The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-11-05
RECONSTRU
English View of its Practical Working
From the Pail Mall Gszette.]


A remarkable paper appeared short time
since in ST. Paul's Magazine, from which 1t ap-
pears that ia the Southern States they are try
ing sort of double experiment, which, so far
as we are aware, has never been tried before IN
any country, unless perhaps for q brief period
in France during one phase Of her first reyolu-
ton that OF placing all the powers OF the
State in the hands Of avowedly the most !gno-
rant and the poorest portion OF the population
which pay no taxes. The facts and figures are
simply these; they have been for some time
published in America and do not appear to have
been controverted. The condition OF readmis-
sion into The Union is the adoption by each OF
the seeding States OF 4 constitution sent down
to them from Washington, and its adoption by
convention chosen by manhood suffrage with
out distinction of color; by q majority OF the
registered voters, in short. Now the register
cd voters include every male adult negro, but
not every male adult white; since from these
are deducted with deprival o. tho sutirage) all
who held Office during the secession, and all
who refuse now to take an oath admitting
secession to have been wrong. The result is
that in tho aggregate of the ten peccant States
the negroes, SO short time ago slaves, now con-
stitute positive majority, and outnumber
their masters at the poll There are 67O,0O0
colored men, and only $50, 900 white men on
the register. In three o .ly Of the sec -ding
States are the white voters decidedly the most
numerous. In two the numbers are about
equal, and in the remaining five the colored
race have large prepunderance.
Now, let us see how this arrangement works
in one of these Stltes, the only one for which
we have complete figures, the cher OF the Of
tending States-South Carolina. There we find
eighty thousand colored and only forty-seyen
white voters. The delegates sent to the Con-
yentlon by this constituency to pronounce ON
IL fT,f,ar ht1n
and twenty-one in number. of whom more than
three-fifths, or seventy-four, were coored men.
But this Is not the peculiar feature OF the case
we are aluding to. 1t is we'll known thai in
the United States all the State taxes, as distinct
from the Federal taxes, are direct. They have
customs aud excise duties also, but the pro-
duce of these goes TO the general government.
Now, Of the one hundred and twenty-one dele
gates chosen, eignty-two. or two-thirds, are
not upon the tax.roll of the State, and pay
no direct taxes or taxes to the State what
ever. But further, after the constitution was
adopted, the constituencies proceeded, under
it's provisions, to elect their State Legislatures.
The representatives thus chosen Gncludlng
both Houses), are one hundred and tfty-hye
in number, and of these ninety-three, or near
" two-thirds, are men Of color, while ninety
one of them-viz: sixty-seyen negroes and
twenty-four "mean" whites-pay no taxes what
ever. That is to say, the whole taxes OF the
State are imposed, levied, and spent by an as
sembly, the majority Of whom do not contrib
ute to them single farthing.
There are two other features IN the case
which may bo stated without comment. In
America very large proportion lin South
Carolina nearly one-hal1) Of the State expendi-
ture goes in maintaining the public schools. TO
these, according to the universal, and, it would
seem ,unconquerable prejudice of color through
out America, since negroes 60 white men 40
not send their children. Of course the right
thing to do is to get rid of such prejQdices,
which are moi proper subjects of Legislative en-
couragement. There they are, however, IN
enormous force; and the Southerners take it as
q substantial grievance that while they support
tho schools almost entirely they cannot use
them. At the same time they are so utterly
ruined by the war that few can afford to send
their children TO private schools. Lately, the
constitution wo have described (equal manhood
suffrage without distinction OF color) is impos-
ed upon the conquered States by the North
ern victorious States, not one Of which will it.
self confer The suffrage on colored men except
las i'll New York) under restrictions which viz
tually amount to exclusion, and not one Of
which would suffer their own white children
to mix on school benches with those OF co!ored
men. Probably we have here the explanation
OF those outrages in tho Southern States OF
which every mail brings fresh accounts, and
which betoken an cxasperation that bids falr
to end in war OF races.