The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-12
THE LATE COLUMBIA CONVENTION.


INSIDE yIEws-DRLoMACy OF THE COMMITTEE
RooM-How THE APRIL PLATFORM WAS DE-
grRoYEp AND TEE OLD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
WON ovER-rR1uMPH OF YE CHARLESTON POLL
TIC1ANs.
L rFRoM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NIcKERsoNs HOTEL,
i COLUMBIA, June 10.
II can scarcely besaid Of the late Democratic
Convention,
i eTdke shadows Ger the heath they came,
And SO departed, leaving no trace behind.
A vast amount was done-more than appears
upon the surface, more perhaps than the 30
ber second thought of the masses Will endorse.
But it was done adroitly, we'll, and has made a
point in the political history, of the State which
we all shall have occasion to remember. The
action of this Convention illustrates what may
be done by the aid of little patience, perse-
,yerance and sweet OIL especially the oil.
a party Of gentlemen meet at private house
in Charleston. They find that twenty-four
Districts OF South Carolina have begun and
successfully carried forward movement which
has left them entirely out in the cold. On
general principles they disagree with the main
plank of the platform adopted. Qualified suf-
fage to the colored man was q step too pre-
mature in the first place, and in the second
place il was very important to the interests Of
South Carolina TINT more delegates ehould be
appointed to the New York Convention. So
these fellow-citizens held larger meeting at
Hibernian Hall, where they adjourned to
meet in Columbia. -
They assembled again--say twenty-five or
thirty from Charleston, and at least one repre-
sentative each from ten other districts. The
frst point to gain was the good will and CO
operation Of the Executive Committee repre-
senting the Democracy Of about four-hfths OF
the State. Gen. Wade. Hampton was it's chief,
and the influence Of Gen. Wade Hampton,
whose name, as Mr.. Simonton said, is ga
tower of strength" !" was not to be ignored. So
they commenced work. Committee Of Con-
ference was appointed, and arrangements made
for an immediate pow-wow.
The chief and only point Of difference was
the negro plank of the April Convention-the
assertion that the negro is an integral element
OF the body polite, and that, as soon as prac,,
ticable, he should be invested with the right OF
qualified suffrage. But for this bone Of con-.
tention, the present sssemblage would have
swallowed the April platform without choking,
and only asked the privilege Of sending some
body 10 New York who wished very much to re-
present the dear l.eople. ...J.t 6
: Gould the d. ace be reconciled? :? Would
the Executive Committee, speaking for its wing
of the Democracy, take the back track on so
grave an issue, or agree to say nothing about,
it2 Either course was q contamination de-
youtly wished for. It was the concession
sought as the basis of compromise, and the
primal Element OF harmony between the two
Conventions.
The committees. met. On the one part was
Gen. Hampton. Col J. P. Thomas, j. D. Pope,
T.. ". McMaster and Major s. P. Hamilton. On
the other was Hon. James B. Campbell, Gen.
M. W. Gary, Messrs. Henry McIyer, Morti-
mer Glover, F. j. Pelzer, a. A. Gilbert and Jno.
Hanckel. sls.~st.-.s,f' :, -
Never was Mr.. Campbell more softly elo-
quent. Never did velvety persuasiveness more
,adroitly cover an iron WILL, Never did sabre
ont more keenly than the sharp, direct, incisive
arguments Of Gary, who, by the way, looks
the very mpersonation of q battle-blade. Gen.
Wade Hampton sat on the left Of Mr.. Campbell
and Col:s Thomas on the right. The contest
began. The condition Of political affairs inthe
State was reviewed.: the April Convention was
described as having been convened for certain
local purposes, to effect which, the bait Of quail
fled suffrage was thrown to the colored man;
the logical results flowing from the bestowal of
the privilege were pointed out, and the baneful
influence Of such an issue, introduced into the
national canvass, especially by South Carolina,
was dMelt upon at length and with force. 1t
was urged that delegates should be permitted
to go to New York untrammelled by any reso-
llutions or instructions; and that wisdom die
tated the propriety ofwithdrawing from public
consideration question which at this time,
when so much depended on harmony in our
own State ranks, was so full Of danger.
The Executive Committee talked long aud
we'll. Ably and with oil the fervor Of honest
conviction Colonel Thomas sustained his posi-
ton. he claimed that qualified suffrage was a
weapon in the hands Of the Democrats, which
in the recent elections they had welded vastly
to their own advantage, especially in the upper
portion of the State; that intelligent colored
men were afiliating freely with the party, and
in time would enable them to break down the
vast Radical majority by which it was antagon-
lied. Therefore, as measure Of e1pedieacy
and of principle, he insisted that qualified suf-
frage should be one of the cardinal features OF
South Carolina Democracy, and not be hid un-
der the bushel OF the Charleston Convention.
Itwas evident, however, that the opinions en-
tertained by the speaker we're not those OF the
lmsjority-at least, that this was not the hour
to bring them out prominently. So, with
view to compromise, the resolutions pub
lished in THE DAILY NEWS yesterday we're
adopted as the joint expression Of the two
committees, and, with a large outlay OF con-
gratulations, thetwo bodies adjourned.
These resolutions are now supposed to re-
present the sentiment, and to be, in fact. the
platform Of the Democracy Of the State. They
are strong, short, and to the point. They do
not commi. anybody to negro suffrage, and,
having been endorsed as whole by the Exc
cutive Committee, it follows, as matter OF
course, that the April Convention, as an
accommodation to the Charleston Conven-