The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-07-28
Commu nicntion.

CHARLESTON, s. c., July %, 1858.
Sir: Civil authority appears to be restored,
superceding that power from which you derived
your appointment as Sheriff Of Charleston Dis
trict.
was removed from that Office by the mill
tary ard forced to give place to yourself, and 1
yielded to power which it was impossible to
resist.
By the provisions OF the law under which I
held the Office of Sheriff, my term continued
until the election CT successor by the people.
The military interposition which removed me
from the active discharge of the duties Of the
Office, could not put an end to my official eIis-
tence. Your possession and enjoyment OF the
office, originating in military force, necessarily
terminates with the authority which called it
into being. In contemplation of law no sue
cessor to myself has ever existed. Your occu-
patton of the Office has all along been in dero-
CATION of my legal rights-and, of course, sub
ject to all the claims that properly attach to
me as the legally elected functionary, and OF
which have been divested by your assump-
ton Of the Office.
The profits and emoIuments of an Office,
which constitute the rewards which people
see fit to bestow upon q candidate Of their
choice, have been enjoyed by you without ref
erence to the wishes Of that people, and solely
by virtue of military dictation, enforced at the
point of the bayonet. These rewards were
never, in fact conferred on you, either by the
people for services rendered to them, or by the
government as recognition of your merit.
The purpose intended by my removal was rot
so much to reward you (as you 30 well de-
served), for your amiable fexlbilty, and the
unselfsh accommodation Of yourself to cir
cumstances, as it was TO punish me for my po-
litical transgressions and my less facile dlspo'
stion.
The people did bestow these rewards upon
me, for reasons, no doubt, satisfactory to them
selves. It was their gift to me- and, there
fore, in their behalf, as we'll as in my own,
T assert the right derived from them, to all the
benefits whic the Office was designed to con-
fer on me, and lay claim to all the income
which has accrued since my election. You
we're not appointed to an Office which was with
out an incumbent. I will not say that you
sought to turn me out in order to get my place,
but you willingly consented to become the in
strument by which was deprived OF an in
come, to which I was entitled until successor
was elected, and appropriated to yourself the
benefits Of an Office which properly belonged
to me, and this, too, after voluntary and
gratuitous profer ofyour own services to retain
me in the place. In a majority Of cases, the
incumbents of offices we're allowed to continue
until successors were eected-few of our own
people being found who would accept places
which we're unjustly wrested, by military au-
tHSrity, from their fellow-citizens already
stricken down by the caiamities OF war.
I give you this formal oticc Of your respon-
sibiity, not because you are unaware OF the
questionable tenure by which you hold the Office,
for that has been repeatedly brought to your
notice, both in and out of the courts; but be-
cause being about to yacate the Office, you are
supposed to be arranging and finally closing
up all the affairs connected with your admins
tration Of the sheriffalty.