Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-09-14

Ihe war, which was professcdly wagcd suiaIy
Tor the restoration of the Union, in its p og.
rcss, dcgencratcd into nil open att cmpt on tho
part OF Its authors, to consolidate aud pcrpct-
uatc Radical rule, and govcrntncnt, which
was founded OH the noble maxim that q GOV.
ernments derive their just powers fron the
consent OF tho governed" has been perverted
to the base ends Of subjccting ten millions of
its people to military despotism
That | may not be accused of stating this
proposition in stronger language than is war
rantcd by the facts of the case, beg to call
your attention to the following extract Of an
article which cnanatcd from Massachusetts,
Bearing the imprin0iur of Boston, its Ian
guage, which, had it been uttered here, might
have smackcd of treason, can be regarded only
as loyal:
| "Thc principle" says this writer, con
which the war was wagcd by the North, was
simply :his That men may rightfully be com
PEELED to submit TO and support government
chat they do not want and that resistance on
their part makes them traitors and criminals
No principle that is possible to be named can
be more scf.cyidcutly false than this, or more
sef-evidently fatal to all political freedom
Yet it triumphcd in the field. and it is now
assumed to be established. If it be really cs-
tabliShed, the number Of slaves, instcad of
having been diminished BY the war, has been
greatly i"oroenod, for thus subjected
| to government that he does not want Is Il
slave; and there is no difference in principle,
but only in degree, between political and chat
tel slavery. The former, no less thau the lat
ter, denies man's ownership of himself and
the products of his labor, and asserts that 9TH
or men may own him and dispose Of him and
his property for their uses and at their pleas
ure. Previous to the war, there were some
grounds for saying that in theory, at least, il
not In practice. our government was free one
that 1t rested on consent. But nothing Of
that kind can be said now, if the principle on
which he war was carried on by she North is
rrcvocably established"
Here we are told in emphatic language, by
n Northern man, whose mind cannot be oh
scurcd certainly by the so called heresies of
Southern doctrines, what waa the principle on
which the war was wagcd by the North, and
we arc warncd-God grant that the warning
may not be in vain-what will be the result
if this principle is irrovocably establis,ed---
Let it be established, and We may bid adicu to
constitutional liberty-republican institutions
will be swept away in the storm that will arise,
and we shall enter on those dark and gloomy
scenes which will always prcccdc nations
|
for US to pray, in the words Of fearless and
eloquent son of Georgia. for tic speedy adj
vent of the American C;csar." The whole
recent legislation of the fractional Congress
at Washington seems to have only in view to
break down all the barriers of the Constiu.
ton of the United States; to ignore the i'm
mortal truths of the great rcbellio" of 10,
and to CONVEX, government, which had as
its only foundation, Z" the consent of the gov
erned,' into one sustained by force alone
None of the Radicals pretend that the militia
ry bills are constitutional They a1nEt--
! perhaps should say, rather, they trust that
| these measures IRE unconstitutional, while
t.. ,deavor to make the South ratify thcn,,
I by arousing and appealing to the basest pas.
sions Of human nature, fear and cupiaity.-
They threaten lis with confscatio,l, on the one
hand, if we do not accept these measures
they give them the scmblance Of lazy, while
on the other they attempt to bribc those
amongst us who are so base and venal as to be
willing to purchase immunity for themselves
by selling the liberties of their country.
Are these despcable motives strong enough
to corrupt the virtue Of the Southern people
Will that people,lwho have proved themselves
capable of making any ard all sacrifices for tho
sake Of their principles, sink so foyT rs 60 b',y
the mere privilege to live-cvcn if they live
slaves by giving up, all that they have here
tofore held sacred, and all that makes life
itself worth having? Will they allow their
action to be Influenced by threats? Threats
can never govern b,avc men. Arcthey afraid
Of confiscation by Congress? If they, adopt
these Reconstruction acts, they will most as
snredly suffer confscntion in its worst and most
tyrannical form, through the reconstructed
States 1t is for them to determine these mo-
mentous questions for themselves They
have already carried concession to the verge
of folly. Hear what another Northern writer
says on this point:
"Fhe programme of the ruling party can
not be altered or changed by conccssi on
That has been tried in the South. All tho
demands of Congress have been complied
with by the States lately in revolt. They
have altered their constitutions, adopted tho
amendment abolishing slavery, attended to
tho condition Of the freedmen, rcpud;atcd the
debt contracted by them for war purposes and
in this manner showed their anxiety to re.
sumo constitutional rotations with the Federal
] Governmont. But each concession has been
! met with fresh demand, until atthc present
time, ten States have been turned into militia
ry divisions, ten Governors, chosen by the
people, superseded by FIVE Brigad icr-Gcnerals
and the will of a minority Congress PLACED
nvn o,,1 ohoy nd - t,,H ,,