The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-11-28
FUTURE OF CAROLINA DEMocRAcY.

to itself and fear no lions in the path. The
grasp it now holds of the helm of State il
neither ftful nor fortuitous; it is but full.
filled fact, and the result-tle rational
natural result, and the hefittiugs reward
of brave, active, honest work ,asisiog out OF
an exigency too fearful to be unheeded and
too manifest to DO denied. Mountains OF
debt, systematic fraud, entering the very
marrow of our material interests unblush.
ing debauchery, shame, humiliation, power.
ty, and a sea OF distress on every side, drove
our people, whether fhey would or no, to
do something for deliverance from the ills
under which they groaned and which left
them but the scorn and pity of civilized
| mankind. The situation was so plain that
the wise and the uuwise saw alike that VIC
must flee the city of fdestructioa-andbcsxa
~ wffk the valiev'sseffee shddow st deasN
to reach deliverance and tho "Delectable
Mountains"
The shouts forsITampton and Home Rule,
Illden and Reform, went deeper, in the
peoples hearts than the adulation of any
man of woman born. 1t was the substance
of better things and brighter days which
fired the hearts and quickcncd the pulses
OF all true men, rather than the mere titful
feeling of personal admiration or devotion,
which called men to the rescue by thou
sands. The great want Of the country
arose out of the peoples agony, and speak
it would, and heard it would be, at any and
every cost.
To-day, none the less than yesterday, in
1880, none the less than in '76 or '7S, the
great, the ovcrruling wants of the country
will be heard and must be obeyed. The
question with us is, gravely and pointedly :
Shall we 80 on or shall We turn back !?
Shall we grow weary of welldoing because
the path is difficult? Shall we fail for
fear when the very trials of the situation
demand patient, uuflinchng courage p
Shall We quail and suffer confusion when
the battle is just begun? Or shall we not
rather stand up like men, despite the tickle
fortunes of the hour, when ncfarous men,
dacity plays the part of injured innocence
and outraged virtue? Shall wo not rather
recall the high courage and wisdom Of
Christian in Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress
when he espicd the foul Appolyon coming
to meet him, considering he had no armor
for has back, he concluded that 1t ,oouH be
safer to stdnd"?
God of the faithful and true of every
clima and tongue, how do the glorious, brave
words of the inspired English tinker seethe
through the pulses of every man of honest
heart and quenchless manhood Let the
Carolina Democracy find inspiration here
and stand stand stand all along the line
Let them stand though tho hills crumble
beneath our feet, and the rivers turn back
m hnI Lat nl II
the demon Of discord. deceit and mischief
would strike-as a, blow in the:-face, let us
receive it in the face, aud mot consent to
receive it otherwise. If the weak of heart
and base Of purposo~wouid surrender at
the first blush of adversely, let them do it
"wha would be traitor slave,
Wha would fill O towards grave,
Let him turn and flee -
But to the ever good and true, the devoted
men of our beloved State, who have never
dwelt in the "Doubtful Castle" and will
not consent to abide under the guard of
the ''Giant Despair" who have never for.
gotten tho promptings of duty in the dark
est hour of adversely and doubt when others
were dismayed, let them stand silent but
strong, steady but nerved to the last fibre
teach by prccept and example that:
"still in our PROSTATE land there shall be some
Proud hearts, the shrines of Freedoms vestal
flame
That trains Of i'll may pass unheeded, dumb,
But vengeance is behind and justice is to
come ~
There are few practical question for
the Democracy of the State to consider for
themselves in their own communities and
around their own hearth stones which brook
no delay. The first great question is -
Whether the Carolina Democracy is to be
a party of leaders or the party of the people
themselves? To our mind it is of the last
moment that the people of Carolina should
themselves rule in their own affairs, plum
ing themselves on their own square man
hood and fair, honest common sense, instead
OF delivering themselves to party leaders,
to be moved like pawns on the checker
board, or surrenderiDg themselves, brains
and conscience, into the hands of fifth.rate
demagogues, VIII ese sole purpose is the nurs-
ing Of their own small and utterly insight
ficant regulations. 1t is plain to us that
every community knows its good, honest,
frank, best informed aud most trustw orthy
citizens, and these are the men the people
with one accord should entrust with their
confidence in sending up their delegates to
q State Convention, which should meet
untrammeled by any personal preferences
or forsgone conclusions whatsoever, and
with but one fixed purpose before it, and
that is the best and trucst interests of the
people of South Carolina, utterly rcpu.
dating any desire or purpose to take care
of the personal reputation of any man, past,
present or to come. We are sick and tired
of this sort Of thing. There are class of
politicians in the bosom of the Carolina
Democracy who think of nothinn nlsn morn