The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1874-01-07
A Model Senat0r.

man now sitting in the Seuatc OF the
United States tho value Of whose
oath aud conscience can be estim ted
from very complete data. The lobby
may predicate Of him With perfect
safety that while he will, under all
circumstances, take everything that
he can get, he will also take any,
thing rather than nothing. We refer
to the Hon. John j. Patterson, Sem
ator from South Caroliua, some
strange facts in whose biography we
presented recently to our readers.
A brief review of his history may
not be out of place now that Congress
has begun its work and this precious
law maker is about for the FIRST time
to take his hand in it.
The honor of giving Mr.. Patterson
birth does not belong to South Caro-
lima. We believe that the ouly ma
tive politicians she possesses are of
the African race, and these, although
strong iu numbers, seem to have been
mastered, possessed, and made slaves
Of by paler professors of statecraft
who swarmed in upon them from the
North as soon as our armies had
made it safe for fellows who hated
powder as much as they loved plum
der to 60 there. Mr. Patterson was
one of this band of emigraut states.
men, and tho monwealth out OF
which he carried his lean carpet bag,
with noble resolution 0 fill it some
how before he set foot again on his
native heath, was Pennsylvania.
Pennsy ylvania is too abuundingly
rich in the kind of genius which New
York has recently honorcd in the
person of Mr.. William Nj. Tweed to
afford scope for the operations of
mind like that of Patterson. The
ground at home was pre-, occupied.
The crumbs allowed to fall from the
public table were sorry diet for
hungry hanger-on 81 \ as he, pos
seessed by very t.. eworm Of ava~
rice, smacking his chops as he gazcd
ut such scamps as Kemble gorgiug
their 6ll, and convinced, ut last, in
sheer heart sickness, that they would
never quit the platter until they had
left it shining like tho table ware
OF Jack Sprat. True, Simon Came.
ron was not altoget ther unkind to
him. He permitted him to do low
GRAND, for him, and on one occasion
significd his sense of the mcnial's
merits by employing him to biibe
members Of the Leg:sloture to vote
for bin for Senator. The scheme
having miscarried, by reason of the
failure of the men whom Patterson
had approached to take the pay or do
the word, that faithful fellcw swore
before committee Of Investigation
that ho had never been employed on
any such business, and would have
svorned to undertake it as heartily
as Gen. Cameron would to send him
on it--wbich last statement was
doubtless strictly true. The report
Of tue committee exposed and re.
buked his barefaced perjury in no
measured terms.
Considering the aptitude that he
had shown for business, it is really
amazing that was tho most pro nising
job that he ever succeeded in getting
his tingers into as long as he remain.
ed in Pennsylvania. Had he not
while still very young man, bought
newspaper on his credit by false
pretences, sold it again and pockn,cd
the purchase money, and snapped his
fingers in the face of his unhappy
creditor, who was nigh impoverished
by this piece OF roguery Had he
not forged his fathers name to Il note
for some thousands CT dollars, which
he produced after the death Of that
parent with the honorable design Of
cheating his sisters ouv of their pa
trimony Had he not hired per-
sons to swear that this forged note was
genuine, and did he not boast after
ward that he had trickcd court and
jury into false verdict by his kind
of help Had not his own counsel
+ 'rsakcn and repudiatcd him by rca-
son of this presence, and asked that
the Judgment should bo reopened that
the fraud might bo exposed ? Had
he not cheated everybody that could
be brought to trust him, and were
not his own kindred the most empha.
tic and Seeling witnesses that lie was
a chronic villa :
1t was, indeed, some balm for his
wounded mind that his patron Came.
ron when Secretary of War, appoint.
cd him a paymaster in the army.
But the sola 10 was small one and
lasted him but little while, for the
Senate refused to coulrm his appoint
ment for tho perfectly ridiculous rea
son that he made love to the army
chest and put the wages of tho veter-
ans whom no was sent to pay into his
own pocket.
1t is no wonder that, when the tor.
mination of tho war opened up to this
restless, hungry, disappointed patriot
o Commonwealth dominated by Gro