Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-02-01

rAs sAY AND PALMETTO STATES.
Hon. WIN. a. Courtensy Presents Valuable His.
torIcsl Matter to Massachusetts Society.

In the published proceedings of
shis ancient Society for its regular
meeting on October IL, 1904, we find
the following letter from Ex-Mayor
Courtenay, presenting a valuable
historical gift to the Society:
The Hon. Samuel A. Green pre-
sented in the name of the William
a. Courtenay, a corresponding mem-
Der, beautifully bound and unique
volume containing numerous original
documents and fac-similes relating to
the history Of South Carolina, to-
gether with printed copy of the
stMoultrie- Montague Letters" for
each member of the Society, and read
the following letter:
The Hon. Samuel A. Green, Libra.
rian and the Officers and Members
of the Massachusetts, Historical So
ciety-Gentlemen Eighteen years
ago you did me the honor to enroll
my 'name as corresponding men,
Der of your influential Society; l
expressed my thanks and high appre-
citation of your action at the time,
bnt / have felt ever since that /
should like to make more tangible
acknowledgment of the distinction
conferred upon me.
The people of our respective States
were then much divided in opinion
and conduct, and /, therefore, awaited
more propitious season, hoping that
with the passing years there would
ensue mutual moderation of cx-
treme views, and that more favora-
BILE opportunity might present itself.
it seems to me such period has
been reached. The recent public
utterances of your distinguished
president, marked by 'liberality of
view, and conciliatory in tone, have
already elicited reciprocal responses
from different parts of the Southland.
He has recently been received in
Charleston as an honored guest, and
have concluded that the time is OPP
perfume to crafty my earlier purpose.
These promising occurrences en-
phasize the truth of the poets lines {:
"The thoughts of men are widened
with the process of the Suns"
History is always repeating itself.
In the first half of the last century
it was the habit to denounce the
Tories of the Revolution in very
harsh terms They certainly had
embittered the contest in our State,
creating civil war condition yet
at the end Gen. Francis Marion, DIR.
Ramsay, the historian, and many
prominent citizens voted against the
confiscation of their property, on the
ground that they were to live with
us as neighbors, and that strife should
then cease. with the advent of peace |!
So in the address before the South
Carolina Historical Society in 1858
our sgreat citizen, the late James
Louis Petigru, gave expression to
this truthful and beautifully phrased
thought. Mr.. Bancroft, the historian
was present as q guest j:
Zeal in behalf of our country
and our country's friends is COM
mendable, and patriotism deservedly
ranks among the highest virtues. But
even virtue may be pushed to excess,
and the narrow patriotism that fos.
ters an ,ver-weeninss vanity and is
blind to all merit except its own,
stands in need of the correction of
reason 1t tis not true that all the
virtue of the country was in the
Whig camp in the Revolution |"
Within the last two decades g
a statue to Cromwell has beon erected
in London by permission of the
House of Commons and in our coun-
try, in the same period, trending is
visible in the direction of recognizing
in Gen. r.. r. Lee distinguished
American citizen and soldier, al
though Virginian Under these
changed and promising conditions of
amity and good will Massachusetts