The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-03-05
COLUMBIA, IS. 6
Tues. az II morning, o. March s 1879.
tho Lioenise ,BiiI..

n0pe0, aad De6n ettectually fkllleo, j.. 0y
being rlaid on the, table, several days
since. was called up on Saturday in the
House and passed to . third reading.
The iact.that only q Few days before, the
sense Of the House was plainly and
strongly against the passage Of the bill,
induces the belief that the ignorance
and. venality OF our law makers have
again, been basely praoticed upon.
SCOTT, and The finsnoial plunderers ,asso-
oiated with him. Are determined to
squeeze the last dollar that they possibly
can, directly, from the purses of our
oppressed people. The bond swindles
arc about played out for the present.
The business has been exhausted. This
goose, that has layed 80 many golden
eggs. was killed by the 81. 600. 900 forced
from her last year, or at least so debili-
tated that she must be let ''go to grass"
for a season. Any further offer OF bonds
on the.market would fling them as fiat
as a founder. Very little, il anything at
all would be realized from their sale:
and the new bonds already issued, and
in which number Of the officials ore
said,to have invested largely. would be
still further Deprecated. There would
be more lost by the scheme than gained.
Money, however, must be had. one way
or another. : As it can no longer be
secured by tampering with the bonds,
the thard-handed farmers must be
brought to the rack, and the wealthy
merchants and ''lazy, landed proprie-
tors" who are too proud to take the
plow handle. made to administer to the
prodigate greed Of an Ohio adventurer
and his ''pals." Taxes, in the ordinary
way OF q fixed rate per cent. on the pre-
tended ad ualorem assessment, of every
species OF property, from house to an
infants cradle, will, doubtless, be levied
and collected.
This process OF bleeding the people
cannot, however, be carried too far.
The patience Of even the long suffering
tax-payera has. o limit, and the Northern
people, too, without respect to party
affiliations, have. to some extent. become
awakened to the gross extravaganoe aud
plundering propenaities Of the Radical
governments in the South. The Repub-
lican party at the North. strong as it is,
must be rapidly depleted if they attempt
to carry along with them such stencil
Of foetid corruption as infects their spu.
rious offspring here. They are fast real
izing this fact. The baleful influences
ofSouthern Radicalism is already telling.
with deadly effect, upon the Republican
party, whose creature it is. Scott and
his satellites are also aware of this. and
are conscious of the danger that besets
them of being cast aside and disowned
by their quondam friends at the North,
by whose power only they have been en-
abled to keep a foot-hold in South Caro-
lima. They appreciate the perils that
environ them. still they cannot live and
be honest. They must steal. It has be-
come habit, an absolute requirement
of their sordid natures. To jog along
like ordinary mortals, living upon an
honest salary, or even the princely in
come OF. their ill-gotten gains, would, 10
them. now, be inexpressibly dreary and
monotonous. They crave the excite
ment and diabolical satisfaction of accu-
mnlating stolen treasure by the thou
sands. But they appreciate the necessi.
ty of change OF tactics. +
The bond schemes are no longer prnc-
ticable; and direct taxation. while it
holds ont some very inviting prospects.
has it's attendant disadvantages. It Is
not safe-for reasons we have mentioned
abovo-to press too far in this line; and.
besides. it is difficult to keep the public
eye from prying too often and too
oficiously into their acts and from dis
cussing their thefts, if practiced on the
gigantic scale desired. It is easy to
compute, when the rate OF taxation and
the value Of the taxable property is
known, what amount of money will be
collected. Tho stealage, therefore, from
that source, would have to- be mode
rated accordingly, as the patience OF our
own people and the Indifference of the