The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-11-22
Prospects i'm South Carolina.
correspondence of the n. Y. Tribune,


1
CHARLESTON, s. c., Nov. 7, 1860.
Lin ,oln's election will lead to attempts at
Secession, but am convinced that they will
not be supported by the majority of the peo-
pie, even in the State of South Carolina. In
{, some respects, the consequences of the
movement here, if it should be pushed too
far, rnust have an ev'l, not to say dang r.
ous tendency. s -. E...... ...
There is one element in Charleston which
have never been able t. regard with cor
: fidencc. This is the free blacks Many of
them are educated Some of them are rich
their families well edu ,ated, beautiful. intel
: ligent; but they have no rights. One fani
ly have long known, named Dureef; ths
old man is about 60 years old; his hair a,
: white as the driven snow his daughters are
educated and beautiful; his sons are well
educated: and yet if one Of those dau n e-,
wears veil over her face, the first police,
man will strip it off, for that's only a pr;vil-
ege accorded to the white girl, with no nc.
gro blood in her veins ......
found after the 9 O'Clock b Il rugs.
without pass from a white nj IN. old Dureef
or any ofhis family, tn h,uyh worth $500, 900
will be locke up in a gurl hou e until his
or her white glar liam come and pay the fne
in the m ,rning. Th ere are hunlreds of SUI II
in the City of Charleston, and most ifu n.
: tial with the slaves.
As You will have seen by the limit a cen
SIS returns, the number of slaves in and
about Charleston has decreased since 1850
by thousands. Generally speaking, tie
slave owners's profit increases every year.
Not so here. The reason IS this: 4 good
able-boiied field hand Of middle age is worth
ST. 300 to 81, 400. He will bring that II
sold and the money invested in Government
Bank or State stocks, it will pay a nett in
come of $ll0 per annum Pat him at labor
on plantation, and aside fr m risks, lie
cannot earn the interest Of three per cent
gross on the SUN he is actu,ly worth in
cash to his master if soil In Alabama. Tex.
as and other new States 81, 400 niger will
earn Il per cent on lis highest value ard
even more. But he cannot do it on any rice
or cotton plantation in South Carolina. Con
sequentlp, ifthe Union holds, Slavery will
tend to decrease in the State Of South Car
olina. Negroes are not worth more than
Stoo to till the ground; but they are worth
sl,4oo to sell and go farther South,
1t is said that in the upper districts of this
State Slavery is neatly extinct. In Green
vile, Spartansburg, Pendleton, Anderson,
and in that section generally, the population
is nearly all white Slave labor does not
pay. That section has trebbled in popula-
ton, wealth and comfort in ten Years. Very
few slaves are owned there.
Something may be inferred from the circu.
lation of each of the two leading daily papers.
The Mercury has a daily circulation of about
55o-S0o in the city, and 250 sent to cx-
changes. OF course, it is very ext, nsivelv
copied out of the State, Though not much
read in it. Nobody here regards it rs o?
much consequence Few business m n read
: it. Its proprietor is the well known wealthy
agitator, r. Barnwell Rhett. He is an am
bilious man, fiery and head strong He
was once in Congress but the people of
South Carolina have no confidence in hin.
de tried to be senator, bat they elected
Hammond. He tried again, but the Legis-
lature chose Mr.. Chestnut Rhett is one of
f your I'D rather rule in hell than serve in
heaven sort ofmen. Hence his only chance
of becoming "head of the hong" is to smash
up the Union, and he sinks about s., 900 an.
nually in The Daily Mercury to accomplish
his object.
The Courier is forced by circumstances
to go with the surface current. 1t clreulates
about 5000 daily. 1t is owned by A. S.
, Wellington & Co., men who are marked A A
A in the books Of Commercial reference.
The working editor is supposed to BE- Mr..
Carlisle, an amiablc, talented young man.
The owner don't believe a bit in d $
union never dd-never will At present
they run with the current.
There is another paper in this city, edited
by Mr. Cunningham, a gentleman who was
a delegate from South Carolina to the IA
nous American Convention in Philadelphia
in 1856. 1t is an evening paper called
The Ne'cs, and has 100 to lso circulation.
As near as can lerrn, very practical
view is taken by the people of South Caroli
ma of the difficulty in which they are placed
in the Union. will try to give it, went
up the street (Meetiny street, to tn, Pavilion
Hotel last night. | met planter from
Wadbon Bridge who owns large plan:a.
ton on Cooper River, and has 1000 slaves.
"Why do you wish to go out? Lincoln may
/ make good and just President 2" asked
"That is not the thing" he replied, mos,
of us planters are deeply in debt we should
not be if out Of the Union. We should get
a better price for our cotton, and our goods
would cost us so per cent less than now. II
don't make much difference what Lincoln
: does. We want to secede. We must do il
now or never. five don't secede now the
political power Of the SOUTH is broken.
, Once New England was power iu the
} State. She made Congress pass just such
( laws as she pleased She has had her Ad.
amses, her Websters, and her Tariffs. Wha,
, Il Il