The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-07-27

- blowy are CT ~yn1s contest 10 not
8. eel e9s q &saIAss Of place :ud ID
sn u - Ring plundeTers to keep
theira bon gainsf. secondly, 10 On.
!. able III EyAtain tsSff placcs. ,tha.
ths%may c6alsbae to rob and pilfer the
treasury and thss people; and, thirdly;
that they may prevent tho laws from
being executed, t9Ihe end that they
|, may keep their ,edfeasses out Of the
peni,sntiary., [flS@sndous cheering
and some ib5srrupti6ns.l
desire those men Immediately in
front of me to understand that they
!. must either keep order or be put out
Of this mSeting. ] am not here to be
bqllied;, and whatever the results may
be, I intend to speak and be heard.
,LGress applause and cries Of "That's
.:so."] ~
. Let us for moment examine the
condition Of South Carolina when Cen
eral Scott assumed the control of the
State. A devastating war had exhaus-.
ted the resources Of as gallant people
as ever bore arms. For three years or
more they struggled hardN obtain
bread, with scarcely the meaas to gath
er their crops, aud fatality attending
all Of their exertions. Misfortune COW
cred the impoverished State like pail.
Under. these circumstances what did
Governor Scott do? Instead of ccono-
miziug the resources Of the State so
that its burdens should rest but lightly
upon tho people, you will fnd, by the
report of bis own conptroller.g general,
that, without any good reason whatever
he added to the then existing public
debt OF the State the enormous sum of
eight million dollars. Where, fellow.
citizens, did this money como from I
1t came from the laboring classes. 1t
came from you, every hour of whose
labor is divided between the support
you owe your families aud the work
you unoonsoiously perform for the pub.
lie. Every ship that sails upon tho
ocean every rail road in the country ;
every edi6ce that rcars its head in town
or city; the property on which the
wealth of community is embraced, is,
more or loss, the product of human la.
hor. And yet, these men who pretend
to love the colorcd man, to be the es-
peciaI friend OF the white working man,
load the results OF his industry with o
debt Of $8, 900, 900, and ask them to
sustain au administration that is written
oil over with Inconsistency aud extrava.
gance.
honor the poor laboring man who
works day by day, in hard struggle
with fate, to supply the wants Of his
family, and l tell you, my countrymen,
that if Christianity is not fable, the
angels Of God look down with o smile
upon him who dedicatcs his services to
his wife, who is queen, aud to his chill
dren, who are his subjects. But I de-
sire to see that pour man protected and
when q body Of rapacious officials use
the power which circumstances have
put in their haods to benefit themselves
ut his cost, I, for one, feel like stepping
to the front aud using whatever poor
ability I may possess, to the end their
wrongs may be righted. Aud they may
feel they have at least one champion
who dares speak the truth. [Applause. ]
Eight millions Of additional debt
That is the first count in the indict-
ment.
A Voice. Tell US more about the
bribery
Jud ge Carpenter. Well, gentlemen,
by the charges Of their own organ
against ne, il those charges are to be
believed, not an important bill passed
the Legislature without bribery. The
State Treasurer, with the connivance of
other State officers, went to New York
and pawned the bonds OF South Caro-.
liza to obtain the money with whicl, to
hribe the General Assembly, and the
State Treasurer telegraphed back, under
an assumed naNe, that lie had got the
funds. Who pal for all thAR The
laboring man. ~
[At this point the, was souiN inter-
ruption as if the Rrinsceared Ene ox-
nosure which was to foh;y 7 s:S;
want those people whl,r :inak;ns
noise to understand that >,sr mus.
he urcservcd; and if they fuse to
" emptoyed tasenforoe order, + b. s.
in free spo&, and free xpaseh I$
bound to haze and. it it'tssS6 ecossaH
! am ready to test the gas n now az
here. ::
[Thc malcoutsnts subsf II
So much for the Statn treasure
Who recommended the passage of th
Gold Bill z" Governor Scott. Who pal
the Legislature for it. passage ? Cover
nor Scott, Who wa, in the Ring tha
bought State bonds 2 Governor Scot
Why? 70 benefit the ? State No!
bsgABimself Why should the inte,
ss;sfaid in gold +? The great State G
Ohh, with taxable property Of bill
lion, aud revenue Of $50, 600, 900, doe
not pay its interest in coin nor doe
the great State Of Pennsylvania, will
even more property and more revenue
And yet with this swollen debt upol
our hands, as if that was not enough
under the circumstances, to crush poo
South Carolina, you, the working,ne q
are required to ali. in the payment Q
tho interest in coin: Who own tn
l.