The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-05-18
EditorsalsNotc. on the South.

that admirably conducted journal,
the New York Journal Of Commerce,
proposes to write series of articles,
which, no doubt, will attract atten-
tion at the North, and be read with
interest by all. We extract from the
first:
It is to be remarked at the outset,
that the information which has been
published in Northern papers has
been So diverse and contradictory
that but little dependence could be
placed on it; and traveller in the
Southern States is daily astonished
at the inaccuracy and apparent mis-
represention which have character
lied the accounts he has read before
leaving the North. While in some
cases this is to be attributed to in
tentioual false-witness by political
partisans, it is by no means necessary
to charge such motives on all the
correspondents, even of violent par.
tisan presses. For it is next to i'm
possible for any man to Judge of the
real condition of things by resi-
dence in any one locality, or to form
an estimate by information received
at any one point. A remarkable
feature of Southern life at present is
the want of communication between
different sections. The people tiavel
very little; poverty forbids it. The
railways are in very good order; but
the trains run with few passengers
From New Orleans to Wilmington, it
is rare to see train with over twen-
ty-tivc first class passengers. There
IS, therefore, but little commingling
OF the people; and, rs Il necessary
consequence, there is no expression
of public opinion.
1t is almost literally true that there
is no such thing at present as public
opinion in the South The people
are isolated, every man thinking for
himself ut home, and seldom tulking
with others. Even in the cities,
there is no general discussion of pub
lie subjects, and very little inter
change of opinions and views. In
large hotels, where crowds congre,
gate, there is no general talking
almost no conversation at all. On the
contrary, the people sit silent around
the stoves, or scattered here and
there, speaking in low tones when
they speck Mt nll, but for the most
part silent, downcast and apparently
in deep thought. If loul voice is
heard, tho chances are thousand to
one that it proceeds from a Northern
man, and it attracts the attention of
all rs something curious. Whatever
information Is given on general fncts,
If 1T IS to be trust worthy, must be
derived from observation in different
places, and by free intercourse with
all classes Of people in different
States. The condition of things
varies much in various localities, both
with the white and the black popula-
ton. But there are some facts of
universal truth. No representative
men are to be found anywhere. No
one has authority to express the views
even of his neighbors, and there are
no leaders in opinion. No one talks
politics, no one thinks politics, no
one seems to care for politics. This
is the general rule everywhere Very
few politicians are 20 be found. The
grand fact is, that Mt the present mo-
ment there is desperate struggle for
the means of life, the actual necessi-
ties of the day, with nearly every
family III the South, and no one cares
to think of or discuss political qucs-
tions until the food and clothing
question is settled.
1t is impossible to cxnggerate the
poverty and distress of the entire
Southern people Here and there
men are found who have wealth, and
others who have at least the means
of comfortable support, but these are
the exceptions. Some sections are
better off than others. But distress
is visible everywhere. 1t is not alone
the laboring classes who suffer. Those
who were wealthy are impoverished,
and countless families, once rich. are
seeking food by manual labor, with
out finding it. This state of things
includes all classes, and among the
greatest sufferers are those who,
during the entire war, never sweryed
from their affection for the Union.
In considering the South as whole,
1t Is too often forgotten that there are
such persons there, who were not
protected by the Government, and
who have nearly pcrishcd in the COM
mon ruin. 1t would be impossible
for any pen to describe with suffi-
cient power the mournful condition
OF things i'll the cotton States. A
| II.