Year: 1868

No Hope for the Loyal People of South


Carolina if Seymour is Elected.


The following interesting letter was ad-
dressed to a well known gentleman residing
in this city, and will be found to present in a
forcible manner the condition in which the
South will be left in the event of Democrat
ic success:


LEXINGTON, S. c. Sept. 7, 1868.


DEAR SIR.-I had the honor of addressing
you several times during the spring and sum-
mer of 1867, on the subject of reconstruction.
Since your return from Europe l have not
renewed my correspondence, from the fact,
that my hands have been more than fulliper-
fecting and carrying out the work here at
home.


But great struggle is still before the peo-
pie of this nation, and let no one forget That
eternal vigilence is the price of libertyw The
people of Maine, no less than the people of
South Carolina, are intensly interested in the
result. The rebellion which yielded at the
point of the bayonet, as last resort, appeals
to the ballot, and expects to secure by fraud
and intimidation all that sit lost by the fail
ure of armed force. Democracy in the South
means simply rebellion and war Under the
garb of devotion to the Union, ''as it was"
and as defenders of the constitution of our
fathers, host of rebel leaders enter the po-
litical arena, and plead for Democracy as a
synonym of the "lost cause. They claim the
right and the power to vote themselves their
long coveted places, in order to dictate terms
to their conquerers. The magnanimous con-
querers of the rebellion have given the rank
and file of the rebel army the right of the
elective franchise, justly forfeited by the
bearing of arms against the government, and
now they are preparing their ballots to vote
out of existence the oery laIs which restore
to them their forfeited right to uote and at the
same time repudate the oaths taken by them,
as ueters to obey the very laws. which they
thus propose to obliterate. Thus sworn to
obey, they nevertheless s,oear that they ,viH
neoer submit to "negro rule"


South Carolina is one of the few States
that have colored majority of voters, and,
although the ex-dominant race, in its greed
after gain, when this majority represented
wealth and capital, pre- erred their presence
to that of poor white men, they do not
feel ashamed now to clamor for "white
mans government" Once they supposed
that slavery could be made perpetual, and
then negro was better than poor white !;
but now there is no room for negroes, and
less still for white men who recognize their
political rights, aud stand by them in defence
OF the government. 1t is not the fault of
the United States that South Carolina has a
colored majority. The chivalry preferred to
fill the State with a colored aud ignorant
race rather than white and intelligent
one; and now being satisfied that it was
great blunder on their part, are, child
like, tired of the bauble, and are clamor-
ing for another to fill the "aching vold.
The fact is, the Rebel Democracy iuiy
| determined at the outset never to accept the
| conditions prescribed by Congress; and IN
many of the counties so strong was this rebel
sentiment. that no white man dared to accept
office on the Republican platform. Thus
| scorned by their "best friends" after begging
them to concede to them their rights and act
as rulers for them, of course the colored people
took the offices for themselves, and have done
the best they could for the whole people. Ii
| every white man in South Carolina had cor
daily accepted the terms imposed by Con-
gress in the restoration of the States, in good
faith. doubt not a large majority OF white
men would now control the legislature of the
State. Nor does it follow that majorities al
ways rule State. Wealth, education, and
experience must share the legislation of every


community and State, and these are all il


the possession of the whites. The coloret