The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1865-11-02

THE QUESTION Of negro testimony has been
considered much Of late, and must soon come
prominently before the people of this State in
the Colored Code submitted to the Legislature.
And though we feel naturally averse to q
subject about which there must be contrariety
of feeling and opinion, and would avoid posi-
tion upon this, if that were consistent, still
deeming that it is not-that it approaches, and
that we must act upon it intelligently or not
we have no further hesitation in declaring our
conviction that such testimony, under proper
conditions, ought to be admitted.
This is, perhaps, necessary to the restoration
Of civil law. There is, at present, exhibited by
authority, having the power, whether the right
or not, is no matter, the purpose to withhold the
cases involving the rights of colored persons
from those courts where his testimony cannot
be taken; and it is quite possible that this
position will be adhered to-that he will not
be left subject to adjudication in any court in
which he cannot be heard in his own cause:
and that, until such point be conceded, the
military courts of the government will be con.
tinued, the full restoration of civil authority
postponed, and q foreign institution inserted
here, between the slaves and whites, which
must tend to their estrangement, and to start
a current of calamities along the land that
will sweep all that is best and fairest from its
track Of ruin. : y
But, If not necessary to the complete resto.
ration of civil law, it has the. still higher
merit of being right There has been little
occasion, hitherto, for negro testimony. They
have had few points of contact with an e1-
ternal world. They traded little-had few
opportunities of collision with any other au-
thority than that in control of the place on
which they lived. From evils, there, they were
protected by considerations of interest, and
from evils abroad by the power, and, when
necessary, by the utmost resources of the mas
ter. Under these circumstances, their rights
were seldom in question; and, when question
ed, were so abundantly guarded by the inter-
vening interests of O master, that it was sell
dom necessary for them to provide the means
of their own defence, and unnecessary to be
provided with the power of appearance in
court in competition with member of the
ruling race.
But this is changed. From being. the best
protected human creature in the world, he is
now the worst. He must now not only enter
into all the contracts necessary to his own sub
sistence and preservation, but into all the con-
facts and collisions to which these contracts
lead him. At every step he is met by antago-
nistic rights, which will be enforced against
him with the perfect severity of interest. His
color, also, will constitute distinction to
sharpen contact. That has hitherto been prin-
ciple ofprotection; but it will be so no longer.
Without the relation which that color has
implied, and tho requisites and charities to
which it has entitled him, he will be, for rea-
son Of it. only the more exposed to occasions
in which his rights must be contested; and,
charged with the responsibility of selfpreser-
yation, be must, Of necessity, be vested with