Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-01-09
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
From the First Settlement to the Close OF
the Revolution.
BY REV. ROBERT LATHAM. ID. ID.

ince Of Carolina.
With the landing Of Sayle commences
the history Of South Carolina 1t can
not be otherwise than interesting to
the inhabitants Of the state Of the pres
ent day to know something about this
germ, which has, amid a multitude Of
disasters, grown to be a great state,
sending out colonists at various times
to settle up the rich lands of the west
and northwest.
Charles the Second Of England,
granted permission to Edward, Earl
of Clarendon and his colleagues, to
plant a colony in South Carolina and
that was all. The company supplied
every thing else. Their. vessels were
furnished, together with a consider
able number Of able men, how many
we do not know; provisions for year
and half, clothes, tools, ammunition
and everything else thought necessary,
| by the proprietors alone. The sum
invested in the undertaking, amount
ed to about fifty thousand dollars.
The avowed purpose, which the pro-
prietors had in view was to spread the
gospel amongst the aborigines, but
there are many unmistakable evil
dences that there was at least some
thing necessary In their designs. They
expected the money expended In
planting the colony to be first class
investment.
It would be interesting to know all
of the hardships which this noble band
of pioneers suffered, and all the tri-
umphs which they achieved; but al
though 1t Is only little more than two
hundred years ago, much that trans
pired in the infancy of the colony Is
lost. Even the names of most Of them
are hopelessly forgotten. The spot on
which they first settled has passed
through various hands. and Is now In
part the wharf, railroad track and
grounds of the Charleston and Savan-
nah railroad company.
From the first, the colony fiourished
and increased. The Constitution of the
Colony breathed a spirit Of universal
and absolute toleration," in things per-
tanning to religion. Provision was
made in the charter granted by Charles
for the establishing Of churches by
the Dissenters. The articles Of the
Fundamental Constitution" also pro-
vided that an effort be made to Chris
tianize the Indians. All the liberty of
conscience was granted. by both the
king and proprietors, which any rea-
sonable individual could desire, unless
1t be objected that 1t was further pro-
vided, that mo person above the age
Of seventeen years, shall have any ben
eft or protection Of the law, who Is
not a member Of some church or pro-
fession, having his name recorded In
some one religious record" This 1t Is
admitted, is Objectionable, since 1t, for
the sake of protection, forced persons
to, Join some church, whether they were
converted or not We must take into
! consideration all the circumstances of
/ the case, before we condemn too harsh
| ly. In fact, the religious liberty grant
ed to the Carolina colony, Is one Of the
most wonderful facts recorded In his
tory. We see those same men, who,
for their native country had enacted
what they called the bill Of Unifor-
nifty" and In the enforcing of said bill
had silenced John Owen and sent
Richard Baxter and John Bunyan to
prison, permitting each individual In
the colony to worship God in that way
which, to himself, appeared most
agreeable to the Divine will as reveal
ed In the Bible.
| In order to understand this thing. we
must know something Of the men to
whom the grant was made, and we
must also have a knowledge Of the his
tory of the times. For many years
previous to the settlement Of South
Carolina, the natives of Europe had
been in a disturbed state. France and
England, the only two nations that
made any serious efforts to plant col
onies in the New World had, for per-
iod Of more than one hundred years
been lacerated by the bitter feuds
which existed amongst themselves. In
each Of these Kingdoms, citizens had
been arrayed against citizens. The
waters Of the rivers had been tinged
and the soil made rich with the blood
of the slain. In each country, Protest
ants and Catholics had arrayed them
selves against each other In deadly
hostility. No less bitter had been the
contest between the Protestants Of diff
ferent creeds. The system of persecu-
ton existed during the reign Of Eliza
beth, and was continued In the time
of James the First It eliminated In
the reigns of the two Charles of Eng
land, and Louis the Fourteenth OF
France. Victory sometimes perched
upon the banners Of one party and
sometimes on the banner Of another
Charles the First was beheaded, and
Charles the Second was driven into
exile. Cromwell established a Com
monwealth which lasted whilst he liv-
ed and when he died his Common
wealth died. Charles the Second was
brought from his exile and seated upon
the throne Of his fathers. The people
were tired Of war. To escape the
vengeance Of the restored sovereign, the
Judges who condemned Charles the
First, had fled to America. Other per-
sons did the same thing; whilst some
who were regarded as implicated In
that deed, remained in England and
suffered the extreme penalty Of the
Ilaw. A few were. through the clemency
of the king, pardoned. On the restora-
ton Of Charles the Second, May the
9Th. 1860, England was in lamentable
condition. Bitter and unrelenting ami
mosities existed in all parts Of the
kingdom. Tired of war, the people
gladly welcomed Cromwell as Pro-
Electorate. For the same reason, they
hailed with joy the return Of Charles
the second. On the 29th Of May, 1860,
the king who had been an exile for six
teen years. entered London, conducted
by General Monk. afterward known as