Year: 1874

months at lts capltal IN the stuoy
of men and things. He has now
made his report, and has embodied
itin little book; just issued by the
Appletons, and bearing the gloomy
title that stands at the head of this
article. The book is so small
thct it can be read in an evening,
but it is large enough to give to
every American anxious reflection
tor many day.


Mr.. Pike finds society in South
Carolina "bottom side up" The
people Of character and culture,
who, in normal and righteous
state Of affairs, would give dlrec-
tion aud tone to public proceed
ings, are trampled under foot by
a host of voting barbarians-"the
most ignorant democracy that
mankind ever saw"-"the dregs
of the population habilitated in
the robes of their Intelligent pre-
decessors, and asserting over
them the rule of ignorance and
corruption through the inexorable
machinery ola majority of num-
bers." Carpet-bag rule is at an
end in South Carolina, for the
et-baggers were,on the outside
at least, white men. Even ne
groes tainted with white blood, and
50 unfortunate as to have the no.
Bile blackness of the ancestral COM
plexion debilitated into some shade
of yellow ARE beginning to feel the
contemptuous antagonism Of the
unmixed African, who means to
have things all his own way there.
BY sheer force ofsuperior numbers
the iguorant aud unprinclpled
class have taken complete possess
sion Of the government of the
State. And what sort of a gov
ernmeat have they formed? Ac-
cording to the testimony of Mr..
Pike, the rule Of South Carolina
should not be digniied with the
name Of a government. Il is the
installation of a huge system Of
hrigandage. The men who have
had it in control, and the men
who now have it in control, ARE the
picked villains Of the community.
They are the highwaymen of the
State. They are professional legis-
lative robbers. They are men
who have studied and practiced
the art Of legalized theft. They
arc in no sense different from, or
better than, the men who fill the
prisons and penitentiaries of the
world. They are, in fact, of pre-
cisely that class, only more daring
and audacious. The sole, base
object is to gorge the Individual
with public p lun d e r. Having
done it, they turn around and buy
immunity for their acts by sharing g
their gains with the .gnorant,
pauperized, besotted crowd who
have chosen them to the stations
they fill, and which enable them
thus to rob and plunder."


If be asked how the corrup-
tions of the South Carolina Gov
ernment differ from the exception
al venality of certain Northern leg.
islatures, this is Mr.. Pixies answer:
The latter, while less in efrontery
and in degree than the former, and
springing from different causes,
can also "be promptly remedied
by exposure and by an appeal to
the intelligence and virtue Of the
constituency; in the other case,
there is no such tribunal to appeal
to. It is a moral morass in which
there is neither standing nor hold
ing ground" $50 tainted is the
atmosphere with corruption, SO
universallyimplicatedi is everybody
about the Government, Of such a
| character are the ornaments of
society at the capital, that there
is no such thing as an influential
local opinion to be brought against
the scamps. They plunder and
qlorv in it. How did YOU get
your money! was asked of a
prominent legislator and lobbyist
4 stole it, was the prompt re.
ply"


The impression made upon us
by Mr.. Pixies report concerning
The PROSTATE State is that moth
ing can save society there from
utter dissolution but the speedy
achievement of rule by the classes
who ought always rule. We re
gret that Mr.. Pike, in announcing 70
an opinion substantially the same
as this, seems 10 US to imply that
these classes can be ascertained by
color. We know that this cannot
be his real meaning, but the force
and value of his book are likely te
be adapted by a certain indiscri


innate denunciation of black mer


because they are black, and al


equally indiscriminatc commenda