The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1869-03-25
INTERVIEW OF SOUTH CAR
ROLtNLANS WITH PRESI-
nTNTrD AMT
DENTGRANT.

aROLtNL ANS WITH PRESI- -
- ~. DENTGRANT. ..a ...,
Among the visitors who called onrthe
President, on Tuesday morning last,
were the Hon. j. 2. Reed and Hon.
w. D. Simpson, of South Carolina, who
we're presented by the Hon. Thomas
L. Jones, of Kentucky. During the
interview Mr.. Reed read, for himself
and Mr.. Simpson, the following paper
in relation to the condition of affairs in
that State:
awe have called, Mr.. President, q
members elect from the old Comm oy-
wealth of South Carolina to the Fortto
first Congress of the United States, as
tender for ourselves, and the people we
have been chosen to represent, our con-
gratulations upon your auspicious as
sumption of the Office of Chief Maes-
trate of the American Union. We
are, sir, natives o the State from whence
we come, and claim, as representative
mon Of its ancient population, to be ia
miliar with their political and material
condition, their sentiments, and aspi-
rations for The future.
/ Politically, in. addition to the loss
of nearly all their pccuniary resources,
hey have, by the results Of the war,
been practically excluded, for more
than three years, from the family of
States, and the blessings of civil gov
! ernmcu.; but having been recently re-
stored to their original position in the
Union, upon the plan which the Con-
grcss in its wisdom saw fit to adopt,
without concurius in the manner Of
their restoration, they have accepted
the accomplished fact in good faith,
and arc as loyal to the Government tf a
common country as any other equal
nanbcr of the American people.
Their condition, socially, is and has
been one of profound peace; and, aside
from a few isolated acts of personal Vi
olence, that have occasionally been com.
mitted in different parts of the State,
such az are unfortunately Of too com
mon occurrence in all sections Of the
Union, good order has prevailed, and
the laws, Sta'e aad Federal, enacted
for their government by bodies in which
they were unrepresentcd, have been re-
spccted, obeyed and enforced without
the slightest tendency to tumult or vi
olence. ... d.
Materially the abundant harvests
that have been vouchsafed to them,
and the high prices at which their lead
ing staples have ruled, have relieved
them in great measure from their en-
barrassments, and opened up to their
imaginations the dawn Of prosperity
so entirely unexpected as to lead them
to hope that events which were deemed
the most crushing evils may turn out to
have been indeed BLESSINGS in dis
guise." ~-...- ..-.
In sentiment, whilst almost the en-
tire native white, and a large number
of the colorcd population, have affiliated
and been identified with the national
Democratic party, their fetters are not
OF such controlling strength as to in
duce or permit factious opposition to
the party in power, or hinder them from
yielding a hearty support to all such
measures of your administration as will
in their judgment, tend to develop the
resources and promote the interests of
common country. T..
Their hopes and aspirations for the
future are that their State may hence
forth occupy precisely the same rela-
tons to the Government, under u COM
mon Constitution and laws, that is oc-
cupicd by the other States of the Union;
and to this end that the laws imposing
burdens and conferring benefits on the
people may be uniformly enforced, per-
sons and property protected, the peace
preserved invio .te, the unity and per-
petui!y of the government maintained,
and that uninterrupted fraternity, pros,
pcrity and happiness may attend the
whole American people, East, West,
North and South, without regard to
race, color, or previous condition. And
such, sir, are the sentiments Of the
hearts of ourselves and our people.
In response to which, the President
remarked:
"GENTLEMEN The sentiments ex-
pressed in that paper should meet the
appreciation of every law-abiding and
Uuion-loving U citizen Of the country"
The Tampa Peninsular thinks the