The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-09-09

States, namely South Carolina, Arkan-
sas, Alabama, North Carolina and Geor-
gia, having ratified and approved OF the
amendment, the Secretary Of State OF the
United States, published the lawful GER
tifcate, with the great seal of the nation
thereto, and from that day the amend
mcnt and the eternal abolition of slavery,
and the perpetual freedom of the colored
man, became the irrevocable highest law
of the land. Bnt mark youl This is
what VIC say. 1t is what the Democratic
party says, and insists upon, and is now
struggling to establish. Not so the Re-
publican Radical party They deny this.
You doubt us? We will show you we
speak truth.
This question being, as we supposed,
forever settled, was re-opened by the Rad
icals, so far as they could reopen it. We
deny their right or power to do this law
fully, but they insist on it, and that is the
issue to be tried in the great contest now
going on.
The Radicals, in 1866, proposed another
amendment to the Constitution, known
as the fourteenth (l4l amendment. They
sent it to the States for approval. 1t
came 10 the samo Legislatures, for the
most part, in the Southern States which
had approved and thereby made the
amendment abolishing slavery. 1t was
the same Legislature of South Carolina.
The Southern Legislatures rejected the
fourteenth amendment, and it was thereby
defeated. They did this because it dis
franchised their best men, who had done
no criminal or offensive acts, except such
as they had been encouraged and sup
ported in doing by the people, and 1T
would have been mean and disgraceiul if
the people or their Legislatures had pun
ished those who were only participants, in
their own guilt. The Radicals, incapable
of gushing between meanness and
generosity, were 6crcely irritated at this
refusal; thereupon they declared our Leg
islatures illegal--the same Legislatures
which had abolished slavery and assured
your freedom; whose aid they had invoked
and accepted They broke up those Leg
islatures by military power, because, they
said, they were "illogal.' They estab-
lished military governments for time,
and finally your government, such as 1t
now is. They call that legal. We deny
it. II we are right, you are safe. If they
are right and tho Legislature which made
YOU FREQ was illegal, then tho legality OF
your freedom is an open question for the
future discussion of demagogues, Radl-
calls and scalawags. II will be open merely
for discussion and mischief, OF no practl-
cal avail, because we, every man OF us,
and of the Democratic party, would
stand by you to assist such fraud: W o
ask YOU TO stand by lis for your own sake
not for our sake. We ccan and will take
care of ourselves. We know how to do
that. or to see that it is done. Their
hatred to us was so great that. for its
sake, with all their pretended love for you.
they would give up your freedom and de-
clare it 'ilegal" Their hatred to tho
slavery of the colored man was less than
their hatred to tho white man of the
South. Their lovo Of freedom for you
was less than their love of slavery for us.
Do YOU not see it? DO you not see that
if the Legislature which gave you free
dom was "illcgal," its acts also must be
illegal? DO you not see who did this,
and that thoy have failed 10 secure from
tho Legislatures they call legal ratitca-
lion of the amendment OF the Constitu-
ton which makes you free? Does not
all this show to you what tricksters and
cheats are leading You to your destruc-
ton? After this exposure Of them, when
it is your wish to find protcnco for hos
tility to us, You will pretend to believe
these men; otherwise you will not be-
lieve them. We have not left you one
particle of reason for trusting them ex
ccpt your wish to do go II, in fact, yon
are not deceived, but, knowing their
falschood, desire hostility to us, we can
not help it. We shall regret it, moro for
your own sake than our own.
We have another very grave complaint
against you. You have been placed in
possession of supreme political power in
South Carolina you are responsible for
the manner in which that power is adj
mnistered. The population of the State
has two distinct general classes-your
race, the coloicd race, and our race, the
white race. There is also another and
third class, or more properly, fungus of
the white race, insignificant in numbers
and degraded in character But small as
it is, this is again subdivided into two
very distinct parts. They are very COM
prehensvely described in the dialect of
the Hastings as "carpet-bag itinerants
and resident scalawags." This sub-di-
vision, with its two parts, governs you,
and by your consent and oily, governs
the State. Your race greatly exceeds
ours in numbers in this State; You have a
large majority of the votes. With this
power in your hands, yon have scanda-
iouslv misused it. Allhough h you arc for
the most part unedm3ated and inexpo-
riencod in public affairs, yet there are
among you men of ability and education.
These men you have set aside, and COM
o,,I