Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1878-06-22

Will Si'iHelShip anu INC IiSutS anQ
immunitics of government, thus Gre
ating the antagonistic interests of
capital and labor; and thousands
from the North and every nationality
Of Europe were drawn to our section
by the hope Of gain either Of money,
position, or power, thus creating
other and varied interests, all antago-
nizlng the old interest upon which
our quiet and prosperity were based
Every effort was mace by the factions
to obtain the protection of the gov
ernmcnt by courting the favor of tn c
administration. Here arose cmcr-
gcncics and discussions without end,
from which Tcrc evolved truths that
were stranger than fiction to our peo-
pie, and principles, the ju sticc Of
which, seemed to us, cnvclopcl in
mystery.
Eleven years Of turmoil among the
elements of our population, Of bitter
ness among the factions, Of prejudice
between the races and of hat red
between the parties, scourgcd the
South and particularly South Caro-
lima, sowing seeds Of oppression
tyranny, and then corruption, until
the native white citizens, who were
the oppressed, and Il !argc nlmbcro of
the native co(orcd, who saw the i'm
pending ruin, united and established
once more the PRINCIPLES of freedom
and equal rights by the election Of
Wade Hampton to the Chief Magis-
tracy Of the State.
Onr people arc now conscious of
the actual existence of two great
political parties in their midst. We
would not be understood TO mean bv
the word party" q dcspicable union
of men to turn out Il certain set Of
office holders in order to obtain the
lucrative positions themselves, and
then remain united to keep them
Such union becomes an olious
faction of otiice-huntcrs not worthy
to be trusted by irccmcn.
On the contrary we mean n com
bination of men, who agree upon Ger
tain leading general principles, and
act in accord for the supremacy of
those principles.
The vicious and degrading effect f
iactions have been seen in our daily
history acting directly against liberty
the success of which encourages only
politicians, or the most WORTHLESS, of
citizens. Parties, however, excite an
expression of thought and produce a
luudable contention in all he sphere S
of government, which prove Lcncf
CT al rather than detrimental to the
Interests Of the citizens. Especially
is this the case where mnch is at
stake and most important questions
are to be discussed. Those who
agree upon the general principles !,
will unite i'll order TO be effective in
carrying to successful end, The doc
trines they advocate.
Such, then, is the nature of politi-
cal parties. Without them it is i'm :
possible that, in the administration of
the government, the majority should
rule, or that Il minority sufficiently
strong could interposc any check to
the power of the majority. The two
parties now existing in our State arc
the Democratic, composed Of the
white citizens and Il few colored, who
fought with all their might for the
supremacy Of the principles they
advocated and the Radicals composed
Of the colorcd citizens and Il few
carpet baggers and scalaways, who
fought as earnestly for the suprcma-
cy Of their views. The Democrats
have conquered, but they have IL f,c
opposed to them "a formidable rs
ever, waiting only to rule again in
their turn. Our position is strong
one, our men, both white and colored,
are brave, and our leader is ian cxpc.
rienced land tried tactician; shall we
weaken our strength by incurring The
dangerous risks Of Primaries, Indie
pendent candidates or fusion? Let us
rather, remembering the strength of
the foe. stand firm. and solid,