The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-06-08
3 sHoYT s. CO., Proprieto'

HOYT 81 CO., Proprietorl's'
Mr. tsmallay,s Letters 10 the New York Iri'
-Szss4 stle.;; l.:.SiEs. bune. siti III s5. s,
The ann annexed m report of conversation with
bron,inent citizen Of Abbeyille, whom Mr; II
~ Smalley. correspondent Of the New YorE
lfs5uhs, recently met in Charleston, VIII be
asoa CHARLESTON, May 19, 1871. ;;
II met yesterday q good specimen OF the otd-
school South Carolina gentleman-s man OF
! about sixty, tail and well built, dressed with
scrtioulons care, and having dignitisd bearing
and courtesy Of speech. This gentleman en- en-
9Saffained me for All hour wlthra conversation
anon the condition Of affairs In this state tnat
showed d freedom from prejudice, and dlspo..
sition TO forget the past and make -tne IN pest 9.
things as they exist, that IS seldom eylnceo ny
people. of his class. BE was tor zen yeals q
member of Congress, and formerly oMneG VIM oas
wafs eaIied model plantation upon the Savanc
sna7f River. In Abbevilie District. bis planta-
NSn was one of that kind that used to be shown
e. Northern travellers as atproof OF the bener
ehsracter Of the institution OF: slavery, where
an fhe slaves were robust and healthy, weil-
clad. Wen.fed, comfortably sheltered, and gP-
parently enjoying high degree OF happiness.
He said that since the surrender he had he
: rnrSe moor. and had taken TO the practice OF the
law to earn q living. My acquaintance, whom
sialh call the cotofIel, gave me an account OF
the poverty ofmost of the proud old families
inthe miidle and upper districts OF the sStaee,
mentioning them adj by name, WITH 8 descr1p.
ton OF their former sfduence and their present
indigence. One of his Illustrations OF tnme
changed circumstances was particularly strlS, y !,
ing. sThese gentlemen 8 ne sald, IN tne % olo
time would never drink brandy tnat WIS les less 3
than thirty years old, and now they can afford
nothing better than the meanest corn whlskey:.
aBut how can they be so poor when they still
own large tracts of land Why don't they
sail a portion of their estates 7' l'asked. Be
cause nobody wants to buy: The land IS Is f 6ur-
den to them. They cannot get accustomed 70
the new labor system, and many OF them, when
their cotton IS sold at the end of the year, tnd
themselves POORER than when they began, ana
only deeper in debt; sfter:a years hard work.
The planters have been ruined by cultivating
cotton exclusively and neglecting ali the 1000
crops: In my district I ara we'll ACQUAINTED
with all the planters, / do not know one who
has made anything the past year, andi can eall
to mind number who have each lost several
hundred dollars eThey planted. with the eI-
recitation that cotton would sell Tor 70 cents q
pound, and when they had brought tnelr crops
tomarket they could only obtain II to IL cents.
and .cnuld NOT. nav their expenses with the pro-
reefIs The colonel said that, previous to 1860,
itsNas considered discreditable fora planter not
to raise all the corn he needed for use on bis
place, but now there we're many whe did net
plant an acre The cause OF this mistaken
policy, he thought, vas the great need OF mogf
:ey. aYid7the expectations raised BY the high
{ mica that cotton brought after the war This
wear he had observed Chat asmuch larger area
. s,f corn had been planted He did not think
that the corn was stolen in the fields to ogreat
an extent as to deter the planters from cuitya-
ting il, as others had represented to me.
Three systems of labor prevail One n tor
sthe planter to hire his workmen, paying them
monthly wages of from $6 to S., and gTylng
them an allowance of corn meal and bacon, q
cabin, and q garden. patch. Another'is Is TO give
the laborer ne-third of the crop, the pianter
providing seed, fertilizers, tools and animals
The third system is for the lab9rer 70 mEnlsn
eyerytfiipe except fert;l lizets, and receive one
! hal The crop. fEhe last two systema are much
preferred By the negroes, and sare the most
used irpractieei; but even theses SYSTEM, the
Colonel ssid, do not afHor Sufficient incentive
to the negroes to be indnstrious and ,Sas Q con-
ssedueni ie: the result often5 proves improbable
sto the planter and to the laborer.5 He declared
tEat this neeroes are as aelass, lazy and thrift
,lcss. Wo orEfng only %hten driven to it by neces-
afty.sS You sdraMs false conclusions he said,
stabodt sheS industry of the negro from the
amount Sof the cotton crop produced m the
South last year. Il have shown You hov9th
was doqs by an almost total neglect1of the pro-
vision crops, and thatthe result;bas been dis.
astrom15 LIDO not believe that the total value OF
the agricultural productions of the South for
c-A vol %
ductions during theSten years. preceding the
war. In other words, j: am confident that the
negro is not producing as much now as he did
Under the slave system. He is not industrious
by uature. He will work hard for one day,
and then spend two in hunting, fishing or
Sidling about the nearest town, planting thus
but one acre; where, with constant industry, he
might plant three" ., L told the Colonel that /
had observed in Columbia, Anderson and
Greenyille that number of colored men had
bought lots and built comfortable houses, thus
giving; evidence of habits Of industry and econ
ony. These, he thought, were exceptional in
stances. They we're the mechanics OF the
towns, trained to steady labor from boyhood.
State barely lived from hand to mouth, he said.
The colonel thought that the African race
would soon become extinct in all the country,
with the exception, perhaps, of the hot, mashy
seaboard where the white race would not come
into competition with it. According to his OBJ
seryation, Che mortality among the negroes had
greatly increased since they were emancipated,
and this increase resulted from insufficient food
and clothing, poor shelter and carelessness and
lack efiudgment in tending theyoungand nurs-
ing the sick. Pulmonary complaints, formerly
almost unknown, had become prevalent and
fatal. He discussed Darwin theory of the strug-
gle for life, and maintained that its truth would
beIstrikingly illustrated on this continent by
the gradual disappearance of the negroes, who,
now that they are brought into active compe-
tition with the whites, must inevitably perish
according to the law Of nature, which preserves
only the strong and vigorous races. I'm the
days of slavery" he said, sit was for the inter-