Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-06-30
SOUTH CAROLINA.
RetrOspeetIye-The Battery The Me-
grOes-Hcw they lord II in the
Places Of Their Masters.
The Carpet Bag, Scallawag and Negro Of
fee -HOlders-H0W Wealth is
Acquired.
A Melancholy but an Ger True StOry-A
Record Of Moral Courage.

! Special Correspondence APPEAL
| CHARLESTON, s. O., June %, lS7l,--
! In spite OF an aggravating thermom-
eter and a sunshine hot enough TO
| broil a South Sea Islander, there is
something indeseribably pleasant to q
| Tennessee backwoOdsman in these
Charleston surroundings of mine. 1
am sitting in the shade of the great
trees that line he Battery, or water
front OF the city-its fashsS5aable prom
enade. Children are playing on the
close cut sward, and a score or more
of octOroOn nurses are exchanging do.
mestic gossip. The strong southwest
wind sweeps In from the broad At
lantie, tanning every home within its
scope and adding luxury to every
/ breath, The air is laden with the
aroma Of flowers, and If there be quiet
| comfort anywhere in this summer sol
stice, il is right here in this 'City by
the Sea." )"
Yonder is Fort Sumter-its ragged
! outline in bold relief against the sky.
To the right is Morris Island, whence
! Gilmore sent his three hundred. pound
shells on their five.mile journey to de-
vastate the homes of women and chill
dren, To the left is Sullivan's Island
with its pretty summer cottages lining
| the long beach. go there late in the
| afternoon to clay me down" in the
| surf, and rid me of the days fever, to
sleep under blanket and dream I'M
disturbed by the punctuations of mos
quitoes. 1t is par excellence the wa
! tering-place Of the Atlantic coast, and
| CharlestOniens who are compelled to
remain at home find consolation in
The substantial relief which it affords,
POLITICAL AND PERSONAL.
I fud that the political situation of
| South Carolina Is not unlike that Of
our sister State of Arkansas. The
Governor is an ex. Federal General
| formerly q doctor in OhiO-a
sort Of professional tramp, and owes
| his election entirely to the negroes.
Their majority is thirty thousand.
| The Lieutenant Governor and the
Secretary of State are negroes. The
| former is also Chairman of the Repub-
| lican Central Executive Committee,
| and controls all elections. The Treas
urer is from Massachusetts,, and late
| in the war commanded q company of
| negro troops, He then went into
| the old clo' business, failed, and took
| lovingly to politics. On g salary of
| S2500 q year, he has made three hun
dred thousand dollars, and still is son
the make" He holds the bonds Of
the State in the hollow of his hand,
aud msnipulates them, it is said, to
20 suit his own purposes, Occasion
ally one OF his mythical aUnts, Of
whom he has q multitude, dies and
| leaves him a legacy, aud IL this way
he explains to his simple-minded sable
supporters why he can afford TO buy
magnificent diamonds and drive in
gold mounted harness. The Comp
] trolIer is a smart, but uneducated
North CarOiinian. The Auditor is an
! ex- Freedmans Bureauriau. The School
| c Commissioner ditto. The last named
| individual has in his hands to-day
| FORTY thousand dollars appropriated
! by the Legislature TO pay the salaries
of school teachers; Vet I am reliably
! informed that three of these poor
workers have recently become mani
acs. and are now in the Iunatie asy-
lun. because of poverty and want,
superindUced by th8 refusal Of this
worthy TO pay salaries that have been
| due for many months. The United
| States Senators are both white-Of
course, Radical. OF the members of
Congress, so called, three are colOred
and one is white-the latter man,
! strange to say, who once publicly pro-
posed to sell all free negroes in South
Carolina into slavery.
A PRECIOUS BODY.
The Legislature consists OF one hun
dred and fly odd members, of whom
the great majority are black, ignorant
and INSCRIPTIONS. Except the ff-
| teen or twenty Democrats, who are
pOwerIes, these cur Gus specimens of
political humanity take bribes as regu-
larly as they DO their punches. Most
of them are worth from five to fifty
thousand dollars, and hold various fat
offices during the recess. They drive
fast horses, gamble, make night hide
Gus during q session of the Legislature,
and but for the Speaker of the House
would be as uncomfortable 2s q den Of
gorillas. Their halls of meeting and
committee rooms are as magnificent
in their appointments as those Of the
National Capitol. The chandeliers,
velvet carpets, French clocks and
rosewood furniture all attest the van
ton eKtravs ganceoi a set Of vampires,
whose only consideration was, not
display OF beauty or taste, but the
amount OF money that could be made
on the appropriations FOR the contract. /
The very spittOons cost eighteen dol |
lars a pair, and the committee rooms
are like gOrge0usiy-furnished bars.
One might suppose thst in such
body there would be some political
virtue-sonne exhibition Of interest IN
the progress OF the neWly-enfran-
chised. There is none. Two years
ago seven hundred thousand dollars
were ostensibly paid out ia purchas.
Ing lands to be re-sOld TO the colOred
people at low rates and on long credit. |
Three -fourths of this money went into |
the pockets OF black spcculators, vino, /
buying the lands for a song, sold them
10 the Land Commissioners at an ex-
horbitant price and divided the profits
with the officials. The majority of the
office-holders In the State may be said
to live on spOils. Public expenses
have been nearly doubled, and, in
consequence, property is assessed and |
taxed at double and treble its real
value, In order that the Hascsls may
keep the grinding machine in motion.
WHEREFORE, THE KU-ELUx.
These things naturally enraged the
people aud a crisis was reached not !
long ago, which, but for the interYen-
ton OF the wise men OF the State, |
would have resulted in blood shed. |
The State militia is composed entirely |
of negroes. who were armed with |
breech- leaders or Winchester rifles. |
They psraded by day and drilled at |
night, leaving crops to take |
care of themselves, and planters un-
able 10 obtain labor. After awhile |
feeling the dignity of newly acquired |
power parties Of these armed negroes |
began TO halt white men in the public |
rouds, and at last they shot a one
armed soldier on the highway because |
he would not divide the contents of a |
barrel of whisky among the crew. /
The paEty was arrested for the murder /
and that night nine were taken from /
iasl by HlaW-aDd order-loving citizens" |
and hung. "Ku-Klux," now became |
the crv. Cotton-gins and private /
dwellings disappeared in flames.
Retaliation commenced on both sides,
until finally many Of the Radical
officials who were nOtOriOusly corrupt |
and ignorant were notified that they
must s'mOve further" At this juno.
ture the Taxpayers Convention assem-
bled in Columbia They investigated
and reported on the financial condi-
tiOn of the State. Politics were
eschewed, but in the determined spirit /
auiatlV eViuced bV the fneuhpra fhe /