The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-11-13

and violence. We tried to overcome
the thirty thousan nd majority By hon
est methods, which was ,nathemati-
cally inpossibil;tv After We had
borne these inGignitiss for eight years,
life being made worthlsss. and under
the leadership and inspil alton OF Mart
Gary. because he planned and brought
about the straightout movement of '76.
in spite of those who were Gesirous of
putting Chamberlain forward as a
compromise candidate Under his
leadership and through his magnif
cent courage, Gor Edgedeld alone
gave US the excuse to claim the Gov
ernorship,) we had a legal right by
her majority, but then Grants bayo-
nets were here to prop Chamberlain
in his chair We We're IN suspense
frcm the meeting of the General AS
sembly until Hayess title had been
settled by the electoral commission.
In March the whole State was like a
powder magazine The people had
sworn to have their liberties or die.
How did we bring it about: Every
white nan sunk his personal feelings
and his ambition The white people
of the State came together as one. By
| fraud aud violence we threw off the
yoke. IN 1873 we had to resort to
more fraud and violence, and so III
1850. Then the registration law and
eight-box system was evolved from
the superior intelligence OF the white
man to control this muddy, surging
stream Of ignorance and TO tell it to
back, aud since then we have carried
our electiors without resort to any IL
legal methods, simply because the
whit, were united. Ii we were to re-
main unit.d it would sill be desirable
that We should guard against the pos
sibility OF this flood that is now dam
ming up, or like the serpent that is
asleep only TO be warmed into life
again, whenever some more rascals.
native or foreign, cone here and mob
iliz- them. Therefore, toe only thing
we can do as patriots and as statesmen
is to take from them every ballot that
we can uuder the lasSsof the National
Government.
I read moment ago from the re-
port of the committee that good gov
ernment can only rest on intelligence
and good morals. l will 60 further
and say that good government and re.
publics rest on virtue patriotism and
intelligence. The chief amongst the
three is intelligence. It has been said
and it must be apparent to any one
who thinks, that even if we restrict
the suffrage as we propose, that with
10000 Conservatives, and 10000 Re
formers and Il, 600 white men dlsfran-
chised. that the negroes are still here
in sufficient numbers 10 control US.
Are we so besotted, so forgetful and
oblivious of the record which have
Just read to you2 Have our memories
grown so callous that we. as white
race, kinsren, brothers, common IN
heritors Of the glorious past ard the
freedom transmitted to Us by our fore
fathers. have we got 10 the point
where we cannot unite as brothers,
throwing out of sight the petty bick-
ering and animosities that we have
been brought to in the last FIVE years,
and without regard to personal am bl-
ton or partisan advantage ofanybody,
can we not provide that we will not
have to appeal to these people again
in sufficient numbers to bring them
forward as arbiters of our fate2 Can
we not rise up 10 the necessities OF the
occasion and put into this Constitution
such clause in reference to the suf-
rage as will guarantee, as far as the
law can guarantee, to future genera
tions that they shall have the bless
ings of Anglo-Saxon civilization and
! libe..y Ill this State2 How pitiable,
how puerile, how inetfably, unuttera-
bly, contemptiole appear the personal
ambitious and petty spites OF men who
obstruct this grand and glorious pur-
pose.
am sorry that l feel constrained
briefly to touch upon this matter how
and shall be as brief as possible. |
feel almost willing to stop now and
leave uuuttered any words in answer
TO what was said this morning, and
leave it to the patriotism and wisdom
of this body to move forward and not
hesitate. We were told something
about perfect equality OF the white
man, that the poor tenant. who has
nothing but his wife and children,
who labors for his daily bread from
years end to years end, gathering no
property, is equal to the highest man
in the State l grant it. 1t has been
my cardinal principle as public man
that all white men, as far as the enjoy
ment OF the privileges of government
and the emoluments of office IS con-
cerned should be equal in this State,
and tha:a a majority alone should gov
ern. But that doctrine cannot be
brought in here as the reason why we
must stop. pause and falter in our pur-
pose to secure to our posterlty good
government, unless you carry 1t fur-
ther. and il you are going to bring IN
universal brotherhood as an argument
here, then are not the blacks as much
entitled to that consideration as any
body?
On this question ofsuffrage it is said
that some men will be jeoparolZed IN
these efforts. II there was any way
under high Heaven by which we could
do more than we have done, in Gods
name would glory in the man, bow
down and worship him if he would
show US. What do they offer u.s. a
continuation OF the existing conditions
and the preparation of fraud or fraud
ulent methods. aud the sword of Da-
mocles suspended over our heads by
single hair. aud swinging and swing
ing and swinging, and all that is nee
essary to bring about chaos is for
sufficient number of white men, actu-
ated by hate and ambition and from
unpatriotic motives to climb up and
cut it loose, by moblizing and register
ing them, giving them d vote and a
fair count under the manhood sutf-
rage.
He went on to saw after celebrating