Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-10-19
TO THE NORTHERN PEOPLE.
An Appeal from q Citizen Of South Car.
Oiina-The Condition Of that State.
Greeley the Sole Dependence OF the PeO'
ple-Their Hope Centers in Hin.

Without any exordium, I win n
deavOr to d~elineate, in a brief and COM
pendious style, some Of the prominent
injustices which have been 80 Tigidly
inflicted upon the people Of South Caro-
liaa since 1866.
went into the State, myself early in
1857, and found it in a most humiliating
condition. The State was then con-
trolled By a Military Governor, General
Candy, and was still groaning from the
shocks and devastations experienced by
the acts Of an invading army.
The citizens had been Invested o their
stock, and many Of the towns and the
capital OF the State had been RACED to
the level Of the earth. But in the fan
of 1868 was the periodical election for
Governor, the State having, prior to
that time, been reconstructed and adj
mitted into the Union. The Guberna-
torial crown was placed upon r. X.
Scott, an imbeeile mereenary, and prob
ably a penitentiary convict, from the
State Of Massachusetts, I BELIEVED, who,
hearing of the PROSTATE condition OF
south Carolina. which was engenderedby
the vicisitudes of the sanguine waT, from
which our country had 50 lately emerged,
and Scott, wishing to take advantage
Of the situation and profit thereby,
picked up his molly carpetbag Of filthy
rags and stealthily sneaked into the
state, and was, as has been already
mentioned, made Governor, to rule and
predominant over the once proud and
independent State Of South Carolina.
And what has he done? Has he admin
istered Justice to the upright and noble
peoDle Of South Carolina? No! but, to
The contrary. this administration has
been universally noted for malfeasance
and dissentions. As every citizen Of the
State viii affirm, Scott has exhibited
himself as being one OF the most rigor-
Gus and oppressive tyrants known III the
annals of modern civilization. His
whole administration has been attended
with the most extreme ~nauseatIng cir
I eumstances, throughout the State.
He has caused an unjust and unlawful
tax to be collected from the n Of
real estate. If, for instance, a man re-
turned his whole possession Of q thou
sand acres Of land, when the Collector
came around he would add fifty per cent
to the returns, and collect for fifteen
hundred instead Of one thousand acres.
He has by taxation absorbed the re-
sources of the country, clOgged her COM
mercial interests, retarded the progress
of manufacture and blighted agriculture.
I He has plundered the State Treasury
and grown rich and Opulent, while he
has sunk the State into the lower depths
rof degradation and misery; and has d.
vested the people not only of their hnan-
cial, but Of their civil rights.
And how was his election effected
over Judge Carpenter in 1870? Simply
by a stern resort to illegally and fraud.
And to more effectually secure his elec-
{ ton he armed the cOlOred element Of the
State with the most improved weapons
Of war, at the expense Of the honorable
white man; and at the same time refused
to recognize any companies made up
wholly of white men. And furthermore,
he instructed the black man, through
his pander and scurrilous agents, that
those polished bayOnets and glittering
rifles were put in his hands for him to
protect himself against his former mas
ter. And these culpable acts of Scott
were the germs Of q series Of domestic
violence.
The highways have often been infested
with disOrderly crowds Ofarmed negroes,
and even cold-bloOded murders have
been perpetrated by them. And the mid
night ~incendiary was doing his foul and
dastardly work. In every newspaper
could be seen the minute account of some
destructive fire. Some mans Clubhouse,
with his twenty or thirty bales of cotton.
or, perchance, his dwelling, his corn
crib, his stable, together with his stock,
being reduced to ashes. You might
look in almost any direction and see the
heavens lighted up by the ~devouring
flame. And the people for a while bore
these damnable atrocities so grossly
heaped upon them, with becoming ford-
tude and patience. They stood IN a
state Of b~reathless anxiety and waited
and looked and hoped for redress
from the headquarters Of the Executive
department, but all in vain. And the
people could no longer restrain them
selves. and consequently very iustifiably
took the law into their own hands. And
the subsequent result was that they very
soon effected a radical change in the
concentration Of events. The country
was converted into a state Of mitigation
and tranquility from that Of riot and
bloOdshed. Apparent good feeling
seemed to prevail, and the blacks and
whites worked together in their growing
crops tremendously.
The Radicals saw that their days were
numbered in South Carolina if the pO- J
litical question was left for the people to
decide. But they, by their Infamous,
sedulOus and ritual labor of their in
trigues, prevailed on the President to
interfere with the affairs of the State. .
he plunged the State into violent cor :
last fall by the Adjustment Of :
civil authority and the establishment Of l
a military GespOtism, an act which was .
unconstitutional and objectionable, and {
VIII ever live ia the memory Of :
Lg-.na na a.a-E-k fl 4
military glory Of General Grant. And =
the weak and proHigate Scott, with ly- :
ing lips, claimed to be perfectly iguOr- y
ant of the Presidents intentions as to l
the establishment OF martial law. !
then poured into the State in :
formidable numbers. And now the dark :
veil was rolled back from the theater Of ;
and Nervousness, and the I
drama of terror begun. The soldiers .
were turned loose on the p~eaceable and 5
helpless citizens, like so many fierce !
and hungry wolves. In all quarters 4
men were brutally arrested with as I
founding precipitatiORs and mercilessly (
into filthy dungeons, as if they 4
criminals ofs0me greater violence. 1
The jails were filed to OVERLOOKING with q
the very best men Of the State, while I
hundreds Of others, preferring exile TO a =
.OathsOme prison, with greater relue- u
lance tore themselves from their homes,
their weeping wives and moth
Frs to the mercy Of the Infatuated hoard i,
If invaders. I
1 was numbered among those who b
safety in a distant land. With b
he most sarcastic pain, j left an invalid q
wife and infant babe and a feeble grand
without the least protection. g
This j. - faint dagaripfipn of grr L
iufferings, for / am inadequate to the a.
ask before me. el
And now We beseech you, our North y
m and Western brothers, 10 % be K
leaf 10 u cries, for humanity sake Ia
lon't be insensibie as to "a sad and de- IL
llOrable condition. We beg YOU, we >,
.ntreat you, in the fullness Of your sym =
to look at our case just as il is.
T we are represented to you as being
and d-esperadoes, and having
.isrespect for and being enemies to the
National Government, we ask YOU be-
ore cOnvicting US to be certain as to the .,
ruth of any defame brought A
gainst Us. Nothing would be more
0mpatible with u.s. Nor would any,
hing diffuse more profound gratifica-
ion than fOry0u to come among Us, that
may know how We clamor, and see \
We are trampled upon, and how we N
re being crushed into the very dust of M
earth, by carpetbag misrule, which be
) upheld by the National Government. u.
We appeal to you because we are our M
elves powerless. Now, will you indorse Ia
be course Of General Grant, and seal PL
ar condemnation by casting your vote {
" him IN the coming election? Or will -
alleviate our race by giving victory
, Horace Greeley, who is willing. to al
w US 3 chance, and who favors the y
diversion Of caTpetbag rule in the L
oUth? NJ