The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-13
ON THE WING.

bcttei than had expected TO find them. Thl
spring was late one, cold nights continuing
to the very end Of May, If not into June. Then
came those very heavy and ong-coninuc
rains, compelling total suspension of ngri-
cultural labor for weeks together. The rain
certainly did great deal Of dumagc, but to
our surprise we find The crops generally look
ing healthy, though l;ttlr backward: and what
was still more unexpected, both cotton and
corn looked remarkably clean. Whether or
not the grass was "fcught" more assduo,sly
along the highway, 10 keep up appearances, as
we have often heard planters bnntcringly
accuse each other, we are, Of course, unable
to say. However. we presume not und we
accepted The clean cotton beds nnd corn hills
as good omen. We mado extensive in
In'rcs among the planters, both rs TO the con-
d'ion of the crops and also of various other
correlative economic topics; md my inter
| r0gniorics elected the information hereinafter
set forth. The planters all complu in of the
| condition and prospect Of The crop, of the
iaSorers, many Of whom are unquestionably
very thrilling" Of their pcnchant to private
'ScIucstration." clc., etc. Dut farmers hay
l''g been given to complaining from time inn
| memorial, their friends hear their Iamcrts
with great cquanimiiy.
The freedmen this year, as n general thing
are doing great deal better Than they did
last ycnr Much mutual prejudice Inns been
overcome. The whites are gradually learning
to adapt themselves 10 the changed relation
they now sustnn 10 their former slaves; they
arc recovering from the shock and depression
Of spirits naturally consequent upon sudden
reverse Of fortune, and in many instances or
the entire loss of their property. They treat
theft laborcrs with Kindness and consideration.
and where Union Leagues and kindred disturb
ing elements nre not permanently present TO
prevent 1t, n better spirit has become manifest
among The negroes, and steady growth Of
confidence in their white friends and employ
crs. They arc beginning 10 see the necessity
OF systematic labor, and all things considered,
are doing well. We were surprised TO lear,i
that the wages system has not met with the
favor We anticipated In the present unccr- |
tain state Of utmost everything, the price of
cotton included, both negroes and whites prefer
the other, l. G., the laborcr receiving stipuln-
led fraction Of the crop
The country is more quiet than il was Inst
last year. There arc less difficulties between
planters and freedmen. They get along more
tremendously. There is, too, less stealing than
there was during the previous year, SO my in
formant remarked But l do not know how 10
credit snch statement, after hearing nll ihc |
many stories of grand and petty larceny per-
petrated almost every night, and in almost
every part Of the District. There is still |
great deal of abstraction, not to put too fine |
point upon it-of stealing. What rendors il |
so difficult to check it, is the fact TINT practi-
caily there is little or no redress. There is, |
indeed, n pretcnce Mt investigation when COM |
plaini - --.-, .,.J cuuus VI It.
Incft is seldom brought home to tie per-
petrntor, because the people are discouraged |
from frequent experience, and have become
skep,ical us TO the chances of redress; and be-
cnusc the ''chccks md balances" of the new |
regime prevent their making use Of The mems
with which they have hecn familiar, and which |
they most generally found successful.
Let us put q cnse, and il is not one nltogeth- |
drawn from the realm Of Imagination. Say, |
planter, i'll the dead hour Of midnight hears |
the long drawn do!eful wall of the dying pig. |
lie gets up. goes 10 the pen, pig is missing.
Now what next? lie hns his suspicious, TO be |
sure, hui that avails him not lie cannot en- |
ter the cabin of one Of his yassals, who live on |
property IIo must have n search warrant. |
But where is he to get such an instrument ut |
that hour, the very hour too, when negroes |
pigs TO mostly steal? But suppose no goes TO
magistrate what then? Why, just as likely
as not by the time he gcis q warrant the pig
,nay be eaten, not an ear left TO tell the tnlc
gone, leaving not u wrack behind. But even
if it has not been dispatched by such summary
process; say, the owner ri Of the stolen pig
cannot find it in the house he searches by yir-
tue of his warrant; he suspects that it was
conveyed to the next house while he was nh
sent in search of the warrant. Nolhing easier.
There may be twenty or thirty such houses on
the "quartcr," and all very near each other.
In fact il is absurd 10 consider these negro
cabins (" houses" or "castlcs" in The old
English common law sense. The entire "guar-
ter" is rs one house with different rooms, and
should be so considered for legal pur-
poses We surprised therefore
| to learn that singh authority" las construed
| uHu IL tne Btu ''Snoll nus Dccn
icgrrdemained from the first to ihe second honse,
the senrcher is put to halt His &nrfant is
only good for The first. He must suspend his
operations and repeat his journey 10 the mng-
istrate, dsinnt perhaps eight or ten miles, and
gel search warrant for cabin No. .; and so on
ad i!Gaifum. Slender the chance Of the sorrow
ing owner Of ever again seeing his late much
loved pig. The natural consequence is that
porcicnlturc will soon be one Of the lost nrts;
"stock' is rapidly disappearing from off the
fnce of that country. There is one inct which
in common justice we feel bound to mention,
and that is the impar!iulity With which these
thieves perform their operations. They are
free from bias--no rcspccters Of persons. They
steal from black and white, from rich and poor,
from Yankee and Southerner, from civil and
military. They recognize no exemptions.
Mercury is decidedly in the ascendant. ~
On The WHOLE however, Notwithstanding al
this, We would ngnin repeat, the change has
been surprising, and on the first nppearanct
the stranger is inclined 10 believe there is q
very great improvement over last yenr. Bu
when he comes to inquiry more closely, he fnd
tho hopelessness, the depression Of spirits, th'
. | gloom Of the M nln 10 for oran for Than n vn