Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-04-18
For the Adyertisc..

| We are passing through an llnpartant Crisis.
+ For the Advertisct.
Mr.. EpiToR AS there have appeared two arti-
oles on the Stay. LAWN your pap -one on It's
unconsttutionality, sud the other on lis ipppfcy,
.-and as nothing hos been ,said9,n the other sido
| Of the question, with your permission, ne will
/ venture few suggestions,
The question Of indebtedness of the people of
South Carolina isbeyond doubt'cno of the gravest
that has engaged tho minds of aay people. By
the lste disastrous war, tho people have lost two
hundred millions by tho emsncipation of their
slaves; the resi- estate depreciasod to onehalf is
formur value; one half of the Districts in rho
Stale ovsrtun by on invading army their conr:
HOUSE ss, Jsif, Gin Houzts, Farms, Farming I'm
p!er,ents, Mills, Stock and Provisions, nearly all
destroyed the people at this tina struggling for
tho bs-e ncccssaries OF life; thu portion of the
State that never was invaded, alLnough somewhaI
bot.er OF, s in poor condition tu pay money, eI-
cspt The few who wore so fortunate rs to have
cotton on hand, which has mostly been sold and
in tn ,-fourthr OF thesases, tho money gone )
with tho labor system Of the country in de-
moralizcd condition with twenty thousand Of our
POD uation sacrificed inthe latc war,-their bones
blcnching from Texas to Gettysburg twenty
thousand orphans turned over to tho cold ch'ri-
ties of tho world, never to know again. faith
es,s paternal care; ten thousand widows, mada so
by tho war, with families Of children; with the
prospect of oppressive taxation fer yoars to come
four-Gfths of the aggregate wealth Of the State
destroyed, with th. energies Of the people to q
great extaut broken down; Charleston and CO.
lumLia in cbarrcd ruins We ask in tho name Of
humanity if something moro substantial tllnn
Stay Laws are not necessary, wise aud polite.
So fur as the intermcddling of tbs Convention and
the Legislature is concerned, they have fallen
short Of tho expectations of thrae-fourths of the
people. W. contend in republican government,
it is the bounden duty of the representatives to
reflect the public will, and that all just power is
vested in the people; and We further re-afirm
that no law is worth the parchment on which it is
written, except. it is founded il the affections Of
tho people, aud sustained by IN enlightened pub
lie opinion.
The question will naturally arise, What do you
propose 10 do? We answer the Stay Law expires
on tho fourth Monday in November, The day the
General Assembly meets, by its own Limitation.
Let the General Assembly call another Cenven-
tion of the people lot that Contention repudiste
all debts contracted for slaves, except the interest
or reasonable hire, until they were freed let all
bonds il the Offices, in favor of minors or others,
be first reduced to lawful money, thon repudiatc
four.ffths Of tho amount; all borrowed money
that wa, borrowed in bank bills DO paid according
to what the bills arc worth wLsn the demand is
IN ado let ali real estate that IVES sold during the
war revert to its original owner, or be paid for on
demands let all visible properly of all descrip-
lions bs paid for on demand, or go back to its
original oW noT al debts contracted for provis.
ions, merchandise, or for any ether property, or
comm odity, not Indicated be reduced to lawful
money value; makea Stay Law for four years,
one. fourth to bo paid the frs: Of January lSG7
and one fourth every Janua1yGhercafter until the
first of January 1870, when thu law should OK
pire by is own limitations. No one 10 plead the
benefit if he should fail to pay his in,talmrnts,
as they become due; contracts since the surron=
der, not to be in any wise interfsred with.
Such, Mr.. EDITOR, would be your corrospon-
dents plan, but ii some one else can suggest
something better, we are ready to fall In with
such suggestions. But that something must be
done, or we sro ruined people, needs but little
argument. Three-fourths of all the people Of our
own District arc involved in debt, either on their
own account rs security. And ut the first Court
after tho expiration of the Stay Law there would
be an amount of litigation never heard of before,
whilst the means of more than half our people
would not pay their own and their security debts.
Decentralization, want of energy. aad depopula
ton, would be the ineyitablo Consequences. Wo
contend it would be bcttor even for tho creditor
to havo his debtor released, far as ho has lost
property, for it is an evident fact that not ono
half Of tn. debts will ever be paid. The people
have 40 means to pay, and, byrcleasing the debtor
of portion, if he is an upright man, you will
stimulate him 20 pay what tho Law demands of
him. Much the larger portion OF the indebted
ness Of the pcopls of South Carolina was pTedi-
Gated ON slave properly. The ConYeatiOn, and
likswiss the Legislature, having BY their own
scM abolished the institution, it would DO just
now to poy those debts; and as minors SUI
fsred but little in pccuniary point Of view in the
Late war, wogd it not be just that they too should
make common sacrifice with other citizens?
But, DIR. EDITOR, VIC must close for the present.
With your permission, ia another article, we will
suggest plan of concert action for Lae people.
RIISTKG