The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-03-02
The Tricks of the Pert Royal Ring.

The New York stockholders who are
nursing the Port Royal scheme have plucked
up heart of grace, and are determined to
put in their claim fer slice of public
pudding.
About week ago the Port Royal men
we're all agog, ear-wigging members of the
General Assembly and lobbying actively
among the State officials. What they ask
for is "only one million dollars" and they
claim that if the Legislature can afford
to give Neagle, Patterson, Crews & Co.
81, 900, 900 to save them from the conse-
quences OF hap-hazard speculation, tbs
same yirtuous body may just a. we'll give
another set of adventurers one million dol
lars to enable them to build q railroad which
cannot live by its local traffic, and must
fight with two gigantic opponents for every
dollar Of through freight. 1t is six OF one
and half dozen of the other. The Port
Royal project is just about as honest an un-
dertaking as the Greenville infamy; that is
to say, both of them are unmitigated swim
dles-barefaced attempts to rob, with the
forms of law, the Treasury of the State.
There is one distinction, with difference,
between the two schemes. The Greeuville
Ring have money in profusion the Port
Royal Ring have little, if any, money, and
deaf chiefly in "promises to pay" Wien,
therefore, it seemed likely that the Green
Vile greenbacks would succeed where the
Port Royal promises would ignominiously
fail, the Port Royal Ring changed front and
adopted a policy worthy CT the Heathen
Chinee A number of telegramS were sent
from New York to Columbia announcing
that, unless the Port Royal Ring received
their million, their New York allies would
break down the credit OF the State. Another
dispatch said that South Carolina bonds were
about to be stricken from the list OF the New
York Stock Exchange. Another dispatch said
that unless the Port Royal Bill were passed,
all other Financial Bills should fall to the
ground. Before this, the representatives OF
the Port Royal Ring had waited on Cover
nor Scott and informed him that, unless he
would help them to get their million, they,
and their friends, would unfold a tale OF
financial infamy which would knock the bot
tom out of the credit Of the State. Cover
nor Scott told them that he would fight the
Port Royal Bill, and every other Bill which
proposed to increase the liabilities of the
State. The Ring delivered themselves OF
another volley of threats. Governor Scott
told them to so on and do their worst. And
they have done it.
Another sharp dodge is to puff up the po-
sition and advantages of Port Royal, and to
suggest that Congress will build up huge
Naval station there, when the Port Royal
road aided by the legislative million dollars
is completed. Glowing descriptions of
trade with Europe, of steamship lines, Of
crowded cars, of universal prosperity and
peace, are engineered into the public prints
all the, pretty things depending on that
sma!i-sized million.
Yet the Port Royal Ring were in mori-
bund condition when the Greenvilte Bill
passed the House. This gave them fresh
courage, aud they are working with will.
Their Bill can be killed in the House. All
that is necessary is for the minority to op-
pose It as actively as they opposed the
Greenvie swindle. 1t is not likely to get
through the House, and cannot pass the
Senate, so long as the honest members OF
the General Assembly stand firmly at their
posts.