Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-07-03
From the National Intelligencer.
Justice TO an Honorable Senator

correction of pervcrsion of his views in
reference to the Bank of his own State, by
some writer for Charleston paper:
To my Fcllov- Citizens of The State or
South Carolina.
With feelings of deep emotion address
you. Words have been set down for me
as spoken in the Senate which never ut
tered, and sentiments attributed to me which
/ never entertained. The occasion was one
of conversational and, dcsultory discussion,
by question and answer, remark and re;oin
der, which might have called for lenicncy
ofjudgmcnt upon words spoken by even u
practised debater | might well throw my
self upon your indulgence, therefore. 1
might ask you not to allow to be attributed
to me II want ofpatriotism and State pride
contradictory of the whole course of NV
life and actions, and of all the known senti
mcnts ofmy heart, upon the evidence of
words thus spoken. But have no need
so to appeal to your indulgence. On the
contrary, | only ask to be judged by the
scvercst rules. ! ask that you will scan
the words really spoken, and not those sub.
stitutcd for them. My real words will,
am sure, be found to express sentiments of
duty to you and of devotion to the interests
of the State.
Tho error of the reported debate was an
unfortunate one for me, and the moment |
saw it ] requested its correction, which was
at once made. 1t was one ofthosc mistakes
which at times unavoidably occur, and for
which no one should be ccnsurcd when
prompt correction is made.
| am charged with alleging the insolven-
cy of the Bank of the State ofSouth Caro-
lima and of attempting to injure its credit.
The charge | utterly deny. / made no
such allegation my convictions are just the
reverse, and any attempt such as charged
is inconsistent with such convictions.
My remarks in the Senate were in refc-
renee to motion of Mr.. Simmons, of Rhode
Island, to substitute a home valuation for
the yalorem principle of the present tariff.
This motion was blow struck at free trade,
a blow aimed against the South and in ia
vor of the North
In the course of his remarks Mr.. Sim
mons stated the failures in Charleston in
the recent crisis to amount to nearly one
million of dollars, and endcayorcd to show
from the condition of the banks in South
Carolina at the time of their suspension
that the proportion of coin to liabilities had
nothing to do with that suspension. TO re-
flute this theory was to show that the facts
upon which an important part of his main
argument was founded were loosely gath
cred, and would not bear examination, and
thus to sap the very foundation of the main
argument itself. 1t was necessary for me
to refer to the State action upon the banks,
which had been inaccurately given by Mr..
simmons, and to tho suspension itself,
which did as follows:
Not altogether, sir. The penalty on
the first two instalments was exacted by the
State; the banks were required by the
Comptroller General of South Carolina to
pay, and did pay, and never refunded.
am of fopinion that the cause of portion of
our banks having suspended is to be traced
to this fact we have bank, the capital of
which is owned exclusively by the State,
and must partakc of the character, more or
less, of a political bank, subject to no res
possibility, and, at the period of the crisis,
its circulation was so large it was compelled
to suspend; but if the Bank of the State
had not been the very first to suspend-no
bank suspcnslons--none of our banks in
South Carolins would have refused 10 con
tinuc to pay specie"
You will see that this is very different
from the language attributed to me in the
Charleston Courier in the article referred to-
following the Congressional Globe of juno
Sd. AS promptly corrected it stands in the
official report of the Appendix to the Con-
gressional Globe, page Az, W ere it is Civ
en- substantially as spoken.
lcannot imagine how this can be constru-
ed In any way into an attack upon the cred
it or solvency of the State Bank. could
have wished fcllow-citizens, that before as
sailing me, absent on your service, for
strange, unpatriotic sentiments, founded
upon words reported to have been spoken,
these persons had inquired of me in relation
to thcwords. My course in the past might
even have required that they should assume
there was some mistake, and have consult
ed me in reference to it. / would have
given an innaes.ate reply, I most hearth
ly. regret, fellow-citizens, that they assumed
the words 10 bV tilus, my sentiments to be
unpatriotic, and so became my assailants,
and condemned mo without hearing. /
appeal to you, and ask that hearing from
you which they have denied me.
While have ever been opposed to the
bank on principle, upon expedicncy, and
upon policy, mover imagined that the
Bapl, of the State of South Carolina was
not as sound as any other III thecountry.-
On the cohtrefy, che whole capital Of the
State, the wealth of every inanin ii, is Piled
,ged to esstain the bank and to inskc good