The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-07-13
A NOBLE HINDIcATION.
General Eershnw and the Union Re-
form Movement.


form Movement.
To the Editor of the BaaRsr Of the South;
S1R.You have seen at, in the exercise of
the responsible position of q public journalist,
to brand me with the anputation Of desertlng
my principles for tho greed of Office. Your
paeer finds circulation chiefly among those
whose good opinion value next to the ap-
,proval of my own conscience. Hassy and un-
charitable as hasbeen your attempt'tc degrade
me In the estimation Of your readers, you can
not, as Christian, decline to gi~esre the poor
privilege, whollyiinadequate thoagh it be, to
repair the wrong you have dcuelsne, Of record.
ing in your paper simple statement Of the
facts, that my.fiends may ara# their own de-
ductions-
There never has been an emotion OF ny
heart, oc a:ttruught of my mind not entireiy 90
accord with the principles and opinions Wftch
caused me. to advocate the secession Of Soath
CarolipaInifS5O, to vote for it In 1850, and tt
offer myh httie all for Its Support, from April,
1851, 90 AplE, 1865. That ht pleased God that
I shonld, d,sa.vive the war, indicated to me that
had stillasnties to perform, and to them, es
been, amnow, and shall kenceforward address
mysoH. iIcould see but-one object before me,
and thatlWas to alleviate, In any and every
honorable way, the suferings of my country
men, itwas this sentiRent which induosd.rne,
In Jlly{ 1865, to acceptthe parole OF President
Jokmson:as prisonerof war, and to tase,' with
nv brother officers, Iet Fort Warren, what
Is EnoWp as the ''aRHesty OATH" This oath,
which was taken by every voter and every
oflcekander the provisional governments cs-
tab,ished In the States by President Johnson,
pledged the afiant, thenceforth, faithfully to
support and defend, the Constitution OF the
Uaitsd States and 1.-The Union OF the States
tnerennder," and, idtlike manner. to eabide by
and faithfully support all laws and Procama-
tioas which have been made during Itie exist
iRgrebellion, with reference to the ewancipa-
ttor of slaves.n When had taken that oath,
I regarded that as. citizen duty required me
| todeal with emancipation and the surrender
of.the right of secession "as accomplished
facts, having the force and obligation OF law. =
'SWnen the Reconstruction acts imposed ne
gyo suffrage uponthe people of the southI !
lie permanent feature Of the American consti-
tuition, which required that to bring them In
Aarmony with the Republicanlsn of other
dands- Believing that, then advocated the
,policy of acquiesclng in the inevitable, land
tseeking to direct the newly created. power Into
{luSC anu proper CiiauHeio, " ui'S ~ ~ hti = .
4mony with the social and material interests OF
+society as then existing, rather than to stand
idly by and see. it perverted to the most ma.
tlgnanC antagonlsm, and the vilest purpes % OF
corruption, by foreign adventures. How far
II was right or wrong, let the acnals OF ehe
Scott dynasty in South Carolina, resting alone
upon the votes ot the Airican, aessa.e. ,esr.
to avert or to control the progress Of the Re
construction acts. They eonteEted, themselves
with denounoing their lniquity and;the uncon.
stltutionality. Alas alas this has n9fasFFest-
ed their progress. An appeal ;w1s einade
against them to the people OF theUnlted States
in the late Presidential election. I'm common
with other Democrats, Appealed. 20. .tne coloreo
b1lr. sad to tell. they wouldn't doit They had
not yet reached that point of sublimated mag
nanimity. The majority Of the white people
ofthe country, too, deaf to the appeals to,their
pride or prejudice of race, affirmed the policy
and principles OF the Reconstruction acts Tne
Supreme Court recognized them as Law, and
all the South accepted the situation" The
Fifteenth amendment to the constitution, how
ever, adopted, has acquired the form of law
has been accepted as law In the practice OF all
the States and can never be reversed, but by
revolution or repeal. To whlch.ef these mea-
sures do you. sir, invite US, as means OF main
tanning the principles of Right, of Justice, OF
Truth. which we practlced and upheld In the
past?"
! What were those principles? The right Of
secession? Undoubtedly 1t was Q right, out
we lost it by the war, and Surrendered it when
we accepted lite, property and civil law, con-
ditioned with the amended oath OF allegiance
/ The justice Of self-government under the
constitution and laws OF our fathers, as con.
strued by Calhoun When the perfection OF
human reason Is attained, in the age OF NIL
lennial glory. believe we may hope for res
loration Of that justice.
The truth that human slavery Is consistent
with Christian morality? BY the constitution
al enactments OF the people Of South Carolina,
in convention assembled, in 1865, .thG: has
been rendered mere abstraction, which
care not to discuss.
know of no party In the South whose ban
ner Is inscribed with the watchwords "Repeal
or Revolution" and because see no hope for
South CarollRa to escape from grovellinS ruin,
poverty and despair, In any other way, have
aided in elevating the bloodless banner of
4sUnion and Reform" and have at my SIDE,
thank God. the best and brayest OF those who
upbore the Conquered BaLner, until Coz M ana
reason babe them furl 1t. That my friends
abroad may judge of the Justice OF your criti-
cisE. have traced my thoughts in connection
with the events Of tue past few years, that
they may comprehend my course in the late
convention. My frlends here know that
Yent into that convention to take no leading
part, but to aid in preserving the ancient land
marks, while promoting the proposed reform.
In order to do so the more advlsedly, have
endeavored to pat in writing what believe to
be the principles Upon which those who ap-
preached the subject from our standpoint
could invite the cooperation Of the colored
people, without whose assistance the whole
movement was an impracicable absurdlty.
[Then follows the resolutions which General
Kershaw introduced in the convention, on the
evening Of Its organization, and which have
already been published.l
If know what truth is, these declara tlons
embody truth. and, thus believing, neither the
tongue OF SANDER. misconstruction, the fall
ing away of friends, the vituperation OF enc
mics, the gibbet, nor the stake can make me
unsay them.
You, sir, can find in these resolutions that
which justifles you, an toro c0nscieratie, In I'M
putting to me a conscious desertton of princi-
pies, impelled by 1.-THE greed of office" VIII
you have the goodness to explain to your read.
ers how that greed of Office was to be satiated
by resolution, which, by its terms, looked
only to the exclusion from Office, not only OF
myself. but OF all who held similar opinions
When you have done that to your own salts
faction, beg you to consider, with what COM
placency you may. That your pen has plumed
the most malgnants SHAFT that ever rankled In
the bosom Of as true, as consistent, as faithful,
as disinterested, as devoted sou of the South
as any who has endured the agony Of her sub