The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-09-03
COLUMBIA a, s. = Z C.
Friday. Mofninrg. Sept. 8. 1859.
Our s,ssss,' Poii,fcs.s

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sI Our Il s,stlsT Iip.oii.io..F 7e l9T O
The disadvantage which We are, now
/. .laboring under pSSonth Carolina are
certainly great. The taxation imposed
upon the citizens of South Carolina are
unequal and heavy. A,muItitnde OF new
and unnecessary ofRces~haye been GRE
? ated ssoMsto hasass our pscple9 apa all
tending to- sat ont theis substance. The
affairs E9f ;ti,e State are managed in the
I spirit n aa decided partisahship. The
interestssof the State are made to yield
to the Interests of party. State officers,
in many cases, become notor;ous specu-
lators in the bonds and stocks of the
State. The sssHdard of the State Judi
ciary has been lowered. And, to cap
the, climax, We have Q Legislative body,
with honorable exceptions, openly and
fagrantly corrupt; q body whose votes
are bought and sold; where scarcely
measure Of private or public character
can be gotten through without the money
being paid down for the price of its pas
sage; Q body where honesty is at a dis
count, and raseality at premium. And
these, be it understood, are the fruits of
the rule of that party which claims to.
combin5 in its immaculate and elevated
self all the improvements and all the yir-
tues of q progressive age! And yet, in
spite of oil these disadvantages which
are here recounted, South Carolina is
improving aud prospering-not because
of the present rule. bat in spite of it.
And she will continue to grow stronger
and stronger--owing to the energy of
her sons and the resources of her soil
until she gathers the power to sweep
away all the 'tpolitical brushwood" that
radicalism has heaped up in her way.
And thus we come TO consider our needs.
What we want in public affairs is what
we regard desirable in private affairs.
We want o cheap. wise and economical
management. Wealso want full de-
velopment of our resources. We want
the accession Of numbers and capital
from abroad. We want q State pride
that will give dignity to citizenship. We
want intelligence! and honesty and dis
interestednessin in our public men. And,
satisfied that these conditions will never
be fulfilled under the present regime,
we deem it patriotic work in every
proper way to seek to supplant it by a
better rule.
And this brings us to consider, in q
general way, how may this best be done.
In State politics what is the plan where
by we can secnre to South Carolina a
good, honest and wise administration?
We repeat the policy foreshadowed in
previous usarticles-to unite in solid column
upon liberal Democratic platform all
the elements opposed to the present ''rule
or ruin" party, and to eliminate from the
canvass issues that have been settled.
The details of our programme should be
left to future developments. But this
we may say now, when the parties
come into Court, let the case be made
up and let the issue stand thus: Economy
,rs. extravagance-honesty vs corruption
low taxes as. high taxes-the rule that
will give full scope to the development
of the resources of the State rS. the rule
that depresses, paralyzes and retards the
general prosperity. Upon the issue be-
ing thus joined, let the witnesses be
called; let the case be argued and the
verdict left to the popular tribunal.
And, unless we are much mistaken
provided the prosecution does it's duty
the verdict will be for the plaintiffs.
We turn aside for moment to refer
to the unhappy condition Of the Winns-