Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-04-15
= THE SOUTH.
THE PALMETTO STATE.

CharIeSIOn-COndlt of Affair
i'm the State-OPPresstvc Taxation
Radical RuEe and Ruin-De
crease in Cotton PIantIng-IIarke
hardening and early Vegetables.
Correspondence OF the Union and American.
AUGUSTA, GA, April 81 came owe
from Savannah to Charleston yeste1
day afternoon. 1t was warm an,
pleasant and We had de
iightful run. There were on the trail
quite q number Of ladies and gentlemen
from the West land North, returning
homeward from the excursion to Florida
and as very few of them had ever seel
an alligator, there was constant watcl
for these reptiles as we passed through
the great swamps on the line of the So
Vannah and Charleston Railroad. Abou
midway between the two cities passenger
were rewarded by seeing two representa-
tives of the race, which would have
measured five or six feet. It was al
epoch 10 the history of many O.
those aboard the train, that they had seer
the alligator il his native swamps. Late
in the afternoon one of the gentlemen O
purchased, at a way station, two ''baby'
. aligatOrs, about ten inches in length,
which attracted much attention, especial
ly from the LADIES' and juvenile passen
gers. He intended boxing them up anC
taking them with him to his Northern
home.
THE TRACK OF THE GREAT FIRE,
Charleston still bears painful evidence
of the great fire which broke cut on the
night of the 11th of December, 1861,
and swept through the city from river &c
river. In its career the fire king de.
strOyed several churches, public buildings,
banks, and insurance Offices, and thous.
ands of citizens were in few hours rem.
dered houseless AID reduced to great ex
tremity. The properly destroyed was
estimated at ten millions Of dollars. The
bleak and crumbling walls OF thousand
edifices still stand TO mark the track OF
the destroying element. There has been
kut a small section of this beautiful anC
wealthy section of the city rebuilt. This
is attributable 10 the depressed condition
in which the war left affairs, and the
ruinous policy inauguratcd by the kadi=
Gals, not il The government of the city
alone, but in that of the State. But
tsthere is life ia the old land YETI snd
when the native white men get control OF
affairs, as they ought and surely will,
new vigor will be infused into the people
and Charleston will soon grow to more
than the ropOIti0ns-financisl, political
and social-she exhibited in the prosper
Gus days before the war.
THE RUIN OF A STATE.
South Carolina is one of the most un-
forum ste of the 'late Tebellious States, "
as the RAJ ideals are wont to call the South.
Rich in all tie elements that should make
a State crest AM powerful, she is to-day
one of the poorest and most thoroughly
broken down of the eleven States that
struck for a separate nationality. 1t IS
enough to excite the sympathy of any
man TO make a run through the State, as
have done, and see the desolation that
broods over the noble old commonwealth,
for l take it tk6t what is TO be seen along
the railroads between Savannah and
Charleston, and Charleston and Augusta,
will give one 4 pretty correct ides Ct the
entire State. AL along the coast thou
sands of acres OF the finest rice lands in
the world have gone 10 waste, while g
4greEte- proportion OF the cotton lands are
lying ids, the fences broken down and in
some instances wholly gone, all going to
show how completely the energies and
labor of the State have been demOralised.
VENTURES IN COTTON GROWING.
At the close Of the war large numbers
of Northern men, attracted to the State
by the great demand for cotton at high
prices, invested a heavy amount of CAPT
tai in the purchase of lanGs and the
growing of the staple. But they lacked
experience. They neither understood the
character of the negro and how to man
age him nor how to plant and cultivate
cotton in the best and most economical
way. The result was OF course inevila-
bic. Three-fOurths or perhaps more of
these ventures turned cut failures, most
of them very disastrous. But Northern
men were not the only ones who failed.
Many Southern man, fnative here, and
TO the manner born, who attempted the
growing of cotton on large scale with
the labor Of the State in its new and IN
tried relation, failed and sunk beneath a
lad of debt. As a rule, those who did
NOT attempt to accomplish too much
those ,ShO were content to work their
wav upward from the utter prostration of
the war, by sure and steady progress,
are the best off tGdaE
CONDITION OF THE NEGROES.
With ell the mishaps that have attend-
ed the inauguration of free labor. the
whites are in a much better condition
than the blacks. Occasionally you hear
of a negro who has applied himself faith
fully 10 work and be has done well, but
these are instances where he has been
guided by the advice Of an experienced
and humane old master. In many Of
these instances the negroes chose homes
for themselves and now own the lands
they cultivate. But where the negroes
have turned away from their former own
ers and epdeav0red to conduct business
in their own way, or been underline lnfiu-
ence OF parties who had no practical
knowledge in Che cultivation of cotton and
rice, they have failed to accomplish any
thing in nineteen cases out of twenty,
and are in 5 worse condition than at the
close of the var, because they have &C
cumulated nothing Snd have cut them
selves adrift from the native white pop
ulstion of the State. A pack Of haTpies
have gathered here who have made 1t q
study TO fleece the poor negro out OF
the little he might realize from his crop,
and they. have generally succeeded in one
way or another, except in the cases TO
which l have referred. The history Of
the last FIVE years Of South Carolina
ought to convince the negro that his best
and truest friend is the Southern man.
Bu, as q race they seem strangely infatI-
s,ed with the carpet Dagger, and what
ever tl1sR anomalous character in tie pol
itics of ths country directs him do, that
he will 90 thovgh it were to lead TO his
own certain destruction. There are a
few exceptions 10 this rule, and these
nave stated ss the oni,y ones VIC are do
ing well.
TIRE RULE OF TER CARPET-BAGGERs- cP
PRRsSIYE TAXATION.
With proper systeni Of labor ana
iudicious and economical administration
. H..#- I-VRg