The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-09-28
9naeraom ( lga&sl.iasnEer.
Governor ICIiahlberirin,yl, Opportunity.

held when lha enfeFedStae 6tatehouse,
we'll nigh two years dgo, las Governor of
South Carolina. Then the question for
hin, to answer was, whether he could live
up to his OWL, words, uttered during the
campaign, or, as was feared, make the
wishes of the PatteIsons, Eowens and
Elliotts, infamous leaders of corrupt
party, the rule loft bis administration
NoY the question is, whether Governor
ChamharlaiA will be true jor Jaise, to
every pledge of honest purpose, to every
rebuke 70 public imbecility and denun-
clation Of 7ublic rascality, written or
spoken BY him, rs candidate for office
and rs Governor Of the State. And for
film there is even more at stake than
when he was 1elected 20 the Executive
chair. Then the.people fnG tie country
expected little or nothing. Should he
fall Tow he falls like Lucifer, never to
rise again.
When Mr.. Chamberlain accepted the
Republican nomination for Governor, In
1874, he waslufgent in hiS demand that
the party would see to it that the candi-
dates for County Offices and the Legisla-
ture were persons Of character and intel
iigence, who would cooperate with him
in cfiecting the general and special re-
forms promised in the Republican plat
form. The principal State officers, cleo
ted in 1872 for four years, held over, and
there vas no opportunity Of making an
improvement there. Governor Cham
berlain was we'll aware that the clique of
wire-pullers who nominated him, ard
elected him, expected him to be pljcnt
tool in their hands; their subtle and in
fiuential confederate, , if not silent partner,
in every scheme of public plumber.
Nevertheless, he appealed to them to
nominate candidates who would make
RepuDlicanism respectable, and whole.
sale stealing impossible. 1t was waste
of time. The Legislature elected when
Mr.. Chamberlain was elected was, in
point of ability aud yirtue, the worst the
State had ever seen. 1t had no redeem
ing quality, as body Of Radicals, and
was convincing proof that the single OBJ
jcct of the sounding phrases Of the party
platform was the cajoling Of unwary
voters.
Governor Chamberlain, backed by the
Conservatives in the Legislature and by
Conservative public opinion, opposed q
stcadfast front to the gahg of thioves
whom Patterson counselledt and Elliott
led. In his dealings with the Legisla-
ture, Governor Chamberlain's principal
error lay in making occasional conces-
sions to the INSCRIPTIONS majority, with
the hope of thereby securing the passage
OF measures imperatively demanded by
The public good. The motive was praise
worthy the effect was bad any sur
render to roguery, for whatever reason,
is loss of moral force. Again and again
the corruptionists triumphcd and the
hcad-ccntres of rascality were the Eiliotts
and Bowenss whose eliminating crime
WAS the work of the memorable "Black
Thursday" when Whipper and Moses,
10 far as the Legislature could accom-
plish it, were elected to the Circuit
Bench. The energy Of Governor Cham
berlain's condemnation of this and other
like outr9gesl broaght to his side tho
whole bodySoe Conservative citizens, and
won for him the commentator OF good
people everywhere. Deliberately Gov
the knavish leaders of his party. With
nrraigncd them for their chronic igGa-
rance, their stupidity and their persistent
villainy, ThS,bdfden Of ibis ls.ters and
speeches was! Honest Government, and
No Compromise with Corruption
The General Assembly at length adj
journed, and the work Of preparation for
the coming election began. InsA,.scd by
the partisan tone and temner Of fhe LET
tors of Governor Chamberlain concerning
the Hamburg riot, and satisfied that the
Republican party was incapable of puri-
flying itself; .the Dem orEaicy. with reluc-
tance on the part of thousands, decided
to nominate full State ticket. Mr..
Chamberlain, with some hesitation, de-
termincd TO he candidate for renomina-
tion, and with the aid Of Patterson,
whether spontaneous OF sought, he re.
ceived the necessary vote. Upon accept
ing the nominatlpnj, rs, he had done in
1874, he entreated The Convention to put
none bu. honest aud competent Repub-
licans on the ticket. The answer Of tho
Convention 7Iaa tho Unanimous nnm,inh!'
tion Of Elliott for the Office of Attorney
General, followed by Tie nomination Of
Bowen as Presidential Elector for the
State at large, and Of Cain and Buttz for
Congress. These persons, with others on
the ticket, are the very crew against
whom Governor Chamberlain has de.
oiared war, and with whom he is bound
never to make peace. 'if'
In addressing the Convention, before
these nominations had been made, he
said 4 IF your nomination of me Ia an
endorsemeat Of my administration, as T
understand 1t to be, then you are bound
to see to it that tho ticket shall BIO in har-
mony with such reform. Ifit Is not, i'll
am not surrounded by such men, il sDiN
be a ds4iDfcuh qHest.1seor n,cyo determine
avhethef e seiH De ,6ortis schi!eJof a,e TO ua-
dertoke TO carry on the canvass" The
State officers who, In response, were NOM
mated, are not in harmony with such re-
form their interests are on the side of
iobbery and debauchery by which they
have lived these eight yssra. They and
their followers caused the miscarriage of
the chief reform measures proposed .by
Governor Chamberlain and By the Con.
servativA members of the Legislature.
And as tne State candidates are, so will
be the candidates for the General Assem-
bly,. Governor Chamberlain knows, ne
cannot close his eyes against 1t, that his
election, with Elliott as Attorney-Gen-
eral, with Patterson as the power behind
the throne, and with a Legislature made
up of the miaions of Swails, Whittemore
and Jones, will make the State the help.
less prey OF the most unscrupulous crew
CT trained public plulderers that this
country has ever known, If civilization
w9s in danger when Whippar and Moses
were elected, the political and social
fabric would totter to its base if the Rad
ical candidates were elected Already
many disgusted Republican has aban-
doned the moribund party. Knowlton,
Cooke, have pledged their support to
Wade Hampton. Shall Chamberlain,
who, in intellect andsvaried culture, in