The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-11-16

| OF laws OF constitutions and of government, is
to protect the weak against the strong-to
shield nlnoritics agairet cncroachmcnts Of ma
joritics. 1t is a political apliorism that n ma
jority can protect itself Acting by the sheer
exercise of arbitrary power, majority may for
time set at raught ill laws within these States
1t may enforce IN obedience t1 military de-
crecs, from Which there is no appcal-it may
administer purely military government nc
cording to it's own will, and as such it must be
obcycd. But when We arc called upon to sunc-
ton such government us being in accordance
with the constitution and the laws, we have
| right to test the question according to the rule
proposed and to withhold our assent We adj
nit the /uch flat martial law exists in South
Carolina but VIC do not admit the principle
that martial law has the right to impose civil
government upon us without our consent. Far
be it from us to raise factious opposition to
the reconstruction acts Of Congress. We be-
licvc that those acts and the measures they
propose arc destructive, not only to our coisti-
tutional rights but to our social peace With
us it is not question Of party ,IJr of political
power. We care nothing for these things.
We arc quite willing that others should enjoy
all the honors, all tho cnoluments of Office, all
the pomp aud circumstance of pllcc. What
we desire is pcacc-not the scmblance Of peace
but the substance of l'cacc-pcacc mt our own
frcsidcs and throughout all our borders We
desire peace to enable us to build up our waste
places, our temples of worship, our sacked and
ruined cities now lying i'll ashes orr tlisrantlcd
dwellings and our prostratc credit We desire
peace for its own sake; for its holy Christian
influence: and for the civilization and refine
mcnt which spring up i'll its path. Do the
Reconstruction Acts Of of Consrcys propose to
give us this peace !? No. they give usi war and
anarchy, rather. They SOW the seeds of dis
cord in our milst. and place tho best interests
Of society iitoi the Liu,ds of ian ignorant mob
They dstranchisc the white citizen and en-
franchise the newl y cniancipatcd slave. The
slave of yesterday: who knew no law but the
will of the master. is to-day about to be in
vested with the control of the Govcrnncnt.
In all popular Governments, the two great
s,urccs Of power may be traced: 1st. To the
exercise Of the ballot ID To the franchise
of the jury-box. Invest any people with these
tw" -rcat powers, and they have at once the
government of the country III their hands. By
the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, these
powers are conferred upon tho ncgro-hc can
make aud unmakc the Constitution and the
laws which he will administer accorliu. to the
dictates of others, or his own caprice
| We arc not unfiiendly to the negro ; on the
contrary we know that we arc his best friends
While he occupied the position Of Il slavo, he
was protected by the laws, according to his con
dtion in life. And now, that he has been
made free, we arc not only willing to confer
upon him every civil right, but to protect him
i'll the full and free enjoyment Of those rights.
In this property i'll his life. and in his person,
We willing that the black manan,l the
white man shall stand together upon the same
platform and be shielded by the samc equal
laws. We venture the opinion. that the pco-
pie of South Carolina arc prcparedto adopt, as
their own, the Constitution Of any New Eng-
i""' Va f".HS' .'p'NHC'H 'tatS: MH'lCti IL Is
supposed that the civil rights Of the negro arc
most fully and amply secured But upon a
| question involving such grave and n,rncntous
issues. We should be untrue to ourselves. anil
] nnia'r to Cur opponents, were We to withhold
the frank and full expression of or opinions.
| We. therefore, feeling the responsibility Of the
subject and the OCCASION enter orr most solemn
protest against the policy of investing the ne
GRO with pnlifiroi rights. The black man is
what God and nature and circumstances have
made him. That lie il not fit to be invested
with these important rights. may be no fault of
his. But the fart is patent to all, that the ne
gro is utterly untitled to exercise the highest
| functions Of the citizen. The government of
the country should not be permitted to pass
! from the hands of the white man into the
hands of the negro. The enforcement of the
Reconstruction Acts by military power, under
the guisc of negro conventions cannot lawfully
re establish civil government in South Carolina
| 1t may for time hold us iu subicctiou TO a
| qnost civil government, backed by military
ic;;v,:. nut it oan do nh nnTG. rs citizens oi
tho unitoi Staics, We should not consent to