The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-07-07
COLUMBIA :
Saturday Morning, July :, 1868.
The Old story.


The squad of radicals who are now.
assuming to usurp the Legislative
powers of the Government, in no
way show their hostility to the South
ern States to greater degree than in
the disposition they make of the pub
lie monies, under the head of cap
propriation Bills" In these so-caHed
stPubGc Laws" which we find in the
National bsteAigencer, the only paper
we receive which publishes them, we
have frequently observed that in all
these appropriations, for instituting
new public works, continuing those
previously commenced, or repairing
or restoring Old ones, the Southern
States have in every instance been
overlooked, and generally utterly ig-
nored.
But this is the old story. From all
our past experience as journalist,
we have ever observed that in the
dispensation Of public benefits from
the national purse, New England and
the Northern States of the Union in
variably secured the lion share, while
a miserable pittance was doled out to
the South, and then, in most cases,
only for such improvements as would
prevent damage to, Or the loss of, the
Yankee bottoms of mercantile COM
merce. All who have paid any atten-
taon to, or are familiar with, this
class of legislation, know this state
ment to be true in fact and to the
letter. Thus has it ever been-thc
producing, planting South has been
levied upon to sustain the spindles
and looms of New England by high
protective tariffs on the very articles
which the Southern producer was
compelled to supply himself with
the cunning workers in wooden nut
megs, clocks and oil other sorts of
worthless Yankee notions, have always
made their living, and by sort of
mean native thrift often accumulated
fortunes from the purses of the easy
going and thriftless Seutherner. True,
when the load on certain occasions
was laid rather heavy on their shouI-
ders, did the Southern people, or a
portion of them, make a spasmodic
effort, like that of notification; but
such efforts were of brief duration,
and the game of Legislative plunder-
ing went on as usual.
But If the South suffered so much
in the past from unjust sectional legis-
lation, how greatly is that injustice
aggravated, when she is heavily taxed,
and yet deprived Of any participa-
ton whatever in the benefits of the
Government, and that, too, when
representation has been denied her.
We doubt if, in the history of legis-
lation-not even in the legislation of
Great Britain, when the American
colonies 'srebeled''-thare can be
found such injustice rs that now in
tilcted on the people of the South by
the ra,ical legislation of the present
so-called Congress. Taxed enor
mously without their consent, they
are yet deprived of not only partici-
patton in framing the laws, but de-
prived Of the smallest moiety of bene-
fit from the monies they pay out.
A single illustration of this is all we
shall offer our readers, which has
been brought to our notice by the
Augusta Co'astit'tionalist, which gives
US the caption as follows: can Act
making appropriations for the repair,
preservation and completion of GER
tain public works heretofore com
menced under the authority of law,
and for other purposes. The whole
amount appropriated by this single
Act is nearly four millions dollars, for
works of no special interest, and
while New England, the North
and the Middle States receive their
respective portions of this nourishing
pap, no Southern State receives n
dollar.