The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-12
A Word to the General Assembly.

side world know little OF its decline ane
fall. The philanthropists who were ready
to emancipate the negroes at cost OF nine
thousand millions, according to Cohmls-
sioner Wells, are not aware OF the fact that
in one section of South Carolina the ability
of the freedman to improve or maintain bis
position has been thoroughly tested, with the
mos. lamentalIe results. And the Congress
men who represent orr State ignore line
of conduct, on the part Of the officers OF the
government, which ruins the white man, and
is rapidly reducing the negro to a condition
of hopeless barbarism.
When St. Helena Island, or Beaufort, was
evacuated in 1861, the freedmen became, at
one bound, the possessors of houses, laad,
cattle, stock, and implements and furniture
of all kinds. The old residents had fled to
the interior of the State, and their slaves
squattcd upon their teeming acres and occu-
pied their luxurious homes. Without far
thing of cost the negroes obtained the use
of property worth millions Of dollars. Large
bodies of Federal troops were quartered
among them, spending money freely. They
had every encouragement to be thrifty and
industrious. In 1868, when the lands and
homesteads OF the absent proprietors were
sold under the United States Direct Tax law,
the freedmen bought at nominal price, and
upon highly accommodating terms, as many
acres as they required Their title might be
considered good; for the Federal Govern
ment had then no notion OF granting to the
white man any justice which should, in ap'
ipearance, injure the negro. Surely, no body
IofIfreedmen could have had better oppor-
tunlty Of showing their capacity for moral
and material elevation! The experiment
hasbecn fairly tried and has miserably failed.
am Plantations which, ten years ago, were
models Of neatness and careful cultivation,
are now p wilderness OF weeds. Old plan
I tefs, who .ha4a been absent four or fiveyears,
cannot, find the. broad carriage road which
lt.avessedtheln estate. In the cotton fields
the pickers are hiA by the brush and grass,
land the Sparse bolls must be hunted for with
patient 'chrc: THE quarters are roolless and
| barr" HorseBs, cattle and mules are gone.
Doors. saShss. and Nd, partitions are burned as
fuel and and ths Junk shops are filled with locks,
bolts and hinges. 1n spita of every advan-
tase lin spite of the long protection and
supervision of.the> Bureau; in spite of the
large sums which were spent among them
by soldiers and others the condition OF the
:S,. Helsnhl freednicn is far worse to-day than
it was eight years ago And the work goes
On On. Thtre is no sign Of change for the BET
ter. Want ana sqpalid wretchfaness stead
lly' increase: !: -! ..i,rn :,...,.,.ii, a..
We. speak Of these things in no spirit oi
exultation. They are valuable, only as far
as as they give additional proof that the negro
REQUIRES the ,constant!support,H counsel and
example Iof the white man to enable him to
hold lis ground: Without the white man,
the negro race will infallibly relapse into a
condition of -barbarsnl. But we have
the negroes with u.s. They enjoy the same
political privileges that We enjoy. We can
not fall to their level, and. so long as they
are the laborers upon whomwe' chiefly rely,
we we, cannot afford to,see them become utterly
worthless without making.an attempt to
,save them. :. IEtoli -" iii if.'...': ''-' =
Il Take the caseof St: Helena Island Be
I fore the Var its people were wealthy; they
mlade iarg. crops; they paid co4ns4iderable cons
sums ,dntqi tll; the; Treasury of the State; they
Idida heavy business with Charleston: Now,
f;the white people, 1.-The few othat'remaln,, are
poootr- -their!laL.ls are. Of little uorth,:.their
crops are nothing The white people have
been ruined, while the negroes ruin them
selves. The duty Of the hour is as plain as 5
our intefest For the good OF the whole
State, it is important tliat q colony OF col
ored paupers should be changed Into .
thriving, district, For the good OF the tax
+ payers this once wealthy section should he
raised ,from the dust and enabled to share
the common burden of taxation. For"the
GOOD of the freedmen OF st. Helena, they
should have employment steady employ
ment (which will give them food, clothing
and shehsir: for themselves and their families
| This cannot be had without capital; and
capital without experience, on our sea
). Islands, has proEed Of little. value. e,
What is, wanted, it seems to us. is re-
I turn Of the old planters to. their old homos
The question of-the validity of the land sales
lis before the United States District Court
for South Garollha," and the decision OF the
Judge IS anxiously awaited But there are
other ways in which the planters can obtain
possession qf thsir; lands, Many 81 the per
lsons who. bought lands at the tax. sales of
1863 failed to comply with. the termsof pur-
chase = The lands have been reutedat NOM
inalrate fromyeartoyear. Taking the posi-
J ton thatiit is: best for the. colorcd people
that these lands should be cultivated by the
only persons who will cultivate them; and for
the higher reason that in public renting OF
o1t MGR,