Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1868-09-11
Hon. a. II. Stephen on the Situation.

que semper paratt.
Hon. A. II Stephen on the Situation,
Mr.. Stephens held conversation Il faw
days since at White Sulphur Springs, With q
correspondent of tho "Ncw York Hclald'
We give his most striking rouarls:
How do you regard the present condition
of the country, Mr.. Stephons ?' cogmen.
oed.
"As exoocdidgly dcplorablc. T6} last
vestigcs of constitutional freedom rapidly dis.
appearing, and wo arc fast vorging into oon-
tralization aud dcspotism. Unless sond won
dcrful change takes place-unless tho people
Of tho North exercise that wisdom for ylioh
Americans have bccn 80 rormrkablo in tho
past, though thoy seem to havo lost it lntcrly
tho world shall Gro long witness The tstab-
lishmcnt Of an ompiro OH the ruins OF this
once great republic. The measures iu,ugu-
rated by tho dominant party, arc tho surcst
indications Of coming dcpotism. Without .
political revolution occurs mean time, the Goy
ernment will be merged into despotism--an
empire. If Grant is elected next Nowm-
Der, never expect to scc another presilcn-
tial election" t
"What is your opiuion of Grant pcraanal-
lyW
"That no is entirely undcr-mtcd by the
country and tho press. know him very
we'll. lie is remarkable man, and Que that
few appreciate; Of decided military genius,
indomitablc cnorgy and determined will Just
the man for coup ta'etat, such as the pres.
ont Emperor Louis Napoleon performed when
he placed himself on tho throne of Franco'
Z" DO you know tho other oandidatcs\ and
what would result from the election Of Soy
mour and Blair ?"
"Blair know; Cofax know; sey pour
don't know. Thoy are all very clover, good
fellows. Blair and Cofax served in Con-
grcss with; and, personally, have no Jbjcc-
sya ~ ay = an ssu cnracsur 50 W IS seyio&
as far as know and Colfax may bo placed
in the same category. But it is not the men :;
it is not Grant and Colfax it is not Seymour
and Blair, that arc to bo regarded in tho next
election. 1t is the principles they represent
that arc at issue. The fight is not against
Grant and Colfax, but against the iniquity Of
the dominant party that has brought the
country to the verge of ruin, and threatens f.
nally to destroy it."
How would the Southern people act with
regard to universal suffrage, in the event of
the success of Seymour and Blair %
"Thcy would abide by juiicia decisions !;
and there is little doubt that all this party
legislation to secure power would be over
thrown. Conventions would regulate suffrage
as best they thought proper. ] believe sys-
tenn of qualified suffrage on an educational
basis would be generally adopted in the South
in such an event"
C. Do you anticipate any trouble during the
| Presidential election between tho races in the
nowiy-rcconstruotcd Statcs7''
"No; except whom it provoked by tho ua-
prinoipled whites who have associated them
selves with tho negroes to got office Tho
whites will remain as they have bccn, peace
able and quiet, relying mainly on tho North
for dcliycrancc from, the frighlful condition in
which they arc placed. Tho cry of the rad
icals, let us have peace, means let us have
war. Thoy desire it, and to make political
capital inausuratc riot and bloodshcd, if not
thwarted by the !orbcaranoo Of the whites
They raiso the cry that the South want, war
Thoy lie whom they say it. The Southern
people havo no means to mako war; no dispo
sition to fight; no cncmy to moot. pqaco is
! I'll they wish for, and tho civil liborty which
as citizons Of this republic, thoy arc optitod
to-"
"Would the negroes resort to arms, 10 case
they wcro deprived of suffrago7"
If they would and did, and fought for it,
they would thcn certainly be entitled to it /;
but as body, or a people, they would aot do
it. An occasional instance thoro might be
among them Of men who would, under the
inspiration and guidance Of whites, slamor
for tho right of suffrage; but 40 rare as to
be scarcely noticeable As u race, a people,
they do not appreciate liberty 1t is not in
their natures. They arc simply children OF
the sun, with mono of tho genuine aspirations
of tho whites to be free But if an evidence
of what say were wantcd, | can point to