The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-11-11
rcorrssyondence of the New York Herald.

| Correspondence of the New York Herald.l
CHARLESTON s. c., November 3.
| The ball has opened. Tht negroes have carried
Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia. and
they will certainly carry South Carolina. There is
some chance, the papers tell us, of fair fight for
the supremacy in North Carolina, but l doubt it.
There is, l believe, q greater apathy on the sub
ject of reconstruction among the white people OF
the Second Military District than anywhere else.
When the Congressional Act passed, last March,
there was apprehension and dismay, especially
when the Act was read with the Presidents veto
message as a commentary. Still, the people Il
mean the white peope) were genei ally disposed to
"accept the situation" to "organZe under the
Act" They set to work to study out its complex
mechanism, to calculate how many were d1sfran-
chised by its provisions; and many OF the foremost
citizens, either in public meetinS IS or through the
vehicle of the press sigriifed their acquescence,
and eXhorted their fellow citizens to conclate the
scolored clement" and thus endeavor to work q
peaceful restoration OF the State. Many there
who had been in favor of the adoption of the How
ard Amendment but who, not finding public
opinion ripe for it, refrained from msking known
their views en- this subject. These and others ia
vored organization under the Reconstruction Acts.
Active measures we're, Of course expected on the
part Of the Radical negrophilists here and else
where and the most jealous endeavors to preju-
dice the negroes against the Southern whites but
still we thought that the military power would in
terpret the acts OF Congress not to the advantage
OF the whites, but at least fairly and without pre-
judice. In this, however we were much mistaken,
and so likewise we're We also in the expectation OF
q conserva i've middle party. The failure OF the
latter, however, is perhaps due to the former.
Congress, as is well kuowp passed three sepa-
rate acts OF reconstruction, and the provisions OF
each successive enactment are more stringent, so
far as the 'late rebels" are concerned, than the
one preceding. Nor is this ALL The private inter-
probation given to these laws Of Congress by the
several military commanders in every instance went
beyond the law ITSELF AS there has been consider
able method in these strained interpretations, and
more concert than coull be expected from accident
we are led to inquire whence the inspiration came.
Who construed the acts? Was it General Grant
or some Congressional junta?-Mr. Schencks ks COM
mittee for instance--or the Judiciary Committee,
or individual Senators or did the five command
ers borrow from each other? Whoever is respon-
siblo for the construction of the Reconstruction
Acts, they were in no single instance that know
of construed literally"
II we're easy to substantiate this statement by
giving list of general orders, but this is not
commander. General Sickles has passed from the
stage Of action. No interest attaches to his name
or his deeds. may, however, give you, ere long,
for the truth of history, an examination into his
public acts as we'll as an inquiry into some OF the
reasons why he was so signally unpopular during
the entire period of his sojourn with us.
90 this unequal and ili6eral construction OF the
acts is due, In large measure, the present unhap-
py and altogether abnormal state OF affairs In the
South. All Of us who calculated the number OF
distranchised last Spring soon found that we had
reckoued without our host-the District Comman-
der being the said host. Citizens were refused
registration on every conceivable klnd OF Puerile
pretext, for which no shadow could be found In the
acts of Congress. Thus know of case ofa staunch
Union man in one Of he upper Districts this State
who had been loyal all through the war, refused reg
istration because he had son in the Confederate
army There we're many cases of ibis kind. So law.
yers were excluded, magistrates notarles public
man who forty-fve years ago was commits
sioner of cross roads or OF the poor, or of q
public school board, could not be allowed to
register. More fragrant injustice than all OF these,
however was the ruling OF General Slckles that no
foreigner could register who, after having become
naturalized, volunteered into the Confederate SER
vice, unless he was naturalzed over again. In
sh rt, every pretext was resorted 10 to throw OBJ
stacles in the way of the white citizens and every
facility afforded the negroes at the registration
boards: Great influence was exerted through tne
Union League to impress the negroes with the i'm
portance Of registration. at these secret meetings
designing agitators had the whole field 10 them
selves. The ignorant, credulous, and eXcltable
negro here was the subject OF promise, calolery
and threat "If you go to the registration board
and the polls you will get your forty acres; il you
do not, imprisonment, fine" and what not. There
was no one to gainsay all this and the negroes had
tho additional incentive OF an assured immunity
from all the consequence, of the idleness lncdent
No. 65, Of General Sickles, assured him that any
one who attempted to discourage" him from re-
gistration should te punished severely by the mi
litarv power. With such clause a. text, we can
readily see what liberal construction the zoalots
and designing partiZans who manage the puppet
work OF the League would be likely 20 put upon
it. The consequence has been that negroes every
where lett the plantations AID haunted the regis
tratlon precincts by days and weeks, carrying
arms creating Disturbances, and negleotin9 ell
their allotted tasks to tho detrment OF tho inter
ests or their employers and all this they did With
perfect impunity, encouraged, therefore TO pro-
coed to greater lengths next time. That the WIRE
pullers caused many of these negroes to register
several times at different precincts, so as efectual-
" to kill off any possible white majority, there can
be no doubt. And this was comparatively easy OF
&C omplishment. Few of the negroes had names;
in large cities but few of them were known to the
"challengers"- "-supposlng any such had been
posted to preserve the purity of the ballot 1t was
not so. The negroes were rarely challenged,
whether they were fifteen OF twenty-one; whether
they lived in the election district or not; whether
theX had registered elsewhere or not. Ai these
WA questions On which the registrars thought
49, not to be too curious. We, consequently,
have larger number Of negroes registered here
over 5OOO-than ever resided in the city, even
when its population was much larger than it is at
present. And all these e1padlents would now ap-
pear to have been in vain, foc there is no opposl-
tion. The white nag is not entered, and the sable
colt runs over the course and carries OH the stakes,
perhaps. Our Radical friends have slightly over
done their work. They have killed of the rebel
element so effectually that they are beginning to
get alarmed at their zoo easy victory.
There was in this city ample material for res
pectabie Conservative party of both whites and
blacks. But by the manGuvrlng OF the extremists
these have been paralyzed or disguised, and now,
as by general concert, all desst from any further
participation in the matter Mr.. Eppng, the
United States Marshal Of this State, one Of the
first who was actually engaged to organize the Re-
publican party in this city and State, has long
vainly dreamed OF conclllatory pohcy that Is to
mite whites and blacks and carry the State Tor the
Conservatives. At recent Convention held in
Columbia-what for 1 know not-some Conserva-
tive resolutions Of Mr.. Epping were voted down;
and since then / believe even he is disehchanted
of his halluclnaton about the immense influence
he was going to exert, both at the head and the
tail of his party, among the masnates in Washing
ton and with Pompey, Quash and Cesar on the
plantations.
There are very few white people in this Radical
ring. The negroes have learned to distrust them,
as they well might, when thov could not but see
what stuff they were made OF. There is scarcely
single respectable white man, OF either past or
present respectablity, belonging to the League IN
this State or to the Republican party. The Freed
mems Bureau agents. -Whttemore, Plllsbury,
and one or two others-are the leaders OF this
business. Collector 4. G. Mackey and Mr.. Fred
erick A. Sawyer, Collector Of Internal Revenue,
both aspirants for Office, are understood to CO.
operate with the party, but have touched the un-
clean thing but daintily thus far, and many OF
their colored brethren entertain grave doubts in
regard to them, care they sound on the goose Z"
If so, why did they not identify themselves with
us from the frst2
Now, as to the colored leaders hereabout. Fore
most is F. L. Cardozo, brown mulotto, a Presby-
terian preacher, since the close of the war teach
er Of freedmen in this city. He is a native of
Charleston-born free, boweyer-obtalued the ele-
ments of his education in school kept by two
young gentlemen Of this oty, at time when your
Radical friends insist on believing it was capital
offence to teach a negro to read. He went North
about the age of seventeen, and subsequently, to
Europe, where he finished his education at Glas-
Cow. At least so goes the story. cannot say
whether it is true or not. He is certainly man Of
some cleve ncss out, as the king among tho poets,
his faculties ald attainmcnts receive fictitious
appreciation by reason OF his being colored man.
white man Of the same talent and education
would attract no attention whatever. But by
virtue OF his color he Will ccrtany go to Con-
gress-i. e., Iii reconstruction goes through"
There are several OthCr NEGROES here. native and