Year: 1876

BY REV, RUBEkT LAIdAh'


CAUSES or THE REVOLUTION.


Whatever honor may be attached to those
infant colonies which deliberately threw of
the British yoke and declared themselves free
and independent, no small share of that hon.
or is due to South Carolina. In the prelimi-
nary events which eliminated in an open
rupture with the mother country, she led the
way. Itwas, as We will see in the sequel, the
misfortune of her leading men often to be far
ahead of the age in which they lived. Really,
the government Of South Carolina never was
anything but republic. The Fundamental
Constitutions drawn up by the philosopher
Locke, and adopted by the original proprie-
tors, never were put in force over the people
for whom they were designed as form Of
government The proprietors we're forced to
change and remodel those constitutions, as
much from the character of the people, as
from the nature of the country.


South Carolina was, in 1870, an unbroken
forest; and those who came from Europe to
make their home in that unbroken forest,
longed for freedom, and freedom they would
have. From the very first, they quarreled
with the proprietors, and in a short time the
proprietors cast them off with the angry de.
caration that they did not intend to feed the
colonists when there was no longer any rea-
sonable expectation of being compensated.
Thus they were turned out into the wilds Of
the new world to work for themselves or starve.
With an energy which put failure out Of the
question, they went to work. They depended
upon themselves. Necessity forced them to
think and plan for their physical existence
and for their social and political equality with
the nations of the earth. Thus, whilst the
early settlers of South Carolina cut down the
forests and drained the swamps and planted
and cultivated Indian corn, they sowed broad
cast the seeds of genuine Republicanism. In
1929, by bold effort they freed themselves
from the yoke of the original propretors and
placed themselves under the protection and
government of England, but with greater
privileges and more liberty than British sub
jects Ii England.


From the first day that the colonists set
their feet on the banks of the Kiawah, they
we're jealous of their rights, and every event
in their history had direct tendency to make
them watch their chartered rights with sleep.
less vigilance. In 1852, Governor Thomas
Boone sent message to the General Assem-
bly,, in which he stated certain objections to
the election law of 1921, and recommended
that the enactSent of "a new law was abso-
lutelY necessary.nn- Boone acknowledged that
zeal to promote ''the prerogatives of the crown"
had induced him to make this recommends.
ton. When the message of the Governor was
received it was Immediately placed in the
hands of a committee. On the 23rd of March,
Just four DAYS after the date of the message,
the committee made its report, and on the
next day the report was considered, and the
following reply sent to Governor Boone:


"May it please your Excellency, this House
having fully considered the election act now
in force, and not knowing, or having heard
of any bad consequences from the method
thereby directed, for issuing and executing
writs Of election, are of opinion tbatit is not
necessary, at this time, to alter that law in
any respect" E5sr.


In September of the same year, Christie
pher Gadsden was duly elected member OF
the Assembly from St. Paul's Parish. Gov
ernor Boone not only refused to administer
the oath of Office in the case of Gadsden,
but also dissolved the Assembly. He was de-
termined to force the representatives of the
people into measures buthe had men to deal
with who could neither be wheedled nor bull
lied into measures. Governor Boone's avowed
reason for not admitting Gadsden as mem
Der of the Assembly, was because the church
wardens, who, under the law, were the mana
gers of the elections, had not been sworn. 1t
was proved that this was not the case, and the
Assembly determined to admit Gadsden
to his seat, in spite of Governor Boone's OBJ
lection. This gave Boone pretext for dis
solving the Assembly. Shortly afterward,
another Assembly was chosen, and Christie
pher Gadsden was again elected. This great
ly irritated Boone, and the new Assembly was
not slow in manifesting its disapprobation of
the Governors course with regard to the pre-
vious Assembly. A series Of resolutions
we're passed, the purport Of which was that
the Assembly itself, and not the Governor, is
the judge of the legality of the election Of
its own members that the course of the
Governor respecting Christopher Gadsden
was violation of the privileges of the As
sembly of the Province; that the previous
conduct of Governor Boone was unconstitu-
tional and had direct tendency to subvert
and destroy the most essential and invaluable
rights of the people Of the province, and re-
duce the power and authority of the Assem-
bly, to an abject dependency on the whims OF
the Governor. 1t was also resolved by this
Assembly that since the Governor had re-
fused to apologize for his recent conduct, that
the Assembly would have nothing more to do
with him. This surely was bold step and
was indicative of what followed.


The quarrel between Governor Boone and
the assembly of South Carolina continued up
to the time of the passage of the notorious
Stamp act by the English Parliament. The
leading men were thoroughly aroused to op-
pose any thing that had the semblance of an
encroachment upon their liberties. The lead
ers in the movement in opposition to Cover
nor Boone were Charles Pinckney, Henry