverignty, republi can form of government, etc., many of us do not stop to inquire what they mean; in what respect they differ from other forms of government, how it is, or should be administered and whait its orign and probable fate. My friends, popular soverignty means the rule of the people, that the power and sovereignty of governnment is vested in the people. You will doubtless ask. Why announce such a trite truism? why repeat what every intelligent man knows? I answer, because it can not be too often stated and urged. especially to the young men of the~ country; second, because a great many apparently intelligent. men andi wonmen have a very vague idea of the rule of the people, and third, because many, very many men, more than we are willing to acknowle'dge,. do not believe the people can or ought to rule. If we go to the genesis of this inquiry, youi would perhaps ask, how can the people rule, distributed separately as they are, in all parts of this vas countr\? H ow can they rule and govern, how can they exercise soverizn, upreme power? The answer is simple and easily. under stood. They rule and govern through agents, servants, selected by them at the ballot box. Those aigents- or ser' vanits are endowed * wi:h n power, no divine right to 'overn, no aLuthority, except what is sptelcifia!! delegaited to and bestowed up.n tm i by the au thors of their (oheica heming The Presi dent of the Ur ited Stte is not a ruler, in the sense usuaill a pplied to that term, in the sense of bar'ing in his owvn right, and exercising sapreme, soverign authority to govern nor. The limit and letter and scope of his power is well eAddares deHivered at Newberry Colle:e. amui distinctly defined and marked out n by the Constitution and laws made for sil hisguidance. ThegovernorofaStateis not a ruler. He has no power except th such ts is conferred upon him. All ps execut ive, legislative and judicial offi- vi cers of the government are servants, TI agents discharging duties of govern- in nieat imposed by law. The offices m they hold do not belong to them, but st: to the people, and they are held in in trust for the people. Officeholders are tb trustees, responsible directly (or should be) to the sovereign authority from fri which the trust originates. Official lit trusts can only be faithfully and prop- ti' erly discharged- when this responsi- in bility is fully recognized by the trustee, qt and can only be fully demanded and nE enforced by the appointing power, the at people, when the principles regulating to the appointment and administration B; of the trust are intelligently compre- th hended by the people. This rule ap- tb plies to every department of a popular of form of government, and ignorance or at neglect of it may lead to oppression, bt mal-administration and usurpation. w Recurring to the observation in the w opening of this address, I have said n< that the doctrine or theory that ours tb is a government controlled by the will at of a majority is a fallacy. 1 desire to emphasize this statement, and repeat H that it is a gross, flagrant fallacy. The al experience of mankind has proven, to that an infuriated majority, bent on tt power, plunder or resentment, whether jo acting in legislative halls orlon the high- C way, is the most irresponsible, destruc- hi tive, oppressive tyranny on earth. An cc aggregation of men, combined in a es majority of numbers, will do, in their al aggregate capacity, what the individual of of that combination would shrink ti from with abhorrence and shame. A qi hundred tyrants are more grinding and ai unscrupulous in the exercise of power, ti controlled by nothing but their united a< will, than any single tyrant who has ti ever disgraced the annals of human e government. A despotism founded on cc the will of an uncontrolled majority is di infinitely more oppressive and danger- rt ous than a despotism represented by a tr single despot. tc Profiting by this experience and with a< a full knowledge of the weakness and p1 proclivitiies of mankind when clothed it with irresponsible power, the founders b; of this republic hedged .about and re- it strained majorities in the administra- pi tion of our public affairs with every n< conceivable limitation consistent with bi the orderly conduct of government. si The Creator of the universe, in con- ci structing streams of water seeking their tl level by t te laws of gravitation, made w them to wind and meander on their ei downward flow to check and regulate tr the momentum of the descending vol- ai ume. b; Straighten any river, so that its cur- it rent will fall unobstructed to its level, b: and th. accellerated momentum of the ri stream would carry destruction in its T course. Invest any majority of popular p representatives with absolute, uncon- p: trolled power, and it would go crashing ti through the monuments of liberty, h created by the fathers of the, republic, 'N until it carried them away into the u+ great sea of despotism and ruin. Majori- fr ties in legislative assemblies require the A strong hand of restraint upon their will rt far more than any element of power in ti popular government. An experience rt of years in the legislative department of Is the United States convinces me of the p truth of this, and of the wisdom of those w provisions of theConstitution which im- of pose checks and restraints upon them. Ii If it were not true, if the will of the s< .ajority is to beconclusive of any and u every public measure, why does the rt constitution require that an act of Con- o: gress shall have the approval 9f the .ti President, or its passage over his veto, ei before it becomes a law. Why was the power conferred upon the President to p; veto a bill and-require a two-thirds vote it of both Houses of Congress to over-ride a: the veto--why should a two-thirds vote si of the Senate be required to ratify and p: confirm a treaty? Why was the Su- S peme Court, representing the judicial" branch of the government,invested with ci power to invalidate an Act of Conoress ti by declaring it unconstitutional? UVhy u were the first ten amendments to the " Constitution adopted so soon after the ei ratification of that instrument by the aJ the States, every one of them placing u limitations upon the powers of Con- g gress, upon the majorities of both a; branches of Congress? No, young gen- tI tlemen, ours is not a government con- d trolled by majorities, but a government V of the people, conducting their public s] aflairs by representatives and agents, b abd they, in turn, are controlled and p restrained in their delegated functions b by a written constitution and laws s] nmade in pursuance thereof. I might ri cite many other provisions of the con stitution and laws to establish this b proposition, but every intelligent man p knowvs that it is true, and I only refer di to and empbasize it to combat a ten- el dency in somne quarters to insist that -tI a numerical majority may do what it w~ pleases. There is no justification for w such a principle in the Constitution or p rules made under its authority, for the e: government of legislative bodies-no w authority for suc'. a principle, except a tc reckless ambhition 'ir desire to carry ei party measur- ,, a a high hand, and I seize power and plunder. under the spe- vi cious pretext that the majority should st rule. I do not deny the rule of the tI miajority after it has expressed its opin- I ion, asserted its power, in a constitu- ti tional manner, and in accordance with ai well recognized parliamentary mneth- d: o(ls of piroceoure, and with a full te and complete recognition of the mi- ol nority. It is not against this phase pl of the question that I am directing my id remarks, but against the vicious heresy, pl that whatever a majority decides,under p. the impulse and influence of its own h: will, is right and must prevail. This am has been claimed aud enforced by per sons high in official position, and athe- tl ory more dangerous to popular institu- vi tioius was never advanced. g I t is only necessary to recall incidents p: in our recent legislative history to ti confirm the truth of this. In advert- "i ing to them, let me say in passing, that d< whatever references I may make, I am u] not governed by political or party con- g siderations, and shall not deal with vi them in a party or political sense, or It with a view of scoring a political bi noint, but as a citizen of the republic, til inoved by a sense of duty and a sincere la desire to contribute as best I may to vi to the curing of public evils, the correc- w ton of errors and the preservation of si the true principles of republican institu- tt tionis. These institutions will soon be in your keeping, young gentlemen, and rt you ought to study and utnderstand a, the:u. i LislMative bodies ought to be or- ti gani2zed and conducted t(or the transac- st tioni of the putblie business." "Majori-' hi tiu,. arie held responsible, anid therefore pl o.iciit toi be allowed to have their way" etc. This is the attractive phraseology nm :nployed by the apologists of parlia- - umentary despossm, and is misleading. or In this parliamentary pronunciamento, ac no provision appears to be contem- ki plated for the rights of minorities, and gi the -constituency theyf, represent--mi- nm ,rities who have their share of respon >ility. Bands of highwPvmen, organize fo e transaction of ->usiness, and are no .rticular about the rights of thei ,tims, who may be in the minority iey get through with their busines the most expeditious and surnmar: anner, and are not troubled by coti .tutional restraints. They see spoil reach, and they take and divid em among themselves. Brigands might have valuable lesson >m recent precedents in a high par mentary body of select represents ,es, and "count" their victims, th inority, who are present, to make orum for the "transaction of busi ss" and the adoption of measure horrent to their sense of right an, which they are unalterably opposed e such a parliamentary performauc ese same brigands could transac eir business with, at least, the colo justification. They might go furthe d keep a roll, and not only "count it record the opposing minority iether present or absent, and after ards appeal to the record, about whic >thing aliunde can be proven, toshoi at the majority was within the las d bad "transacted business." This very thing was done in the la5 ouse ofRepresentatives,under the ple >ove set forth, that the House "ough be organized for the transaction c e public business," and that the me rity ough t to be permitted to rule-th )nstitution and laws, right, justic( )nesty, and public decency to th ntrary notwithstanding. Was ther er such a travesty upon constitutior government? Under the authorit such precedents, a reckless revoi, )nist in the Speaker's chair would r( ire only one man to "count," an other to "record," to pass any measur at might meet bis approval, or tran, t any public business that he migb ink needful or desirable? Was tber ,er such a pitiable spectacle, such nfession of the weakness of the bruti ctrine that the majority ought t le according to its own will, an ansact the public business accordin its own pleasure, as when the loude: Ivocates of this monstrous and unrl iblican proposition are compelled t voke the aid of those who oppose i 7 resorting to arithmetic, and coun g the opposition, before they ca tss,a measure? Why call on the m yri'.J? Why with a majority of men ers make a false record if the majorit ould rule? Where was the quorur arged with and held responsible f< e transaction of public business? J as found not to be large or tractab: tough to enforce this new-born doi ine of "majority rule." Its weakne. d fallacy was further demonstrate r resorting to the outrage of unseatin ,emb3rs of the minority, ,most b Mute force, in utt:r disregard of tb ght, justice and law of the casi his additional act of naked usu: ition was found necessary in tb ogress of this parliamentary revolt n to reinforce and strengthen th therto imperfect fabric of tyrann3 ore representatives of a free consti mcy must be driven and expelle Dm the body to purge it of oppositior nd even then, the maj.ority did n< ile without the aid of a "count" < e minority. What were some of t> sults? One hundred millions of do rs of surplus revenues were in tt iblic treasury, and the majorit anted it and they took it under cov( "majority rule." One hundred mi )ns, the hard earned money of tr vereign people collected by taxatic nder the specious guise of majorit le! One thousand eighty odd millior dollars were taken from the people easury by one Congress ! One billia ghty odd million ! Trhissame majority,by these method assed a measure, the Force Bill, moi iquitous in its provisions, revolutior -y in its terms, for reaching in its a: .ults on popular rights, than any evc esented to the Congress of the Unite ates. In the transaction of suc >ublic business" the majority tran ~nded even the untenable propositic at the majority should rule and by surpation unparalelled, I repea ~onted" the opposition, the minorit: unted and recorded members, ding in the passage of mea res to which they were opposed, 1 ve validity to their acts of usurpatio id outrage. They cut oft debate bi ~e adoption of a cloture rule, stifle scussion, by gagging the oppositior !y ? Because they wanted power an >oils and they said the minority "fill astered," "obstructed legislation, revented the "transaction of pubi siness," that the "majority was r >onsible, and should be permitted1 These are matters and facts of publ story, and are legitimate subjects 2blic criticism. I desire to repeat. >not animadvert upon them for part ect or advantage, but to give point 1 re dangers of the theories fror ich the flow, and the promptnes it': which those theories are put i -actice, when personal greed and part tigency may seem to require it. ould denounce them without regar the political party from which the nanat'e or may put them in practici denounce them now, because the olate the spirit and letter of the Cot itution and laws, and are inimical t e principles of our free institution: denounce them, to give warning 1 e people, whose rights and libertih -e menaced by them. Up to a recer te I did not like the word "fillibu: r." It was coined out of conditior invasion of the territory of a friendl ~ople obnoxious to our republica eas of justice and fair play and to th licy of our government. As now ai ied to parliamentary proceedings,: is ceased to have any terrors for mi rd I rather like it. It is not used, has never been usedi sis country at least, to obstruct or pr< int the orderly administration of th iverment. No man or minority nc rty under our system of represent: ve responsibility would dare resort t illibustermng" except to prevent c ~fer a great wrong, to postpone actio itil the people can pass upon .t lestion at issue. In that view it is luable and proper weapon of defensi is frequently the only method< inging import. it issues to the atter yn of the people, and securing a popt r verdict. I have seen it stand like ~ritable stone wall for hours, day: eeks, months, against the direst cor iracy to circumvent the liberties e people ever contrived by man. The plea then of the "majorit les," if I may so express myself, e justification or excuse for their clo -e rules and stilling methods, the t minority "fillibustered," and ot reted the transaction of the ligitimat siness of the government, is a fals ea and a false pretense. The question may be asked-if th inority may delay action indefinitel how can a conclusion ever be reache measures which the majority war bpted ? I answer, let the nmajorit ep its quorum present, and not deli .te its power and authority to on n who may, or who may not be. - tyrant and revolutionist, to "count" a quorum from the oppostion, permit the r utmost freedom of discussion. -o that t the issue may be fairly and fully pre r sented before the people, and let them, not the Speaker, declare their verdict. STheir verdict is conclusive. In the bal , lot box the minority does rule, and - upon that there is or should be no re s straint. 3 One or two observations more and I have done. Oneof the very greatest evils, s I might say curses, of our time in the - conduct and administration of govern - ment, both State and Federal, is too much law making. Almost every leg 3 islative body in the country is deluged - with bills and resolutions and nets. s An act Is passed at one session to be I repealed or modified at the next, breeding confusion and uncertainty in a the minds of the people and instability t in public affairs. I think this may be r accounted for on two assumptions. r 1st. That printer's ink and stenography have become so cheap that the average statesman is encouraged to - ventilate himself somewhat at the 1 public expense and 2nd, that the r people are looking too much to the , government for aid in their private affairs, instead of relying upon them t sel;es, as in the good old days of self a dependence and independence, and t individual self-reliance. Perhaps the f tendency of our modern civilization to corbination, co-operation and corpora e tion dwarfs individualism, overshadows and paralyzes individual effort; hence e the government is appealed to as being e the only agency behind which the in . dividual can take refuge. Whatever the cause, the effect is mischievous, and the government is assuming a relation of paternalism to the people and the I people, a relation of dependence instead e of mastery to the government. If "fil - bustering" could check this evil, if it t could postpone it, I should fall down be e fore and worship it. I should incorporate a it in the rules for the regulation of leg 1 islative bodies, and make it an adden o dum to Jefferson's and Cushing's d manuals, and in doing this I should feel perfectly assured that the govern t ment, State and Federal, would be administered more satisfactorily and o honestly. I know that in advancing these views i I shall incur the criticism, perhaps n displeasure, of the rapid-firing, maga [ zine statesmen, whose coruscating am e. bition will not tolerate opposition or y delay, but I shall, nevertheless, young a gentlemen, endeavor to impress theni r earnestly upon you and ask you to in t vestigate for yourselves their soundness e and wisdom. Majorities in legislative assemblies s unrestrained by anything but their d will, cloture rules and kindred iniqui g ties are dangerous weapons in the hands of any party. Experience has e shown that they will be used for per sonal and party ends, in entire disre gard of the public interest and welfare, e and you, young gentlemen, should see . to it, as far as you may have the ability, e that these great powers be rescued from the impious hands that have seized them, and restored to their proper cus d todians, the people themselves. Great talents have been and will be t employed to justify and excuse their If usurpation, plausible arguments will e be advanced in the presss, periodicals, . on the stump, to uphold it, but a vigi e lant public eye, a careful examination by those who have the time and ca r pacity. to think and examine, will . puncture the fallacy and expose the e imposture. n Parliamentary practices in the British y House of Commons have been appealed s to, to support the late arbitary, tyranni. s cal and unconstitutional proceedings nin bo'th branches of the last Congress. It is not always safe or wise to rely upon precedents made in the adminis. etration of monarchical forms of gov. . ernent, however liberal they may be, .to sustain methods under a republican r system. The very appeal stamps them~ d with suspicion. But when the parlia. h mentary proceedings of the English y. House of Commons are misrepresented n as they have been, when the truth of a history has been perverted and sup t pressed as it has been, and will be, to r justify usurpation in this country, the Sauthors of this fraud sink beneath con . tempt. o I venture to assert, that in the whole n history of that illustrous body, the House of Commons, unrestrained as it d is, -and has been from its foundation . by a written constitution, there has d never been such an instance.or example i. of usurpation and oppression as was n practiced in the last Congress of the U Lnited States-nothing approaching it. .No Speaker of the House of Co.mmons owas ever invested with such powers as were placed in the hands of the last c Speaker of the United States House of gf Representatives, and no Speaker of I the House of Commons ever ap. y proached the Speaker of the last House Sin the reckless, revolutionary manner a with which he weilded the power he Swas invested witb. 2 Cloture rules have been adopted in ythe House of Commons. They were I adopted in the last House of Represen d tatives, and were attempted in the ySenate. Such rules ought never to be Sused in any parliamentary body in a free country. They are the natural - outgrowth of so-called majority rule, o and the twin sister of tyranny and . usurpation. In the House of Coin o mons, the cloture rule, the rule to close ,e debate, was adopted after a long, heated t and acrimonious discussion, and even . then, with many misgivings as to its s wisdom or propriety. This was in the yBritish Empire. The Speaker of the a House of Commons, is a non-partisan. e He is elected to protect the minority -and never permits debate to be closed t until the minority has had full oppor tunity to be heard-and the fullest and ,freest discussion had on the pending measure. .But in free America, in the adminis e tration of a government of the people r by a majority exercising delegated .- powers, that majority adopted a cloture o rule, under which a great revenue bill r involving millions of money to be taken a from the people was passed, practically e without debate. The Force Bill, that a I have characterized none too strongly as the direst conspiracy ever contrivedl fby man, wvas put through the House with the small'est opportunity vouch -safed the minority to discuss and ex apose its infamous provisions. A worthy, honorable member from -our own State was unseated mn just six ,fminutes by the clock, without a hear ing, and without the ceremony of notice to him that he had been ejected. sThese are a few illustrations of the .virtues of majority rule-and only a t few. They are startling enough in - their audacity and boldness and revo e lutionary enough in execution to put e the people on notice as to what they may expect if this persuasive but e dangerous doctrine of majority rule is yallowed to reassert itself. They must jnot forget that power, in whatever t form it may be clothed, is always ag gressive and will seize and hold on to just as much more power as it dare to. e fConres is the great political octopus .ao this country, reaching out and gatheriug in with its innumerable branches every power within its coi stitutional reach and strai,,ing every fibre of its jurisdiction for more. I do not know that I can more ap propriately bring this address. to a close, than by quoting an extract from some remarks of my own in another place, and with your periission 1 will do so. When the Force Bill was under discussion in the Senate, during such a parliamentary struggle as this country had never known, in making imy con tribution among other things, I said: "It has been observed that Republics are never destroyed by external powers or influence, by pressure from without, but by internal dissensions, the ener vating effects of wealth and luxurious indulgences, corruption, and the loss of self-reliance and vigilance of the peo ple. And this has been true in the past, is true now, and will be true for all time. "When we reach the point in our history when the people can not elect their representatives under local laws of their own, the day of the decadence of popular government will have set in, and the destruction of popular liberty as we understand it under our form of government will have begun. The dangers to our free institutions do not lie in the untitness or unwillingness of the people for self-government. It does not lie in the encroachments of the executive and judicial departments of the government, nor in the exercise of undue or improper powers by the S ates, but in the aggressive usurpa tion and absorption of power by Con gress in assuming to itself prerogatives and rights which under the constitu tion belong to other departments, to the States, and to the people. We are replacing, by rapid gradations, year by year and session by session, a constitu tional republic of limited powers, with well-defined co-ordinate departments, each intended to move in its own sphere by a parliamentary government where minorities can be crushed, the States paralyzed, courts converted into political machines, and executive au thority shorn of its legitimate consti tutional power." THE WEDGEFIELD ALLIANCE. Rather Than Blindly Follow the Behests of Coat-Tall Politicians, the Organiza tion Unanimously Resolves to Disband. [Special to The State.] WEDGEFIELD, S. C., July 27.-At the regular meeting of the Wedgefield sub-Alliance Saturday afternoon it was unanimously resolved to disband and return the charter. Their reasons for taking this step are not secret, and a prominent member of the Alliance said: "The entry of the Alliance into poli tics having seemingly destroyed all in terest in the prime objects of the organ ization, and the recent actions of the county and State Alliances having shown that all who will not follow the behests of coat-tail politicians and swal low the visionary sub-treasury bill in toto are to be held as no longer longer loyal AIianeenen or- worthy -of-con sideration in the councils of the order, the Wedgefleld sub-Alliance is much displeased at this prostitution of the organization, which is still worthy of great veneration in its true conception, and has decided that rather than be compelled to give tip their manhood and the inalienable right to think and vote as the members choose, they will leave the organization to the fate which is yawning to receive it, if its present policy and leaders are followed." Th.ere was no opposition whatever to this course. This Alliance never has made a man's political faith the crite rion by which his loyalty was to be judged and to have such a criterion thrust upon a is more than our farmers will stand. AG AINST THE SUB-TREASU RY. At a recent meeting of the Ridge Spring Alliance, No. 840, it was unani mously resolved that the sub-treasury scheme is obnoxious and dangerous to the Alliance. P. N. TIMMERMAN, Sec. Ridge Spring Alliance No. 74'). There is Fun Ahead. [From the Edgefield Mfonitor.J Next year will be a whopper in poli tics, and if age had not already dealt harshly with us we wvould be inclined to skip a few months. We are anxious for the fray-anxious for it to be done with. The possibilities of the coming campaign are great. It has been hinted in certain quarters that there will be a triangular fight by the sub-treasuryites, the Tillmianites and the Anti-Tillman ites. Anyhow, there is lots of fun and fury ahead and we can scarcely wait for it. There will be many men on every corner an d the fence will be literally packed. Governor Till man's opposition to the sub-treasury will weaken his Alliance support, but it is foolish to predict that he will go dead; he will prove the liveliest corpse in the next campaign, and we apprehend that M1essrs Tfalbert, Stokes & Co., will again embrace the Governor- or. that is, sit very near him. "On with the dauce," etc. Not a Miracle, Now. Until recently Consumiption wvas considered incurable, but now people arc beginning to realize that the dis ease is not incurable. The cure of Con sunmption is not a miracle, now. Dr. Pierce's Golden 3Medical Discovery will cure it, if taken in time and given a fair trial. This world-renowned remn edy will not make new lungs, but it will restore diseased ones t a healthy state wvhen other means have failed. Thousands grateftully testify to this. It is the most potent tonic, or strength restorer, alterative, or blood-cleanser, an d nutritive, or flesh-builder, known to miedical science. For WVeak Lungs, Spitting of Blood, "Liver Complaint," and Dyspepsia, or indigestion, it is an uneqlualed remedy. SEVEN CENTS A POU~ND. The First Bale or Geor:ia Cotton, Goes l;egging at a New York Auction. NEW YXoR IC, .July 2.-The first bale of the new crop of Georgia cottol., classed about strict low middling, raised in Dougherty County, was sold at pub lie auction to-day, in front of the Cot ton Exchange, at seven cents per The Beautiful Trio. [Clinton Gazette.J Three pretty girls wearing~ very broari and wel-becoming hats was the grand sight of the season last Saturday. The beauties marched up Broad street, and captivated the entire business portion of the city. I want one of them-hats. That d'htention of the stomach whuir-h many people feel after eating, mau~y bie due to imiproper mastication of the food ; but, in most cases. it indlicates a weakness of the digestive organs, the best remedy for which is one of Ayer's Pills te taken after dinner. THE GREAT DEBATE. Tcrel' at.d TiEm:tan Had It Hot and Heavy at Spartanburg. [Special to the News and Courier.] PART'AN1'R(;, 8. C., July 2-.-To day the debate between Governor Till man and Col. Terrell was the great point of interest, and reportorial in quiry for the debate was strictly in secret. The Alliance people had put forth extra force to preserve that se crecy. Reporters gathered on the bal conies in windows of the hotels, and in the shadows of the walls of the Opera House. It was all in v^ .a. All that could be gathered was a word here and there from the speakers. It was, of course, especially desired to hear what Governor Tillman had to say. Alli ance men got into the hall, but there were Non-Alliance men, in a crowd three feet thick and deep, who did not get into the hall. If there were any reporters in the hall they were very few in number and were not known in that official capacity. Canvassers who were Alliance men for the reve nue of this metint, only, were pro jected into space. They knew nothing, couid get nothing, and have nothing that is either news or true. Governor Tillman, President St'kes and Col. Terrell went on the stage through the crowd in the left side pas sage and were cheered every step of the way and were cheered again when stepped on the stage. Col. Terrell, it being "a civil case," had the opening and reply. An ar rangement was promptly made by giv ing Col. Terrell half an hour to open, then Governor Tillman an hour and a half, Col. Terrell to close in an hour. Governor Tillman was also accorded the privilege of interrupting his oppo nent and getting categorical answers to his interrogatories. COL. TERRELL was warmly received, and coming fe' ward he said that he deemed it a moral obligation to be here, but one- that, aside from that consideration, gave him infinite pleasure. He had learned to know an' -tppreciate the South Carolina Alliance inen and those who were not only allied with him organ ically but in thought and principle. [Applause.] He had come not only to teach as best he could, but to be taught, for mutual enlightenment was the spirit of the age. LApplause.] He was glad to meet so skillful and able an op ponent; but the audience should re member that the meeting was for a single purpose to discuss before the Order (he would emphasize this ex pression) the sub-treasury biil in its essential features and its principtes, and be knew that the discussion on the other side would take no wider latitude. Going into the argument he said that the sub-treasury was one of the de mands of th Alliance and as such it should be respected. He felt and knew that neither the Alliance norany other popular organization could exist if it did not ask sometbing that would ben efit the whole people. He held that the men of the St. Louis Convention were equal in brain and influence to any delegates that ever attended a con vention. That cor..:ention was com posed of men who in the end repre sented the sub-Alliance and therefore the people. GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF TRANSPOR TATION the third demand of the Alliance. He held that the constitutional right of the Government cou'i not be contro verted, and the Alliance was only ask ing the Government to carry out the law. He held that the expenses of the p)eopl:is pockets. He then alluded to the demand for financial reform, or, as expressed by the Ocala platform, the abolition of national banks and the es tablishment of sub-treasuries. The position of Col. Terrell is here givenl in his language as follows: "We demand the abolition of na tional banks. By this the Alliance means banks of issue. We believe the Government alone has the right to make money and in the national bank ing system the Government has dlele gated that power to the banks, without restriction as to the amount they should keep in circulation. With the latitude great abuses have grown up in connec tion with them, and the circulation has been expanded to suit the money power to the great hurt of the farmers and laborers of the country. The prop erty of any country is at the mercy ol those who can control its money, and believing this to be so the Alliance rightly demands the abolition of the national banks and ban ks.of issue. COMrNG; TO THLE POINT. Second, We demand that the Gov ern men t shall establish sub-treasuries or depositories in the several States which shall loan money direct to the people at a low rate of interest, not to exceed :2 per cent per annum on imper ishable fa.rm products and also upon real estate, with proper limitations upon the quantity of laud and amount of money. In this demand the Alli ance inteuded to provide for increasingr the circulating medium by advancing money on land (which they demand shall be increased to $50 per~ capita.) In the advance on farm p)roducts the intention was to give to the circulation that flexibility absolutely necessary to the welfare and protection of the farm ers. Now let us fi rst look at the necessity of an increase cf the circulation. I be lieve that I shall be able to prove to the satisfaction rf any fair minded man that a very great crime has been com mitted against the people by contrac tion of our circulation. If you will ex amine statistics for the last twenty-five years you will find that they wiil prove three things: First. That the per cap ita volume of currency has been con stantly and materially lessened; second, that bankruptcies and failures have rapidly multiplied in consequence; third, that the national debt during this periond( has increased instaud of being dlimhinished." He then dealt with the subject of the cont raction of the currency and the re sultant faiilures and losses. Speaking of the plan of relief Col. Terrell said that the sub-treasury was introduced to give the people control of the circula tion and the power to p)revent discrim ination against the producer. He dis cussed at length the need for more money and defended cotton as good a basis as gold bullion. wE sHioUI w ay V This was the essential part of the ar gument, and the sp~eaker mnaintained it w:ith great force. Co!. Terrel! in his address nee -rl went over a great deal of the ground covered in the ad dress of i>l. Polk, and which was given to-day in the News aud,Courier. G)vERNOR TILLMAN was received with great enthusiasm w hen he arose to speak. He was evi dently in the house of Alliance men and friends. Opening his speech he "I thank you for the cordiality with which I was received by you yester day, and for the renewal of that feeling to-day. At the outset I would call at tention to the charges that have been made inside and outside that I have been fighting the Alliance. I need not ttll you that such charges are not true. [Applause.] "I am aware that the Alliance has been criticised and that I have been applauded and patted on the back on th": assumption that there was a per sonal fight between the Alliance and myself, but I tell you my friends that that endorsement has been of no avail. I Applause.] It was too transparent. [Applause.] If they have been urging me forward on the supposition that there was a wer between me and my friend. in the Alliance, they have been mistaken." GOING FOR POLK AND STOKES. Governor Tillman said that at the outset he was obliged to complain of the injustice of President Polk coming here and taking a vote in the Alliance on the subject matter of the debate of to-day. He desired also to know why President Polk had the right to elimi nate five planks of the Ocala platform and that such a furor was raised be cause he differed with his brethren on one single plank. [Applause.] I claim, said Governor Tillman, that the action of President Polk and of Presidont Stokes was nothing more or less .than a usurpation of authority not granted by the constitution of the Alliance. TESTING THE OCALA PLATFORM. Governor Tillman then took up the Ocala platform and discussed it from the opening to the closing section. He laid great stress on the value and im portance of the free coinage of silver and explained the robbery committed by its deuionetization. He then argued in favor of an income tax and the abso lute Lecessity of having Senators elec ted directly by the people so as to get rid of the power exercised by million aires who bought and sold the people like cattle and hogs. He claimed that the sub-treasury bill had come to the people downward from the St. Louis meeting in a perfunctory way, and that it had gone back to Oca la and had been endorsed in the sa-ue way, with the result and effects not understood by the people, the source of authority. [Applause.] "But I will not deny," he said, "that the agitation has done great good in this broad coun try of ours, for it has called attention of the world to the fact that the producing classes are sorely oppressed, and are demanding, crying for relief." [Ap plause.] Governor Tillman then touched upon the currency question. I am, he said, in favor of a fiexible currency, of a greater volume of currency; but I main tain that a flexible currency as enunci ated by Col. Terrell means an attempt to fix prices by legislation, to fix the price of commodities by statute. That, my friends, is fallacy, because the price must be regulated by the inflexible law of supply and demand. FOLLY O. TiE COTTON : ORAGE IDEA. Governor Tillman said that in case cotton got dammed up in the ware houses the consumers would know that it would have to come out in time and that just as soon as the quantity was known, which could not be concealed, the price would gravitate to its normal level. This illustration he introduced to show that an artificial means could not evade or run counter to an estab lished law in the commercial world. It was asserted, he said, that by spread ing the supply over twelve months the fall in price would be prevented and that the evils of inconstant prices would .be obviated. They had, how ever, forgotten that by the terms of the bill by which the whole could be only held for twelve months, one-twelfth of the crops must be sold each month, and that there was absolutely nothing to prevent the speculator from having the same chance as he holds under ex isting laws. He would have the same chance with the sub-treasury as he now has with the people. The Governor held to the position that the sub-treas ury bill was class legislation, or, as he put it to-day, "it is a special privilege rati 'r than a right." I admit, he said, that the Government has loaned mon ey, but the right for such action is based on the general welfare clause of the Constitution, and not upon pro scriptive or statutory right. It will not be denied that any scheme may take for its assumption of right the elastic general welfare clause of the Constitution, which f rom its very name settles no specific right or principle. G;Ol DEMOCRATIC DOCTRINE. I hold again, said Governor Tillman on the next branch of discussion, that t he sub-treasury bill is fairly open to the, charge of p)aternalism. It proposes to concentrate the business of the peo ple in the hands of a ceL'tralized power at Washington, and this is in absolute contradiction of the principle laid down by .Jefferson that the Government gov erns best that governs least. [Ap plause.] In other words, that there should be e<qual rights to all and special privileges to none. He would appeal, he said, to thle 'good sense and patriot ism of the people in the majority to aid in the obtaining of just and reasonable laws, instead of the partisan favoritism shown by the Government in the maintenance of national banks and nursing private manufacturing indus tries. [Applause.] POLK AS A SOCIALIST. He characterized Col. Polk's views on the money question, referring to the Government lending money with the avowed intent of injuring other classes of business, as Socialism. It would amnount in the end to a division of the p)roperty 3i the people and produce a condition in which the provident and the improvident would share alike. Governor Tillman repeated here that the Alliance all agreed as to a grievous wrong existing, and that the dispute was only as to the remedy. Hlepointed out as causes of the burden on the peo pie of the South the iner;ualities of the burdens laid on their shoulders as com pared with the people of the North and elsewhere. He showed that the mil lionaire and the poor farmer were the simultaneous and necessary product of such laws. He thought that there was jus a mchhope at pentfor get thiewsfor the South being paid for negroes or getting the Federal pensions reduceed. On the contrary, he saw~ a disp)oition to pension every bumm ar, whe~ther or not he had ever heard t.he whiz of a bullet. In fact he believed the time was comning when the pensions wouldl be increased to $:00,00,o00. soM ETHi ING ABOU'T THlE THIRD PARTY. Governor Tillman then paid his re spects to the ThIrd Party. He read a tabulated statement showing the elec toral strength of the Democratic and Republican parties of all the States. He took those States in which the farm ers were in the majority and said that if all of them declared for a Third party they could not elect the President. The ida is, he said, for the Western and Southern farmer to control the country, but that would be impossible if they carried all the States in which the farmers have a majority. It should be remembered that, while there were S,000,000 engaged in agriculture, there were 11,000.0) engaged in other occu pations. They should remember that the Republican farmers in the North were particularly bitter, hostile and partisan as regards the South, and that the Democrats were fcr the most part from the cities. They should remem ber that th" Democratic majority of 60,000 in the city c: New York had been, and could be, discounted by the Republican farmers of New York State. They should remember that Kansas had given 80,000 majority for Harrison, and yet we are asked by them to turn our backs on the Democrats of Connec- - ticut, New Jersey, New York and In diana, and this too for the mere risk of electing a Democratic President by the Western vote. THE DANGER OF DIVISION. Governor Tillman showed that the sub-treasury bill could not be forced on the National Democratic Convention and that the issue now could only have the result of dividing the National Democratic party, as it did in 1860 and give the Republicans a continued lease of power. I ask you, he said, do you not realize that there are anxious poli ticians all over the United States, and right here, too, in South Carolina who are fervently praying that we divide here to-day? Do you not know that the Haskell party watches this proceed ing, and is hoping for and expecting a division, and so are the Republicans and all other opponents of the State Democracy? He would remind the Alliance that Senator Peffer, the expo nent of the Kansa- Alliance, had said that, of course, he would support the Alliance, but he would vote with the republicans on other interests, and that Powderly, the chief of the other wing of the industrial army, the Knights of Labor, coupled his support of the Alli ance demands with the condition that political equality should be accorded the negro. I maintain, he concluded in vigorous style and earnest nanner, that division in South Carolina means the negro. THE GOVERNOR'S IDEAS ON THE CUR RENCY. Governor Tillman gave as his remedy for a flexible currency the repeal of the 10 per cent tax on State banks and the establishment of banks to issue money based on land and crops just as our credit is now based on loans and mort gages. He was in favor of the farmers establishing their own banks and print ing their own money instead of paying such rates of interest. He held that we might have a sub-treasury under State coitrol, but a sub-treasury under national control meant the perpetua tion in power of the party by which it was established. A TIMELY WARNING. He would warn his brethren tLat a division in the Democracy at thisjunc tion meant a conticuanceof theeub -licans in p -w ra e. ment of the force bill, He would fur ther say that a division between the Farmers' Movement and the Alliance meant a return to power of the Ring, which they, with such a hard fight, overthrew last fall. [Applause and cheers.] Governor Tillman closed by making an appeal for unity, harmony and charity, and the State. Resolutions of thanks were tendered Governor Tillman and Colonel Terrell for the information they had imparted by the discussion. B. R. T., Spartanburg, July 24, 1891. [Aiken Journal and Review.l "Expecting Their universai shout and high applause To fill his car; when, contrary, he healrt On all sides, from innumerable tongues, A dismal, universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn ; he wandered-" -M [LTON. THE BIG ALLIANCE SCHE3[E. Col. Peek Goes to New York to Perfect Ar rangements for the Deal. [Special to Augusta Chronicle ] ATLANTA, GA., July 28-Col. Peek, of the Alliance Exchange, goes to New York to-morrow to perfect arrange ments for the transfer of the business of the Exchange tc the Alliance com pany. It seems the Alliance storekeepers are, under the new arrangement, to take stock in the new company in re turn for their store property, and are to receive a percentage of the gross.earn ings for their work. Oswald Wilson is at the head of the scheme. The opponents of the propo sition to transfer the business claim it means simply the farming out to New Yorkers of the trade of the farmers. This is denied, but such secrecy pre vails that it is impo.ssible to get at the exact arrangement. The vicissitudes of climate are trying to most constitutions, especially to peo ple having impure blood. For all such (and they constitute the majority), the best safeguard is Ayer's Sarsaparilla, the use of which clea: ses the blood and strengthens and invigorates the sys tem. SAM JONEs ROTTEN-EGGED. The Evangelist Meets with an Outrageous Assault In Houston, Texas. HOrsTOs, TEXAs, July 29.-While preacning to a large audience here to night, and when in the middle of his discourse, some people on the outside turntd out the lights and rotten-egged Rev. Sam Jones and his audience, most of whom were ladies. There is great indignation felt and. trouble may ensue. Pensive and Expensive. Many a woman shrinks from r>n sulting a -physician about functiondl de rangements and weakness, and prefers to suffer in silence. She is sad and pensive, and her neglect of her ailments will prove expensive. It may cost her her life. One of the most skillful ph,y sicians of the day, who has had a vast experience in curing diseases peculiar to women, has prepared a remedy which is of inestimable aid to them. We refer to Dr. Pierce's Favorite Pre script:on, the only remedy for woman's peculiar weaknesses and ailments, sold by druggists, under a positive guaran tee from the manufacturers, that it will give satisfaction in every case, or money refumded.