The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-10-16
GOVERNOR ORR,s LETTER.

Governor Orr is not one of our political ia
cial; pleasant to meet, good humored and re-
liable. He loves his friends, and is in return
beloved by them. AS a politician, however,
his course does not meet with our approval.
He went to the Philadelphia Convention, and
there he did all he could to reorganize the
Democratic party. He came home, and the
elections went against the Democrats. At the
Board of Trade dinner he turned upon the
party which had elevated him to place and
power, and threw himself outside of the ranks
OF those whom he had courted up to that time,
and to whom he was indebted for all that he
had ever received from the country.
His course, while General SIcKLEs was in
command Of this State, was also other than we
would have wished to see from the Governor
of South Carolina. Our people could not for
get that when General SIcKLEs was in prison
In Washington, on u charge of murder, from
which charge he was acquitted by a Jury of
schife men, Governor ORR was Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and as Speaker, as
one of the loading men in America,9he offered
to the prisoner the hand Of friendship. Re-
Wondering this, and knowing that the whole
country knew the fact, they could not but feel
regret at seeing the same man offer no protest
against the assumptions of tyrannic power by
the commander of the "so-called' Second Mill
tary District.
When Governor Orr undertook to speak for
the State, and to write a letter to General
SIoKLEs, endorsing his course, we blushed at
the thought that the Chief Executive officer of
this State should praise tyranny, praise open
violations Of the Constitution and Laws of this
State and Of the United States, should an
piaud contempt for our laws, contempt for
our courts, and the insultero of our people,
our bench and our institutions. Had Gov
ernor ORR been a private citizen, we
should have felt that he had a right to
express any opinion that might ha y.
been pleasant to himself; but as Governor Of
the State, his words would seem to come with
authority, and but few people could know that
they were the opinions not of the State of
South Carolina.
Governor Oar has, however, recently done an
act which We can partly endorse. He has
written a letter to the President protesting
against the jury order of General CANDY. We
would have preferred it thus, to have seen
nothing but a manly protest, asking no favor,
but simply placing on the record the fact that
South Carolina believed the act to be uncon-
and that she also believes that the
day will come, when the Courts Of the United
States will declare, that action &C outside of the
Constitution is in direct opposition to the
fundamental principles on which American
liberty is based.
There Is one portion of inc letter TO which
we would call the attention Of all believers in
g manhood suff rage.' Governor Orr ably
shows that the order prostitutes the jury box
and makes the palladium of our liberties, a cess
pool Of ignorance. He says: ~
There are white ajorities in but six districts.
In two districts the numbers are about equal. In
each OF the repaing twenty-three districts of
the state-there being altogether thirty-ons-tho |
registration shows . colored majority. In Charles
whites being S,2s8, and the blacks 6,O9s. 81 TIA |
whites lis we're unable to sign their names; Of
larger number of the latter class of persons can
read and write than in any other portion 81 the |
state, q very much larger number, because they
o. obtaining 8 ,me education not enjoyed bv their
class in all the rural. region Of the State, to which |
! snail advert moro particularly hereafter. In the |
o ossan,haes that e I'll HEX Ssy ss9 ss iaa sSais ssas., tAesss, s Z Fore.
portion would give NEARLY Eight eoiored' Jurors e
four whites, and five Of those eight would not be
tovn, Cellstons .HsrkaI4y and Other ass..s.s 49, hs
lsSniSs i is bsyss tS y9r sSs,. Part! I "a ~ %gggssa ;froY
but sixtysavs white votes rsristssTSdd WIN n nns
portion would furnish but one white man to evarv
[ [Sa Jury; OF the oo!ored voters registered il
Ave per cent. OF thewhoIa number ara ahiast To
read and write, and very many OF them have !