The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-05-27
A view or tho Census.

to ny hing is daily shown ns, Had
YOU orI been told, fifteen yeaIa ago,
1 thst the Governor OF South Oafolina
1 w0Ald within that time have been In
diceel for grand larceny, We would
have secuted the idea. Aud had some
far-aeeing artist have sketched on can
vas, ''a day in. the South Carolina
Legislature" and. with prophetic ken,
had penciled what might have been
seen in our State House any day last
winter, he would have been pronounced
crazy. And yet how rapidly and se.
oureiy has the involutiop of political
corruption wrapped itself around us
aud thrown us PROSTATE at the feet OF
demagogues. thieves aud swindlersi
Who is to blame, Mr.. Editor, for
orr condition? Ourselves. and no
others but ourselves. Our political
apathy hus done it all, and will do
more, uulo<s we arouse ourselves to
action aud no longer hug the delusive
phantom of hope. Have We ever tried
to avert the results now upon 10?
Not single time.
True, in 1866 aud '69, many of our
best men were dsfranchised, and,
Indeed, ostracised. by the powers that
be. But in 1870 this was not tue case,
and yet we luy as dormant aud innctive
as if we felt that self.government was n
boon not worth contending for. Iu
1872, We repeated tue uct. and allowed
all State elections to GO by default,
except, 1 believe, in Union County,
where tbs good people. black aud
white, united upon ticket, and, 10y
their combined effort. sent capital
delegation to the Legislature.
1874 Is upon US; soon the canvass
will be opened, aud already the cor
rnptiOnists are defying the good aud
honest people of the State, because of
their letbargy. Shall we allow the ru-
cord next fall to show that we deserve
the stigma? am aware that our peo-
ple say its useless to mako au effort;
We nre hopelessIy in the minority, and
cannot induce the negroes to vote wi til
This ls the reasoning OF sluggards, and
should not he for moment admitted
as i'll nuywise correct or unanswerable.
To-day. there are hundreds Of coio1e,l
votors who are of sufficient intelligence
10 look with contempt upon the pre-
seat corrupt administration, aud sick
encd nf politics. are willing to vote
With us. or not vote ut all.
But suppose the negro vote were
massed solidly against us; am of the
conviction that au Investigation will
show that in fifteen of the thirty one
Counties Of the State, the wh;te voters
are IN the majority. aud have an equal
number III seventeen, and are there
tore able TO secure u maj ,rity, ut
least III The Senate. within tho next
two years, and very large minority III
the House ut the election this fall.
Lat ns to the record few moments.
BY the census Of 1860-which is the
only correct one We can refer to-the
slaves of South Carolina numbered
40l. 406. 1t is we'll known that slaves
were more prolific in South Carolina
than the white population; aud if it be
fair to estimate one voter in five of tn
whites, it il equally fair to estimate
one in six Of the blacks; or if, in 1850,
there were 67 900 colorsd men in South
Carolina over tVenty-ono years Of age,
there were ut that time $1,000 white
men in the State over tho age of
twenty-one. The loss by the war was
possibly II. 800 votere; the natural in
crease since has been more than half
the loss by the war; so thut it may be
stated, without fear Of contradiction,
that South Carolina has to day so, 600
bona file while voters. Has she AS
many cnlored voters? think it aues.
tionabie. True, they cast 80, 900 votes
In 1858 "for the convention" and
since then hnve presumed to assert
they have Cast near, if not quite, 100,
O0O ut elections. But you remember
the policy of the Radical or negro
party in Sonth Carolina has been ITO
vote curly and vote often" This prac.
tice hus awaited them nothing in State
elections. for the stay-nt- home policy
Of tue whites gave the Radicals ''u
walk over the COURSE" anyhow. But
If the white voters would turn out Oh
days Of election as unanimously as do
the bucks, there would be no such
thing ns two votes from one man al
lowed, even though thnt man went to
haif II d2zen po Is; for complete re-
cord or registration could now be easily
kept OF each and every township, and
every negro coming Into strange
township could be easily identified aud
prevented f.om voting Oh, Of lis
known tramp.
! But what Say statistics iurthcl? In
1868. Anderson, Chesterfield, Grcru.
vile, Horny, Lancaater, l. .1ington,