The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-06-13

ehI"iis upon men, the responsibility of
organizing governments for their own
protection, against the will and influence
OF as large minority AZ we had in this
State, who possessed nearly NIL the intel
ilgence, and certainly all that was left of
the wealth of the State, and who had but
recently passed through struggle in
which they had shown O courage and de-
termination in the accomplishment of
their purpose which had never been sur
passed IN the history OF nations.
IL required, IN my judgment, but little
wisdom to have foreseen that reconstruc-
tion under such circumstances would be
likely to be attended with the most
serious mistakes. And, in looking over
the past, 1 must express my surprise ut
the measure of success that has attended
the organization and maintenance of
governments in the reconstructed States.
You will remember that, in 1866, the
National Government provided o plan
for organizing governments in the States
which had seeded from the Union, by
which the whole political power in those
otates WIS TO be in the hands OF the white
people, while your race was to be e1-
cluded from the exercise of all political
power whatever-which plan was accom-
panied with the proviso that they them
selves should disfranchise O large ele-
ment. including their most experienced
naturally refused to do, claiming that if
their leaders in the scheme of secession
were guilty of any crime, they them
selves were equally guilty; for secession,
they said, was the act Of the people and
not OF their leaders. What was the re-
suit? Not as q matter of justice to the
negro, nor because he was believed to be
able and competent to organize and
maintain governments in the seeded
States, but as much, perhaps, for the
purpose Of Furnishing the white men
who had refused to accede to the plan
proposed, as for the purpose of maintain
ing Republican supremacy in the seeded
states, Congress passed another law of
reconstruction, enfranchising the negro
IN the seeded States, and conferring
upon him the power of organizing 90
vernments under which all classes were
to ive-the whole based upon the as
sumption that the white men would
quietly acquiesce in having their recent
slaves placed over them as lawmakers
1t was then clear to my mind that the
men who owned oil the property, and
possessed the largest intelligence, would
never quietly submit to this mode of es-
tnbllshing governments; nor could I
conceive of any intelligent class of men
who would not have given to such n
mode of establishing governments
amongst them perhaps as violent oppo-
sition as did the white men Of the recon
struoted States. An additional wrong
was perpetrated by this act upon the
few native Union white men and the few
Northern white men who were left here
by the results of the war, rs the respon-
sibility of organizing these governments
was forced in great measure
upon them. The Whole scheme
of reconstruction would have been
q failure without their aid. Indeed,
IN election could not have been
held had it not been for their aid and
the aid Of the officers of the army; for
the white men refused to take part in the
organization of these governments, or to
acceps office or perform any other duty
which would tend to make reconstruc-
ton success, believing that it was all
a stupcndous farce, md TINT sooner or
later these governments would fail for
the want of intelligence and tho means
of maintaining themselves. But Con-
gress did not stop to consider that fact
Nor did Congress seem to care whether
these 9overnmentsw We're successfnlor not
1t seemed to ME. indeed, thAt Congress
regarded it asa problem SO difficult Of
solution, that it nI;,ttered little to them
whether the individuals entrusted with
the dnties of reconstruction were sus-
tained or sacrificed. They recalled the
troops from this State when they knew
that the people scarcely considered the
war ended; for, from 1865 up to that
time, the lives of citizens were safe
in scarcely any portion of the State
They had been compelled to keep troops
to arrest violators of the law, and the
country was over-run with bush
whackers. Gov. Orr. during his ndmi-
nistration from the close of the war
up to 1868, found the aid Of the military
absolutely essential in enforcing the
law and maintaining order, and even
the troops themselves were threatened
and the Government property taken
from their very camps. And yet Con-
gress seemed to expect that I, with the
simple machinery of civil government.
and with no class of sufficient experience
to maintain and enforce it's authority,
would be able to execute the law and