The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-02-13

cussion, and misrepresenting the position
and sentiments of men who take differ
ent view of the proper disposition to be
made of the pretended portion of the
State debt which is known to be fraudu-
lent, from that which our Charleston
contemporary occupies, is unfair, unjust
and unwarranted in the facts of the case.
That the majority of the people of South
Carolina are opposed to paying what we
do not owe and never have owed, accord
ing to any principle in law or morals, is
undoubtedly the case, and yet the great
majority of the people favor paying all
of the honest debt of the State. ALI
who spoke on the debt question in the
Last Legislature are in favor Of paying
the whole of our just debt, and the only
point of difference was that some felt so
liberal that they wanted to pay about
three millions that VIC do not properly
owe, while others opposedit. Those who
saw fit to oppose paying whai. is fraudu-
lent have been misrepresented and ma
ligned by portions of the press, particu-
larly the Ne,us and Courier, until we at
least are not disposed to submit in silence
to it any longer. We wish to demur to
the right of the News and Courier to as
sumo thatits standard is the only proper
criterion by which to criticise the honesty
and morality of public actions. The
paper which lent negative support to
the election of franklin ]. Moses, jr.,
the robber Governor of South Carolina;
the paper which was on intimate terms
with "my dear Joscphus" Woodruff, and
divided with him by way of commissions
the profits of lucrative public patron
age at the hands of "my dear Josephus,"
and sought information of him as to what
schemes before the Legislature needed
"pufing or crushing; the paper which
villiied the white people Of South Caro-
lima on account of the Hamburg riot in
terms of which the worst Northern Re
publican papers should have been
ashamed; the paper which abused the
Democrats of Edgefeld in unmeasured
terms because they saw fit to attend
Republican meeting and tell Governor
Chamberlain to his face Of his rascalities; /;
and the paper which warmly supported
Chamberlain for Governor of South Car
olina In 1876, opposing the nomination
of Hampton by the Democrats, in order
that he might again be elected, is not the
paper to impugn the motives of others or
berate public men on account of their
views about public matters. The men
who do not agree with the. Ne,cs and
Courier upon the debt question are just
as sincere as it is, and they would not
resort to any disreputable course to secure
the adoption of their views. They are
willing to let them rest upon the great
principles of right or wrong, and the
Ne,cs and Courier is going out of its way
to attack the gentlemen who occupy this
position when it classes them as follow
ers of Kearney and 5. F. Butler. When
the Legislature of 1S77-1S7S found the
State in such an impoverished condition
that they felt obliged to scale the honest
floating debt, which was justly due to
our own citizens, down to fifty cents on
the dollar, the Ne'cs and Courier did not
deem it Butlerism, although the act pro-
vided that these creditors should prove
their claims to be good in Court estab-
lished for that purpose, and, after so prov
ing them, that they should take bonds of
the State for one-half of what they
proved to be valid and honest. Then
we want to know if State is compelled
to repudiate one-half of what she hon.
estly owes to creditors living in her
midst, would it be honorable or right to
pay pretended portion of the debt
which is shown beyond doubt to be
fraudulent and without consideration?
Such course is not in accordance with
our views ofjustice or right, although it
may have the support of the Ne'cs and
Courier. The holders of honest bonds of
the State have nothing to fear from the
people of South Carolina, and the honor
and public faith of the State cannot be
hurt by ignoring what we do not owe,
especially after our first Democratic Leg
islature repudiated ono-half of certain
class of honest claims.
So far rs the remarks of the Neos and
Courier about politicians entering into
the discussion of the fertilizer question
are concerned, the best reply to it is that
no matter what their motives were, they
have by discussing the subject already
done the country a great service by caus-
ing the cotton option price of fertilizers
to be dropped from $50 pounds of cotton
per ton to 5OOpounds. Il they can cause
any further reduction the country can
afford to let them talk on a while longer.
We do not know who has made any
threats about the Chief Justiceship, but
it is not unreasonable that members of
the Legislature will vote for men for any
public Office who hold what they believe
to be correct views upon the State debt
question, and those who think the pre-
tended part of the debt ought not to be
paid would be doing their constituents q
great wrong to vote for a man for Chief
Justice who is known to hold the view
that Il must he paid. There are plenty