The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-10-14
WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER IA, 1868.

amount he thought was in the
county; he replied seven or eight
hundred thousand dollars. Just
think Of that amount in one coun
ty of the State withdrawn from
circulation, never to see the light
Of day again until We get an in
tclligent,govcrnment. At the end
of the war the Federal debt was
something over s2,7OO,O00, which
to this great country and her
grand resources, is a small sum,
and could easily have been paid
had the general government been
put upon a wise and economical
basis. (Applause.)
. During the last three years ST.
594,OOO,0OO have been collected
from the people in the way Of
revenue and taxeS-an average Of
over s5OO,O0O,OOO a year-yet the
debt is still over s2,60O,000,000
Although the people have been
drained Of more than one half of
the entire debt by taxation in
three years, yet the debt has been
reduced only a little over $780,
100000. What has become of
this vast sum which has been ex-
tracted from the toll Of the peo-
pie? If the Government had been
put on a wise and economical ba-
sis Of $3.50, 100000 year, which
is liberal, s350,OO0,0OO might an
nually have been applied to the
reduction Of the debt, and it would
have been only a little over half
of what it is now. The little that
has been paid was paid before the
passage of the reconstruction
measures, or before they had time
to affect the country. Since the
reconstruction measures were pass
ed the debt has been increased
s13,O0O,OO0 or more. Being a
practical planter, and coming from
the great mass Of the people, and
having served them through four
sessions of the Legislature of my
State, I speak advisedly. I have
attempted to show you the practi-
cal effect Of the reconstruction
measures thus far upon the coun-
try. To establish these measures
what has the Congress donc9 Un-
der our compound system Of gov
ernment, the General Government
of the Union is constituted Of
three coordinate authorities, leg
islative, executive, and judicial,
each with it's prescribed powers
and functions, each moving in it's
own specific orbit, and each inde-
pendent Of the other; it is this
wise balance of limited powers be-
tween these three coordinate au-
thorities that constitutes the
beauty and perfection of our sys-
tenn, and makes it the grandcst
and most complete system Of gov
crnment ever devised by human
genius and intellect. The legisla-
tive authority has stricken ten
sovereign States from our galaxy,
and reduced them to five military
despotisms. 1t has struck a fatal
blow at the Executive authority
by depriving it of the exercise of
it's constitutional functions over
one-third Of this great republic
and putting it absolutely under
control Of the General Of the Az
mics. It has manacled the ST.
preme Court, and curtailed its
jurisdiction to prevent its exercis-
ing the high constitutional func-
ton entrusted to it of deciding
upon the validity Of it's enact
ments.~ 1t has absorbed the pow
ers of the other two authorities of
the Government to such an extent
that the system is unbalanced and
the Republic is imperiled.
(Cheers.) The great problem
now before the American people
is: Will they sustain this action
of Congress? (Cries of "Never.
Will they impose, at the point of
the bayonet, negro governments
upon the Southern States? (Cries
Of "No, no, no.") Will they Afri-
canizo theSouth? ("Never, never.")
Will they give the negro the bal