The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-07-14

Raised stock and Supplies.
For Secretary of State, Domestic
Manures.
For Attorney General, Economy
and Patient Industry.
For Comptroller General, Freedom
from Debt.
For State Superintendent of Edu-
cation, Happiness at Home.
Exhibition of the Summer
ton High School.
We were present, BY invitation, on
Tuesday of last week, at the COM
mencement exercises of the Summer
ton High School.
Summerton was in her glory on
the occasion. The beauty, loveliness
and chivalry of this little hamlet, sur
rounded by massive pines and oaks,
turned out en- maSse, together with a
large number of visitors from Man
ming and elsewhere. The exercises of
the evening were opened with prayer
by the Rev. A. W. Moore, Of the Gen.
te,aa,y, literary paper published at
Florence. Then six little boys and
girls appeared in succession on the
stage, each bearing an artistic floral
design forming together, the word
s'welcome," reciting as they came for
ward au appropriate ode OF greeting;
'sIs it right for the South Carolina Col
lege to offer free tuition?" was debat-
ed by Mr.. A. Plumer Burgess, hold
ing the affirmative, and Mr.. Ed. F.
pindal, representing the negative.
Both of the young gentlemen acquit-
ted themselves admirably and their
efforts would have done credit to any
college in the land. Mr.. Burgess,
who spoke Srst, completely captured
the large audience by his modest,
chaste delivery of speech brim full
of argument.
When be finished. sympathetic and
curious eyes were turned on Mr.. Tin
dal, wondering how he was to pro-
ceed against such an array of rhetoric
and logic, But the young man had
scarcely more than taken his place
and uttered the first sentence, when
all eyes opened to the fact that Bur
CESS had met GA foeman worthy of
his steel" he was listened to with
wrapt attention, and the vociferous
applause, when he finally took his
seat, announced his full success.
The next on the programme was a
speech by the orator of the evening,
Col John Peter Richardson, who
prefaced his remarks by saying that ne
hoped he needed no introduction to
the people OF Clarendon-the County
that had borne and reared him and
his ancestors, from the time of their
first settlement in America. After
complimenting Prof. Lanham on the
high standard to which his indefatiga-
BILE exertions had brought his school,
and the people of Summerton on their
good fortune in possessing such q
teacher. Col Richardson addressed
himself to the discussion of some of
the problems which he said are now
before the people Of this State for So
luton.
One Of these was: sIs the State
Government corrupt and guilty. as
some of those now attempting to teach
the people would have them believe?
These men, said he, had made no spe-
cifc charges, but characterized the
State government in a general way as
contaminated with political leprosy.
Were Hampton, Butler, Thompson,
McIver, and such mel whose blood
had been shed in defence Of their
country, and had proven themselves
the friends OF the people in the days
of '76, when the heel of the tyrant
was pressing hard upon the neck of
our beloved State, to be called corrupt
at the bidding OF men who made no
specific charges, and proved no gen
eral ones? Are these men, said he,
aware that the charges they bring
against our State Government are
likely to create dissension in the Dem
ocratic ranks? Do they forget that
only fabric OF the law stands be-
tween white supremacy and negro
rule, and that their action tends to
break it down? Col. Richardson pro-
ceeded to show that tie charge of
reckless expenditure was false-that
the administrator Of the law in South
Carolina, with one exception, cost less
than that OF any other country in the
world. And why then are these grave
charges brought? None realized more
than he, the depression in the agri-
cultural interests, but the cause did
not lay in the State-that the tariff,
which made US pay millions of dol
lars to the United States Government
where We paid thousands to our own
State, is the vampire that is drying
up the prosperity Of the country. Is
i to be supposed that tax OF only
$4,000 is tue cause OF our trouble,
when we pay $4,000, 900 annually in
the =. S. treasury: No! a thousand
times no! It was this unlawful and
grinding tariff, which did the harm,