The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-03-21
The Turn OF the Tide.

The Turn OF the Tide.
The popular mind is slow in giving ex-
preston to the convictions forced upon il
during long seasons Of silent thought, and
when the decisive moment comes for the
pent-up sentiment to be uttered, the change,
to the unobservant and careless, is as sharp
II sudden as the breaking up in spring OF
the ice fields of the North. To those who
do not watch and wait for the turning OF the
tiGe, who do not remember that long ten
sion will bend the stoutest bow and snap the
toughest cord, who do not reflect that alb
stract idea cannot, in the long run, over
come the concrete need Of daily bread-the
spontaneous uprising Of q whole people,
whether against form Of government or a
form Of political belief, is as startling and
strange as the quick thunder-clap which
breaks the calmness of summer day. The
times and manners change, and the people
seem the same. They cling to the old war
cry. and follow the accustomed leaders.
The fools who rush in where wise men fear
to tread, are greeted with boots and jeers or
worse. And yet in the twinklng OF an eye
the people will elevate the new and degrade
the old, changing in an instant from the eX-
treme Of one idea to the extreme of its exact
reverse In truth the transformation is not
rapid but slow-it is only the result which
is sudden. Under the calm and smiling sur
face the new sentiment and new resolve
gather strength and force. They make ro
sign until, with resistless power, they burst
asunder every barrier, springing full-armed
into the arena Of life. 1t is evident, then,
that it is as dangerous to be in advance OF
public opinion in the crisis of the destiny OF
nation, as it is ruinous to lag behind when
hepublic tongue is loosed and its steadfast
thoughts are spoken.
A vast and momentous change is now
working in South Carolina, the fruit OF four
years of insecurity, hardship and unrest.
In the earliest days of so-called peace, the
people looked for deliverance to mighty
political party which, defeated again and
again, was still strong in the affections OF
toiling millions. But this party had mis-
calculated the force of accomplished events
and was itself overthrown. They turned
their gaze to the first man in the republic,
who had been our foe but was now our
friend. And he, also, was hurled from do
minion and could not save. They receded
step by step from their advanced positions,
and the more they gave the more was de-
manded OF them. They joined battle with
their political antagonists, and fought with
the desperation OF despair. But once more
they encountered disaster and defeat They
failed in all that they attempted. No politi-
cal cry, no political contest, no political
struggle, avaled them one jot. And in the
meanwhile the public none vas sql. -ndered,
the public means was eaten up by taxation,
the laborer was turned against his en-
ployer, trade languished and would not he
quickened into healthy life. The golden
grain waved in the fields, and the fleecy cot
ton bleached the parching soil; but the State
was still PROSTATE, and her people, however
they walked erect, had no certainty for to-
day and little hope for the morrow.
Peering into the past, the people saw that
what they wanted was PEAcE-apeace which
half a decade of toiling and striving had not
given them. They demanded an honest and
equal government, economy in the admins
tration of public affairs, an union OF ell
classes for the Improvement Of the State, q
general joining ofhands, that every man might
do his part in restoring our ancient wealth
and increasing our ancient prosperity. And
these they saw were wholly distinct from the
policies of the past or the political parties Of
the present. They demanded no triumph Of
this party or that, of one color or the other;
all that they demanded was such a govern
men as would give equal and exact justice
to all, anu combine the CITIZENS Of the State
in one grand PARTY to give South Carolina the
puslic men and the public measures neces-
sary to the consummation we all so devouty
desire
And this is the meaning Of the spontane-
Gus declarations which come to the seaboard
from the mountains-which are murmured by
the palmettoes Of the low country, and swell
into broader harmonies among the pines Of
the North aad West. This is the meaning
of the sturdy avowal, coming from every
qlarter OF the State, that the people have