The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-02-22
The Legislature Of South Carolina il, !,


apparently a gang of thieves. intent
only upon plnndering the people whom
it 10 supposed to serve. Long practice
has made the Legislature of the State o
perfected system of brigandage. Igno-
rant negroes. transplanted from tho cot
ton fields to the halls Of the capitol,
where they have been drilled by unscru-
pulous white ndventurers, have nn:u-
rally made mockery OF government
and bankrupted the State. It is not
surprising that such legislators, repre-
sentlng constituencies debuscd by u long
period of vassalnge. aud uuder such
tatclage, should huve displayed an in.
gennity in fraud which has no parallel
lin history. .-----.-----..,-
''It is among the least OF the dep!ora.
bic consequences Of negro supremacy in
South Carolina that the credit of the
State has been utterly destroyed. The
State debt has been increased over
1000. GOO since the close of the war,
and nothing has been secured in public
for this prodigal waste of
thu public revenues. The bonds OF tho
State are worthless, aud matters have
now become SO desperate that the rob
bees who rule it arc forced to depend
for their stealings upon tue pittu nce Of
taxation which can still be wruug from
an impoverished people. Public IN orals
have been 80 debased that any hope for
puriication from within The State can
hardly be entertained
The Times then proceeds with IN
effort to UNLOAD" tue Republican party
of the enormous burthen Of these abo-
limitations. First declaring that the
Republicans arc not to blame, it next
asserts that they were compelled to give
the negro equality and the ballot. There
"cvcr was any such necessity. Neither
Gen. Grant nor Gen. Sherman dreamed
of it; nor did the Republican party in-
tend it. Only after the counting of the
negroes and the discovery of the Advan-
tage the Republicans might guin by
their votes, wus it determined to give
then the ballot aud the right to hold
Office. That act degraded Southern
governments and plunged Southern
Stptcs into ruin, and the Republican
party is responsible for that. Nor can
tue Times find excuse for that party
from the consequences, in the plea that
they were ''the work of political ad-
vruturcrs, who have been always de-
nounced ny the Republican party. I"
First, these Adventures were bat the
spawn of the Republican policy. Sc
condly, they were neither discovered nor
denounced authoritutivcly by the party.
but were countenunced aud sustained by
it in the administrative and legislative
departments. Indeed, We may add, the
judicial also.
Still further attempting to explain
for the good of tho party in power IN
der which these unparalleled evils have
been visited upon the South, the Times
asserts that sin most Of the States no
disastrous consequences have followed q
measure demanded by justice aud ns-
tional security"-1. G.. the enfrnnchise-
ment Of the negro. There could be TO
greater mistake. Every Southern State
ins .fisasiroisiy si1ff,.iraii FROM II, HIasaT
cSACtO eaO SOASioo'oh VI thC Wal was ~
limited that bribe had been accepted
by South Carolina legislator it
was never hinted that ono had been
offered. For the purity of representa-
two men was such that no man dared
to approach one Of them with dis
honorable proposal. All the Suites
whcro there are many negroes. whether
they are in the majority or not, suffer
greatly by the troubles affecting public
administration in every way from the
large incompetent vote which takes part
i'll elections. The evils, therefore, are
general, though more ruinous and hor-
rible in some States than in others
But it is cheering to 500 that the Times,
whatever it may offer by way Of apology
for the Republican party. frankly owns
that that party is under an obligation
to root out these evils" as far as pos
sible. The Times says:
"But it is tho duty Of the Republican
party to root ont these evils so far as it
can. That it can suddenly eradicate
them is not probable. but by tho inGu-
onco of public sentiment, and of the
Federal Government. much Gun be done
to mitigate them. :: These