Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-06-15
VOL, II.'".'."NO, 3s,


become of the great mass of the poor WHO.
must live by cultivating the earth /? Whon.
we reflect upon the general devastation of the
south, BY reason of the iarmoil and rayagc Of
War, and consider how all l>dustry would be
paraiyzcd by the prospect an. The process Of
conhscatloD, we shall realize that inevitable
evils OF Confiscation are too great to Justify an
experiment of this character. In my Jude
ment any general confiscaton will produce
general bankruptcy and desolating famine /
Judge shat tire evils of such confscation OK.
cecd all that have been experienced by the
country IN oil it's past convuIsions
Again Fsr Stevens proposes to pay Gyo
hundred million dollars into the Treasury by
a mild process Of confiscaton" | do not
Know what could be done in this way; but
am very confident that all the contiscations
that have ever taken place since men firs.
went to war have not altogether resultcii il
putting $500, 100000 into the public trcasu-
rlcs of nations. do not speak of those con,
"scat,ohs whereby some great conuucrors
scAcd and appropriated the treasures and cw
els OF Hn o'cntal king; speak of the conls
cat'oh OF individual property in the shape OF
lands and houses. individuals have ,royp
enormously rich by coniiscation have secnrod
TO themselves dukcdoms and princpalitcs
but they were the mcn who worked the ma.
chinery; [applause and laughter7 the great
mss derived no benefit, or very little, fronl
their plumber
Now as to providing poor men with lands
by any such process as this ] admit the
premise that the poor should have lands
have for many years advocated the policy Of
allowing every poor p,an to help himself to a
portion of the public lands upon the easiest
terms. Iherc nre hundreds of millions of
acres still belonging to the Republic in the
South as we'll as in the North and West-in
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas.
us well as in States further North. These
lands are public property, and 1GO acres Of
them are offered to actual settlers on ;hc nav
ment OF ten dollars, which is charged to cover
the expense of surveys, dcods, &c. | have
always been in favor Of encouraging settle.
ment upon the public lands, and | am Of The
opinion now that it will be easier and much
wiser tor the coloted man to acquire homo
m this form than be vainly awaiting the pos
sib!r chance Of acquiring one by confiscatiop.
,a ;mm yidtg isteaMk r. egshfidently Of what has occur
confiscation has rarely or never aided the poor
to secure homts' any more than it has filed
treasures. 1t bas bred deadly fcuds and per
'petuated class liatrcds. Many of the lands
conhscated in Ireland two centuries AGO bv
CROMWELL arIyct the occasion of strife and
'b'tterness;. the heirs of The original owners
believing, themselves to-day justly entitled to
t,!ose lauds, and that any means Of recovering
them, rebellion inclusive, would be iusti!iable,
believe no man who is the true friend oe
our colorcd' people would advise them to heln
themselves to the lands which had been wrcs.-
ed from their White ncighbors by contisc.-
ton. | will not farther insist upon the f,ot
that confscation shrivcs and paralyzcs ,hc
industry Of the whole community subjected 10
its influence; but in my judgment, If all the
property of the Southern States were taken
by confiscation tomorrow, and put up at auc-
ton, you could not get five hundred millions
OF dollars out of it and into the Treasury
How fraud and perjury would flourish What
mountains of ta)schood would be conYhred IN
by the presence of general contscaticn.
need not say. Instantly, every one who ap
pretended danger to his property would make
sham sale or transfer OF it to some loyal cons.
IN or nephew whom nc thinks he can trust to
be Kept up until the proper time for its safe
restoration when he might find that his trust.
ed relative had concluded to keep it, So it
has been, so it would be. All manner of de-
cceit, fraud, corruption, and miscellaneous in
lqnity, tiourishes in the presence of any at
lchpC Ut Sencral cOnllScatlCn.
/ do not approve Of appeals to any particu.
lar cass, and make no claim to be svcc;,tI
friend Of the colorcd people; but this / say,
TRENDS and countrymen since have bcci,
'hore have been more than ever before i'm
pressed with the exceeding chcapncss of Viz
glnia lands believe there are lands sell;,,o
today near this city at ten dollars pcr aorc
which will bo worth in few Years ten f;n,esS
that price; and I say to all, if you can 4bays
lands in Virginia and pay for them, buy them
ief they are certain to be dearcr in the. early
future | am confident buying lands is thaS
cheapest way of getting thcm. | nm conf. !.
dent that buying these lands is the chcapost
poss' bic mode of securing homestead. CIR.
lyle says that tho great mistake of Rob Roys
was his failure to realize that he could o,,t,;S
his beef cheaper in the grass market of Gias.5
gov than by harrying the low lands and si,o$
vii. repeat that mistake who fails to secure 4
farm by purchase to-day in Virginia boconsa.
he hopes to obtain ono under some future .ot
of confscation. ''9'
| urge you, poor men of Virginia, wheu,es55
White or Black, to secure yourselves homes ofa
your own forthwith. If you can buy them,
here. do so, before tho connginHux of in,ss.-,
grafton shall have rendered lands too dear.
It mot strike of to the Public Lands, Souts.s
North and West, and how out for yoursss esI
homes as my ancestors did in New IIa,nT.3
shire, and nS fhillinna h,vo Jn,o IL Js1tl3.