Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1871-07-14
n Letter From Mr.. Adams.

e'r~s NSs'N'A''So ASS:Si w
sas editor who had expressed to him his ap.
aprehension that the Republic is fast going to
destruction;
QolNcY, MASS, June 5, 1871.
DEAR SIR: l cannot pass over, silently, a
letter which gratiies me us much as yours,
which Ireceiyed to day; and yet, feel shy
Of speaking to you or any .citizen of the "sub.
jcct States" dislike to earn tho retort
3"Oh,it is very easy to preach; but, suffer as
wo Shave and thon toll us how you feel, and
we will iston.' do try to take it home to
myself; and do not doubt that, in similar
circumstances, l should to day be an s'unre.
peDtant robel" sore, angry, beaten aud def.
nut And, with me, it would doubtless have
been as it has been with you, that the ten
der mercies of reconstruction had been hnr-
derto bear than all the horrors Of invasive
war" ! should have tccu CALLED by misgov.
ernmcnt robbed by imported knavcry of the
plttance which the war had spared, exaspcr.
ated by wilful and persistent misrcprcscnta-
tion, and cruclly condemned to hopeless i'm.
potcnce for the imputed guilt of cowardly
crimes abhorrcd. l should have condemn.
ed, too, TO hold my personal liberty at the
nod OF u mcrccnary carpet baggcr or the whm
of military satrup. I say that fear
should have been an "irreconciob!e." In
such case think should be suky, but
know l should be silly if yielded to the
feeling, for whence must my relief come if
my last estate is not to become worse than
the first? Is there man outside an asylum
who thinks that by such course The "lost
cause can be rcgaucd? by whom, then
Ifby the North, believe me that the expert
ment of secession has satisfied us that no
cause is worth civil war That war has
confirmed, beyond shadow Of turning, tic
destiny which dccrced that there shall be but
one confcdcrated people of the North Amcri
can Union. No. Rcbclious / might be
but weak enough to await the resurrection
Of secession, do not think could be-
You and aud your friends and ncishbors
and mine are Of one blood We we're once
tfclow citizens and the old time kindness
must inger yet in spots. Our fathers were
'brcthrcn," and that must count for some.
thing. The whole political problem Of the
future turns upon the answer to the question
s<Sllall We 1.-Two together as friends or enc.
mics2" Now, the whole internal policy of
the present Administration says war Re.
construction meant war and the Ku lIux
bill declared war. This Union is now held
together by force. Certainly, if this is to be
permanent. it would have been better to have
parted at first. If the struggle to cast out
slavery overthrow the Constitution, what
chance is there for 'rrcc" Government,
il the North is to rule the South? South
Carolina is to- day the most shameless parody
on Republican Institution since Republican
Rome bcstrode all the nations of the
ancient world, put the sword to their
throats, stripped them bare, and then lacked
words to laud the lovclincss Of liberty You
cancot be subject, and we be long free The
untrammelcd exercise of local self govern
inent by the people of the States is the silt
winch preserves our whole system Take
that away and our frame of polity will rapid
!: ~ rot into despotsm. Therefore it is that,
hotas a partisan, but wholly rs fellow cti-
zen, trust that all the good citizens of the
seeded States will frankly aud honestly ac
Dept the revolutionary changes which have
been forced upon the Constitution, and with
thcm chccrfuiy adopt the new relations of
amity and political and civil equality toward
tho omancipatcd class which these changes
involve. And therefore | am glad when |
soc The noble spirit Of your letter pcrvading
tne Southern people as 1t does, despite the
,IalignIty OF PARTISAN press; while the
sterling scnsc Of MIR. Vallandigam has reform.
cd the Northern Democracy. And it mat.
tcrs not what man mmy be chosen to lead us,
80 long as lis heart is large enough to hold
his Whole country; his soul brave enough to
embrace confederate as brother, and his
platform wi,le enough for every American
citizen to stand upon. TO compass this end
something Of sacrifice is required of us all F;
much of self control is demanded of the South
fnn and all hear assure me that the attempt
will bo made and. if made honestly and in
earnest, it cnunot fail. Again thanking you
for your letter, am, very respectfully. your
obc,lient servant, j. O. ADAMS.
To- j. 7. IRRELEVANT, ESQ, Augusta.
kEkdnsas.
MANAssAsAs IT is Nova correspond.
ebtoe the Washington Chronicle has recent.
]y visited Manassas, Va, and rs many Of our
readers we're familiar with the place during
the 'lasc unpleasantncss, the result of his
observations will be read with some interest.
The correspondent says:
Probably no section of tho South suffer.
cd more dnrina the rebellion than the broad
tahleau Of land lying between tide water and
the Bull Run mountains, and between the
Potomac aud Rappahannock rivers, of which
Manassas is at once tho summit and the nat
ural center. 1t was the great parade ground
where, for four years, two Of the mighticst ar.
mics of Christendom exhibited their prowcss
to, an astpnishcd world Here tho armies
Of the "Potomao" and Of "Northcrn Virgi-
MIA" drillod, ate; slept, marched, and fought,
ma ut regular intervals thov shontod uOn to