Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-10-13

''o0'i'oh nave Deen punished, the people wer,
restored to their rights and received back a,
loyal subjects. In the great rebellion Of Eng
land, which took of the head of Charles l..
and kept his successor, Charles II.,; fifteen o.
twenty years in exile, few pcrsonsonly were
punished, and general amnesty s6ranf SS 81
all the others who had adhered to s XII STSa,
protector, Oliver Cromwell All tifsS9 9ysas IA
qulred of them was that they should swear
allegiance to the restored King. No test oath
was required of those elected to Parliament,
or appointed to Office, swearing that they had
not been concerned in the rebellion, or given
aid or countcnance te those who had borne
arms against the King. This species of re.
vcngc would not have been tolerated in that
age, or in that Kingdom. 1t has been reserved
| for the present Congress of the United States !!
| Fora Republican Government in this euipht.
encd and Christian age of the world Dis
loyal men should be excluded from office and
position under the Government The Prin.
| cipc of the test oath, so far as it was consti
tutional, was right and proper, whilst the
late war was going on, for it excluded disaf-
fcctcd persons But now that peace is re-
stored mono are disuitcctcd All ire willing
to join with heart and hand in sustaining tho
Government.
Ii there is any disafection with the pcoplo
| anywhere, it is with tho Radtcu1 rte, and
not with the principles of tho Government
under which they rule the county. Tho
President who has pursued straigh. forward,
patriotic course, has the entire confidence Of
the Southern people, and if the "Rrmp Con
grcss had pursued hc'samc policy they too
would nave had the confidence, and received
the grateful acknowledgment of byal and
patriotic people. The course Congress is now
pursuing, if continued for any Length of time.
must ALLEVIATE the hearts and affections of tho
Southern people, and of any people, who love
the great principles of English liberty and
Republican Government
rcpS6e ~ hG SGHss pee Genn9s Be .s9 live I'M
heavily taxed without representation, excluded
from all Offices under the Government, and
have the Constitution changed and altered, af-
fccting orr dearest rights and interests with
out slowing us to say ono word, or give any
explanation in opposition. But this matter is
handled with great ability in the address of
the Philadelphia Convention, and needs no
further illustration.
and willing to stand by and affirm all that was
done in that Convention. The Convention
was composed of the representative men, men
expressed them in the address and platform of
principles adopted by the Convention It has
been well said that the Philadelphia Conven-
tion was the most important National Assem-
blage of persons since the Convention which
adopted the Constitution of tho United States.
That body gave Constitution to the Rcpub-
lie, the Convention in August last have at
tempted its restoration, and the restoration of
the Federal Constitution. [ cannot believe
that their attempts will fail | have conf
dcnce in tho virtue and intelligence and pa
triotism of the American people They may
be led astray for time, by artful and design
ing men, but as soon as they discover their
error, they will correct it.
1T is to be hoped that the people of New
York and Pennsylvania, and of all the North
western States, will buckle on their armor for
the fall elections, and determine on victory.
Ii is the most important election that has ever
occurred in the history of our country On
it, in my humble opinion, depends the peace
and prosperity of the rcpublio if not it's exist
ence as Government. From the spirit of
the harmony which characterized all the pro.
ocedings of the Philadelphia Convention, 1
have great hopes. In that body saw Demo
Gratis and conservative Republicans, who had
always opposed each other in politics, uniting
like patriots to save the Union. saw in that
Convention Northern Generals and Southern
Generals, who had bravcly fought each other
for four years past on the bloody fields of bat
tic, cordially coming together and uniting in
one great effort to restore their bleeding coun-
try to peace and prosperity. The only qucs-
ton asked was: g. Is he loyal to the Union
and the Constitution 2" no matter what his
anteccdcnts may have been. hope this spirit
will be adopted in all of the Northern States
by the people at tho polls. Let tho War Dem
ocrats and the Coppcrhcnd," and the Con
servatiyo Republicans, unite in presenting
their ablest, most patriotic and most infuen-