The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-11-15
COLUMBIA
Friday Morning, November Is, 1867.
The ..Civn Rights" BIZ.

volving the right of railroads or car
Ehers to keep separate white and black
) passengers, in which it was declared
that, prior to the Act of that State,
passed in March last, there was that
natural, legal and customary differ
ence between the races in Pennsyl-
vania, which made their separation
aa passengers in public conveyance,
. subject of sound regulation to
secure order, promote comfort, pre-
serve the peace, and maintain the
rights of both carriers and passen-
gers. The case in which the ques-
'tdon originated, was that of colored
woman suing for damages for in
,juries alleged to have been sustained
by being compelled to occupy q diff
EferenE seat in railroad car than the
one she had selected.
Judge Agnew, in announcing his
decision, considered the rights of
Che company as common carrier,
the preference of the public, and the
laws and customs of the State, sum-
ming up as follows:
f<It is clear, therefore, that under
the Constitution and laws, the white
and black races stand in q separate
relation to each other, We find the
same difference in the institutions
and customs of the State. Never has
there been an intermixture of the
two races, socially, religiously, civilly
or politically. By uninterrupted
usage, the blacks live apart, visit and
entertain among themselves, occupy
separate places of public worship and
amusement, and fill no civil OF politi-
cal stations, not even sitting to de-
eide their own causes. In fact, there
IS not an institution of the State in
which they have mingled indiscrimi-
.nately with the whites. Even the
common school law provides for
separate schools, when their numbers
arc adequate. In the military SER
VICE, also, they were not intermixed
with white soldiers, but were sepa-
rated.into companies and regiments
OF color, and that not by way of dis
.paragement, but from motives of
wisdom and prudence, to avoid the
sGntagonisms of variant and unmix-
able races. Law and custom having
sanctioned separation of races, it is
mot the province of the judiciary to
1egislate it away. We cannot say
there was no difference in fact, when
the law and the voice of the people
had said there was. The laws of the
State are found in its Constitution,
statutes, institutions and general Gus
toms. It is to these sources Judges
must resort to discover them. If
they abandon these guides, they pro-
nounce their own opinions, not the
= laws of those whose officers they are.
Following these guides, we are COM
PEELED to declare that at the time of
the alleged injury, there was that
I" natural, legal and customary differ
ence Between the white and black
raees in this State, which made their
separation as passengers in public
conveyance the subject of sound
regulation, to secure order, promote
comfort, preserve the peace, and
maintain the rights both of carriers
SAak PnoooiiSciS. LILO ueICnQaQCS
were, therefore, entitled to an affirm
sstive answer to the point recited at
the beginning of this opinion"
We publish the above decision for
Che sound truths it contains, and
commend them to the consideration
of I'll our people, white and black.
1t is very strange, that but very few
OF tie difficulties, arising under the
civil rights bill, have occurred in the
upreoonstructed States. The colored
population here have behaved with
s1elnplary quiet and moderation, and
We believe this can be said of the
freed people Of the South. If war
OF races should ever unhappily occur,
1t will be the fault of Northern agita-
tors. But before such thing COM
1nences, it would be well for the
Northern people, upon whose shoul-
ders tho chief burden of supporting
the immense military forces which
will, in such an event, be required,
TO consider whether or not the policv