The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1868-10-03


ling the Governors proclamation, told tho
leaders they could hold tbs, meeting pespeably,
Ehut begged them mt ii tanttempt 1t insyiolation
of that proclainatibi.
s Camilla is verylsmall yillageof notSexceeds
Eihg, I would says three hundred Inhabitants,
black and wliito, mon, women and Children
A large assemblago of negroes gathorod
from surrounding counties, led by those white
men,i and all armed, and to be excited by
iniiannatory speeches, and many of them by
other causes, placed the people, families and
houses Of that little villageFin dangeysof pill
lage, rape and burning, with the alternative, if
prevented, of fearful "rcbcl outrages, z to kill
negroes and prevent free speech, scattered all
over the North just as the State election was
approaching, which, it was beloved, would de-
tcrminc the Presidential election g@i
l know both Pierce and Murphy, fhe two
white men, who conducted this whola affair.
They are Of the most emphatic specimens of
what are, are termc! oarpet-baggers Before the
passage of the rcconstruction, ,mcasures there
was no complaint heard against them. These
measures disfranchiscd every intelligeRt white
citizen who had held Office in THAI Gounty
Pierce settled as bureau agent in Leeseounty,
and Murphy in Doughcrty county a9joining
tho county in which Camilla is situated and
in the counties Of Lee and DougheAy there
are five negroes to one white. l havoSno idea
that ono dozen white Republicans Eould bo
found in the three counties
Thus, you sec at a glance tho temptations
offered to Pierce and Murphy to get ttSRiccs by
the large negro votes. Accordingly Since the,
passage OF the reconstruction mcasu1es these
mon have sorted with tho negroes. Pierce,
was for time a candidate for .CongreAs at the
last election. He has now rcccivcdihe nom
ination for that position, from q conv4sltion of
negroes. Murphy was elected sheriff by the
negroes at the last election, but was ,ssinbe to
give the bond. lie is now, belicyA on the
electoral ticket. We have narrowlY Y&escaped
several bloody riots in that regiow before.
Our people here believed these mon, ESPECIALLY
the latter, melted them. They wire both
distinctly in view, with others, wheniYg coun-
ted the difficulties in the way of fp4eserving
peace, and when % we sought to secure the pro
camation
But in spite of that proclamatio9 and all
The remonstrances Of our people, and he fears
of our women and children, they pegsistcd in
holding armed asscmblagcs of ncg3oes and
the Camilla riot is the unfortunate regalt.
The Camilla riot, properly understood, will
exhibit to the Northern people, more clearly
than a. athousand speeches could, the eIsactsrca-
son why the Southern whites are, ats present,
unwilling to extend UNIVERSAL indis4 Eliminate
suffrage, to the negroes. It is bec;Anse they
can be taken possession Of by q yeIa bad
white 4,merA seelip.t--es {, as
made torrors to society, and destroycrs of safe
ty for property and secuity for families. Many
of the. more Intelligent understand and rcpu.
'diate- these influences, but the greater number
do not.
Z In these very counties Of Lee and Doughcr
ty, in Which Prince aud Murphy reside, l do
personally know Gor l plant in both those
counties) that in 1S6G-aftcr the surrender,
mark you-lands were selling from SO to
$50 per acre. Immediately after the passage
OF the reconstruction measures these very lands
commenced declining, and do know that
some of them have recently been sold with
cotton as high as it was in 1860 at one aolla,
per acre IN go}d!
TO have our families and our lives thus con-
stantly menaccd and our property deprecated,
is certainly fearful and sad condition. Let
every man in the North place himself, his
family and his property in this condition i'll his
native country, and then, when he makes the
most pcaccablc efforts possible, i'll lawful way,
to avert these dangers let him hear himself
denounced as ga rebel" ''an enemy" and IA
traitor" and guilty of "rcbel outragcs," and
he will have some idea of the exact condition
of the Southern whites, many of whom did all
in their power, like the writer, to prevent
secession, and who have never seen the day
when they would not give their lives to pre-
serve the constitution
Our people bear these evils. Is there any
other people on earth who would bear them SO
patiently? Why do they bear thcm7 BE.
cause they look hopefully to the Northern
people to rescue them. They love every man
North who is wilipo IN roccuo tbon, rrLo,