The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-05-06
Harper's Weekly on the Taxpayers
Memorial-Rerort Of the Judiciary
Committee of the House,

clally III q lato afllcle VI 1-al
y per's Weekly" which has alway
If been noted for it's bitter hostility t.
, l. us. In commenting upon tho reccn
memorial Of the Tax-Paycrs' Conven
ton, it asserts that it will not do t.
say that the people of tho South bav'
brought upon themselves tho evil
under which they are suffering, 81
long as it is in tho power Of Congress
the Executive, the Republican party
y or of public opinion, rightfully anc
; lawfully to remove these evils. Th'
belief that great evils exist is con
firmcd, as we'll by private report o!
by public information, and when al
appeal for relief is made to Congress
and to the Executive, the least that
can be done is to grant the investiga
! tion prayed and if the facts arc as
alleged, then to publish them to the
world, and to show by the character
and acts Of the general government
that neither the Republican party,
! Congress nor the President sanctions
mismanagcmcnt and abuse of power.
This would be the beginning Of re-
lief, and would so define tho attitude
Of the the government and it's hostil-
ity to misrule at the South us to de-
privo the party in power here Of the
props which alone sustain them, in
the belief that they are the expo
nents Of the national will and of the
national government. All that is
prayed for now is committee of in-
vestigation, and if the facts of mis-
government be as alleged, then to
grant such relief as may be right and
proper, The Judiciary Committee
of the. House have not deemed it
proper to pursue>thc course here indi-
Gated, and have seen fit to deny the
relief which at one time was so hope
fally anticipated. In their report
they take the ground that tho evils
complained of are largely owing to
unavoidable circumstances, and that
Congress, without some new power
conferred by the Constitution, is pow
crless to interpose:
The committee say they can not
resist the conviction that the extra
ordinary condition of the people of
South Carolina is owing in q great
degree to the extraordinary events
that have occurred, and the great
changes that have been produced
within the Last few years, for which
her present citizens, or majority
thereof, are not properly y responsible,
and which are beyond the reach and
control Of Congress.
The committee refer in this con-
nection to tho late civil war, and. to
the organic changes in the Constitu-
tion of the .Uhitcu States, not for the
purpose Of re.opening tho wounds
caused by that war, but becatse it is
the of statesmen who are invoked to
apply remedy to existing alleged
wrongs to ascertain the nature, cX-
tent and origin Of these wrongs.
The result Of the war was the de-
struction Of slavery, and the loss to
the shareholders of that State of two
hundred and fifty millions Of property
invested in slaves. Then came the
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments to tho Constitution
whereby tho emancipatcd slaves be-
came clothed with all the attributes
of citizenship, Or invested with the
right of suffrage The freedmen now
constitute q majority of the people
there, and political power has been
transferred from their former masters
to those who, while In q state Of
slavery, were denied al participation
in the rights and privileges Of Amer, ;
ican citizenship. Whatever evils may
arise from placing political power in
the hands Of the freedmen, the re-
sponsibility therefor rests not with
them, but with the people of the
United States, they having adopted
the amendments, and they alone
having the power to change the Con-
stitution.
In the Judgment Of the committee,
the real grievances of the memorial
lists and those they represent relate
to. these changes in the Constitution.
Tho Ncdlorcd voters of South Caro- {
lima are about 10000, and the white I
voters about 10000. Congress has |
no constitutional power to grant the
relief which is asked by the petition.
ers, in the opinion of the comnittcc.
Although this objection was present 1
ed and fully discussed, the PROPOSE r
lion. was not controverted that Con- Q
gress' could not intervene in this :,
:ase unless the power to act was con- '
erred by some, express grant in. the p.
Constitution, or was necessary to t
larry into execution some power that !,
vas conferred.
The committee say they are not :,
.blc to discover the force Of the claim II
made by the petitioners that they are t.
from the anti-Republican Ii
md odious oppression of a system of d
axation without representation, and +;
hat Congress has no more right to j j
Interfere to disturb the State govern =
nent of South Carolina, or to invade tt