The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-07-19

Sunday Morning. July 10. 1874.
Some Wholesomo Admissions, and Yet
NO Reforming Spirit.
We find in the Louisville Courier.
Journal an interesting letter upon our
affairs from its travelling correspond
ent, written from this place. Amongst
others cf the Radical faith whom he
interviewed was Mr.. D. b. Chamber
lain, one Of the candidates for Go.
vernon. We have devoted considera.
BILE space to q discussion Of this gen.
tleman's pretensiona TO run es re-
form candidate. The 7isvs ss:Tr;;S5 attributed ted
to him by the New York Times struck
Us as lamentably inadequate. and not
promising Of any good. In all that
has been said yet by any Of these so.
called reiotmers, we have failed to find
the living germ Of any genuine reform.
We do not do them the injustice OF
supposing or OF saying that they have
no impulses towards, no desire at all
OF, better things. They may have.
We believe they have. But they
speak OF these things as men who
dream. as men walking Id sleep.
There is no evidence that they have
-isen to !he conception OF anything
more than the troublesome straits in
which their party has been placed by
Its ignorance. imbAoility and corrup.
tion. Every effort they propose to
make has just Jthe inspiration oi this
selfish iptsfest and no more. The
party, /the South Carolina Radical
party. condemned and contemnel by
sR the rest of the world, is the ot,jeot
of their supreme affection. Their
concern seems to centre upon and end
with 1t. Although they have. as they
boastfully say, majority Of $4,000
votes. they are constantly agitated lest
they shall lose the elections. They
are thus evidently conscious that they
have forfeited the right-whatever
right numbers. ignorance and the
adroit use Of prejudice as political
weapon gave them-to rule over, make
laws for and carry on the civilization of
a free people. Tley aee the ruin which is
spreading over the land; they are con-
soious, some Of them, of the decay of viz.
tue and integrity. the loss of decency,
the lowering Of the tone Of morals, the
increasing enbarrsssments in which all
the public interests and institutions
are becoming entangled. But seeing
enough to make them act in earnest;
enough to put soul under the ribs
Of death. they show only an overpow-
ering love OF Office, of position, of
their own continued control. They do
not treat of reform as men into whose
hearts the iron OF oppression has
entered. They visw it rather as they
would q theme in debating society,
or consider it as they would q topic Of
history. No political Luther has yet
appeared amongst them with high,
determined objects and courage to
carry them out which would pace all
the devils in hell; no honest Patrick
Henry to thunder against violated law
and invoke it's proper punishment
Who cannot see how they must neoes-
sarily fall short of accomplishing Guy
object of value? There must be some.
thing more than q sense OF 9 mere
party need of reform. even to institute
a single one in the State OF the hun.
dreds that are required.
The statements of Mr.. Chamberlain
to the Courier Journal show an advance
upon those made to the New York
Times. First, there is an admission
that there is ''next to nothing" to
show for the $4,000. 900 increase of
funded debt and the unknown floating
debt; that the land purchased by the
Land Commission for $7OO. 900 is "a
bad. bad speou!ation;" that while there
may have been exaggsrations in some
particulars ae to the wholesale specu.
lations in the public moneys by the
State officials. hundreds of thefts have
never haen mantiopod. kbot - roorLa