The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-08-28

tained in the making of contracts by
state officials The contract with the
Hoberts and other arms companies of
New York, under which there WAS drawn
from the State Treasury over $500, 900,
while sal SAID arms company received less
than Sso, ZOO. is type of the manner in
wnioh the State Treasury has been de-
pleted. The public are familiar with the
enormous extent Of the bills for State
printing. Formerly this item of ex.
pense for session Of the Legislature
was not one-fftieth, certainly not one.
fortleth, Of what it has been during the
year past. But to catalogue the abuse,
existing In the executive and Legislative
branches OF the State Government.
would not only weary our patience and
sicKen your hearts, but one who should
attempt to characterize them would beg
gar the English language in looking for
nt terms. You already know them in
gross. You can hardly appreciate their
enormlty In detail till you examine the
facts and figures. We allude to but
few OF them as specimens Of the kind of
expenses that have brought the credit of
South Carolina 30 low that there is tnone
80 poor to do it reverence" and which
have made the government of the State
80 odious to the people OF the whole
country.
In this condition Of affairs, what is the
duty OF the Republican party? These
wrongs ara in no way the result of the
action OF its principles. They arise from
the greed. and selfshness, and corrup-
ton of those who have stolen the oarb
OF Republicanism to cloak their evil
deeds, and who should be cast out OF the
company of honest Republicans and
honest men, as having degraded their
high calling.
Our plain duty points to this; our
obvious interests demand this; the inte.
rests of party demand it; the interests of
tue State demand it; decent regard for
tue opinions of mankind demand it.
We must put forward for official posi-.
ton those, and those only, who are
known az upright, true and unstained
men, whose Repubicanism is as un-
doubted as their integrity and. their ca.
paclty to perform the functions of the
Offices for which they are nominated.
Within the lines of the Republican party
our work lies. There are honest hearts
and wise heads enough in that party to
do our work. Every good citizen, what
ever his party affiliations may have been.
owes 1T to himself to work to purify and
regenerate our State Government: but
the work especially belongs to us. We
cannot abandon it to our political adver-
saries, until we have demonstrated our
inability to do it ourselves.
With this necessity upon US; in an
emergency more exigent than has exist.
ed in the history of our party in South
Carolina; with the eyes of the National
Republican party upon us, and expect
ing ns to rise to the demands of the occa-
sion, like honest men, the Convention
now in session in this city has placed in
nomination, as candidate for Governor,
the one man whose officials acts have
brought upon the State, and the posi-.
tions he has held, more disgrace than
has attached to any other Offices of the
State Government.
MIR. F. j. Moses, Jr., was the person
who. as Adjutant and Inspector General,
made the contract with the Roberts
Arms Company. We do not know that
he received any part Of the $ll4, 900
which disappeared in it's transit from the
Office Of the Financial Agent of the State
OF South Carolina, in New York, to the
Office Of che Roberts Arms Company; but
we do know that il disappeared. The
Financial Agents books show that it was
psid; the arms company's books show
that they did not receive it.
Mr.. F. J. Moses, Jr., was the person
who, as Speaker of the House Of Rep
resentatives. flooded the State with a
shower of "pay certificates" and swelled
the expenses of that House, for a single
session, from S145, 900, 1.-THE highest
possible figure to which they could
amount legitimately. and this is based
on most extravegant oalculations,) to
quite, or over, million dollars.
And this palpable violation of law,
this direct filching from the Treasury, is
neither denied by him nor his friends,
but is excused on the ground that he
disposed of large amount of these cor
tifcates in favor of the poor people who
lied from the prosecutions of the Ku
klux Klan. Was candidate ever before
driven to straits like this? A false Ger.
titicate, fraudulent and unlawful draft
of public money from the public Trea-
sury acknowledged, and the act defended
on the ground that the money was dis.
posed of in charity! Yet oven this in
famous excuse is wanting, when we know
that not one per cent. of these unlaw-
fully issued certificates was thus disposed