The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-03-27
sPublio Opinion in South Carolina

.Publio Opinion in South Carolina.'
We publish below another letter by the autho
of the one printed yesterday morning from th
New York Herald. This is the first, as it seems
Of tCarolinian's" series !: ~ =,
To ihe Editor of the Herald:
WILL yot allow us the use Of your columns fo
the purpose Of laying before Congress and befor
the people of the United States. truthful picture
of South Carolina since the close of tho war-o
her press and public men, Of the people and thei
real views Of planters and freedmen, Of her mer M
. chants and their want Of capital, of the reforma
tory and reactionary movements in the1
several forms and modiications7 This w
propose to do in series Of letters, ani
nature 81 the case, these views could hot be pub I
ilshed here, and even if they could they would faI
short OF producing the effect we have in view. Al
Carolinians to the manner born and rebels durine
the wsa, we are in q position, We believe, to be
able to give information to your readers on many
points which they cannot procure so readily from
other sources. But to proceed. The beginning o
| the year 1866 found our people thoroughly ex
haustea by the war-denuded Of men and means
The struggle had been unsuccessful, largely owing
ment Our people had become dispirited, a-d
while the disastrous close of the war broueh htmuct
Of disappointment and humiliation, there can be
no doubt that sspeace at any price" was hailed by
Yory many With more OF saGs1acl0n than they were
willing to acknowledge.
The general sentiment of:the people, we believe
was that we had been conquered in q fair fight on
field Of our own choosing, and that We had moth
| ing to. complain Of in the terms Of surrender
granted us by the Federal commander. It was ex.
pected by ali that slavery would be abolished, and
| It was expected by many that universal suffrage
| would be another of the conditions precedent to
the rehabilitation Of the Southern States and how.
ever hateful such q decree might have been,
|
been received neither with appreciation nor dis
| appreciation, but simply as 8 matter OF course.
| The President lost the golden opportunity when
he neglected to require This measure as one Of the
requisites to reconstruction. We use this phrase
not from any conviction Of it's wisdom or its JUS
tice, but only because VIC think Mr. johnson should
have been better acquainted with the wants Of the
people Of the North, and By adopting this course
| two years ago he could have prevented all the
trouble we have since had, and the greater trouble
cided on different course. This, We doubt not,
he did from the best Of motives; but it must at the
same time be also admitted, with fatal miscalcu-
ation Of his strength; for he has failed in carrying
out his policy, and we, the Southern people, are
now suffering the consequences OF his false policy
The people, as we have already .stated after tho
surrender, were prepared to meet the require
ments Of their conquerors as far as those require
ments were thor. known, they were complied with
T.,
Of the times, the people allowed the men who had
led them into the disaster of the war, and who had
failed TO aid them dnring the struggle by either
brains or muscle, to leap into the high places Of
the State, to monopoize the representative posi-
ions and as they had been obtuce and dull of
comprehension in the past so in theg great changes
by which they were surrounded, they failed to
comprehend the signs of the present. The people,
however, should not be blamed for this apparent
apathy. The shock OF the disastrous close Of the
A~a,, H.
OF prompt recovery or radical cure. They had
gone into the war with whole-souled earnest, had
staked their all, and when the game was declared
against them, they felt corresponding shock and
disappointment. The. wound was soro, they had
no ambition left for Office. They did not even
know that they had any rights left therefore
thought little Of their privileges as voters, and
took no concern in the reorganization Of the State.
This was the case in the early days Of President
Johnson's reconstruction, and hence the conse-
quences that have ensued everywhere
The President was led into a serious mistake
when, withou5 proper inquiry, be appointed the
Confederate appraiser Of corn and bacon--an So g
day war sinecure-to be Provisional Governor of
South Carolina (not thatwe mean to insinuate that
bis familiarity with corn and bacon recommended
him specially for this professional Office; and this
Tex Confederate appraiser and judge gave evidence
OF his profound statesmanBhlp and Of his know
ledge Of public opinion in the ruling section by is
suing proclamation restoring Mr. Colcock and
Mr.. Leitch to the custom house, and Mr. Huger to
the post Office, and so on, down to the subalterns
in all the several federal and State Offices These
and other foolish demonstrations misled the peo-
pie, and in the Convention Of 1856 wore gathered
together the elements OF hostility and discord,
which could not be property restrained, notwith-
wanting. To add to the mischief, this wise body,
with its elaborate "NegIo code" scheme AID other
1860 notions deliberately decided THAT the future
Governor Of South Carolina should be political
wirepuller instead statesman and the crowning act
ofits folly was the caucus nomination OF Jas. l.. Orr
ex-member Of the United States House of Repre-
sentatives, ex-Speaker Of the same, e1-Confeder-
ale Colonel and eX-Confederate Senator. In due
time this gentleman Of many and varied antecc-
dents was elected Governor OF South Carolina.
Meantime violent political storm was gathering
at the North. The dominant party saw the South
going through the form of reconstruction under
men who, mostly, were their sworn enemies, and
they declared through their press that this was
nothing more nor less than IN attempt on thepart
Of the old Democratic party to regain power and
rule the country. With view, it would seem, OF
strengthening the dominant party the Legislature
actually prepared "Negro code," and published
it. And as though even this was not enough to
aggrayate Northern sentiment against ia, some of
our Tending men" dragged the people into q
national convention. with Governor Orr at the
South Carolina had no political existence.
Conciliaton was the avowed object, but before
the convention met 'shis Excelency Governor
Orr" with the smoke and dust of o long railway
journey still upon him, rushed to democratic
club room, and from the balcony smote his heart,
aud, ritL vehement protestations Of fealty, re-
newad his allegiance 70, and expressed his faith
in, tho 'great doicratic party" It is lair to say
that this single oct was largely instrumental in
neusralizing whatever of good might otherwise
hava been developed by o harmonious meeting,
composed OF representatives from every part of
the Union; but the trick wes too transparent. The
whole affair so obviously gotten up to serve as
of the democratic churoh that tho "outside" pee
pletook tho alarm and the convention came to grief
This is enough OF preliminary retrospect. In
our next We will try and state how public opinion
is manufactured in the Old Palmetto State.
CAROLiNIANS,