Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-02-25

the records of the State, and it was forbidden
to plead it in any court of justice. The ter
rtory which had been sold under it was de-
clared to be still public property.
1t was, however, impossible to restore the
land and the title to their original condition.
More than an entire year had passed, and the
speculators had not been idle They held
deeds for the land signed by the governor,
under an act of the legislature, and authentl-
Gated by the broad seal of the State Under
them they had already disposed of vast tracts,
and had reaped rich harvest from the un'
wary. It was doubtful whether one leglsla'
ture could undo the work of another, where
right had become vested, and especially where
it had passed to those who were not parties to
the original fraud.
The Senate finally got rid Of the controver-
sy by transferring it and the land in question
to the United States, ceding, in the year loO2,
all her rights to the territory west of her pres
ent boundaries to the United States for ST.
25O, 900, payable out of the proceeds Of the
land when sold. The purchasers, under the
original sale by the legislature in l79o, now
applied to Congress to either confirm their u
tie or buy their claims. The matter was the
occasion of fierce debates in Congress, and
formed bone of contention for years: Not
until the year 1914, twelve years after the ces'
sion by Georgia to the United States, was the
question finally settled. 1t appears to have
been the opinion of the majority in Congress
that although the claimants under the act OF
1895 had obtained their titles by fraud, and
that the titles 80 obtained we're in equity null
and void, on the principle that fraud vitiates
all contracts into which it enters, yet that they.
we're of sufficient weight to cast shade OF
suspicion over all titles to the lands ceded by
the State of Georgia, and thus to delay the
settlement of the territory which was then our
southwestern frontier. It was thought better
to buy their titles than leave the matter IN
doubt.
A bill was accordingly passed giving to the
claimants $5,OOO,000 State stock, not bearing
interest, payable out of the proceeds Of the
land sold in the Mississippi Territory. The
stock 80 issued was known as the Mississippi
stock, the claims were called the "Yazoo
claims" and the title of the claimants, wher-
ever referred to in the statutes at large, is
called the title under the pretended purchase
from Georgia.-Rome Courier.
The OPPORTUNITY OF THE WHITE SOUTH.
In another column we print an article, under
the above caption, from the Springfield, Mass.
achusetts Republican, which has our cordial
approval, and we concur in the recommenda-
tion that, for the good of the South, the people
of the conservative States should see that the
colored people stand, in every respect, on the
same footing with the whites-that they have
fair play everywhere ample and vigilant pro.
lection for life and property, and as good
schooling as is given, at the public expense,
to white children. And we make this declar.
alton frankly and boldly, because the conser-
vative citizens of South Carolina already oc-
cupy the exact position in politics which the
Springfield Republican urges the Southern
States to take. Three or four years ago, in
South Carolina, there we're murders and other
outrages which this paper condemned then as
it condemns them now-acts which were po-
litically inexpedient and morally wrong Since
the ku.klux spasm South Carolina has been
perfectly tranquil, and at no time has any
secret political society had any strength in
the middle or the low country. The distur.
Dances in Edge6eld county were caused by
the misconduct of the county officers and the
marauding of the negro militia. Judge Mack
keys testimony is conclusive on that point.
In politics South Carolina conservatives are
more advanced and nearer to true, sound,
generous and just policy than any other body
of conservatives in the North or South. They
have colored men in their tax unions, they
take colored men as their candidates, and they
have proved their willingness to work with
colored republicans in every movement which
looks to the improvement of the character Of
the State government. The South Carolina
Conservatives accept the constitutional amend
ments as 6nalities; they are loyal to the gov.
eminent of the United States they propose,
in every public matter, to make no distinction
between whites and blacks, but to apply to
the one race the test that they apply to the
other race-the old Je6ersonian test of capa-
bility, honesty and fidelity to the constitution.
The whites are prone, we know, to cling to ev-
cry vestige ofpolitical power that they possess.
In this they are like the blacks. There is,
however, in South Carolina, majority among
the conservatives in favor of fair play, and
in favor of that representation Of minorities
which we advocate for the negroes in the
Northern States and Southern States, where
the whites preponderate, as we advocate it for
South Carolina and Mississippi, where the
blacks have voting majority.
Nor need the prospective passage of the
civil rights bill (apart from the constitutional
objections to any such legislation by Congress)
give the South Carolina conservatives any
concern. A State civil rights law, more strin-
gent than the bill passed by the house of rep
resentatives on Friday, has stood on the stat
ute books of this State for several years, and,
thanks to the good sense of blacks and whites,
has in no way impaired the usefulness of the
school system. The South Carolina universi-
ty has been broken up by the admission of
colored students, and, except in the matter of
COST has only "a nominal existence; but the pub
lie schools in Charleston flourish, and we are
not aware that in the densest colored counties
any desire has been manifested to compel
white children and black children to occupy
the same schools. In theatres, in hotels, on
the railroads and elsewhere, the blacks have
the same accommodation for their money that
the whites have. Now and then there is a
ripple of excitement caused by the insolent
behavior of some drunken negro, but drunk
en- white man can, if he puts his mind to it,
be quite as annoying, and is fully as difficult
to deal with. We mention these facts to
prove that civil rights do not involve or in
1uoo oithor tho huphoor of socio1 enua1itu or