Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1856-07-02

not recognize even as q body -politic.' Pray, sir
br what title does he indulgein this egotism Fla:
he read the history Of the sState' which lie repre-
scnts? He cannot surely have forgotten its shame
full imbecity from Slavery Is confessed Throughout
the Revolution, followed byfits more shameful as.
sumptions for Slavery sincei: de cannot have for.
gotten its wrcched pcrsisteneen the slave trade as
the very apple of its eye, aud the condition Of its
par,icinaton in the Union.ss He cannot have for.
rotten its Constitution, which is republican only in
name, confirming power inithe hands OF the few
and founding the qualifications Of its legislators or
q settled freehold estate and ten negroes And
vet the Senator, to whom that State has in part
committed the guardianship Qf its good name, in
stead of moving, with backward treadlng steps, to
cover its nakedness, rushes forward, in the very &C.
stasy Of madness, to expose by provoking COM
parison with kansasW
Now, Mr.. President, am going to state a
proposi,ion which will startle the Senate: what
he here undertakes to quote as the constitution
of South Caropa, in reference to the eligibility
Of members of the Legislature, is not 10 BE-
found in i. at all. HowS did he bring it in
response to any speech of,mine? He has sworn
in his affidavit that what hesaid was fairly in res
| poose TO the speeches which i had made. | put
The question 10 Senators, and shall pause for
their sentence: how dare BE, from anything in
nv speeches, put his fngef-his profane finger
upon the constitution of South Carolina? Is
that response TO anything which said? My
speeches heretofore delivered arc upon record,
and can be referred 10. neither alluded 10 the
constitution of South Carolina, nor did l men,
ton South Carolina in theSwhole debate; and
vet in his affidavit he says that all these are fair
ly refrrabIe as q response td7the remarks of the
Senator from South Carolina! What he has
quoted here is not in The constitution of South
Carolina ard when he undertakes to subject me
10 the severity Of his criticisms, rs bIunderer
in the statements of law AID constitution, let
him stand convicted of one of two things
either that he did not reads4the constitution of
Suuth Carolina himself, andsadopted it from 9TH
crs, or that, if he read it, lie could not under
stand it. intend TO dwelrapon this point with
view 10 convict him-nothhat | am going to
vinjicate the constitution9oF South Carolina,
but will convict this rhetorical jurist-thls man
who undertakes to sit on tleS tripod, and pub
lish the oracles of Delphi, tossit upon me as
LAWYER! My God, what have ] como to! A
man who never managed asoase Gas far as |
know in court, 10 sit on myself who have been
thirty five years engaged ig law, either in ap.
pearing at The bar, or eXponnptng it on the bench
have never delivered alSdgment on ques.
ton of law here, rs mem6fs sof the Committee
on the Judiciary, whether Ihfye made the ma
jority or the minority reposis yen that Senator
lyias not conss ditterea'it
has boen on srciionalequesIons on which he has
been overruled by the overwhelming authority
of the Senate. Yet, a lmap who has agreed with
me aIways--and that is ths only bad sign about
it laughter undertakes to sit In judgment
on mY legal attainments! If his authority Is
worth anything, it is with me, for he has con-
cured will! me- On all the contcsted-elecion
cases. we have agreed, cxceR perhaps, in the
Phelps case. There he may have differed from
me but if he did the Senate overrued him.
That, however, is not the qusIion which was
approaching. said that what he stated in ref
errnce to tho constitution of South Carolina
WAS not in response to anything which had fal-
len from me, and that there was no such thing
to be found in the constitution of South Caro-
lima as he r,s quoted. will read the clause :
"No person shall be elcgibl to a seat in the
House of Representatives, unless he is free white
man, Of the arc Of twcn:yone years, and hath been
citizen and resident Of this State three years pre-
yirus TO his election. If resident in the election
district he shall not be eligible 10 seat in the
House Of Representatives unless he be legally seized
ana possessed in his own right, Of sctte, freehold
estate Of five hundred acres Of land, and ten ne
croes or of Il real estate Of the value of one hun
drcd and fifty pounds sterling, clear Of debt. If a
nonresident, he shall be legally seized and possessed
of a settled freehold estate therein of the value OF
five huadrcd pounds sterling, clear Of debt"
venture 10 say that nearly half of the men,
bers of the Legislature OF South Carolina, par
ticularly those who come from towns and cities,
do not owna negro at all and very few of them,
as nv colleague knows, own five hundred acres
of land. Merchants do not want it; lawyers do
not want it. The tenure by which they hold
their offices is mainly by the latter clause, which
the Senator lett out, that man to be eligible to
seat in the House of Representatives must
own property to the amount of one hundred and
Grtv bounds sterling, clear Of debt. That is 4
little over seven hundred dollars. Now have
got him call on Senators TO convict him.
| There is but one verdict which can be rendered.
| He has gone out of the way 10 assall Inc con-
s,itution of South Carolina. and, in assaing it,
he is guilty of the worst OF all faults. cannot
conceive of 4 worse prcdcament than his, who,
protesting pcdantic accuracy. and slt!lng IN
Judgment on the quotations OF others, Is redu-
ced to the alternative of admitting that he never
read what he quoted or, if he had read it, could
not understand it, or garbled it.
Again, sir, he says the constitution OF South
Carolina is republican only in form. lsay there
is no State in The Union whose constitution gives
u more enlarged right OF suffrage. have not
The provision now before me, but / can state
what my colleague knows TO be the fact, that
every free white man of South Carolina Of the
ave of ,wen,y.one, has right of suffrage, pro-
vidcd he pays seventeen shilling of tax. may
be mistaken, perhaps, in the smount.
Nlr. EVANS. There is no tax at all required
if he is a resident and has resided six months
in the election district. Then he is entitled to
vote without property qualification.
Mr.. BUTLER. IF he has resided there for siS
months, no property qualification is required
but, il he has not resided so long, he must have
very small amount of land. Our people dc
not even paw a poll.tax. Here is the provision
of the South Carolina constitution:
"Everv free white man Of the age of twenty-ont
wears. being citizen of this State, and having resi-
ded therein two years previous to the day Of cleo
ton, and who hath freehold Of fifty acres Of land
or town lot of which he hath been legally seizet
and possessed at least six months before such cleo
ton. or not having such freehold or town lot hatl
been a resident in the election district in which h'
offers to give his vote six months before The sa't
election, and hath paid tax the preceding year
three shngs sterling towards the support Of TIN
government, shall have right to vote for a membc
or members to serve in either branch of the Legs
laturc for the election district in which he hold
such property, or is so resident"
The Senator has presumed to characterize he