The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-04-13
Another Caro-.

IL the card published on Saturday, con-
fined myself to the action OF the meeting IN
Columbia. In taking leave. however. OF the
public, as Attorney General, after service OF
near twenty years, desire to say word as TO
the Office, and the more 20 because [ consider
myself the last of the Attorneyv-Generals of
Sonth Carolina. mean Of the old white mans
South Caroina-one of the original Thirteen
the South Carolina which gave to the
Revolution" her Rutledges and Pinckneys,
and to the crisis preceding the ''second War
Of Independence" her Lowndes, Cheves and
Calhoun; which has contributed to the coun-
sells Of the country since her McDuffie, Hayne,
Preston and Legare-of that South Carolina
am the last Attorney-General.
Heretofore the Office has been, in this State,
as in England, one of the prizes of the profess
sion, to be attained only after long and ardu-
GUS service. The Attorney General is the &C.
knowledged head of the Bar, and the Bar have
jealousy guarded the position.
The Office, since the Revolution, has been
fued-frst, by John Julius Pringle, a learned
lawyer, of large experience with very lucra-
tive and multifarious private practice; second,
Langdon Cheves, ciarun ct uenerabie nonaen,
a giant among giants, with the very largest
private practice ever known in this State; third,
John S. Richardson, eminently eloquent and
successful as barrlster, for very many years
Judge in our highest court; fourth, Robert Y.
Hayne, who between the age Of twenty-one and
thirty, began and finished brilliant profession
al career, which gave him fortune enough to
enable him to devote twelve years to poll
tics; fifth, James L. Petigru, his very name
synonym for learning, eloquence and force
as lawyer sixth, Hugh Swinton Legare,
''poished corner Of the temple" as profound
as he was brilliant, and equally the scholar
and the lawyer; seventh, R. Barnwel Rhett,
who, after very brief term of Office, was trans
lated to the Halls Of Congress, and who has
run o career since, which has made his name
familiar from Canada to the Gulf; eighth,
Henry Bailey, who, as lawyer, was fit COM
peer Of his distinguished predecessors. For
myself will only say that, when elected At
torney- General, had been sixteen years o
practicing lawyer, and have since been elected
1
by five different Legislatures to this high Office.
So ends the roll Of the Attorney-Generalso OF
old South Carolina.
How begins the new2 Who is MIR. Cham
berlain? It may be that he is gentleman, o
scholar, and, for aught 1 know, learned in the
Law. But is he citizen OF the State, and if SO,
how long2 Is he member Of her BARI Is be
member of any bar at all9 How long has he
practced the profession Of the law?
mean nothing personal towards MIR. Cham
berlaiu. But 80 far as is known to the voters OF
South Carolina, he is q citizen Of Massachu-
setts, who has come into South Carolina since
the war and settled down as planter on Wad'
malaw Island. Whether he is q lawyer at all
or not is not known to the voters.
But to this, too, we must submit as subju-
gated people, and, so far as the bar is con-
cerned, it is not the least of our humiliations
in the passage of power from the white man to
the negro. Yale! ISAAC ". HAYNE,
Acknowledgement of South Carolina.
April 18th, 1868.