The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-05-11
HOYT & CO., Proprietors.
Mr., sMAILEY,s LETTERS TO THE NEW
!; s@..Ss YORK TRIBUNE.
COLUMBIA. S. O., April

81 sos1I ID 1llnOSb 7iIupOsStoie ioi I,oA oioA =,
!. { people to come to any just conclusions
{ a6ont the present condition of affairs st
fhes South without some personal OBJ
seryation and experience of Southern So.
eietysSs South Carolina may be regarded
=: as the typical Southern State. Here the
Southern idea was most fully developed,
and here the change to the Northern sya-
tenn of government and society is most
radical, and is attended by the greatest
resistance. The only wonder is that this
change has been accompanied by so little
violence, when it is considered that no
civilized community ever underwent 30 e,
sudden and thorough q revolution In all
Its social, industrial and political relations.
I Tho slaves of yesterday are the masters
of to-day; and the old, naughty, ruling
{ class is reduced to condition of political
thfaIdoni. In order to comprehend the
cause of the present disturbed condition
of5 the State, it is. necessary to consider
the elements of this population and their
changed relations to each other In
4 total of $4,000 inhabitants, there are
. about 425 700 negroes, who, as class,
are ignorant, superstitious seml,baroa- l.!
risns, but little elevated IN intelligence
j. abovo their kindred in Africa. l speak
OF ths great mass of the negroes, OF the
plantation efeld-hands." They are ex-
tremely indolent, and will make no exer-
tion beyond what is necessary to obtain
food enough to satisfy their hunger
YheyrareIy commit great crimes, but are
Z giverl.to petty thieving to great extent:
Toward the white man they are still
deferentiaT and assume an air OF abJect
submission; but they are distrustful of
J. the white men, by whom they know they
are hated. Upon these people not only
political rights have been conferred, but
sfhey have absolute political supremacy.
+ They are the governing class in South
Carolina, and a class more totally unit
to govern does not exist upon the face Of
fhesarth. There arc not dozen highly
educated negroes in the whole State, and
the whole number thatc car read and write
is seomparativcly small. Not in the least
superior in intelligence or virtue to the
negroes are the poor whites-the Glow
down people," whose poverty, stupidity
and degradation is beyond the conception
{ f.any man who has never seen them.
Thsy live in huts, without windows and
often without floors. They are totally
ilTiterate, and have not the, slightest de-
sire for education, or for anything but
corn bread, bacon and whiskey. They
hate the negroes with mortal hatred,
looking upon them as rivals. They are
lazy, vicious, quarrelsome, revengeful.
and capable of brutal cruelty. Tho edu-
Gated white men form third class,s COM
parativelY small in numbers, but owning
all the property in the State. 10 them
The present supremacy of the negro race
isa thing unnatural and altogether abomi-
iiable. At first they looked upon recon
struction as farce, and believed that q
Democratic triumph in 1868 would sweep
it all away Now it is horrible reality.
From the state OF amazement with which
they frst saw the negroes lwhom they
had always regarded as cattle) making
laws, levying taxes, holding Office, and
acting us jurymen, they passed into o
condition of bitterness and rage, OF which
violence and murders was the natural
consequence.
1t would be hard to imagine state of
society more entirely untitled tor Re-
publican form of government than this,
Fbejatelligent people of the State have
no voice in public affairs, and noiRauence
In hhe government, and are obliged to
) snbinit to the rnlesof . class just released
from slavery, and incompetent without
guidance. to exercise the simplest duties
of citizenship. This condition of affairs
is so unwhoiesome and unnatural, aud 80
fruitful of evil, that it is clear that it can
,nottlast. In 1858 the leading white citi-
zens sheld aloof from conventions and
elections, and the new government COM
naepced with little opposition; but in
l870,at the next State election, they made
an eEert to conciliate thea negroes, and at.
tempted to create Reform party which
should disregard any distinctions of race.
They adopted platform which fully.
recognized all the rights the negroes had
gained, and professed nodesire ever to in
Serfere with them and they succeededin
ihducing afew negroes to accept nomina-
.fious; on their tickets. The movement
failed: The negroes distrusted the sin
cerity Of the white men, and feared to
trust them with power. They went to
the Reform meetings, listened attentlvely
to the persuasions of their former mas
.ters. and then voted in a body for the
tRadical'' candidates. The white men
were greatly enraged at the result: 10
make matters worse, they believed that in
all the upper counties where the races are
nearly evenly balanced, gross frauds had
been committed in counting the votes.
Unfortunately they had much reason
for this belief. In the previous winter,
the Legislature had passed now election
law, which, ,without exaggeration, is most
Outrageous. No moro ingenious measure
could be- contrived to facilitate fraud in
the interest of the dominant party; and
this was probably the purpose of it's