The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-11-30

honor, and5to try 3aisabuse the indaof some
people ofthcdaea .bpt 'all tfat glittors e notIg
goldY and that preachers do not At all times
practice what they yproach" ,tl ~
The people of South Carolina are sufferers
"a calamity has befallcn them from which it
will probably take century to recover. Tho
pen and the sword lhaye reduced tlleint.to .
condition, which compared to the position they
occupied, before the war might beplaced.. in the
ratio Of one to fifty For this comparison we
can have no exact and tangible method by
which to arrive at the correctness of its truth.
But evcrything considered We do not believe, it
an exaggeration. The federals destroyed our,
dwellings, our granarics, corn houses, gins,
mills, plantation fences, burned our cotton,
carried oft our mules and horses, also our hogs
and cattle or shot them down in our yards and
pastures, and by it's final achievement reduced
our currency to naught. BY the, North, our
slaves have been cmancipatcd, which resulted
in the loss to South Carolina Of two hundred
million dollars Many of these emancipatcd
slaves have died since the war. many have cmi-
grated to other countries, and those left be-
hind are SO completely in the hands of party
power as to be rendered of very little benefit as
an clement of labor. The only property left
us is our land. This without them to
l|work it has reduced in value from an
average of ten dollars an acre to three dollars
and even as low as ten cents IN acre. The pco-
pie who could have pnid thier debts when they
owned property, and money was plentiful but
were prevented by the existence Of stay law,
which strange to say, was allowed to remain in
force us constitutional then, but which since
that time has been adjudgcd of a different ma
turc, are now more deeply involved than ever
! by the accumulation of interest, with not the
onc-tcnth part of the means for satisfying ,c de-
mands agoinst them. Since the war they have
made every cxertion to pay out But instead
Fof accomplishing this object they have only
got farther from it. Generally they have been
barely able to make enough to subsst on, But
what are they to do? Itwould not do to fold
their arms to their situations, and yet every
effort seems only to increase their embarrass-
mcnts. We're they out of debt, they could
/ make enough by their own labor to the cxclu-
Lsion of the negro to subsist on. But how arc
they to get out? Would that some wiser head
than minc could suggest. Probably you who
3aisnow nothing Of the character Of. the labor
with which we have to contend will say, ,rork
out We have tried it, the plan don't succeed
under existing circumstances. tits ms impossible
for the land owners of this State to pay their
old debts as it is for them to change the course
of the Sun. do not make this assertion to
discourage those who have any desire To make
the attempt nor to promote my Own interests as
do not owe a single old debt in the world
lTalk about paying old dcbts-it is absurd.
There is no use in trying to conceal the fact
ft is impossible and the people know it. 'Bloos1
cannot be extracted .fron, a t.rn;p." You may
throw open the courts and sell their property,
but this will not pay the debts. 1t may bo a
satisfaction for Mr.. Creditor to bid in Mr.
Debtors land and thereby gain an addition of a
thousand or two acres to his already large and
unwcildly body. G is very little better c!rs T.,
This .his change Of ownership while D is rendered
penniless. .Tl,
Tho war was general calamity. The
losses and misfortuncs it entailed upon us
were unavoidable and we should not be held
responsible to make them good Nearly every
one in the State are involved in debts contract
ed during and before the war. owe b, G.,
owes and d, T., &c. In order for me to pay
B what owe him must sue A c. in order
to payD sues B, &c, probably the sucing con.
tinuing down to the seventh or eighth man
Il 4 L. l.