The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-03-20
AS OTHERS SEE US!
OUR congo LEGISLATURE.

| VOn SON"O AC0Ao&<~A~ o~~>~'
Sketches of Men and Measures in South
Carolina, as Viewed by q Northern
Man.
A correspondent of the New York World
writes from Columbia, describing the last
hours of our General Assembly:
Looking In upon the House upon one oeca,
sion every sofa assigned to visitors admitted
to the floor was occupied by women, all OF
whom, with three exceptions, were blacks,
and ali of whom, with no exception, were
Well-Enown courtezans. Judging by the at
tention Maid to these "ladies" BY the members,
| IL was; evident that mo discrimination on ac-
count of race, color, or previous Tor present)
| condition. would be tolerated here. In thel lob
| BY were stands for the sale OF oysters and otner
refreshments, including liquors oil all KINDS, ana
about hundred negroes were there con-
gregated smoking drinking, eating, and
smelling loud enough to collapse in ten mia
utes The. stomach of any man not thoroughly
acclinated A drunken uproar, which Will
not attempt to describe, was under full head
way in the House, and drunken uproar was
under full headway in the lobby. The most
shocking profanity, the most lascivous and
indecent conduct, the most acrla, Wlld
odoru, the most diabolical expressions of pas
sion Of which. the worst of faces are capable
all these gave a lurld, fetid, revolving charac-
ter to the scene In the midst of it all the
ssbusiness" went on. A half-drunken member.
with the real old plantation dialect, moved
that $3.50 be paid to some man who had re-
paired the clock. The motion was Carried by
acclamation. Another moved that present
of $1,000 be given the speaker, anfthis wa,
! in like manner, carried in the midst OF yells
which would have done no dscredit to pande-
| mon.um And so were numberless other sums
voted recklessly away, in the midst OF cries
which plainly indicated how liberal some peo-
pie can be in voting away other peoples
money.
| their nests at the expense OF this ruined Com
monweath may to some extent be realized oy
few figures. The speaker OF the House,
| (Moses,) receives his Sc per diem every ses-
| sion. and this session includes 1our montrs.
Before adjournment, $1,000 are voted him as O
present, extra, all from the State treasury. He
| Is also adiutant- general and'as such receivesa
salary of s250O, with $1,000 more as contln-
gent fund, and sci. 900 more for expenses ~
Of the militia. He also was allowed s9l ,OC0 TO
buy furniture for the hall, and 500, 900 to buy
arms. &c, for the blacks These are the fig
ures which the records show, and besides all
this there Is wide margin for perquisites and
shares in railroad. bond and other sPeculatlons
| in which the credit oil the State is used dd no
;tuns Grantand the Dents are admirably lml-
tated, thusly: The speakers father Is the cblel
| justice, with salary OF s400O, and contlhgenI
| fund In his hands OF $500, besides much other
| "monish" which are not tabulated. The speak.
| er's father-in-aw has $500 for one office and
$1,000 for another. The speakers uncle. lstill
Noses Is circuit Judge, with salary OF SSSU0;
and then follows small army OF the speakers
kin, who have what TO them seems liberal
share Of the Pcknss 20 muSh lSr one hss
To meet all this demand for plunder, Inc
taxes must be and are enormous. gentle
man has lust been introduced to me VINO owns
lsrge tract of very poor and unimproVed pine
land, utterly worthless, and unsaiaole at pres
ent, and which the Radical assessors have val
most everything, he told them he could not pay
$1,000 taxes but offered them land enough at
Its assessed value 10 make that amount. They
said they were willing TO take the land, OUT
would not allow him more than seVenty-nVe
cents per acre, as that was all II was worm.
lars, and require and will compel him to pay
taxes on 1t ut that valuation, are unwilling 10
receive ii Us taxes at more than seventy-hre
cents per acre. This gentleman stands de-
ser.vediy high among the best men In the state,
and his case Is only introduced us specimen
of the way such matters are now managed
here. There Is no doubt that these outrage
Qua wrongs are driving the white population
10 the verge of distraction. The State Is utterly
unable to meet the demands of the robber
crew, and the Temorseless cormorants are
snatchin9tbe last crumb Of bread from the
poor widows and orphans who lie helpless at
their feet o men and women oil the North
We who read this in your happy homes, stili
free. protected and blest, think Of those with
faces as fair as your own, and hearts as pure,
ground in the dust and wrlthing under tortures
in which only saVages delight, and all TINS
with the approval of great and enlightened
government claiming to be the friend ana
refuge of the oppressed.
And the saints prey upon each other. Not
OILY here Is every office grand shaving
machine, and every movement anu operation
shave OF high or low degree, but all through
the State the same thing is being done.
Juror serves two weeks at ST. so per diem and
rets his ticket calling for sls He presents
tllis to tue county treasurer, who says mo
money" bat offers finally to advance" and
take Ills ticket at $40, or even less And this
| is constantly done. Persons working on roads
or bridges are paid In orders from the county
commissioners or the treasurer, VINO, OF
course, has no money, out eashes tne , oruves a;s
out of his private funds, at hity per cent; dls,
count. Its easy 10 see to whose bene1t al3
ibis inures, and the persons so fieeced are
mostly negroes, by whose votes these very
,shaTers', were placed In Office. The State In
the hands of this Radical crew has become the
honest white mans purSalofy, auu lue FL
Dorado for swindlers and rogues.
Three hundred thousand dollars were amply
sufficient before the war for all the ordinary
| expenses of The State government for twelve
| months Now single session. OF the Legis!a-
| ture. the one Just closed, costs SiSO,O00, the
! sum which this body unblushingy voted lor
| its own. benefit In three appropriation bills.
| The first was for sl25.000. passed just before
the Christmas recess Tor their holiday iro!ics.
The second, after the recess, was for SIZE. .O0O,
| and the last was, as already stated, for S265.-
O00 aggregating "nearly half million OF dol
| lars imposed on an impoverished and down.
| trodIen people Us the price OF single session
| of the Legislature, whose only mission has
| been to misrepresent the people and to waste
the public treasury" without any regard tor the
public good. And. as to the millions In bonds,
&c. il is q fact that the whole monstrous
inouity is so covered up that the people oi the
State cannot ascertain the amount Oh such
debt. who holds the bonds, or what has been
done with the money raised by their hypothe-
calion.
Ineed scarcely add that all this amounts TO
a practical confiscation OF the property OF the
! taxpayers and solely for the benefit OF q set of
] sharpers deserving the halter. Why don't the
President and his party. who are really re-
| s, onsible for supporting these robbers, take
| the State from them and give It to honest men
| at the North, who might run the government
with some little referenceto the development
OF the States resources, the education OF the
masses, the encouragement OF industry, ana