The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-03-22
THE OBSERVED. OF ALL OBSERVERS

+. To modest man there Is notnlnS more painful
than to ba dragged into notoriety. petty vanity
may be gratfed by being the cynosure Of all eyes,
An ambitious child is pleased to be patted on the
head, to be patronized, and called good boy; but
it is seldom that this operation is agreeable to
sensitive, enlightened people. The South is ct
oresent in this uncomfortable position. Every
body in the great Northern country, and even in
the land beyond the seas, has pet remedy tor the
miseries OF the South. Our friends more espe-
cially give us whole bushels Of advice. sRecon-
struction in the South" is the daily refrain Of
heavy leaders in all the journals Of the North. We
are pleased. to note some change in the tone Of
all butthe most fanatieal .. -
The Reconstruction Act has been accepted by q
large party in the North as the canon by which
the South is to regulate its future conduct. We
are now watched both as to our conduct and our
opinions. The New York World, which has long
since constituted itself the Mentor Of the South,
undertakes to speak officially for us. Where it
ceived its plenipotentiary commission we have
thus Tar been unable to discover. And not unfre-
quently, by it's injudicious articles, it has brought
unmerited censure upon the South. After first ad-
v:sng us to reject the conditions offered us by the
legislation of Congress, it now says that all is
right in the South and paints an idylGc picture Of
Southern industry.
The Tribune pitches into it and us, and says:
This picture is too roseate. Truth would con-
siderably darken it. There are soured, sulen, dis
| contented, rest.oss ex-Rebels at the South, who
insist that everything must go to the bcw-woEs,.
and do their best to verify their predictions. Of
these, the women who boast that they never made
| bed nor swept room till after Lee surrendered,
are the most intro ctable but some OF the e1guer-
xh more Of the Who have
only wa1ed beligerent since the fighting Was over,
are pretty bad. These ruffans commit outrages
and delight in misdemeanors which scandalize and
deeply annoy their peaceful neighbors; They. are
general nuisance, and we look to the military
portion Of the Reconstruction Act for their abate-
| ment.
But, with respect to much the larger portion Of
those who were rebels the Worlds statement is as
true as it is gladdeniing., They are ,tfSomenting
bending all their energies to that true 'recon-
struotion" which is to be effected on their Own es-
tates. Poor in everything but land, they are
mindfng their own business, patching up their old
fences, and putting in their crops. Il. they could
only borrow ten per cent Of the value OF their
farms respectively to spend in seed, implements,
food and teams, they would speedily quicken bust.
ness in our Northern factories workshops, and
stores, while almost abolshing destitution at the
South. Some Of them are getting little help
from the North !; but majority Of the Southern
planters would double their crops this season, ad-
ding s100 100000 worth to the food and 5000, ,000-
900 worth to the exportable produce Of the country
For lack Of ready means, they are working at great
disadvantage but they are generally stout-hearted
and their condition promising. The South will
pull through; for she never before had so large
share Of her population either honestly at work or
anxious to be employed as she has to-day.
We reprint this, because we prefer the opinion
Of an open, though not unfrequently misguided,
enemy to the foolish and unreliable utterances OF
an indiscreet self-constituted friend. It is OF
course idle to set to work with view to correct
the 1'I6une's mistakes or misstatements.
What it says Of the intractabity Of our ladies is
notoriously false, for although they made the most
heroic sacrifices the altar Of patriotism, as long
as there any shadow Of hope of success for the
Confederacy, we have every reason to believe that
with worry few exceptions, they have long since
been heartily sick of the never-ending agitation
that has been distracting the country; and they
are hence very far from intractable, in regard to
every honorable means of reconstruction.