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Kicking Against the Pricks. Gen. McGrady'8 View of the White Supremacy Scheme. CHARLESTON, S. C., April 4, 1895. Gen. Edward McCrady,. Charleston -Dear General : Having beard your name suggested on several occasions as a probable and desirable delegate from this city to the coming Conven? tion eau you tell me which, if any, of the many plans published in the papers accords with your views ? Possibly you have thought of some plan yourself by which white suprem? acy eau be secured to us without violating any provision of the United States Constitution. I take it that our people are not only opposed to any "snap judg? ment, " but they wish to go into this thing with their eyes open, and I think they could profitably hear from one who has bad the experience you have had in public affairs. Yours very truly, JOHN GRDIBALL. 29 BROAD STREET, CHARLESTON, April ll, 1895. Alr. John Grimball, Broad Street My Dear Sir : Professional business has prevented an earlier reply to yours of the 4th inst , with which I have been honored. I am auch gratified that I have been thought of by you and others as a probable and desirable delegate to the coming convention There is, | however, a difficulty in the way of my becoming such which may as well be frankly stated at once, if the proposition that no one shall be j chosen by the people who does not subscribe in advance to ? pledge as : to what he shall do and how lie shall vote in that body, if elected, is adopt- : ed I for oue will not be eligible. 11 can and will give no such pledge Beyond the pledge of more than forty years spent ii? the service of! my State, beyond the pledge of a life offered in her defence and blood shed I in her cause, beyond the pledge of arduous labors in her councils, the j results of which are now upon her j statute book, I have none to make. If, therefore, that condition is to be required it is needless farther to con? sider me in looking around for proper representatives. I trust, however, that such a pledge will not be demanded. Let us con? sider for a moment how such a re? quirement must be carried out. The pledge proposed, aR I understand, is that the person, if elected, shall, among other things, pledge himself that he shall vote for some qualifica- j tion of the ballot by means of which j white supremacy shall be preserved, while at the same time no white mau shall be disfranchised except for crime. Before considering whether this can be done at all auder the re? strictions of the constitution of the United States let us confine ourselves to the consideration how it must be done if at all practicable. I have given the general statement of the proposition, but no such loose terras of pledge will be sufficient Theteimsof a pledge to bind the members of the convention in order to accomplish its purpose must be plain,explicit and of universal applica? tion. To be effective it must be specific and not general. Else each member will be free to consider aud decide for himself what will preserve white supremacy, and the pledge will be evaded. To be generally and equally binding it is evident that the pledge must be formulated so that it will be subscribed in exactly the same terms by every person chosen. Now, who is to formulate this pledge? ls it to be formulated by the execu? tive committee of the Democratic party ? Certainly not. That com? mittee has no authority to act in the matter. And if it had, the chairman, who is opposed to the whole scheme, would not call it together for the purpose. Is it to be formulated by a news? paper debate ? Ano who is to put the question ? Who to vote ? Who to take the votes ? And who to declare I and announce the result ? Is it to be formulated by the lead? ers of the differer t factions? If so, j how are these leaders to be appoint- j ed and authorized ? Or are self cou- j stituted parlies to meet in secret eau- j cus to do 60 ? This vital difficulty lies at the very j threshold of tue plan. He who formulates the plegde < dictates the constitution. Is the test of one's loyalty and fit- ? ness as a representative of tbe people j in the convention to be his readiness ? to bolt and swallow provisions for the \ constitution so dictated without con? sideration '! Consideration presumes doubt and results in alternative de? cision No ! The people, I feel assured, j want no such representatives. They i desire in this election to secure the? services of those, whether Conserva? tives or Reformers, best fitted for the high and responsible duties of fram? ing the organic law of the State. They wish to send such men to Columbia to meet there others like themselves, who come to consider, discuss and study together the prob? lem of what is best. They do not wish to send men simply to record what some one or some others have declared to be 60. Why talk of send? ing men of high character, intelli? gence and liberality of thought if when they meet they are simply record votes for measures which th? have already "subscribed ?" The will be no attrition of minds in sui work-all that is wauted for sm business are messengers; not state men or legislators ! I have seen it stated that in 01 instance at least a constitutional co vention had met where every mei ber was pledged hy oath not to inti fere with certain articles of the exis ing Constitution I do not know what Convention this allusion made. There have been altogeth in the history of the Province ai State of South Carolina eight conve tions or so called conventions of tl people: (1) the convention whic overthrew the Proprietory Gover ment in 1719: (2) the Revolution Congress or Convention which ove threw the Royal Government in 177' (3) the convention which in 17? framed the first State constitutic under the constitution of the Unite States ; (4) the famous Nullificatic Convention of 1S32 33 ; the conve tion of 1852, which declared th I right of the State to secede ; (6) tr. ! Secession Convention of i860 ; (1 ! the convention called in 1865 by Pn visional Governor Perry, and (8) th convention of 1868 under the Recot 6truotion Act. of Congress, whic framed the present constitution of th j State I Reference could not have been ir j tended to either the two first or th ! two last of these, for each of ther i was a revolutionary body. Nor doe \ history mention the application c ? any test : indeed the circumstance j of these preclude any such idea. S j too, with regard to that of 1790, a its purpose and design was to prc vide a constitution suited to the nev conditions of things after the R?volu tion, there could have been no sue! test applied. There certainly wer no such tests applied to the member ship of either of the conventions o 1852 or 1860. This fact is withii the knowledge of many still libing. This leaves us but one conveniioi of this State to which allusion couh possibly have been made, and that i? the Nullification Convention of 1832 33. It is probable that that is th( one alluded to, for there was such i proposition made in the Legislature ir legaid to the membership of tha' convention. Mr. Seabrook, for th( Senate committee on the subject o calling it, did propose that delegate* elected, before taking their seats should be required to take an oat! that m the discharge of their duties as members they would not take inte consideration any other matters ot engage in the discussion of any ollie? measures than such as related to the unconstitutional legislation of the Congress of the United States; but says Dr. Cooper, the editor of the Statutes at Large : "The bill finally passed did not and does not contain any such restriction as is proposed in the 'ast clause of Mr. Seabrook's bill The Legislature sanctioned no posi? tive restrictions in the powers of the convention." (See Statutes at Large, Volume 1, 310-11 ) An examination of the Act calling the convention shows that in this statement Dr. Cooper was correct. But had the Legislature on that occasion adopted the report of the Senate committee it would have been an act of the Legislature-not that of an unauthorized body. But what is the pledge proposed to be exacted ? Is it that the mem? bers shall subscribe a pledge to sup? port some measure for "the preser? vation of white supremacy by such puriGcation of the suffrage as will save us from negro domination ?" Admitting the propriety of a pledge by a legislator in advance of debate upon a measure, there are few who would hesitate to promise to strive to accomplish this. But mark what follows ! The delegates must also subscribe to a pledge ' that no white man shall be disfranchised except for crime." Now put these together, and what do they mean ? Simply a qualification of the ballot for colored people, which qualifica tion shall not apply to white men. Can any one familiar with the con? stitution of the United States promise to do this? Do we not know that this is just what the con? stitution of the United States de? clares shall not be done ? Saui of old was warned that it was hard for him to "kick against the pricks." An operation in which the feet of the kicker are lacerated without injury either to the pricks or to those for whose protection the pricks are planted. So with these provisions of the constitution of the United States. We may tear ourselves in the briars which they intepose for the protec? tion of the negro, but we cannot up? root them ? Surely no one in the State of South Carolina has given more earnest evi? dence of his desire to secure and maintain white supremacy that my? self. To this subject I have given years of laborious study and work, the results of which are our present registration and election laws, statutes which have shielded our State from negro rule for fourteen years. .Most gladly would I hail any device which could better secure the rule of white intelligence, hut as a lawyer and statesman i know the lim? its within which weare circumscribed by the constitution of the United States, and I carnot I ut see that this ; proposition is imposible of fulfilment, j Such a provision would be more than i an invitation, it would be a challenge j in itself, for the interference of Federal government in our S affairs. However disagreeable may be to us, the fact is that ui the constitution of the United St we cannot disfranchise ou ? OJSV< out disfranchising every white who comes within the same categ We cannot make one rule for white and another for the black. You ask me if I have thoughl any plan by which white suprem can be secured without violating provision of the constitution of United States. I have thought and can think of none but such will effectuate the result by raie the standard of suffrage to such extent as will give the white race natural and legitimate advantage its superior intelligence. It she desire and ask for no more. The present election law was earnest and honest effort to sec such a result without fraud. If it true that such fradulent practi have grown up under i;s provisi it only shows how difficult it is provide against corruption in j election system Pardon me if I qu here what I then (in 18S1) wr when discussing the subject. ? ] been endeavoring to 6how the dan? of maintaining white supremacy violence, and I thus continued : "But by all means let us haz; violence, be the consequences w! they may. rather than rely* up fraud Violence will, undoubted lower us in our position as a ci vii 12 people. Practice it, and, even successful, we must go back ma years in our social progress I violence will not degrade us as fra will. We may.plead in some jus iication, that it is a struggle agair misrule forced upon us from withoi and, in the language of a mode author upon the subject of ci vii 12 tion, we may say : 'Calamities rn; be inflicted by others, but no peop can be degraded except by their ov act. The foreign spoiler works m chief : he cannot cause shame. Wi nations, as with individuals, none a dishonored, if they are true to thei selves.' "We will be permitted to urge 1 such excuse for fraud, nor will Be tbam's, oor Macaulay's apology f bribery avail us for its perpetuatio! Fraud will be a calamity inflicted, n by others, but by ourselves. We wi be degraded by our own act. its pe petratioo will be a mischief, not of foreign spoiler, but a mischief that wi cause shame to us indeed. Nor can possibly benefit us. As Grattan ont exclaimed: 'The thing be proposes! buy is what cannot be sold-liberty Liberty and what is the same, geo government, may be wen by the persu; sion of eloquence ; it may be secure by tbe wisdom of statesmanship ; may be extorted at. the point of th sword, but it can never be stolen, no bribed, nor procured by corruption." So still I say. The supremacy of th white race cannot be aiotained b any legislative trii' nhe sole basi of its supremacy is uperior in te Ii ? gence. The only way of maintainioj that superiority is by raising high th' standard of citizenship, and applying that standard to ail, whether white 0 blaok. ?, for one, am uot wedded to ou present election law. it has served iti purpose longer than I thought it wouk when ? devised it. Repeatedly in de bate I urged that if it would save the State from negro rule even for fout or six years it would be worth the ex p?riment. It has done so for twelve, and I shall now hail any scheme which can legitimately accomplished ita pur? poses with greater security. I am will? ing to adept the Australian system io irs own proper form, in the place of our modification of it. I >peak of our system as a modifica? tion of the Australian system. I may add that our law was the pioneer of thc introduction of the Australian sys rem into this country. I had that sys? tem before me wheo I drafted the bill which became the present law. The essential principle of the Austra? lien system may thus be summarized : The secrecy of the bailor, secured by the seclusion of tbe voter when in the act of preparing his vote, which he ss required to do by means of aa educa? tional qualification. Under the Australian system the voter goes by himself ioto a booth or room, and there alone selects and marks upon a printed list the person or persons for whom he wishes to vote Under our law the voter goes alone into the enclosure or pen, and selects the ticket with toe name of the person upon it for whom he wishes to vote. The difference between the two is iu the manner in which the educational qualification is exercised. Tbe one by marking a ticket, the other by select? ing a ticket. The idea of the enclosure or pen of our system in which the voter goes alone while selectiog his vote was ; takeo by me from tho Australian sys? tem. The plan of the tnulitiplc boxes was resorted to because it was easier to persuade our people to recur to the j former ante-bellum practice of a box for each office than to adopt the Aus? tralian plan of marking tho ricket. The idea of thc plain white ticket with only the titjuif of the person aod office ui-on it wa? t::i:< ti from another sylcn?. Though thc author of it, ?. for one. am ? M i r i r ; ly ready now t'> put aside this, (?at* modification 'tiri adaptation' of thc Australian pian, and to adopt that system ii; its original form. A Confederate soldier myself, I cat not accede to the proposition of any special exception being made for thrr-. , still less for their descendants i have DO idem that tbe exception of t Confederate soldiers themselves to I application of electoral qualificatif would be allowed to stand, aod tbe ; tempted extension of such a priviie to their descendant would, I have lit doubt, be held to be prohibited by t 10th section of Article 1 of the conj tation of the United States, prohibit! a State from granting a title of nobilii for it would establish an herod i ta privileged class. But if not within t strict letter of the prohibition of t constitution of the United States, su a provision would certainly be U American-in conflict with the spirit our institutions. The Cincinnati S ciety was bitterly assailed because establifhed a distinctive hereditary ch -though the class was but for soc purposes. Would the descendants of the cr officers of the State and Confedera governments be excluded from the be efits of this privilege 1 If so, what w they have to say ? The only suggestion which I c? make io this direction is to repeat o I made in an address to the Legisl ture in 1879, which may possibly worth considering io this conncctio and that is to follow the precedent the amendment to the constitution Massachusetts by which the educ tional qualification of that State w adopted. In adopticg the educational qualifie tion' which it did, that commonweal excepted from irs provisions any perse who was 60 years of age at the ti? the amendment to the constitutic took effect, and I suggested that DC similar provision-say, for instant that the qualification should not appi to any ene who then exercised rt ri2Ht. of suffrage for so many year might possibly be adopted wit safety. A provision might bc so framed thi the excluding nualifieations should ni anply to those men who had and exei cised the right to vote prior to 186; and this might incidentally save th right to old soldiers and other whit men who had exercised the right t vote before the passage of the Recoil struction measures, whether they ar able to comply with an educational rc quirement or not. But this I believ to be the extent to which such a savin, clause could go. I must, however, confess to a sens of humiliation in endeavoring to find means of evading for the white mao test of intelligence which we propos to require of the black. What become of our boasted superiority which ha to he protected in such a manner ? I have made these suggestions a your request, but there is another im portant one which I must not omit notwithstanding the length of this let ter, and that is the inquiry whethe; the constitution is the place at al for any specific detailed plau of elec tion. It is objected with great force tba the two-mill educational tax shoulc not be in the constitution, as it is prop erly a matter of legislation and not ol constitutional limitation. But does not the same objeotion apply to the incor pi JL?OU in the constitution of any spe? cific election scheme? The difficulty has hitherto been that the present constitution contains the provision: "Sec. 8. The General As? sembly shall never pass any law that will deprive any of the citizens of this State of the right of suffrage except for treason, murder, robbery or duel? ling, whereof the persoos shall have been duly tried and convicted.'' To meet this the present election law is based upon the theory tbat the word ' 'ballot" assumes and involves an edu? cational qualification, inasmuch as to vote by ballot is to vote by a secret written instrument, and that to *do so implies an educational qualification, the educational qualification being thus im? planted within the constitution itself. But this theory is now questioned, and its validity is before the courts, both Stare and Federal. Is it nor the wisest course for the convention when it meets simply to re? peal this clause and leave the details of thc election law to tbe Legislature ? A specific derailed provision put io the Constitution, if it proves unwise and impracticable, can only be amend? ed by the expense of another conven? tion or the cumbrous method of sub? mission of an amendment to the peo pie. Suppose, for instance, the scheme proposed by Mr. Pattou should be adopted and incorporated into the con? stitution, and it should be found to be against the constitution of the United Srares. In what, predicament would the State be should another convention be called to replace it by some other scheme! If, on the other hand, the, same plan was adopted by a General Assembly and it should be declared ; unconstitutional, the difficulty could be ren edied at the next session of the Legislarure. As has been observed iu regard to the school tax, the Constitu? tion should deal only in general pnn ciples of government. For instance, thc constitution might properly authorize thc General Assem? bly to provide for an educational, property or other qualification. It might be unwise in the contention to pre? scribe in a crustacean form what such qualification should be. I cannot close thi> letter, however l"t?g. without rejoicing that our peo pl . generally arc showing so earnest :i desire for a restoration of peace and ^iMi'i will among ns as brethren, citi zens nf the same cororoouwoHltb. lr is pleasant for me to be able to recall that when in the beginning of tfie po? litical struggle which has convulsed the State for the last five years, that is, in j April, 1890, I was interviewed by are- ? ... ' -.?? . ..- . .'fri'-s Htm ( i.>i*'.c? porter for the News and Couritr, I then expressed the opinion that although our political condition was H very se? rious one, it would not be mended by ? denunciation or harsh crificimn. and ! that 1 then urged we should all recol? lect Marion's conduct in dealing with the Tories, recalling that be would never forget, or allow his followers to forget, that they were their kith and kio-those with whom, however the struggle eoded, they must live and die ; that he would allow, therefore, no re- j ta'.iatioo even for injuries. The time would come, he would say, when there ? must be forgiveness on one side or the : other, aod that be was determined that ic should not be on his part to be for- j given. Happy it would have been for.: the State had Marion's conduct been i our guide, aod had all of us followed . his advice. Fortunate it may yet be if we, even at this day, catch some what of the bereo's temper, aod. recog- : nize that Conservatives and Reform- ! ers are indeed citizens of the same : State, neighbors and kinsman who must live aod die together (whether io peace or enmity) resolve to meet io friendly conference for the welfare of ; our State. I will not say that we should attempt to forget our differences, for if we have been sincere in the differ tog opinions we have held it is not ncc essary that we should belie our convie- > tions on simulate our views in order .to meet in mutual forbearance and con? cession. Rather let us each in self and mutai respect endeavor to give to his : opponents the same credit for the sin- ! cerity of their conduct he claims for himself. In one of his recent inter? views Senator Tillman has well said that "confideoce is the first requisite of: compromise" If we will really rise to the height of ? simple patriotism, forgetting, not our ! differences, but the unkindness which ; has grown out of them, puttir.g aside : doubt and suspicion, and meeting in the confidence of fellow citizens who ; have but a single eye to the welfare of tbe State, aod the whole State, we will not need to embarrass ourselves with dangerous pledges, nor care whether, in counting the convention, :he exact equation has been preserved between Conservative and Reformers. It will be enough that our delegates wil: meet as j South Carolinians. Our fathers were as much acd as bit? terly divided in the nullification strug- ! gie, and yet they came together and forgot their anger and their strife. Can? not we. their sons, now do likewise ? Yours truly and respectfully, EDWARD MCCRADY. ! Rates on Truck, Charleston to New York, are Exces? sive. WASHINGTON, April 12.-Special: j The Inter-St^e commission to-day ; promulgated its decision io the case of the Truck Farmers' Association of Charleston, S. C., against the Penn-j sylvania Railroad Company and others forming through lines from Charleston to New York and other Northern and Eastern points. The commission de cided that: Where, on shipments of strawberries and vegetables from Charleston destined for New York, delivery is made by the i roads at the terminus of the rail line in Jersey City, in computing the total cost of transportation to New York the ex-1 pense of carriage over from Jersey City I is to be added to the rate charged to that point. In case of a change cf delivery of such shipments from New York to Jer? sey City and the maintenance after the : change of the same rates to the latter as | had been io force to the former city for a series of years preceding the change, j the carriers are charging for a lessjser vice the compensation which they had ! presumably deemed adequate for a greater, aud the rates as applied to Jer? sey City are prima facie excessive. Where a carrier pays mileage for a car which it employs io the service of snippers it is the carrier, and not the party or company from whom the car is rented, who furnishes the car to the , shipper, and in such case there is no privity of contract betweeu the car own? er and the shipper It is the duty of the carrier to fur uisb an adequate aod suitable sar equip? ment for all the business it undertakes and also whatever is essential io the safety and preservation of the traffic iu transit When carriers undertake the trans- j portatton of perishable traffic requiring refrigeration iu transit, ice and the fa? cilities for its transportation in connec- ; tion with that traffic are incidental to the service of transportation,- and the charge, therefore, is a charge in connection with such service within the meaning of Section I of the regular Act, to regulate commerce, in respect to the j reasonableness of which the carrier is subject to tba.6 provision of the statue. He'd, under the evidence in this case, (1) that on shipments of btraw berrit'8 from Charleston to Jersey City the charge of 2 cents per quart for refrigeration en route is excessive : that the charge therefor should not ex- J coed li cents, and that the total charge | per quart for the service of transporta? tion on such shipments and necessary service "in connection therewith," including refrigeration, should not be in excess of 6 cents per quart : QI) that 1 4 cents per package should be deducted from the rate on vegetables shipped io standard barrels or barrel crates from Charleston fo Jersey City in casts wh.-re tho delivery of such vegetables hns been changed from New York to Jersey City without a change in rates, and (3) that thc rate on cabbages shipped in standard barrels or barrel | crate* from Charleston to Jersey City or New York should oot exceed f of the rate on potatoes so shipped. The Mexican Cotton Weevil. A Circular in Regard to the New Pest Issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. WASHINGTON, April 13.-The depart? ment of agriculture has iust issued a circular to cotton planters relative to a new and very destructive insect that has been brought across the Rio Grande from Mexico into the cotton belt of Texas, and which during 1891 seriously injured the cotton crop over a territory of about 5,G00 square miles It is a weevil which attacks the cotton bolls. It punctures the bolls with its beak and lays eggs in the hole thus made. The grubs hatch and ruin both the seed and fibre thus destroying simultaneously both products of the cotton plant. The Texas Legislature, at the re? commendation of the agricultural de? partment, is seriously considering the question of quarantining cotton from the insect infected district and of protective legislation, as weil as the enforcement of remedial work by act of law. The depart? ment of agriculture has appointed a skilled agent who is located at Browns? ville, Texas, and who will study the life, history and habits of the new pest and experiment entensively with remedies during the coming season under the direction of Mr. L. 0. Howard, chief entomologist of the department. Inasmuch as the insect is new to American cotton planters, there is much yet to be learned about its habits before practical remedies can be suggested This insect is now in Texas and threatens to spread to other cotton ?tates, and the entire South is therefore interested in the problem now confronting the Texas Legislature. Bradstreet's Report. NEW YORK, April 12.-Bradstreet* to? morrow will say: The feature in trade circles is found in the prices movement, more particularly those for cattle, dressed beef and petroleum. Drouth low prices and '"hard times" within two years have resulted in a shorter supply of cattle, prospectively 30 per cent. less than last year. Live cattle are ?1.60 higher per 100 pounds than last year and $1 higher than the lowest point this year. Dressed beef is 22 cents higher than the average last year, the highest since 1885. The com? parative scarcity of high grade cattle is emphasized by the fact thar present quotations , when made in prerious pe? riods of scarcity, have never failed to bring a supply when one existed. Pe tro'eum sold to ?1.57^ cents on Thurs? day, G2 cents higher than on January 1, and 75 cents higher than a year ago, which is more than three times the lowest price in 1892 aod the highest since 1873. Reduced production and in? creased consumption indicare the former bas been overtaken, which with reduced stocks, produces excitement in the market. Among important Southern cities re? porting actual gains in the movement of merchandise are Atlanta, Augusta. Savannah and Galveston, but the im? provement there is slight. The outlook is regarded more cheerfully at New Orleans, sugar bounty disbursement being expected sooo, but at Jackson? ville and Birmingham general trade is quiet and in some lines slow. Nash? ville and Memphis retain improvement previously recorded. Improved weather helps trade at Charleston. At Chatta? nooga, dry goods and hardware are re? latively most active In China there is a strange profession for ladies. It is carried on by elderly ladies, who go the round of the best houses, announcing their coming by beating a drum, and offering their ser? vices to amuse the lady of the bouse. This offer accepted, they sit down and tell the latest scandals and the newest stories and on dits, and are rewarded at the rate of a shilling an hour. Did You Ever Try Electric Bitters us a remedy lor your troubles ? If net. get a botrle wow and get re lief This medicine has been found to be pecu* Harly adapted to the relief and cure of all Fe. male Complaints exerting a wonderful dire-?t influence in giving streugrh and tone to the organs. If rou have loss < t Appetite. Consti? pation, Headache. Fainting Spells, or are Nervous, Sleepless, Excitable. Melancholy or troubled with Dizzy Spells. Electric Bitters is the medicine you need. Health and Strength are guarantee.! by its use. Large bottles <.n!y fifty cents at J. F. W. DeLorme's Drug Store. o IS NOW AT ,1. W. EPPERSON & CO.'S Stables. LIBERTY STREET, ?SCMTKR. S. C., Where he viii make the Season c/lS05. Maret 15-v.