The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-01-21
Con. wade IIampton's Circular.

who taEe an lntefeat IN the Southern
Historical Society by correspondence or
personal application, it seems to me
that the best course to present the
claims of this institution to our people
is through the agency Of such papers as
are favorable to the enterprise. The
attention of those most interested will
thus be called to it. and zeal in its be-
half will be aroused. The society was
organized in New Orleans. in 1869. with
the parent society in that city, and a
Southern State, the Rev. B. M. Palmer,
distinguished divine. being President
of the whole organization. Tho object
of the society was to collect and pre-
serve, in nm enduring form. the rich
| and abundant materials Of history scat
tered throughout the South, but which
are fast perishipg for want Of tho pro-
per care to their preservation. 1t was
proposed "thnt this collection of the
raw material Of history should, as ra-
pidly as gathered, bs collated and di.
gested, and should form the basis of
thorough, truthful, and, as far as poshi
bic, documentary history of our peo-
plo and of our times.
Tho work itself is too noble, too pa
| triotic. too necessary to be abandoned;
and the thought is intolerablc of leav-
ing tho vindication of our principles
and of our brave and martyred dead to
| the honesty Of some chance Antiquarian
of the future, who may mourn over the
loss of records which it should be our
business to preserve. DR.. Palmer,
whose language is quoted in the extract
| above, goes on to say why the society
has not met with the success desired,
and giving as two rensons: first, the
location of the parent society in Now
Orleans, which, "situatod Mt the edge of
| our common country, is almost entirely
| commercial in its pursuits, with popu-
lation less stable than elsewhere; Will
fewer men Of cultivated leisure, and,
| above NIL, in a State 80 heavily borne
down by it's political troubles, that
whatever of public spirit exists is alb
sorbed with the difficulties of "a pGcu-
liarIy oppressed condition. the Sc
cond place, the experience of the past
few years has demonstrated that no re.
lianco can be placed on voluntary and
difuscd agency, even for the collection
of the materials which lie in such
abundance around us. The work is onu
of too much detail, and the men who
are competent to the task are too much
engrossed with their private business to
warrant the expectation of it's being ac-
compiished by this means. It must be
nude the special duty and solo occupa-
tion Of some one party to 60 about from
State to State and gather this scattered
material wherever he could find it,"
In addition to these reasons. so &C.
gently expressed by the President of the
society, which have initiated against it's
| c,,n >fI H.,
grave. No provision was made by the
society for the publication OF its re-
cords, and our people could not feel that
vital interest in tho enterprise they
would have dono had tho important and
valuable papers collected by tho society
been regularly placed before them. All
these difficulties which bcset the path of
our young society have been removed !;
two Of thcm-tho fret and lust with
complete SUCCESS, for the domicl of tho
pnrcnt society hus been established in
Richmond, and it hns been arranged
that all records collected shall bo rcgu-
lnrly published in the SoukeaW lMuyu.
sine, OF Baltimore, one of the abicst pc.
riodicals of tho country.
The Executive Com mittcc Of tho So
cicty have cndeavored to overcome The
second obstacle in tho way Of success by
doing mo the honor to ask that [ would
undertake tho task OF collecting tho ma
terial for our future history, and thus
aiding the society by placing in its pos
session the best vindication Of our pco-
pie which can bo bequeathed to orr
posterity. This task appeals 80 strongly
to my patriotism aud seems so vital to
the welfare, the safety, the honor of the
South, that I have accepted il, in the
hope that though my Efforts to acco M
plish it may fall far short OF the success
the work itself deserves, they will not
be totally unavaling. In this hope, l
appeal to every man, and to every wo.
nun OF the South, who has pride in
onr past glory or our future honor; who
wishes to place upon the record for ull
time to como the yindication of our
people; who desires to see the whole
truth laid before the august tribunal of
history; who cherishes amid ell these
evil times love and reverence for our
heroic dead, or who hopes that our
children shall not denounce their fa-
theirs as rebels aud traitors, to aid this
sacred work.
TO insure the success of tho society,
it will be necessary to obtain large
membership, SO that the unavoidable
- l.,