Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-03-12
The Struggle of the Races in South
Carolina. a Z;

Its said to be the deliberate design OF
thenegroes in South Carolina to SO mis-.
govern the State as to drive the white
people out and have it all to themselves.
For that purpose the taxation for some
years has been SO increased MS to amount
to practical confscation of real estate.
A large portion of it, in fhct, has been Of
fercd for sale by the Shcrifs of the differ
cnt counties. The whites who can sell
for any thing are doing so, and with the
proceed $ emigrating from the State. The
present governmentin in South Carolina is
an anomaly in the history of the world.
Nothing like it was ever before seen. In
all civilized communities wealth, educa-
tion, talent and experience have had the
main control of public affairs under any
political system that has existed. In
South Carolina all this has been reversed.
Ignorance rules intelligence-roverty
rules wealth-talent and experience give
way to inexperience united to stupidity.
In her Legislature there is hardly man
who is worth q dollar in property. Many
can not read or write, and very few have
any acquaintance with but the rudimcnts
of knowledge. Those who do not pay the
taxes impose them, and of course they
put them on heavy. The expenses of The
State government are ten times more
than they were before the war. Aston
ishing salaries are paid all the officials.
The educational cndowmcnts arc upon
the most magnificent scale. The pass
port TO Office is color, and the previous
condition Of seivitude, Three fftfs of
the people are negroes and two-ffths
whites, but the influence Of the latter may
be represented by decimal fraction. In
vain have the people who can read aud
write and who possess property forgot all
former differences and united rs tax
payers in order to have Il voice in the
election. Dcspuirihg of any home relief
they arc actually pleading that Congress
shall tcrritoiialize the State and govern
it by officials appointed by the President
and Senate. Such subsection is infinitely
preferable to the base and ignoblc gov
crnmcnt that now lords it over them. But
of course, TO this Congress will turn a
deaf ear. While the majority in that
body have no political principalcs that
would stand in the way fterritorialism
they would, in this case, refuse to exer-
else it from motives Of policy-thc policy
being to put the Southern black over the
Southern white. This degradation and
prospective ruin of South Carolina is not
contemplated by us without deep pain.
We can not forget that she was one OF
the old thirteen States that carried us
through the Revolution. No State has
produced ablcr or more eminent men in
every department. of effort. Her conti-
buttons inthat respect have been valuable
to our National history. 1t is melancholy
to reflect that the land of the s;umtcrs,
the Marions, the Pinkneys, the Lownde#,
the Checvcs and the Jucksons is to be
given over to the descendants Of the bar
barous negro slaves who were imported
from Africa. However we may regard u
superior driving out an inferior race
the white the Indian, for instancc-it
seems to be opposed TO the law Of nature
for the whites to be pushed out by the
blacks, the civilization Of the United
States to snpl lmtcd by that of Liberia.
Who can look with complaccncy upon q
struggle i'll which there is nothing but
numbers on one side, and every thing
else upon which society should rest is
upon the other! That is the state Of af.
fairs now in South Carolina. Where
there is such and antagonism of race,
such an immense difference in the wealth
civilization and general character as in
South Carolina, it is impossible to apply
the same political principles that we do
in communities where the white constitute
the entire or the main portion Of the
population. There m"st be something
besides mere majority vote. Since the
tests of racc and color are forbidden by
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