Year: 1872

public house any where on the road, / should
not have called on you" BY this time the
gentleman ascertained who he was, and very
politely asked him to light, and said he would
be happy to have the pleasure of his company
for the night. "No," said the Judge, ~ will
drive in the night through the rain to Sumter
Court House, before I will take shelter with
such man as you are" and he drove off:
"This fellow" said the Judge, "was a wealthy
man, and shining light in the Presbyterian
Church. He afterwards became candidate
for the Legislature, and took great pleasure
in telling about his inhospitable conduct,
which damaged his election considerably, and
he was defeated" ..........


Judge Withers was, for number Of years,
a member of the Board Of Trustees of the
South Carolina College. He told me, that a
young brother of his was represented to him
as being very talented, and he determined to
educate him. He gave him money, and sent
him to the South Carolina College. The
young man thought he needed q great deal
more clothing, &c., that he had money to
purchase. Therefore, he opened accounts
with sundry merchants in Columbia, who all
sent their bills in due time to the Judge for
payment. His brother had given him no no.
tice of his Indebtedness, and the Judge was
shocked at the amount of these various bills.
He Immediately sat down and drew up bill
for the board of trustees to request the Legis-
lature to pass making it indictable and pun
ishable with fine and imprisonment for any
merchant to sell goods to student Of the
College, on credit. This bill provided fur
ther, that if any lawyer should sue on, or at
tempt to collect any such accounts, he was
also to be fined and imprisoned, and, perhaps,
stricken from the roll. When submitted to
the board of trustees, the extraordinary fea-
lures of this bill excited some mirth, and the
Judge could get no one to second his motion
for sending it to the Legislature. The Judge
was so much disgusted with the reception his
bill met in the board of trustees, that he swore
he would never attend another meeting Of the
board, and never did to my remembrance.


Judge Withers married the sister-in-law Of
Governor Miller, Miss Boykin, who owned
valuable plantation in Kershaw District,
and large number of slaves. His treatment
to the slaves, and management of the planta-
ton, was so kind, indulgent and humane, that
it displeased some his neighbors, who said it
was bad example in the neighborhood, and
demoralized the slaves on the other plantations.
This determined the Judge, as he told me
himself, to sell out and invest the proceeds in
bank stocks and bonds and mortgages. With
all ofhis temper and irritability, Judge With.
ers was very kind.hearted gentleman, and
most indulgent and aAectionate in all the re-
lations of life. His house servants did pretty
much as they pleased, and he did not pretend
to watch over them. On one occasion, he
told me that his carriage-driver, in whom he
placed great confidence, was caught in theft,
and he thought it was good opportunity Of
having general confession of all his roguery
and rasca1ity. He asked the fellow if he had
not been stealing his corn and fodder, and sell.
ing it. The boy declared that so far from
having done so, he did, on one or two occa-
sions, when the Judge was short OF fodder,
steal few bundles Of one Of the neighbors to
feed his horses with!


Judge Withers was elected member Of the
Southern or Confederate Congress, and assist
ed greatly in framing the plan of Government
adopted for the Confederate States. re-
ceived from him whilst in Montgomery, a long
and most cordial letter from which 1 will
make few extracts: ri am engaged in
calling, at present, which is to me wholly nov
ell. l never dreamed of being member Of
Congress, especially one to make Constitu-
ton, and then laws under it. Circumstances
seemed, to majority, to demand imperative
ly the exercise by this Congress Of the legis:
lative power for time, short one hope. l
have no taste for this kind of life, no penchant
for office, no art in concocting and executing
the schemes in which politicians delight and
thrive. I never had a doubt
on two points as to yourself: First, that you
would unfinchingly maintain your opinion to
the last Second, that when the last came,
that is, when the State overruled your opinions
and took final step, you would travel with
her. I heard, you so declared in December,
and it did, in no wise, surprise me. I was sure
knew you too well to believe you one Of those
prophets, who, having predicted course ta-
ken by his country to be unwise, hazardous
and evil, you would, to maintain bis prophecy,
work to fulfill it. x You will have
seen before you read this, that Davis is as
signed to the Presidency, and Stephens to the
Vice.Presidency. Both elections were unani-
nous, and the election of the latter will prove
to you that this Congress is not proscriptive.
On his return to Camden, he wrote me-: my
liking for active service in State affairs does
not increase, though it may grow on what it
feeds on. I am now in the ways Of tough pol
iticians, and you know it is hard to learn an
old monkey new tricks. My place is about
the hearth-stone as I think, and I strongly
suspect my colleagues in political adventures
will give the same testimony"


In August, 1866, Judge Withers wrote me
q long letter enquiring as to the duties of q
Judge under the circumstances in which our
State then was. lie commenced his letter by
stating, "I can avow, with all candor, that l
am glad the Executive power for this State
has been placed by the Executive of the Uni
ted States in your hands, for think know
you have those elements of true manhood in
your composition that will work out to indi-
viduals of merit, and to the public, which
makes up what is left to the State, all the
good which we can expect in the unhappy
circumstances In which we are placed" At
the close of his letter he says: 81 am in very
inconvenient condition to discharge judicial
duties outside of my house. l have not dol
lar, and know not where to get one. My
estate, l. e. what was my estates, is in the
hands of others, and I have much reason to
they intend it shall remain there.
I mean the most of them. At present, they
seem to commend starvation to me, with that
philosophy, not unnatural to full stomach,
when contemplating an empty one l fear a
stern and high morality, in respect to contracts,
will not again be seen in your day and mine.
God preserve us against the leprosy Of STOP
laws or pine barren laws, gotten up by rogues
to cheat honest men"