The Portland daily press., 1877-04-11
SOUTH CAROLINA.
Gov. Chamberlain Retires from
the Contest.
Farewell Address to His
Supporters.

from the contest tor the governorship.
To the Republicans of South Carolina:
By your choice L was made Governor of this
State in 1874 AT the election on the 7th of
November last L was again by your votes
elected to the same office. My title to the
"ffice upon every legal and moral grounds is
to-day clear and perfect, but by the recent
decision and action of the President of the
United States / find myself unable LONGER to
maintain my official rights with any pros pect
of final success and hereby announce to you
that l am unwilling to prolong q. struggle
which can only bring further suffering on
those who engage in it In announcing this
conclusion it is my duty to say for you that the
Republicans of South Carolina entered upon
their recent political struggle for the MAIN
tenance of their political and civil rights, con-
shutting beyond question large majority of
the lawful voters of the State. You allied
yourselves with that political party who's
central and inspiring principle has hitherto
been the civil and political freedom of all men
| under the constitution and laws of our country.
By heroic efforts and sacrifices which the just
verdict of history will redeem from the coward
ly storm now cast upon them by political place.
men and traders, you secured the electoral vote
of South Carolina for Hayes and Wheeler. In
accomplishing this result you became victims
of every form of persecution and injury. From
authentic evidence it is known that no less than
one hundred OF your number were murdered
because they were faithful to their principles
and exercised the rights solemnly guaranteed
| to them by the nation. You were denied
employment, driven from your homes, robbed
of the earnings of years OF honest industry,
hunted for your lives like wild beasts, YOUR
families outraged and scattered for no
| offence except your peaceful and firm determi.
nation to exercise your political rights. You
| trusted. as you had right to trust, that if by
| such efforts you established lawful supremacy
Of your political party in the nation, the
charge of its constitutional duty, would protect
the lawful government of the State from over
throw at the hands of your political enemies
From causes patent to all men and questioned
! by none who regard truth, you have been unable
to overcome the unlawful combinations and
obstacles which have opposed the practical
supremacy OF the government which your votes
have established. For many weary months
the long struggle for the Presidency was in
| progress you were exh0rted by every represent
| tative and organ of the national Republican
party to keep your allegiance true to that party,
in order that your deliverance from the hands
plete. Not the fainest whisper of the posi-
bilty of disappointment in these hopes and
promises ever reached you while the struggle
| was pending. To day April 10th, 1877, BY
order OF the PRESIDENT whom your votes
rescued from overwhelming defeat-the
government of the United States abandons
you deliberately, withdraws from you its sup.
port, with the full knowledge that the lawful
government of the State will be speedily over
thrown. By new Interpretation Of the
constitution of the United States at variance
alike with the previous practice of the govern
| ment and with the decisions of the Supreme
| Court the executive of the United States evades
the duty OF ascertaining which of two rival
State governments is the lawful one, and by
the withdrawal of troops now protecting the
State from domestic violence, abandons the
lawful State government to struggle with
insurrectionary force too powerful to be
resisted. The grounds of the policy upon
Il xuh ho 80 laFn 1oI
1t is said the North is weary of the long South
ern troubles. 1t was weary too, of the long
troubles which sprang from the stupendous
crime of chattel slavery and longed for repose.
1t sought to cover them from sight by wicked
compromises with the wrong which disturbed
its peace, but God held it to its duty until
through conflict which rocked and agonizad
the nation the great crime was put away, and
freedom was ordained for all. 1t is said that if
| the majority of the people of a State are una
Bile by physical force to maintain their rights,
| they must be left to political servtude Is this
| doctrine ever before heard in our history? If
! it shall prevail. its consequences will not long
be confined to South Carolina or louisiana. It
is said that the Democratic House of Repre-
sentatives will refuse an appropriation for the
| army Of the United States. If the lawful gov
eminent of South Carolina lis maintained by
military force, submission to such coercion
marks the degeneracy of the political party
| which endured it.
But the edict has gone forth. No arguments
| or considerations which your friends could pre-
sent have sufficed to avert the disaster no eff
fective means of resistance to the con-
summation of the wrong are left
My strict legal rights are of course wholly I'M
| affected by the action of the President--no
| court of the state has jurisdiction to pass upon
| the title to my ofice-no lawful legislature can
| be convened except upon my call If the use
| OF these powers promised ultimate success to
| our cause, should not shrink from any sacri-
| flee which might confront me. 1t is a cause for
which man might well lay down his life.
cannot ask you to follow me further. In
my judgment cannot longer serve you by re-
sistance to the impending calamity With
| gratitude to God for the measure of endurance
with which he has hitherto inspired me, with
gratitude to you for your boundless confidence
in me, with profound admiration for YOUR
matchless fidelity to the cause in which we
have struggled, now announce to you and the
people of the state, that shall no longer ac-
lively assert my right to the Office of governor
of South Carolina. The motives and purposes
of the President of the United States in the
policy which compels me to pursue my present
course are unquestionably honored land patri-
otto. devoutly pray that events may vindi-
cate the wisdom of his action and that peace,
| justice, freedom and prospect may hereafter be
| the portion of every citizen Of South Carolina.
d. 81. CHAMBERLAIN,
Governor of South Carolina.
Gov. Chamberlain's Course Approved. :
COLUMBIA, S. O.. April 10.
To His Excellency, D, FL. Chamberlain, Gov
ernor of South Carolina:
Dear Sr-Recurring to the views severally
expressed by Us during the personal conference
we had the honor to hold with you yesterday.
in regard to the political complications which
have grown out of the late canvass in this
state, we beg leave to apprise you formally of
the conclusions we have reached after mature
deliberatOH, and the gravest reflection which
we have been able to bestow upon the subject.
Whilst we are no less inspired with admiration
Govt In 1snv,sG cd ov,l-
you consistently maintained your claims to the
gubernatorial chair by virtue of the election
held in November last, than we are solemn-
ly impressed with the validity of your title to
the Office, we are unanimous in the belief that
to prolong the contestlin the absence of that
moral aid to which we feel ourselves and our
party justly entitled at the hands of National
administration, installed in a large measure
through the same agencies which are now held
to be insufficient for our maintenance, will be
10 incur the responsibility of keeping alive
partisan prejudices which are detrimental to
the best interests of the people of the state and
perhaps of precipitating physical conflict that
could have but one result to our defenceess
constituency.
We cannot afford to contribute, however.
indirectly to such catastrophe even in advo- |
cacy OF what we know to be our rights. We
are agreed, therefore, in counselling you to dis
continue the struggle for the occupancy of the
gubernatorial chair, convinced as we are that
In view of the disastrous odds to which its
maintenance has been subjected by the action |
of the National administration, your retirement |
will involve no surrender of principal, nor its /
motiV be inexperienced by the great body of |
that political party to which in common with |
ourselves, you are attached, and whose success /
in the past in this state has been enabled by |
your intelligent and unselfish services. We |
have the honor to be
~. Very respectfully yours,
(Signed)
Robert B. Elliott, Attorney General, Thomas /
.. Dunn, Comptroller General John R. Tai
bolt, Superintendent of Instruction, F. Ii
Cardoza, Treasurer of South Carolina, James
Kennedy, Adjutant and Inspector General, |
d. e Hayne, Secretary of State.
Correspondence Between Wade Hampton
and Gov. Chamberlain.
The following correspondence has just trans
pired between Gov Hampton ard Mr. Cham
berlain:
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Columbia, S. c., April 10.
Sr-Having learned that you now propose to |
turn over to me the Executive Chamber with
the records and papers belonging to the Execu-
i've ONCE now IN your possession, beg to in
form hof I md l