The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1868-03-26
THE .JOURNAL
thursday, March, &c, lses.
The Crisis.

reaching craftsmanship, 1t Is upon us
now. The abolition movement com:
mencing within the memory Of men yet
in the prime of life, cloud no bigger
than mans hand has gathered tenn
pest W !ich has, shaken q continent,
and changed the fate Of empires. The
thunders of this mighty CONFUSION
still reverberate in our ears, and the
lurid glare Of its shafts Of vengeful ire,
yet casts its baleful light across the
dark horizon of the future. If ever
the ship of State needed pilot, this is
tho very crisis. Alas! the genius Of
craftsmanship has fed the southern
land and there is no prophet in Israel.
The southern people are like blind
men, cropping their way amid thou
sand gins and snares and pitfalls, with
no ray of light and 10 kind hand to
guide them. There is no common
movement, no consultation, no colnbi-
nation, no unity, no common principle
governing the people. Each State is
acting for itself, SO fur as there has boen
any organization, and We. do not yet
know that anything like unanimity has
been secured among the white people
of any State even when organized on
the general question of reconstruction
on radical principles. Certainly it is not
to be expected on any merely local
issues. In South Carolina, there is
and has been no organization. fthere
are any two men who think exactly
alike on the great question. of policy
now upon US, it is probably to be at
tributed to the influence Of the Charles
ton Keremy, which may justly be re-
garded as the organ Of the old Carolina
sentiment, and is conducted with a
courage, zeal and ability not surpassed
by any paper in the State.
But the. world moves on. The Ner
cury stands upon the lofty principles
of that pure Republicanism, founded
upon the Resolutions Of 1913, and so
grandly and proudly illustrated in the
history of the first half century of our
National existence. The patriotic and
elevated spiri. of those days only lives
in the records of the past. SThe ever
lasting truths embodied in those prin:
-.;tlAa are unchanged and unchange-
able, but they are too severe in their
pure and simple virtue for the corrupt
ed and vitiated tastes Of the present age.
They are impracticable and have been
modified by The events ofthe past. They
are now being still further modified
and will continue to be until they be-
come adapted to the changed condition
of society. The utmost that can be ac-
complished by their assertion is, to pu-
rify to some extent, the political cess
pool, whose t,lrgii waters We have en-
tered. Even for this good, their advo
cacy is honorable ands commendable,
but our people are called upon to face
the subtle issues of the present. The
ship is on the breakers, the surging
pillows beat upon her, her seams are
opening, the waters are pouring in, and
the cry is "what shall we do? Shall
we leave the wreck to its fate, and
plunge into the unknown sea, or shall
we stand by the mad crew and seek to
save the hulk p This is isfgurative Ian
guage, but it contains the simple truth.
Just such crisis is upon the people
Of South Carolina. To-day is the day
Of decision, let the people awake to the
stern reality. God may help the gro
ping blind, but who that shuts his own
eyes to danger, Gun hope thereby to es-
cape it.
In view of these important consid-
eratiuns, we have from time to time
urged some consultation among our peo-
pie with view to assuming some COM
bined attitude towards the government
about. to be inauguratcd over U.S.
Whatever may be the fate of the con-
stitution presented to the people OF 9TH
er States of the South, that to be passed
upon by the pleople Of South Carolina
who are allowed to exercise the fran
chise, will most unquestionably be ratl-
fled and being, as it is, wholly and per-
fectly consistent with the views OF the
majority in Congress, there's no reason
to doubt that it WILDE approved by that
bodv We think it important to deter