The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-03-08
correspondence of the New York Tribune
WASHINGTON, February "a

| turers.
CORRESPONDENCE of the New York Trlbune1
WASHINGTON, February 22.
The condition Of South Carolina ia deplora-
BILE. In the days OF secession 1t was the great
est offender. In the days Of reconstruction 1t is
the greatest sufferer. The governmental the
State was formerly In the hands OF an arlstoc-
racy. They were body OF men jealous, WILL
full. dogmatic, but high toned and honorable.
The roll of its representatives IN congress ior
near three-auarters Of century, the names
| of It's civic and military heroes ln the war OF
the revolution, shine with lustre that is un.
dimmed by comparison with The men Oh any
other State.
True to The souvenirs Of lts former history.
1t prectpitated the shareholders. reDeinoD; ana a.,
| led Its hosts to their doom. It sought IN its
passion bloody arbitrament on the Held OF
battIe. and q bloody arbitrament 1t has had.
With sixty thousand voters, It put seventy
thousand soldiers In the field. The end came,
| aud South Carolina was black with desolaton:
The smoke and the fire Of civil war ascended
from every household, and the stain OF blood
was on the garments of every survivor. Its
young men had swiftly gone down to bloody
| graves I'LL the dead Outnumbered the living.
| The means OF support were swept away as 0y
6re and whirlwind. Havoc and spoil and
ruin were lis only gain. This Is where the
end of the rebellion left South Carolina. What
has been Its condition since What ls lib
condition now?
The population of the State is something
over 4O0, 600 blacks, and something under 300,-
600 whites The result OF the war has made
yet greater disproportion In the comparative
numbers of the voting population. These are
estimated to be In the proportion OF 40,0oo
white to $4,000 black voters, the aggregate
being over 100000. But In the Legislature,
out Of one hundred and twenty-four members,
there are but thirteen representatives OF the
white minority The rest OF the assembly Is
black, with the exception that here and there
| Is white representative OF black consttu-
ency. There are enough OF these, along with
great mass Of ignorance and bafbarlsm OF
which the main body Is composed.
Without going Into details, 1t ia enough to
say that The men who lead aud manage the
Legislature and the State Government are
thieves and miscreants. The great body OF
the Legislature are the Ignorant and corrupt
instruments with which the leaders work, aud
though the individuals composing this mass
are bought and sold like cattle In the market,
| their venallty In some cases is relieved OF
much of Its criminality by reason OF the dense
ness of their ignorance. Numbers OF the
blacks who occupy seats In the Legislature
regard themselves only In the light OF en-
ployees of The government. Their pay Is six
dollars day for the session, and special pay
| for their separate votes on every measure Ia
| which there ia money. These votes are bought
and sold without even prefence OF hiding
the faeitlous transaction. The negro himself
ls hardly conscious of crlminality while he
makes his bargain. He owns his mule. he
sells it. He owns his chicken. He sells It,
| he considers his vote just as much part OF
| his personal property as his mule and his
chicken. Why should he not sell It also! He
| does sell It, and he naiyely wonders that any
body ehould complain.
according to each mans intelligence and ra-
pacity. 4 few hundred dollars in special
cratuilies is enough to satisfy the demands OF
q plantation negro. Others get more, and
more, and more. One OF the smarter sort
was accused the other day, on the floor oil the
sl2. GOO OF Slate bonds in his pocket, corrupty
obtained. And the charge was not denied.
But the evidence of gross and universal cor
ruption Is palpabe in the way everybody
| lives who has anything to do with the govern
ment. There Is o hsppy-golucky air among
| them all. If black gets Into the Legislature,
| that is enough. He works no more. He has
no occasion. He has money enough. IL ls
the same with the occupants OF the executive
offices. All are sleek and fat with their III
gotten gains. They are like pirates who have
| captured a rlchly-laden ship. They riot IN
the plunder, caring not at all tor, nor even
thinking of, the owners.
But The irrefraglble evidence OF gigantic
theft and corruption stands IKE monument
crease for which there ia nothing to show.
The State may be searched 10 vain to find
where the money has gone. 1t is ID no pubic
| work, It Ia In no schemes OF public Improve
ment. It has simply been stolen. 1t has gone
into The pockets of the highway ROBBERS VINO
compose the legislative and the executive
government OF the Stale. Behold the stupen-
dons sums In 1865 the bonded debt, accord
Ling to The report of the Congress committee,
| who have lately returned from their inyestiga.
lions. was, In round numbers, 5,05S, 900. In
/ 1868 It was Sc. .454, 900. On the 20lh OF Decem-
Der, 1871, it had risen to the enormous aggre-
gate of SIS, ,76s, ,0O0 1t was not. even certain
that this sum covered the whole liabilities Of
the State. So much fraud and completely In
corrnnt nractices by the State officials had been
| developed, 30 much chicanery had been un-
earthed, so much wlliul concealment and ap.
parent ignorance OF The amount Of the rob.
berries and Issues of the State bonds was mani.
tested, that there was no certainty that even
the frightful aggregate which was established
would not be augmented Wheh an inc pull
derlng had come 10 light.
an addition to the State debt since the war Of
near ST., 1000, 900. And this sum mas been. mil
lion by million, dollar by dollar, deliberately
! stolen by the villains who have had possession
OF the State since that period, with The excep-
| tIon of such moderate sums as were necessl-
tated bv the measures Of reconstruction.
The methods of robbery have been too Varl-
| ous and universal to be enumerated In an eX-
posItion 40 general as this. Suffice 1t to say
that they have involved everybody oil any ac-
| eount who belongs to the majority. 1t is a
trembling morass of corruption that shakes
nnder ihe tread of the investigation. There Is
no chance 10 STOP or punish the fragrant crimes
| that have been committed, because everybody,
outside of a mere handful OF representatives
of the taxpayers, is Implicated. Whatever
| y1llany Ia exposed, or whatever Investigation
| ia threatened, silence Is at once restored by
threatening the thrpateners with an eXamina-
tion and exposure of their own criminality. 1t
| ia simply band Of robbers threatening to tell
on one another. Was there ever such q bur-
lesque on free government!
i Tine State is mired. and there seems to be
mn STANDING ground for an effort at eXtrtca-
| tjon"And vet 1t must oe e1tricated or gov
eTnment ia a failure. AS has been already
said. there are but thirteen representatives
ont of one hundred and tweDty-iour members
| of the Legislature who are regarded as repre-
seniatiyes of the taxpayers OF The State. Of
these. erht come from two upper counties ad-
ioInInq Georgia. These representatives are
iired of a homeless struggle against the thieves
who have plunged the State In bankruptcy,
and threaten general conHscaii0n. These two
| counties have petIlioned to be set of 10 Geor-
ola As their excislon would Just about ex-
tingnsh the triaing minority OF The Legsla.
tnre and leave II unit in its cOrruptlOns, 1t Is