Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1868-02-01
PcKENs COURT HOUSE, S c, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY i 1885,

oil ola#es and races be provided for in the
constitution. A man who goes to tho polls
after January l, 1870, whether ho be white
or blacf, who is not able to .ead or write,
should bo excluded from tho privileges of q
| voter. sy..b Ha
Representing, as' you do, almost exclusive
~ the tplored element Of South Carolina, you
are notinyisiblc to the fuct, and to its lcgiti.
mate results, that very many Of the voters who
have sssssyousIiero have not that intelligence
With sffnrhnoa- tn mon and maaaa,rns ,vhiol,
should ientitle them to cast vote You
know that thousands Of them arc utterly in
compotent to exercise this high prorogativo.
YouEmay think that to perpctuate your
power and to preserve your organization, it il
necessity to continue the franchise to this
class of persons, but eventually you will find
that yfl have b, N sadly mistaken Many of
the coIprcd men Of the State have an utolli-
gencc|which entities them, in their new rcla.
tions, 70 tho privilege Of citizens; but very
many Erc incompetent TO exercise them with
discretion or Judgment. These will become
thoprfy of evil, vicious and iudisposod men.
When}an election is to occur with such voters,
the baH will get their votes, and not the good.
In} Vow Of the fact that the colorcd popula-
tion have a large majority in this State, and
thatsac. bulk of them arc to be controlled by
thcseSvi Influences, what kind of judges,
Legislators, and executive officers, can YOU
hope Is vice and ignorance to elect
your }adgesY Arethc Representatives Of yi,c
and Ignorance to elect your legislators? If
so, Eint security have you for the rights Of,
life,, liberty aud property? I, therefore, in
yicwtof the responsibility before us, and in all
probability in antagonism to tho sentiments
of aSvssrSysnrgo majority of this body, recon-
mend Earnestly tlmt in framing that fcatu,o
OF t'leE constitution comforting the elective
FRANCHISE, you establish an educational quail.
,ioatiof for the voter, but-not being able 10
reid end 81 3 write c-that you establish property
1ualife6gaon:
Second. If you desire that this convention
should'commend itself to the favorable con.
sldcration of the people of the State, white
and colorcd, [ recommend that YOU adopt in
the constitution provision for liberal home
stead law-that you make it applicable tovull
those who now own homestead aud protect
them against antcccdent debts. The disas.
ters resulting from the war, the abolition of
slavery, and, thereby, the wiping out of the
fortunes OF very many of those who were
wealthyprior to the war, as matter of hu-
.mnlalpaity .nllaty demands that you should protect til, m
as as; to tho past by liberal homestead law und
securing that home to,its owner in the future.
The homestead law which guarantees to a
family fifty dollars or one hundred acres in
tho country, and town lot or house in the
city, 's Aot only humane but patriotic. In
the country, where the head of n family knows
that his homestead is protected, lie goes to
work to bcautify and adorn the same. lie
plants hi, orchard and his vineyard He
crcots his buildings, decorates .his dwelling.
and makes all Of his surroundings couforta.
bic, and fayitcu happiness and contout to his
hearth.
Perhaps ono Of tho greatest troubles in
American legislation has bccn in not protect.
ing the hoppestcad 1t has made the Amcri.
can people almost as great wanderers as the
Arabs. When father planted an orchard
or vineyard, he had no assurance that five
years thereafter the result of his caro- and la
Dor wou!d'hot pass into the hands of strangers.
Grant, 5hcreforc, liberal homestead law, pro.
vidng against past and future debts, SO that
tho whito lppssn who has his homo now, and
the black m1Itn who may secure a homo by in
dustry and economy hereafter, can fool that
it is secured to him, aud you will find not
only an increase in the prosperity and happi-
ness of tho State, but you will stimulate pa
trotism which has not heretofore exis.ed.---
Wherever yqu Identify man and HIS house.
hold with the soil upon which lives, you
make max that man, If fsopino hishor considera..
tions oi love- Of country, a. defender of tho
country wfhn tiss sassailed, d,beeause the assault
islupon hisindiyidualihouscl,old. ,.@,,sR gs
Third. I'aftse you to provide for the abbool-
ishment Of Ji,nprisonp,ent, for dsbts.sSsI have
always conadored the Incarceration of. ha.
man boihg brdebtas senseloss and oruolsox
eept in casesslof posit'yesfraud. II is adyoca.
ted that iHprisoamens for debt is right, for
tho purposaof assuring credit us in their de-