The news and herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1876-1881, 1876-10-19
No(itiral,
WHO FREED THE SLAVES
a Trenchant Letter from Ex-Governor
Perry to Gov. Chamberlain.
70 HIS Etcelleacy Gou. Cham5eHain:

the high Office which you fill in
South Carolina, L shall reply to-
some Of your statements in your
campaign speeches rs reported in
the newspapers. Tho colored peo-
pie have been told over and again
$6y their uuprinciplcl leaders that if
''thoy voted for the Democratic
party, they would be thrown back
into slavery again and all their
political rights taken from thom.
I do not charge you, sir, with hay
ing uttered SO fragrant falschooel,
but you did sny ut Lancaster,
Marlboro and other places that the
Republican party set tho negroes
free, and TINT they ought to, in
gratitude for their freedom, stand
by and support that party. Now,
sir, this assertion, in point Of fact,
is not true. and, rs a lawyer, you
know it is not true The State
Convention Of South Carolina, rop-
rresonting all the shareholders of the
~Statc, did almost unanimously, in
1865, abolish slavery, and declare in
their constitution that it should
never exist again in the State The
Legislature Of South Carolina soon
afterwards adopted the amendment
to the Federal Constitution dcclar-
ing that slavery should never again
oxist in the United States. In this
way, and III no other, was slavery
abolished in South Carolina.
You know very well, sir, as con-
stitutional lawyer, that neither the
President by proclamation nor
Congress Legislation had any right
or authority under the Federal Con.
stitution to abolish slavery in the
States. No one would have dared to
assume such proposition before
tho Supreme Court of the United
States. Hence it was urged by the
authorities at Washington, knowing
that President Lincoln's proclam,-
ton emancipating the slaves was
nero brut"m tulmen, that the States
themselves in conventions should
abolish slavery, and accept the
amendment to the Federal Consti
tuition declaring that it should never
,;4 ,:> - II, Tr,>;,J Ct,L
'NI,~ T1,,r in4 49, 80 or.,,,vn w ~, '."o''t i,
+orast U ,n1 ~ ta,,In,. W ya,r,rI NV ~ ,.2;a,' 3I
so,, @ oT tSo ''tr Rar,l,,;n,a ] ,3S,tu " hav', @ L.d
and will have for the colorcd people.
: We will find that it exist; solely and
nrn ;m4nro:t md thrir nntn1
;n,l,,sv ~ tho S,,.hn,n rn,,,Io
'rhn Af';c,,n sl,,n t.,In w,s ;,,.
+.n>1,.nl Iv thnn, sn,rlv f,r a,;,,
and thnussnLs If thrm m,lc fnr.
tnnos w, - Vn.sn,. u,,.n fifn7
nnt ~ oi, tbn;r n,,ts ond snrt tn
4f,;ca r., k;dnon thc noon ncrro and
sou L;,n -. - s,nvn +, TO S,uthor,
(,,l,,tnr. yV,o thnro nnv k,nInn:,
! ~ tl,;y to tho cuInrcI ncn;,,rl Tnry
owncI s]nv.s thcn,s,lvu, ANA knnt
!hrn fiji tb, nnnul,tion VI thr
Northern s;tctca becnne s, dcns1
flint .l,r, l,bor wo. ~, len ,rr
,,rnl;tahle Thcn thny scnt ,s INV
IF thc;r slpvr, sontb us t,ey rnn =
md sold them Ultimate,y the;r
own internsI nromntcI iLom to
abolish sl,vcrv IN thcir srvarnl
Stotns Was there INV ta,Irr ro,
rnrd for the colorcl rncc IN all tL;.;
oonduct7 Thcv saw fiat bv fhc
cnjt;v,t;n, of r;ca md cntt,n n Tho
/ Sn,thn,n sN,toe With el,xo lohn,
tboso St,tas s,,,>,s.nd thnm !,
4 nrosnoritv md wealth and had con.
y troll of the Federal Govarnmrnt
Il This cxc;tcd thnir ;c,lonsv AMI
n hotro1 and nndcr tho ,,c4enco 81
. Db;]onthronv and humanity thcv
VI commenced their abolition moyt..
II ,..nt for the nurposc of consol;dat-
q ~ the non-sIavcholdin~ Stotcs md
Swrestinr the Federal Government
from their hands Was this kind,
Sitncss To the ncnro ~ selfish omb;t;on
83and hatred ON the part Of the re.
3FsmLd;consq The Northern Demo,
s;crnts had no sympathy in this moyc-
ssmont. and denounced if as fcrcoIy
8$ns we did nt the South.
ssh The colorcd peoplc hayo bacn told
~ o thousand times, and perhaps by
if3 ~ -. =,