The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-01-30

Mr. Bristed writes the following letter to the
New York Times under his usual no7n-de-ptaTne
Gar, BENSON. It is evident that he is deter
mined to make the best Of the convention; ana
it will do us no harm to know what Is thought
of us by those whose views are dlf1erene from
our own, but who have no interest IN wiiru OF
Intentional misrepresentation IN
CHARIEsroN. S. o., Monday, January ~.
To me Editor of the Neeo York Times:
have not latsly-indeed at tny time SINCE
the war-troubled the Times with many or
Icug communications. But II mas occuTreu "
mo me- that some of your readers might like to
know the impression made by the appearance
merely of a ssmixed" convention upon any un-
preiudiced man who went to IL with strong
feeling Of curiosity and his eyes ana ears I'M
partially open to all about him.
An assembly of blacks and whites on equal
terms. and in nearly equal numbers, unmo-
Tested by Bully Rynders or any otner outsloe
barbarians, is no small novelty 10 an Ameri-
can or indeed to any. one. Ne have seen
abroad single man of color lonized by
fashionable audience, perhaps making the best
speech in the room, us once heard the ldDe-
rian Consul at the Geographical Society IN
London. But the present was very ol1ereng
occasion, and, more than anything whlcn
have seen at the South, illustrate the I'M
mense changes which seven Jears nave pro-
duced. o,..,
The convention is held in the former Club
House. This sentimental grievance seemed to
be the worst aggrayation OF che whole proceed
ing IN the eyes OF the natives; though, as the
Club had, after mature deliberetlon, decided to
sell its house. and had received Its price for II,
I do not exactly see what special cause there
With the circumstances OF the case, might sup
pose that the choice Of locality was expressly
intended to humihate the qu0ndam 'swells."
r. ia hardly necessary to say that there was no
such DESIGN: probably the Club House was the
cheapest building obtainable that would answer
the purpose. There ID not, and never was,
copious supply of euch places in Charleston.
or course we should make allowances for the
stronger local attachments OF the people. A
Northerner, especially city-dweller, is usually
born, welded and buried in Tor out OF three
different houses; here it is otherwise, and
can we'll fancy that to see an old family man
sion occupied by "satrap" may reas 1naoiy
CRATE on the townsmens feelings; but 1t IL
rather q stretch Of sentiment to attach it to q
Club House.
The large room of the Club House having
no gallery, about third Of it was rallied off
for the public. This space WIS almost entire
" filed with negroes and mulattoes. only two
or three white faces being visible. These col
ored persons were dressed In the fragmentary
style common to the Charleston negroes, but
they kept perfect order and spat around as
naturally as any white native:
lhe reporters were very literally accommo-
dated within the bar, on both SIDES OF the
Presidents platform, facing the delegates. l
obtained admission the second day there was
some delay about my credentials the tirst) as
constructive" gentleman OF the press. ana
truly, though no stenographer, have done q
good deal Of reporting in my Lime, and where
the races were concerned tooQ) Being very
early had full opportunity OF watching the
delegates as they assembled. don't know if
there is anything significant in the fact, but
the whites took the front seats, as if of right,
30 that, although numerically inferior to the
blacks, they made more show to casual OBJ
server.
That many of the colored delegates were in
tellgent and respectable-lcoking men WAS
noticed by tho local papers. 1 can corroborate
their assertion. But l cannot endorse their
further assertion that the white delegates were
a mean and inferior-looking SET On the con-
trary, with only two exceptions, they struck
me as decidedly up to the average of political
bodies at the North or els swhere, so lar as
mere looks are concerned. Indeed, the "get-
up" of the whole convention, white and color
ed, was 80 respectable that the Charleston
Journals could not help rema-king it; but they
tried to diminish its effect by limiting that the
delegates had ''got some clothes out of the
Bureau" 1 have no reason to suppose this In
sinuation anything more than bad joke.
While on this great subject Of dress, l may re-
mark that the climax OF local wrath was capped
-as our popular phrase is-by the ap-
pearance of black delegate in grey Confed-
crate overcoat. This indi. nation was of
piece with tho Tribune's discovery last year
that the men at the South we're disaffected to
the government, because some Of them wore
old Confederate uniforms. The simple fact is
that these grey overcoats, though not so pic
turesque as our light blue ones, were very cosy
and comely garments, and Especially when
the buttons were changed; there was no rea-
son for not wearing them out, as several of
their original owners are doing, without ut
taching any political significance to the act,
while others found their way into the market,
as secondhand clothes will. and we're natural
Is purchased by any man, white or black, who
wanted good overcoat, and had the money to
buy it.