The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-08-13

took place in the intervals Of time when he was
not, with good-natured alacrity, waiting on nus
customers, and though the phraseology anu some or
Of the words employed may seem strange as com
ing from the mouth of one who but lately was o
Southern slave, yet in every case they were sucn
as were used by the speaker, and were taken down
at the moment and on the spot. ,.,.
'sWell, Beverly, what do you think OF the Ponti-
cal prospect in South Carolina ?"
81 think, sir, that the Republican party VIII
carry the State. They certainly Will from mere
down; but it is more doubtful In the up c0onLy
districts. There are twenty-one districts |nlcn
Georgetown District there are 18, OOO blacks anu
only 1900 whites-there can't be any doubt ABOUT
that going Radical; but where the whites are In
the majority things will go against US" 5,,.,a
DO you indorse the Radical platform adopted
here the other day2"
''Yes; 1 indorse it heartily. There are some
things would not have put in; but il you take q
platform you must take it as whole"
s'Then, have you not gone back on the ConserVa.
tive sentiments you expressed ~ your speech Oh
toni" ,...,u:.;,.
ssNo Sir; should still like to see all disabilities
removed from the whites, and that we should all
stand on the same footing; but when people say
I'm not Republican, that's nonsense. Here ls
correspondent Of the Charleston NEWS who, writ
ing from here, says: Not by any means al the
hundreds Of negroes in and around Columbia,
however, are abandoned, body and SOUL to the
new movement. One class, represented by sucn
clever, cautions, sensible men as Beverly Nssn,
stand aloof from the schemes which contemplates
the elevation Of the negro at the expense OF t9e
white man, and maintain species OF mastery
inactivity content to wait upon the deyelopment
of the future; the consequence is that IN mes
sure they are politically tabooed.' Here ls q caro-
which T have written in reply to that What 90
'''''''' '' COLUMBIA, July 2s.
Editor Charleston Neacs:
see in the Charleston News OF July 26, over the
name of seFelix," that there is class OF men IN
Columbia. represented by such men as Beverly
Nash, that maintain mastery inactivity In re-
gard to the Convention that has just adjourned IN
this city. He said that we were deslrous OF re,
tanning the respect of our old masters ltbank Goa
we have none now). Now, Sir, wish it under
stood that stand upon the platform of the Union
Republican party of South Carolina. II this will
retain their respect, shall be happy to have 1t;
if not, shall say to them, as l say TO otners,
court the smiles of no man at the expense OF my
principles, and shall work and vote for the Re-
pubican party, and no other I would also say
that there never has been any complaint against
the officers Of the Bureau here-they are gentle
men. There is no dissension among us, for we are
Going unanimously for the. Union Republican par
w. anu u "iHS' 'n '''' ~ W. B. NASH.
GAS to my not being Republican" he oontin-
ued, "why 1 established the first Loyal League
here. That was in September, 1855. The speech
YOU referred to has been greatly misunderstood;
there were many things put in the report that l
didn't say, and many things left out that did say;
But it got me into great deal Of trouble, and
when I went West last spring to Mississippi, to
take out some hands for General Hampton, my
friends passed resolutions denouncing me AS q
sstrator." I'm content to leave the matter as Con-
gress has fixed it; but, as said before, should
like to see the disability taken of every white man.
and if we were to ask for it, it would attach the
white people to us and cement tho friendship be-
tween u.s."
ssWhat do you think of the formation Of a mod
crate Republican party?"
nucleus; but their only hope would be to get the
colored people, and they can't do that. Governor
Orr could do great deal il he came out. He would
be the best leader for that pariv. he is shrewd
politician, and in the Districts of Anderson, Pick,
ems, Greenvillo, Spartanburg, Laurens, York and
Union, he can dictate nearly as much as he likes.
NV impression is that the Southern States will go
Republican. The feeling against the Democratic
Party is very strong; and whenever straight-out
Republican Party is formed, our people will sus-
tain its candidates against all Others" ..,.
aWhat do you say of the workings Of the Mill
tary Government"
III don't like military government, myself but 1T
has had wholesome effect. II the South had
gone back into the Union under the Adoption OF
the Constitutional Amendment things would have
been bad for us colored folks"
"Why?"
ssBecause the people were not conquered-not
changed. Our rights would have been a law on
the Statute Book. but that law would have been
dead letter. The law makes the juries the judge
adversely to US. It's no use to give the black man
the right to testify unless you give him the right
to sit on juries. I've seen the working Of it, A
colored man testifes, and the jury goes strictly
this % that t. and nc the other; though I heard Judge
Dawkins say in Court, here, last March, that he
had never, in forty years, seen better witness
than o colored man that had then been up testify
ing"
"what do you think of the oolored people hold
ing Officer"
ii want to see them in some offces-not high
ones. What our people want in this matter is more
to test the sincerity OF the government"
''But do you believe that the oolored people will
be so much purer than other people that, having
the power, they won't want to exercise r" ..
sour leading men (coloredD are against the
blacks holding high offices. Now, some wanted q
while ago to run a colored man for Mayor of
Columbia; we all hooted atit. But II Mr.. Robin
son Ia white citizen OF Columbia, and an old resi-
dent), should run for Congress, we would all sus-
tain him. We would rather have white people
that have lived among US than strangers. We are
feeling so almost unanimously. This has come
about recently, and it is great change. The
colored people have grown suspicious of strangers.
They know that good men don't come South-they
have business at home, and from what we have
seen those that come are adventurers with both
hands open, like birds prey"
& Pretty good judges of human nature your
: eyes, that is one point in the colored man--he
will know more Of your character in three days
than you will Of his three months. It has been
his business all his life to find out the ways OF the
white man-to watch him, what he means" Then,
recurring to the subject Of Offices, he said: 'IfI
was in the Constitutional Convention should GER
tainly move resolution don't know whether l
would carry it, but would certainly vote to re-
move the disability from Judges OF the Courts OF
Common Pleas; for of course our own people are
unfit to exercise this function, and we have in
Judges that eyer lived, When the judiciary is
pure liberty Is preserved"
ssYou noticed that clause in the Republican plat
form adopted the other day, favoring such tax
on lands as would compel the owners to sell-What
do YOU think of that measured"
'Our people will all favor heavy taxation. There
are great many who are in favor OF oontisoatlon;
but am opposed to it myself, for / have no idea
titles would hold after tho present generation.
There were q good many up-country delegates to
the Convention who favored conflscation; but they
found out it would not do and 80 did not bring It
no. If Congress sees ft to impose confscation,
they know best; we should make no expression Of
opinion about it. The South Carolina system
OF taxation is ridiculous. 1t imposes some
thing like Sixty Genus per H4uuFee actes' my iuea
is to tax pine lands, valued at one dollar
per acre, twenty-five cents per acre, and 30, pro
rate, for other lands, This would force owners Of
large tracts Of waste lands to sell and give us
chance, In all countries large land monopolies
are oppressive, though have read book which
traces the prosperity Of England to it's large land
owners. The only argument against the policy Of
dividing the State into several farms is that il
makes too many poor men md there arc no men Of
wealth to build railroads, canals, &c. ! want to
rice is o culture that small farms cannot succeed
in. unless they work in companies. Rice 9 is :. =
must be periodically turned in to get the weeds
out. But you can't use salt water, and hence YOU
have to dam it by building leyees: Poor men have
not the .meaps to do the extensive ditching and
damming required In fact tho whole policy Of
the State will have to be changed before small
farmers can be successful. For instance, there is
the 'range law" which compels farmers to keep
other peoples cattle out, not their own in. This
would b. hard on poor farmers, for wood for fenc.
ing is very scarce and high, and the cart loads OF
Il hro,, in ora