Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1856-06-11

stance our own Legislatures. lie could easl
prove that there had been corruption and eve
bribery at many of the election boxes-th
there had been fraud and corrupt combination
in many of the Districts. And, even after II
Legislature was assembled, it could be prove
that there was corrupt management and log-ro
ling, and unjust and unfair Legislation So to
of Congress. that it was very often corrupt
constituted and unfairly organized-that it wa
partial and unfair in its Legislation. But
this sufficient to abandon them altogether an
abolish them ? All government itself is an ev
and the only reason why we submit to j
is that it is substitute for 4 greater evil, whic
is anarchy. In this point Of view it is positiv
blessing. So in this case, there was great ar
gument beyond the positions Mr.. Calhoun as
suned in his letter or communication, and tha
lay in the evils arising from the election of Pres
ident and Vice-President falling habitually init
the House of Representatives. Let US look a
it for moment. According to the Constitution
if any candidates fail to receive majority o
the whole votes cast in the electoral college, th|
election goes to the House of Representative!
with the three highest. According to the theo
ry of that instrument, also, the powers of gov.
eminent are divided between the Senate, the
President and the House of Representatives
and must DO kept separate. But if the election
of President habtually falls into the House
then that branch will in time absorb the Execu.
tive, and the President will but be the humble
tool and instrument of those who will make the
powers of the Republic and destroy the equili.
brium of the three branches, and make in fact
but two-a7d where then will be your Senate
With the popular branch of the Government
in habitual control of the election of President
and Vice-President, there can be no safety for
liberty or the Republic. The Senate would
soon be at their mercy, and we would become a
consolidated Democracy to certain extent, with
a corrupt oligarchy in the House of Represen-
tatives, contesting the destiny Of empire. Such
has been the catastrophe of all Republics, where
the legislative branch chooses the executive also.
The Constitution expressly reserves the raising
of all revenue bills to the House of Represen.
tatves. Here, then, We would have the same
branch Of Congress that holds the purse strings,
naming, too, the executive, and making him the
humble tool of their corrupt and prohigate ex-
penditures.
You say it is corrupting TO have Conventions
to nominate and prevent the election falling in
TO the House of Representatives, and yet you
propose to corrupt permanently the Legislative
branch of the Republic, and thus poison the
very fountains of the law-making power, and
lebauch them by throwing the purple of empire
at their bar every four years for sale and barter.
Admit for argument that the Convention is cor
,upt, yet it sinks back again into the mass Of
The people, without the power habitually to cov-
sr your statutcbooks, with the permanent marks
IF fraud and corruption. To give that branch
hat holds the revenue in its hands, also tho
power to hold the President, is in fact to de-
tta fshsS sanaAaatst DIV ts tsHl eaA
nominating caucuses IN the first instance, after
he Burr conspiracy of the Federalists in 1901,
md then in modern tines 10 Conventions. True,
hcy NAV be full of evils, and even corruption,
md vet they are choice of evils, and prevent
greater evil in all the stupendoug and corrupllng
consequences of the election habltually falling
into the House of Representatives. This was
IrrpJv felt both in 1901 and 1914, and camaRear
producing convulsiop; and, II repeated o1ten'
does any man who has read history believe that
this Republic could last?
Now, few words as to the time and the pc.
cuar state of the country in which we are called
OIL 10 act ut this juncture in our affairs. Here
tefore there might have been some cause OF ap-
prebcnson on the part of South Carolina, Tor
iiear she may have been betrayed, or unjustly
dsalt with in Conventions The South had for
wears great grievances to complain of, and there
might have been danger that the candidates
chosen might lean too much towards what had
been done by Government, rather than to ALE
viate our wrongs and grievances. We com.
planned of the operation Of an unconstitutional
Bank of the United States, and of tariff Tor
protection connected with it; and, also, OF an
enlarged and systematic system OF expenditures
in internal improvements, appropriated on canals
and great national roads. These were all branches
of the same system and during the operation
of the United States Bank from 1916 to 1886,
in round numbers about S4OO, 100000 of money
was collected in the shape of revenue, $780,.
100000 of which was practically paid South OF
the Potomac, and out of the $400,0Oo,ooo dis.
bursed by Government during that period, at
least S30O,O0O,OOO, were disbursed North OF the
Potomac and as they received .S2oO,oOo,ooO9
more than they actually paid, and we received
only SlO0, 100000 in disbursement, and OF
course lost S2OO,OOO,OOO. There is no question
upon earth but that the fiscal action of the Gov
ernment, during that period, affected the dlstrl,
button Of wealth 10 that amount in this Confede,
racy. We felt it deeply. The conflicts that
these things produced created alienation and
doubt, and forced US TO look rather to local or.
eanization for protection, than 10 national COM
bnations as to the chief Offices.
An issue was produced in these violent con-
tlcts, and State interposition forced the Govern
ment to repeal an odious tariff act a few week:
before the day it was fixed for it to 60 into ope
ration in 1888. This commenced to stop the
partial and unjust sources of supply for cor
rupt and unjust bank to operate upon in its fis
cal action, and then Gen. Jackson nobly and glo
riously destroyed the bank itself This State
produced an issue that caused the Goyernmen
TO pause, and forced full discussion of The un
Just measure in the public mind, which ended tt
certain extent in its overthrow; and Gen
Jackson destroyed the other corrupt branch
the system, and gave decided shock to loca
and partial internal improvements. Then inme
diately afterwards, in 1886, sprung up thos
other movements upon our local institutions
They took the place In public excitement of tn
tariff, bank and internal Improvements. Th
North had used them to govern the South, an
now use Abolition for the same purposes. Ihi
unholy and unhalowcd combination belwee
base ambition and foul fanaticism, the designin
and unprincipled use for the purpose of creatin
majority to rule the South. 1t is more que:
lion Of power with them than of conscienc!
In this contest we labored under great disac
vantages. One of the leading Southern State
committed a stupendous blunder in the ordinanc
of 1857, and then we had forced on US the Nil
sour Compromise of 1920. This gave tn
North the ght to acquire States, and coloniz
South of $40 80 latitude, but prohibited |
| c.on, nninn North of that line South Gf Il W;