The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1874-02-28

other Representatives of our race who
occupy seats in the National Legislature. !.
You know with what discretion aud
ready zeal the Honorable j. II. Rainey
has entered tho debates which ha We
arisen from time to time upon the sui,
ject of our civil rights. His just, though
caustic, rebukc of Mr.. Cox is fresh In
your memory. The Honorable A. j.
Ransier has proved himself 70 be yotr
Jealous aud able champion in Congress, as
sou have long known him TO be in othor
places. The effort ofHonorable r. ii
Cain, ip reply to Mr, Robbins, of North
Carolina, has commanded the attention
OF Congress and Of the country and hhs
added 10 the well earned laurels of this
distinguished cha hampion of our rights
Long may you be represented by men Of
equal ability, zeal, prudeu &c and fidelity.
With such Representatives to sustain
our cause, victory cannot be long
delayed.
But, fellows citizens, not only have we
national interests aud national duties
but we have home interests and home
duties The guarantee of the fullest
measure of civil rights by the national
Congress is not all that we need. That
will give us the opportunity only to
prove our fitness to possess aud use those
rights.
should fall short Of my duty on this
occasion if did not draw your attention
to the immediate aud commanding
necessity of a change in the character of
our administration of the public affairs
Of this State
Fellow-citizcns, approach this sub
ject from the stand point Of. strict
Republican. Iftherc be any man here.
or in this State, who eau impcach or
gainsay my Republican record, let him
come forward. II there be any one who
can, show n longer, more untiriny or
consistent service of the Republican
party,.I challenge him to appear What
ray to night, ] say as o Republican,
standing on the identical platform which
the Republican party solemnly put forth
to the world as the expression of TIL q
political faith ofthc Republican purity
Of South Carolina on the 2}l ,l,y o f
August, 1872. Upon that pl;tform
still stand. If others have wandered
from it, | have not. The pledges con
tained in that platform are still binding
on my conscience onl honor. Those
pledges must and shall redeem.
Fellow citizens, no man can cxaggcr
ate or overstate the critical ch ,racter of
orr present political situation upon the
fortunes Of the coorcd race. For cen
turics our history has been marked by
oppression, in all its forms, at the han Is
of the white race of this country. We
were that stricken and pitiabl.. people
whom the world seemed to believe was
brought into existence solely for the
service Of the white races of the earth
The pathetic miseries, the hopeless
subordinations of our race, have formed
one OF the most deeply tragic features Of
the worlds history. At last, the in
stincts ofhu,nanity, the divine sense of
human brotherhood, have re ognzcd us
as men. entitled to the rights of men,
worthy to be clothed with the powers
and responsibilities OF self-govcrning
citizens.
The vastncss and rapidity of this
change in our civil and political condi
tion has 10 parallel. Many have, at
every stage of our progress. predicted
our failure. With what confidence did
men foretcll that the colorcd man of the
South would not work except undor the
spur Of the task masters lash Yot the
crops of the South, fer the last four
years, are more than equal in amount to
the crops Of any four years during the
days OF slavery. How confidently was
it said that the colored man had no
sense of prudence, no provision for to-.
m orrow-idly 6asking in the sunshine
of to-day, and laying up nothing for the
morrow Yet one OF the most mark Cd
results Of freedom has peon the uniyer
sal and unconqucrable desire of our race
in these Southern States to secure
homes aud lands Of their own. II has
been our reproach with the white man
thnL we WCrn u0L cnuInnL In nnSs ,ill nn,