The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-08-23

States, and ceased to be a part OF the State;
The proposed law was intended to remove all
Doubt. But was it erer in the power OF Con-
nress tn dismen,ber State, even with the con-
Cent of its Legislature mo new State shall
be formed within the jurisdiction OF any other
State. n..twithout the consent OF the Legisla-
lures of the States concerned, as well as Coz
Helena Parish It is not part Of the State,
for the title of all the lands within Its precincts
is held by and Of the United States; and the
State can have no Jurisdiction within it. 1t is
| not of itself State; 1t can then only
be part of the territory OF the United
States. But how acquired? But If the State
| never was out of the Union, as the Supreme
Court of the United States have decided. she
| was always under The constitution as well 1oI
her protection as for her government: any
law, therefore, of Congress, transferring 70
the United States, for any purpose whatsoever,
any part of the territory or soil OF a staoe
without her consent, must necessarily pe
past will show that this has always oeen tne
received law, for as far back as 1875 certalnly,
| and from thence up to 1870. Whenever lew
acres of land within the State were required
| by the United States for the erection OF lott,
| lighthouse, courthouse, or any other pubhc
purpose, though the owner had actually convey,
ed by deed. It was, nevertheless, always held
that the consent of the State, through her Lelts-
lature, was especially necessary to give title
| for reasons too obrious to mention. Look at
the list of acts passed, from time to time, be-
| fore the adoption Of the present constitution,
"to permit the United States to purchase and
hold lands within the limits of the State" BY
each all Jurisdiction over the ceded land, not
| inconsistent with the purposes Of the grant, Is
reserved to the State. The sites for Forts Aoul-
trie, Sumter, Lttleton, {St. Helena Parish, }
| for lighthouses, courthouses, jails and nosplt-
| ais, without number, were thus ceded 10
the United States by the State. On the l4tn
January, 1870, after the adoption OF the present
constitution an act entitled San act consent
ing to the sa. Of certain lands, IA house and
| lot in Charleston, for courthouse to the
United States, and ceding jurisdiction there
| Off was approved And on the 3lst OF the
| same month, an act to grant and give the con-
| sent of the General Assembly, DC, 10 tne con-
veyance to the United States OF lot I'm 20
lumblaJ for postofdce, &C.; and TO cede 10 tae
United States Jurisdiction therein, was IN ike
manner approved. A lot in Columbia the
scene of Sherman's brutallty Did not the
United States, by the enterprise OF this mod
ern Suwarrow, without Suwarrow's courage
or truthfulness, acquire the whole of Column
bia? Then were such acts as are above men
toned necessary! If they were. what is the
title OF the United States to the lands IN st.
Helena Parish.
Now, q few words to the Hon. F. 4. Sawyer,
who claims to represent in the Senate Of the
United States the interest Of New England In
the little prouince Of South Carolina-a New
England man, who, like many others, has
been foisted upon the people Of South Carroll.
ma by the bayonet and the relentless hatred Of
the Puritan. What other feelings than those
of intense hatred to the old inhabitants of ST.
Helena Parish, the generous and unsuspeetinS
descendants of the cavaliers, the enemies OF
can't and hypocrisy, can he have What other
feeling could have prompted him, when
advocating the above most unjust and
tyrannical act, to say " that the old inhabi-
tants OF that parish wished their property all
make valid the titles Hof those who have
squatted on their lands ?, Does this assertion
carry with 1t the slightest semblance OF truth !?
Is 1t probable that the people who are describ-
ed In the previous chapter. from intimate
knowledge OF them, have been so broken
down by want and oppression as to be willing
to abandon their homes and the homes OF their
ancestors; the tomhs and sepulchres Of
those who have preceded them In life:
the temples and altars at which they were
accustomed to worship-places made so,
cred by thousand recollections and
memories-and for what That they
may witness their pollution and desecration-
their possession by the off-scourings of the
penitentiaries, prisons and factories OF New
England? Ny attention was first attracted to
this remarkable speech OF the senator. by o
graceful and well written criticism, published
In the Courier Of the 10th ultimoi signed "st.
Helena" The writer's denial OF Mt, Sawyers
statement, THAT the old (that Is the former
inhabitants) wished their property all sold,
Gc.,"is given with great vigor and directness.
I add mine to 1t. know 1t Is not so. what
effect such statement, made apparently by
authority OF and as coming from those who
were to be affected by this most odlous and
disgraceful act, may e had In getting II
through the Senate, it's not difficult to con1ec-
ture: but it was q falsehood. and as friend Of
the poor attainted exiles mot one OF them,
however, now call upon Mr.. Sawyer, stand
ing in the place as he does once occupied by
Calhoun, Huger, Hayne and others, the en-
bodiment of truth, to say which one. even one,
of The old or former inhabitants of St. Helena
Parish, ever said to him OF IN ms nearing
s'that they wished their property so!d.' ask
him as a New England man, and man OF
truth, TO say who of all the New
England squatters now infestng that I'M
fortunate parish authorized him to make
such statement, or. in short, whether any
other person besides the two immaculate sala-
ried commssioners-Brisb and Wording
ever made any such communication 70 MIN
Did not Mr. Sawyer know at the time he was
making this statement to the Senate that
many of these poor attainted eXiles had
petit,oned Congress, even through himself, TO
be placed on the came footing With their fellow
citizens and allowed to redeem their lands
That many Of them, despairlng of aid from
that incorruptible body, had actually COM
menced their suits for the recovery Of their
lands in The courts for Beaufort County.
which were therein then pending? DID
he net also know that IN anticipation
of the result of those suits, and especially In
reference 10 them. the Legislature OF the
State, on the 18th january, 1870, passed law
entitled IAN act to protect the rights OF per-
sons la,efully in possession OF lands anu tene-
ments ?" Who procured It's passage? to~
much the originator of this most ingenious
law received for his services, or how much
was expended by Mr. Sawyer's New Flgland
constituents Of st. Helena Parish " procure
its passage, it may not be necessary to inquire.
Certainly no great deal, for I believe, with
Judge Carpenter, that the great majority OF the
Legislature, as now constituted, may be bought
for small sum. One Thousand dollars, judi
ciouslv applied, would, believe, secure votes
enough to carry through both houses = OIL OF
attQiader for any crime you may imagine
against the Governor himself, and in spite
Of his veto, and posterity would approve
the Judgment Us infinitely more righteous
that that which consigned poor Mrs. Surratt to
afelons grave. / am sure the present genera
ton would regard the investment with great
favor. But to return-with all these facts be-
fore him. how could Mr.. Sawyer have ventur-
ed to make the statement he did whilesup-
porting this most unrighteous bill Was it