The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-04
CHARLESTON N.
THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 4, 1868.
"Lay ON, Mao Duff"
[Shakespeare-Ahem!

Our amiable neighbor, the Mercury, il
again sorely troubled, and this time because
THE DAILY News has declared, and now de-
clarea, the necessity of thorough reform in
the management Of the municipal affairs Of
Charleston. Opposition to any idea which
| is not at least .sa century dead" was to be
expected from the Mercury, for it is natu-
raj that journal which is notoriously OBJ
stinate and stationary itself, should oppose
everything practical and. progressive in
others. This denunoiation, therefore, was
anticipated; and having happily encountered
the ayowed hostility of the Mercury, the
success Of our proposed reforms is already
half accomplished. ~ aso' IS fse
For the members of the old City Council
we entertain high respect, and we have
not hesitated to condemn their removal in
palmer terms than our oneighbor cared to
use; Their motives and spirit have not
been imprgned by us; nor has any neglect
of duty been laid to their charge. They
held Office upon 8 precsrious tenure; they
knew not when the sentence of:decspitation
might be passed, ,snd they might well, under
the circumstances, have hesitated to inau-
gurate any extensive scheme of municipal
regeneration. With the past management
Of the city we, therefore, have nothing to
do. Our dealings are with the live present,
and the doubtful future; not with the dead
and immutable past. We take Charleston
as it is, without oensuring any man or set.
Of men; and viii not cease in our endeay-
OTIS until, by hook or by crook, expenses
are brought down to the level of receipts,
until taxation is lowered, and the marks Of
improvement are SO patent as to encourage
that growth Of trade which will make the
load of our city debt easy to be borne.
The Mercury talks glibly about "clap-
trap, and no Southern journal knows bet
ter what "clap-trsp" is-but it cannot dis
guise the faot that reforms are imperatively
demanded, nor hi6 6e its ve1ation atthe con-
sciousness that, with or without its approval,
those reforms will be accomplished.
Can the Mercury deny that the city is
head-ovsSsea ears in debt,-that the debt is
increasing daily, and that drawing notes on
the future is making bankruptcy incyita-
BILE? What, then, would the Mercury do ?
Would it counsel Charleston to stagger
along, living from hand to mouth, reckless
of credit or reputation, and trusting to
miracle to lift it out Of the slough? Or,
would it advise the city, as The News has
done, to make out balance sheet, calcu-
late income, equslize receipts and expendi-
lures, and show its determination to work
its way out of debt by at once checking the
accumulation of liabilities
:. We wish to see applied to the government
of Charleston the principles that govern the
prudent merchant in the conduct Of his
business. We do not advocate anything
simply because it is nep, any more than we
condemn anything only because it is old.
Each measure is judged by its merits and
results, without reference to its age, origin
or traditional authority; and if any busi-
ness man can be found who declares that
Charleston cannoi be better administered
than it has been, public opinion will advise
his prompt removal to the State asylum for
lunutics.