The Portland daily press., 1874-05-12
South Carolina.

South Carolina.
The condition Of this State has been fire.
quently discussed in these columns We do
not apologize for the misrule in that unhappy
state. We shall rejoice when the bad men
who have robbed the people are brought to
justice or driven out. There are, however,
two sides to the story, and if we accept the
darkest one-that the native white property
owners are helpless victims in the hands of a
legislature of brigands supported by an ig-
noranG black majority-there is something of
retrbution in the case, Very little was said
about "prostrate state" when large ma
Jority of the inhabitants of the common
wealth Wee held as property Then it was
all lovely with the tax payers who are now
appealing to Congress for interference Then
Mr.. Eldridge, who now appeals to Congress
for succor for the taxpayers, had not word
to say because majority of the people of
that State were deprived of life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. For years
the Democratic party championed this out
rage of the minority upon the majority. As
party il had no tears for the thousands held
in bondage and robbed of the fruits of their
labor; it had no protest to utter at the sale
of men and women by their fellows. As
party its protest comes now, and comes be-
cause tie long Oppressed majority is used as
a blind power by base leaders to tax those,
who, for generations had regarded them as
property. The fruits the native whites are
now reaping in South Caroline are legiti-
mate. For a century they sowed the wind.
The harvest time has come, and the seed has
brought the whirlwind. Had it not been a
crime to teach slave to read, had they rec
oglized that even black men have rights, had
they taken pains to educate and instruct
them, the men who are now memorazing
Congress would not complain that they are
prostrate and helpless in the hands of those
whom they and their ancestors have denied
even the right of personal liberty. The South
Carolina memOrialists have themselves to
blame or thank for the present condition of
their State. Without cause, they chose to
imperil tteir special privileges by an appeal
to the abitrament Of war; They lost, and
now they suffer the consequences both of
their oppression of a majority, and the re-
suits of their system of outrage. So that
while the misrule in South Carolina is to be
deplored, there is still feeling that the tear
ful memorialists, who have been telling their
sad story to Congress have themselves entire
ly to blame, and remind one that though
'The mills of the Gods grind slow
But dreadful fne.''
But we desired chiefly at this time to call
to the attention of our readers the remarka-
BILE change that the Democratic congressman
and journals have undergone on the subject
OF federal interference in the affairs of States.
True the Manhattan Club at its recent meet
ing raised the ghostly scare crow of .'centrali-
zation," but the respectable gentlemen who
talked on that occasion are political Rip Van
Wrinkles, and have not yet heard of the South
Carolina memorialists. They will some time
hear of that occurrance and come across Mr..
Eldridge's minority report on the prayer of
these memorialists urging that it is the duty
OF the federal government to interfere in
some way with the State government of
South Carolina because the rogues therein
are burdening the minority with taxes and
robbing the people generally. The memorial
lists do not claim that the State government
Is not Republican in form, or that it is not
elected by majority of the voters of the
State, but that it is corrupt and vicious.
This IS certainly deplorable, but if the federal
govefnme ut sets itself to correct every State
government where the people complain of
fraud and corruption, State rule may as well
be discarded now. There is large party in
Pennsylvania including Col. Forney, who de-
clare that the government of that State is
corruptly managed. If they apply to Con-
gress, it must investigate the case, and in
some way apply remedies even though such
government is Republican in form, and exer-
cses all its powers in perfectly constitutional
methods. Nevertheless state rights Dem
ocrat, and one who during the war denounc-
ed President Lincolns administration for its
unwarranted interference with the functions
of States, now promuleates the rather start
ling doctrine that the federal government
should interfere with State governments in
the exercise of their functions when there is
complaint of fraud and corruption, even
though the government is Republican in
form. This is the broadest power vet
claimed for the central government, and one
we trust that our Democratic friends will hes.
itate before they incorporate into their plat
form in 1875. If it does take the place of the
Calhoun theory, as is asked by Calhoun's dis
ciples in his own State, respectable Demo-
Gratis will have to commit new speech for
conventions and other public occasions.
DURING the war few soldiers by their gall
LIANT and manly character more generally en-
deared themselves to the patriotic people of
the country than Gen. Howard; and we
think that the general opinion has been all
the while the charges against him have been
in existence that whoever might be guilty.
Gen. Howard was not the one That he
might have been careless of details or so
overburdened with duty as not TO be able 10
look out for subordinates, that he was inst
the man to be imposed upon by hypocritica1
sharpers, one could believe. Thousands will
now rejoice to know that after searching
inquiry into all the transactions by the most
eminent officers in our army, Gen. Howard
stands forth exonorated from even the sus-
pcion of wrong doing.
Current Notes.
In the anguish of his soul over the defeat of