Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1873-07-03


(unless. himself ofthe burglar fraternity
will uphold him as having done only
''what he had a right to doS" Is the
pickpocket on the railway train,justi6ed
in plying his vocation, because, forsooth,
the wearytrayeller has no business asleep?
Now, these close questions are not put
with any reference to the sale of lands
for taxes, by the Direct Tax commission
ers. That is a matter involving legal
points, and one with which the mere
chronicler of events has not to do If
South Carolina was not out Of the Union,
there was quite as much right to levy a
tax here lin Vermont or Iowa. The
infamous and fraudulent manner in
which the tax was collected; the viola
ton of the Tax-Act by those delegated
to administer it, are subjects Of just COM
plant. The Act, itself, may not be.
1t was the plunder of personal effects,
the appropriation to themselves, by
soldiers and camp followers, Of every
article which would command price
either on Broadway or Chatham street.
Costly furniture, rsre books, specimens
of Natural History, collections Of coins,
works of fine art, family portraits and
family bibles; any thing, and every thing;
from the watch seal, with its Legendary
escutcheon, to the organ in the temple
of the Most High. l have said nothing
of the valuable crops OF cotton. Provis-
ions are claimed as the legitimate right of
an invading army; and, by stretch of
construction, readily made by an inven-
/. tive genius, all manner of live sto k,
then the wagons and ploughs so natural
ly associated with the. farm animals; if
carts and wagons. 4 why not flats and
boats? And so, no doubt, they reasoned
up to the cotton itself, decidedly the
most desirable; because, las was said by
one, is the highest thing to money"
will return to the dispersed exiles:
So long as the war continued, and they
could indulge a hope Of ultimate success,
their patience, their fcrtitude, their
cheerfr endurance Of want and suffering
were amazing, were truly exemplary.
"AuspiciOus Hope in thy sweet garden grow
"wreaths for each toll, charm for every woe
When it was beyond doubt that the
cause SO dear to them was lost, they
resignedly, submissively, yielded to the
irrevocable decree of fate. They bade
adieu to the long cherished thought Of
independence and now embraced the
hope, forlorn indeed, ofa return to their
forsaken, desecrated homes. Frthis again
deluded!
20 Hope, swee. natterer, thy delusive touch
Sheds on afflicted minds the balm Of comfort,
Relieves the load OF poverty"
Some hastened'f from their exile, others
awaited the desired intelligence of homes
restored. Alas, the disappointment was
alike to all; nor did one, after .
--"Six frozen winters spent, -,
Return with welcome home, from banishmcnt,''
Many are still abroad whose wanderings
have not been told us; many, whose
abodes are, to this day, unknown, not a
few who have passed from earth without
ever having again beheld the scenes SO
dear to them
Having extended these desultory re-
miniscences down to the attack on Port
Royal having noticed briefly the disper-
sion and subsequent sufferings of the ex-
lies, it might be expected that, before
bringing them to a close, something
should be said touching the hardships of
which these exilcs so justly complain. 1t
is impossible to introduce these hardships
without saying bitter, very bitter things,
on the one hand; or betraying, on the
other, an insincerity unworthy of any one
looking on from the standpoint which
the writer has, all along, occupied. Let
us hope for such just and equitable legis-
lation on the part Of our national con-
gress, such,a return to the spirit Of our
fathers, that there shall be no cause to
desire a severance. Could | foresee such a
happy con summation, with how much
sincerity would ! endorse the words Of
thepoet:.
Embrace again, my sons be foes no more,