The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-04-17
Correspondence OF fCoiumbia Phoonix.:
TAnnADEaA, Ala, April l6. 1870. q

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TAnnADEaA, Ala, April 15. 1870.
MIR. Ep1roR: There is an innate some,
thing that makes mpn proud Of his
native lind; that somthing which makes
old England deny voluntary expatriation
to her sous. With no people in the
world has that feeling become such o
fixed principle rs with South Carolinians.
An extensive tour over the West has
latterly thrown me intimately among q
vast number of men, and wherever I
met man that had any claim upon
South Carolina, found he cherished it
with pride. Even foreigners, who were
once her sons by adoption, seldom spoke
the name of our State without pronounc
ing upon her Gods blessing. One
gentleman said to me: 81 love Georgia
because was born there; but I love
South Carolina more, for my mother was
a South Carolinian." have been more
than once told, when you say Il am q
Carolinian,' always use the word South:
it means something" There must be
some substantial cause for this universal
love; and manifold reasons can be
assigned for it. In the first place, our
political existence was political unity,
unpalalle led in the history of any country.
Secondly, our literary institutions were
seats of honor as we'll as seats of learn
ing. Thirdly, the elective franchise was
often q reserved privilege in South Caro-
lima; for instance, the mass did not elect
the Executive, neither was the bench a
seat OF popular promotion. And our
Judiciary system being one where merit
alone favored the candidate, tended,
perhaps, as much as any other cause, to
produce that State pride OF which 1
have spoken.
Who does not remember having gone
into court house, with almost fear and
trembling, to hear the eloquence of an
O'Neall, or the sarcasm of Withers?
And who Of this generation will ever
forget the acumen of Wardlaw, or the
finished dignity of Duncan? And
where, on this continent, was department
so valued as in Carolina court room,
where the full suit of black was as
essential to the bar as the toga was to
the bench? West of the Savannah
river have seen lawyers in variegated
apparel, without cravat and vest un-
bnttoned, addressing "your honor"
whose boots hadn't been blacked in q
AOAoaA6ho3 oao WIZ WOT6 u6lGQ6r COllar
nor cravat. And more than once the
lawyers II DONE" and his honor's
equally inelegant "you ain't," have
grated upon my ear. In New Orleans,
where the court room is q caboose,
scarcely capable of seating one in 500 of
her population, saw criminal arraign-
ed for murder, sitting leisurely among
the profession, while his lawyer, seated,
too, examined the witness sitting in q
large armchair. The lack of dignity,
and the absence of the criminals box,
alike destroyed the majesty of the court
and the horror of the crime. Now, if
these things be 80, and if we are unable
to preserve this peculiar identity of our
State, can we do nothing commemorative
OF that feature Of her existence? Will
this be the duty of the future historian
Would not q "History of the South
Carolina Bench for fifty years." be nm
Interesting work if truthfully written
Yours, truly, A.