Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-15
CHURCH and POLITICS
Mr. A. S. Salley, Jr., COrrects A.
Legged Errors
SECTARIAEISN and FREE GOVERNMENT
Secretary Of State Historical Commits
sion Thinks That the First Move at
"Refawm" In South Carolina, Was
When Designing Men Assumed to
Control tho Heather BY Means Of an
EstabIished Church.

When Designing Men Assumed to
Control the Heather BY Means Of an
Established Church.
Editor of The Yorkville Enquirer:
In your issue Of the Goth Of Septem-
Der you were complimentary enough
to reproduce my article on the short
term senator's from South Carolina.
but in your addenda thereto by way OF
comment on Senator William Smith.
you have fallen into several errors TO
which / ask space to call attention.
The Episcopal church was not the
/ esta ablished church Of South Carolina
from the first settlement Of the prov
ince to the close Of the Revolutionary
war. The first settlements Of the prov
ince Of South Carolina were made In
1870 and the first Church Act was
passed in 1904. Up to that time great
liberality in religious opinion had OBJ
tanned In South Carolina, and citizens
o any religious faith. except Ro-
man Catholics (and there is no evil
dence that there were any people Of
that faith In South Carolina) were en-
titled to vote or hold office. From the
retirement Of Governor Ludwell in
1893 to the death of Governor Blake
in 1900, the governors of the province
(Smith. Blake. Archdale. Blake) had
all been Dssenters. and during those
years the religious question was not
raised. Upon the death Of Governor
Blake In 100 the Council elected
James Moore, a Church OF England
man, governor and Immediately the
Dissenter element began probably our
first "Refawm" political fight. Like
most Of our "Refawm" movements,
somebody was creating an issue In or
der to get into power. That was about
all there was to the Dissenters' fight.
At the next election Of a Commons
House after Moore's administration be-
gan, the Dissenters lost and they inn
mediately made a contest The prin-
cipal ground Of contest was that aliens.
Frenchmen, Jews and even negroes
had been allowed to vote. The Church
party evidently stood for democracy.
When II came to a showdown. the
Frenchmen and Jews whom they
named had been naturalized and the
negroes were free negroes. The con-
stitution had not been violated and the
contest was dropped in South Carolina.
but the Dissenters took their walls to
the Lords Proprietors and the British
Parliament. Their conduct so exasp-
Grated the victorious party that in 1904
the general assembly. Of South Caro-
lima passed the first Church Act, es-
tablishing the Church Of England as
the church Of state and making con-
formation thereto requisite to voting.
That was contrary to the constitution
and the Proprietors promptly vetoed
II. A second Church Act was passed In
1906, which contained no provision
denying the ballot to n-conformists.
They not only continued to vote but
carried the next election and prompt
ly filled the provincial Jobs with poll
tlcians OF the Dissenter party.
The Church Act Of 1905 was most
beneficial to the people Of South Caro-
lima. 1t gave them religious worship
in every parish or township and inl
handsome brick churches, some OF
which are standing today; 1t gave
them free schools and 1t provided for
the helping Of the poor and tn" needy.
In those townships or parishes where
there were no Church Of England min
.sters the Council invariably gave the
parish or townships funds for the Dis
senter ministers.
The Church Act was repealed by the
constitution Of 1878 and thereafter
churches received no funds from the
government. and that was five years
before the close Of the Revolution.
The Episcopalians Of the low coun-
try did almost dominate the politics Of
the state for many years after the
Revolution, and 1t was because that
same Church Act of 1706 had given
the low country people educational
foundation that made natural leaders
Of them. but not all the leaders Of
thought and action in the low country
were Episcopalians by great deal.
The very man who brought about the
of the Church was
the Rev. William Tennent, Presbyte.
rian and a graduate Of Princeton.
The fourth man elected by the gen.
eral assembly to represent South Car
olina in the United States senate was
John Hunter, from the up-country. Of
Laurcns county, Ninety-Sx district,
probably a Presbyterian, as he was a
native Of Scotland. He was elected in
1876. In 1900 an up-oountry man OF
Irish extraction and Presbyterian pre-
dilections, John Ewing Colhoun (not
Calhoun) defeated Senator Jacob Read,
q Charlestonian and an Episcopalian.
, sHrnrNS pnAAI