The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-04-08

BORrd OF Trade, on tho Occasion OF its
Third Anniversary.
The third anniversary OF the Charleston
Board of Trade was celebrated last night al
| the Hibernian Hall, where, at the request Of
the Board, an address was delivered by Colo
mel w. L. Trenholm. whose terra OF Office ae
President expired yesterday. The hall was
filed, and large number of ladies graced the
occasion with their presence. Upon the plat.
form were the newly elected President Vice
President, and officers of the Board of Trade
ana n number Of prominent citizens.
After prayer by the Rev. Dr. Hicks, Colone]
Trel,holra then delivered the following address
which was frequently interrupted by the hearty
applause Of his audience:
Our native South, the'' we love-" finds
herself IN new and unlooked-for times Her
| tranquil and happy past was rudely broken by
one OF those epochs of which history is full
| sudden revulsions in the life Of people, when
that which is, terminates, and that which is to
| be, begins
| Such moments of tran sition, of brief revolu-
tion, ore the landmarks of great eras; follow
| ing one upon another, they are the giant steps
| by which nations mount to high destiny;
they are never found upon the smooth descent
which loads to degradation; no serrated epochs
bourfd
How short time ago d#es ii seem that with
gay color, futtering IN favorin9 breeze we
sailed out It IRON peace and atfiuence to dare the
storms Of war. =, Like those ancient heroes,
WI Q. seeking Eldorado, found America, we,
tempest-tossed and defeated, have been thrown
upon the unknown shores Of o new world and
all the hopes in which we embarked have been
shattered, and now lie stranded before our des-
ponding eyes.
It-is not unnatural that our minds should be
unsettled and our apprehensions excited; old
oracles are silent; precedents cannot be ap-
society present themselves; VS. feel vents that
we do not understand and cannot supply; We
are alarmed by portents which we are not able
to interpret.
To obtain a respite from these troubles bv
thinking of the past and dreaming OF it's res
toratioD has been too tempting to be resisted
by all; but it is no longer permitted to us to
the old wrecks, which we can never reat.
We must advance to the exploration Of what
lies before us, and we should advance hope
fully and confidently, for we stand before the
large opening Of q new world, whose unmeas-
ured resources await our coming.
In our former state we we're of1en envied by
certain classes labroad for the tranquility we
enjoyed, but that state was not healthy one.
1t was condition of intellectual and indus
trial stagnaton, in which the mind rests upon
axioms instead of graphing with problems,
the scope Of aspiration becomes inverted and
the circle OF enterprise is constantly growing
circumstances easy; we were not indolent but
our culture gave dignity to leisure, and when
we sought occupation it was Of q kind that
pleased our taste rather than Of o kind COM
manded by utility.
In these characteristics we stood apart from
the rest OF the world, and being in other things
ahenated from other branches of the English
speaking family, we had fallen into a condition
OF morbid exclusiveness. We were averse to
contact with strangers; we looked with suspi-
cion and dislike upon immigration; we we're
even dis ,ouraged from travelling, and were
beglnn ng to turn away from current litera-
ture.
We had no great questions in science or hui
manity to occupy us at home; our conceptions
Of government were confined TO what existed;
our political feeling was upon the side Of q
strict constitution Of written law, a rigid con-
servatism of all that was old; our SIMPLE faith
would brook no scepticism as to the merit of
what was established; our declining tastes gave
no stimulus 10 invention; our narrowing enter
prises dispensed with the apirit OF progress.
Well was it for the South that the voice of
war reused her from this fatal lethargy; seek
ing TO avert the chance Of future change. our
own preca ution was made by Providence the
means Of our rescue. By change alone could
we have been saved from decay; by change
alone could we have been brought to the
threshold Of the destiny now opening before US.
AT the epoch Of the war the South had full
filled all the possibilities Of her peculiar civil
| cation; she had reached the elimination Of
her development; she had accomplished the
ends Of her existence; she had filed the meas
| ure Of her destiny.
It is no new thing in history for people to
| live out more than one phase Ofcivilizatlon. The
genius of Egyptian labor, Grecian art, Roman
law, the honor of Mediaeval chivalry-nave
| each in turn fowered and passed away. It is
| no reproach to our former state to say that it
was state Of maturity, that it was becoming
over-ripe and tending to decay; but IL is q
| source Of congratulatlon that we have escaped
decay, and that we, even in our own time, are
| able to see that our past has net hecn II ys:n.
We need not be ashamed of our past; for
though the world long ago condemned slavery
record how difficult its duties were and how
faithfully and successfully we discharged
| them. Half Q century before the war, when
ase sSe ceased s the % ss seuh sa
| when the war occurred they had increased to
| upwards OF four millions. These four million
descendants OF savages were more orderly and
moral than the same class in any other civil
| ICED country. and they remain so up to the
present moment, notwitb standing the tempta-
tions and prlvations Of the war. the license OF
sudden freedom and the bad advice OF political
agitators. They were deeply imbued with the
principles Of Christianity, insomuch that since
emancipation they have cheerfuliy devoted
their scanty earnings to the building and
maintenance Of churches and the establish
ment Of charitable societies; their intellectual
| powers were stimulated and improved as far
| as they logically could be in @ condition OF
slavery. and sufficiently developed to furnish a
BClmuluS ZOE cOnUlnue0 eUofC. ana TO cODSt1-
tute the oasis Of future improvement upon the
part OF the freedmen themselves. IS
Slavery was something more than a contriv-
ance for consolidating labor with capital; II
was discipline for both races, a school for the
| formation Of character. As far as slavery and
our administration Of it are amenable to moral
Judgment, 1t muat be judged by it's influence
up IN the maturity, and not by its impression
upon the pupilage, OF those whom God placed
| under ita restraints.
The masters as well as the slaves, the whites
as we'll as the blacks, learned many NOBLE les.
sons in life at this discontinued school. Pro.
vidence and forecast for dependents. indul-
| gence Of the weak, and an habitual conscious.
ness OF responsibility upon the part Of those
invested with power--th obligations Of honor.
| the force OF character, the power OF aelt-reli.
ance. the sanctity OF individual rights. the ele
ya.lon Of dignity above gain, Of worth aboyt
| wealth, were all eharacteristics which we had 3
right to be proud OF, aud which we should still
tenacious1y cling to. '7's~'e-
| Outside onr own limits, we exercised an in
fuence FOL. good, the effect Of which is con
sPicuouS all over the United States. While
New England was exploring communism
and tlisslpating personal identity and re-
/ sponsibility. the South nersact!ns enc :asa
II nF thA indsuifY1nl Wnay, the, yra - Sa~,o1 ~