Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-05-04
From the Grcenvilo Mountainoeg]
What Ought We To Do About Reoonstruo-


ton. As have visited the North several
tunty Of judging the feeling Of that people
aln certain tint they have no disposition /,
keep up agitation, ,:,d would as gladly sec
pcnceable times as we. But they feel that they
have gained the victory, and are resolved not
to lose its fruits from any s1u"anisl,ncss about
the Constitution or the rights of States
Their success has made IT,: Constitution vir-
tually dead letter upo. all such questions
The party OF Congress has not only had the
majority, but has been continually on the in
crease More than this, large numbers, even
of their opponents, have thought it tho wscst
course we could pursue to make the best terms
possible. 1t was Oh account of my knowledge
Of these facts that | urged. iu quiet way
upon the members Of the State Legislature
and the Executive the adoption OF the con.
stitutional amendment rejected last winter
was satisfied that it was the best VIC could
do aud while regretted as mucl, MS any the
, disfranchiscn,ent Of allie and prominent men,
felt assured that it was no dishonor to us to
sllow it under such pressure, and that all of.
thac class, who were truly patriotic, would
willingly see themselves sacrificed rather than
the State destroyed The Legislatures, how
ever of all the Southcrn Stltes, rejected this
amendment. In consequence OF t!!is action,
! Congress has made mare stringent tcr,ns !; yet,
| even here they have not gone as far as they
could have done, nor us far us they will surely
| 70 II these terms are not accepted. w hat
| prevented them, in recoistructin5 the State,
from recognizing only such voters Us could take
the Test Oath? Had this been done, not
more than one 6tt.eth Of the white males OF
the State could have voted Under their
present plar, forty nine out of City can do 50.
We're the Convention to be constructed upon
such a vote, tic colorcd voters and the loyal
/ whites would havcabsolutc power, and Absolute
power is always apt to be used for oppression.
Heavy taxes could be laid upon the lands Of
! the State which arc almost universally in tho
| hands OF others. Even u tax of one fourth or
one half, their value might he cxactcd and
the funds thus raised, divided among loyal
men by pensions, bountcs and other dona-
tions. La this way only can confscation come
not from the Congress, but from the State
| Legislature.
| The men who advocate that nothing should
be done no registry made; no votes pollcd ;
no effort attempted to secure due pol tion f
authority and power in tho Convention, are
simply urging upon the State to place on her
own shoulders the burden which Congress has
yet declined to impose. II VIC follow those
who would register a!-d vote for members of
the Convention, but would vote against hold
ing the Con, ention, not only will we be kept
under military rule, but Congress will be ex-
asperatel, and the worse terms have spoken
Ct T TdSs Hqs ssaa BE- Asd sJ terms SFy or ebs ycon"a ne
ancc OF the present state of affairs. A Mill
tary despotism must be oppressive. however
the parties in power may desire to do what is
right. Tho property of no man is safe, IS
many have already founl in the past The
safeguards Of personal liberty are removed
and any man nay 1T the caprice Of even the
subordnatcs Of the Commanding General; be
cast into prison, and kept there for an inleti
mite period 1t is useless to say we have no
indie ,tions Of such action now. The effort
ct the military, ut present. is to concire-
Lct them know that Cancellation is spurncd,
and let tho public opinion Of the North de
clare that we deserve no mercy, ana we shall
get none. AS far as the action Of Congress
is concerned, if we yield to their present
scheme, the Republican party must admit the
South, or it will lose it's power with the pco
plc. Indeed, they are virtually pledged to de-
this. Tho Republican leaders dare not fncc
public sentiment on the issue of refusal to ah-
nit US then. But if they mcce next winter
and VIC have failed to ,.ccrdn tn the terms Of.
fered, is it to be supposed that they will yield,
OF tnal lncy VIII nliDW 'nDu(n NafJlilla alone,
or with others, to stand as Il protest against
their alleged usurpations? CcrtnnIy not ;
when, by putting tho power of the State in
the hands of men who have been ever loyal,
almnsta'l tho whites will do as they my choose
to dictate.
Thus it tappcars to me, that either 10y supine
indifference, or by orpos;n: the holding Of q
Convention, we will bring upon the whites of
this State an entire loss Of that amount of
political power which is still left to them -
Following upon this Will come, not couGsca.
. ,.eHfslaiure. which will be- mttcrv enl
nerciicss- and until this comes, a dcspo.isy
must be endurod--sucll MS our race has never
submitted to for nearly two hundred years
one which even le.ves the life of every one O
us---the most innocent and virtuo,,s-at tho
Will OF two irresponsible mon. Looking at
tho matter calmly and dispassionatcy | am
sure that we are at most critical point of af.
fairs. 1t we act not wisely, al is lost. NV
advice to all who ask it. is to register as soon
ns possb'e--to wait until the registration is
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