T?fe 
 
 REJOINDER 
 
 ^ 
 
 ss^, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 REPLY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Republican Party of So. Carolina 
 
 TO THE 
 
 EMORIAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TAXPAYERS' GONYE^^TION. 
 
 :^ 
 
 Charleston, S. C. 
 
 The JVews and Courier Job Presses. 
 
 1874. 
 
 
Class .r^74- 
 
 Book^ 
 
 7'2.6 
 
K E J 1 1^ D E R 
 
 TO THE 
 
 REPLY OF THE CEITRAL COMMITTEE 
 
 OP THE 
 
 Republican Party of So. Carolina 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TAXPAYERS' CONYENTION. 
 
 1^ 
 
 ^V 
 
 Charleston, S. C. 
 The J^ews and Courier Job Presses. 
 
 1874' 
 
1^ 
 
REJOINDER. 
 
 J he Revly of the State Ck-ntral Co,„mittce „f the Republican 
 I arty to the Memorial of the Taxpayers' Convention is before ns 
 As tlie members of the State Committee are, also, members of the 
 Legislature, or oificehol.lers nnder the State Government, they 
 are more or less involved in the issues made by the Memorial 
 
 Ihe Keply begins with the charge that the Memorialists de- 
 clined to accept the earnest invitation of liepnblieans to partici- 
 pate in the work of Reconstructing the State. Tliis charire is 
 nothing less than an appeal to ,.olitical prejudice, an,l is meant 
 to operate as a diversion from the present issues. Even if true 
 .u Its full extent, it would not, and eould not, justify spoliation 
 and plunder under the forms of law. It is, however, ■ 'roper to 
 say that the lea,ling men of the State were put under political 
 disabilities by the Reconstruction Acts; and that no such invit.a- 
 tioii as that described was extended to them. On the contiarv 
 distrust wa.s, from the very beginning, sown bro.adeast iii'thJ 
 minds of the newly enfranchised citizens, against the former 
 rulers, by designing men, who, taking advant,age of their inex- 
 perience, played upon their passions for the selfish purpose of 
 enriching themselves and promoting their own political .advance- 
 ment. And It is these very men, and their associates, who 
 banded together l,y the cohesive power of public plunder, have' 
 hrst destroyed the credit of the State, by an excessive issue of 
 bonds and .are now engaged in crushing out the people of the 
 State by the wanton abuse of the power of taxation 
 
 When the Memorial of the Taxpayers to Congress was pub- 
 lished, the passages which had the most effect upon the i.opular 
 mind, were those wliich illustrate the difference between the ex- 
 
penses of the State Government before tlie war, and the expenses 
 since Reconstruction. The Central Committee felt that it was 
 imperatively necessary to lessen, if they could, the force of the 
 facts contained in the Memorial, and in their Apology, or Countei- 
 statement, they accordingly say: 
 
 The statement that " the annual expenses of the Government 
 have advanced from ;J;400,000 before the war to two millions and 
 a half at the present time," is entirely incorrect, and the items of 
 expenditures given to prove this statement are wholly Inaccurate 
 and untrue, a?id sMlfidly selected to deceive. 
 
 This is a serious cliarge, and it shall be squarely met. It 
 divides itself into two branches, viz: the denial that the annual 
 expenses of the Government were $400,000 before the war, and 
 the denial that the annual expenses of the'Government are two 
 millions and a half at the present time. In speaking of annual 
 expenses, the Memorialists took into account only the ordinary 
 expenses of the Government. They would not, for example, 
 charge, as part of the expenses of the Government, an extraordi- 
 nary expenditure met by the issue of bonds, or by means other 
 than taxation. This, also, is the view taken by the Central Com- 
 mittee. Were they to include the increase of the State debt, since 
 Reconstruction, in their estimate of the expenses of the Govern- 
 ment, they would (see Treasurer Cardozo's article in the Colum- 
 bia Union, of February 2'3, 1874,) swell the cost of their rule, for 
 four years and five months, ending on November 30,1872, to 
 "an average annual expenditure of ^4,557,066." This is far 
 worse than the average of $1,863,150, for State purposes alone, 
 which, in the same article. Treasurer Cardozo confesses. We 
 have to deal then only witli ordinary receipts and ordinary ex- 
 penses. The Committee, however, to give some color of truth to 
 their arraignment of the Memorial, and "■ to shoAV the unjust and 
 adroit manner in which the statement of expenditures has been 
 manipulated by the Memorialists, for their purposes of decep- 
 tion," submit a statement, " carefully compiled from the official 
 records, of the expenses of the State Government before the war 
 and the first three years after." With "the first three years 
 after" we have at present nothing to do. The figures for the 
 
5 
 
 nine years ontling i„ ISGO are ^iven, by tl,e Committee, a.s 
 
 1852-5:1.... * ^^^^'^^^ ^^ 
 
 1853-54....;; 482,9746V 
 
 1854-55 .... • r.3.V23 2() 
 
 lorr r« 484,883 29 
 
 18o5-56 
 
 591,145 98 
 
 1856-57 
 
 1857-58 
 
 608,294 85 
 
 1858-59... ;: 1,030,924..!. 
 
 1859-60 :: !"'•'"' °' 
 
 967,968 57 
 
 ^''"^'y^^^'^ $w^^^ 
 
 Annualaverage 1^75^227^ 
 
 This appears to be, at the first glance, a plausible reply to the 
 statement of the Memorialists, but unfortunately for the Com- 
 mittee, who say that " these figures do not include interest on the 
 public debt," the figures in question do include considerable 
 sums for both interest and capital of the public debt, and, also 
 for extraordinary expenses which were provided for othe'rwise 
 than by taxation. The amounts actually received by the Comp- 
 troller for State taxes in the nine years before named were as 
 follows: 
 
 l«="-^2 ^ 331,,34100 
 
 '«^2-53 341,85,3 2, 
 
 ^^■'^-"^^ 422,742 09 
 
 ^«^*-^-^ • 377,,501 90 
 
 '«'^-«« 501771 87 
 
 '856-V 434167 29 
 
 •«"-^8 48913729 
 
 >«58-59 000444 29 
 
 l«59-«0 591,79958 
 
 ^'"^ y^*''^ 14,040,769 16 
 
 Annual average ^-aa o n^o .. 7 
 
6 
 
 This is very different from the annual average as shown in the 
 figures of the Committee. The plain truth is that there were, in 
 every year of the nine years, extraordinary expenses, which form 
 no part of the ordinary expenses of the Government. The prin- 
 cipal of these were the expenditures for the Defence of tlie State, 
 and the expenditures for the New State House, and for interest 
 on tlie bonds and stocks issued on account of that edifice. A 
 large sura of money was spent in improving Charleston Harbor, 
 and there were other extraordinary expenses, of which we take 
 no account. 
 
 1. The expenditures for the Defence of the State, which were 
 met almost entirely by the surplus profits of the Bank of the State, 
 were as follows: 
 
 1851-52 $130,000 00^ 
 
 1852-53 37,310 00 
 
 1853-54 80,273 52 
 
 Total 1247,583 52 
 
 2. The Expenditures for the New State House, and for inter- 
 est on the New State House bonds and stocks, the expenditures 
 being met by the sale of bonds and stocks, were as foUow^s: 
 
 1854-55, New State House I 83,115 75 
 
 1855-56, " " "^ 71,514 48 
 
 1856-57, " " " 140,40196 
 
 1857-58, " " " 522,604 12 
 
 1858-59, " " " 355,000 00 
 
 1859-60, " " " 418,717 48 
 
 Total $1,591,353 79 
 
 1854-55, Interest $ 13,080 00 
 
 1855-56, " 12,690 00 
 
 1856-57, " 25,296 00 
 
 1857-58, " 42,147 77 
 
 1858-59, " 69,099 90 
 
 1859-60, 
 
 *' 92,592 60 
 
 Total I 254,906 27 
 
7 
 
 Those amounts added togothor are: 
 
 Defense of the State -li^ 247,583 52 
 
 New State House 1,591,353 79 
 
 Interest 254,900 27 
 
 Grand total *2,093,843 58 
 
 Expenses nine years, per Heplj^ |?6, 07 7,034 70 
 
 Less extraordinary expenses not met l)y taxation. . 2,093,843 5H 
 
 Actual expenses .^3,983,191 12 
 
 True annual average ^ 442,576 79 
 
 m 
 
 This is an ample vindication of the correctuess of the figures 
 given in the Memorial, ])ut we go further and append a table of 
 the amounts raised by State taxation for the ten years ending in 
 1858. The figures are taken from the Report of Comptroller 
 Pickens, dated October 1, 1859: 
 
 1849 ^ 299,148 
 
 1850 329,991 
 
 1851 516,175 
 
 1852 349,929 
 
 1853 362,223 
 
 1854 429,976 
 
 1855 399,738 
 
 1856 533,140 
 
 1 857 : 463,246 
 
 1858 635,421 
 
 Total for ten years .$4,318,987 
 
 Annual average ^ 431,898 
 
 It is proved, therefore, that the annual expenses of the State 
 Government before the war Avere §?4 00,000. And the average an- 
 nual outlay of $431,898, above given, includes, moreover, the pay- 
 ments for fees of jurors and witnesses, for physicians and surg- 
 eons, testifying as experts, and for holding post-mortem exami- 
 
8 
 
 nations; also, the cost of dieting prisoners, and the fees of sheriffs, 
 clerks of court, coroners, constables, and the like. These ex- 
 penses before the war were paid by the State out of the general 
 tax, but are now paid directly by the respective Counties, out of 
 the County tax. In the year 1859-60, these expenditures amount- 
 ed to '^116,832, and such payments must be deducted from the 
 nominal expenditures of the State Government before the war, 
 in order to make any comparison with the expenditures of the 
 State Government subsequent to the war intelligible and just. 
 Without going into further details, it may safely be asserte4 that 
 the deductions mentioned would reduce the annual expenditures 
 for State purposes, met by taxation, during the nine years end- 
 ing in 1858, to an average of less than $350,000. It now remains 
 to show that the annual expenses of the Government have ad- 
 vanced to two and a half millions of dollars. This is quickly 
 done. 
 
 Before the war, the only taxes corresponding to what are known 
 as County taxes were what were known as the police assessments, 
 which, upon an average of nine years preceding the war, amount- 
 ed to $140,000 a year. Add this to the general State tax of say 
 $350,000 a year, and we liave a total tax of $490,000 a year, as 
 the cost to the people, before the war, of conducting the Govern- 
 ment of the State. The Comptroller's reports show what the 
 actual expenditures have been in each year, under the rule of the 
 Ring, viz: 
 
 1868-69 $2,099,365 
 
 1869-70 1,806,540 
 
 18VO-71 1,853,976 
 
 1871-72 1,634,835 
 
 18V2-73 1,717,318 
 
 This is exclusive of the County tax, which, up to 1872-73, av- 
 eraged $450,000 a year, and which, for the year 1873-74, will 
 amount to nearly three-quarters of a million. Add these taxes 
 for County purposes, and the poll tax, to the amounts paid out 
 for State purposes, and it will be seen that the annual expenses of 
 the Government have, as stated in the Memorial, advanced from 
 $400,000 to even more than two and a half million dollars. 
 
Inasmuch as the oxpentlitures for nine years, ending in 1859, 
 have been proved, it is liardly necessary to discuss tlie proposi- 
 tion of the Central Committee that the appropriations and ex- 
 penditures in 1865-06 are no criterion wliatever of the reguhir 
 expenses before the war. But in that year, when tlie whole ma- 
 chinery of the State Government was in full operation, the ex- 
 penditures were only $260,248, and tlie late Governor Orr, whose 
 broad views the Central Committee dare not question, and whose 
 experience in public aflairs none can doubt, ofiicially informed 
 the General Assembly that the Government of the State could be 
 efficiently carried on for $350,000 a year. But in order that the 
 comparative burden of taxation, under the two rules, may be 
 properly appreciated, it must be borne in mind that the expendi- 
 ture of $400,000 a year before the war was raised out of taxable 
 values of about $500,000,000, while the present expenditure of 
 $2,500,000 is raised out of taxable values not exceeding $160,- 
 000,000. This element of calculation, which more than trebles 
 the weight of taxation, is left entirely out of view by the apolo- 
 gists of the present misrule. They do not seem to realize the 
 truth that the poorer people become, the less able they are to 
 bear taxation. On the contrary, their rule appears to be that, 
 from those who have little, shall be taken even the little that 
 they have. 
 
 The proposition that the free population of the State has 
 doubled since emancipation, and that, therefore, the " cost of 
 governing" should be increased in the same proportion, is almost 
 too preposterous for argument with those who know the lacts. 
 The number of souls in the State before the war was 700,000, 
 and the number is about the same now. It is freely admitted 
 that the number of officers and the amount of salaries, and the 
 appropriations for schools would, be increased by the enfranchise- 
 ment of the freedmen. But that all the expenses of Government 
 would be increased and magnified as if so many additional 
 persons or souls had been introduced into the State, is g.. device 
 and suggestion worthy of the financial ingenuity which has al- 
 ready impoverished our people by enriching their oppressors. 
 This jt)er capita calculation, in a case such as ours, would excite 
 mirth were the subject not too sad for a joke. 
 
10 
 
 Of similar character is the allegation that the people of the 
 State would allow their lands to be forfeited to tlie State for non- 
 payment of taxes " rather than sell them to tlie colored people." 
 It is a fact that 268,523 acres of land and 309 buildings were 
 forfeited to the State in 18'73, for failure to pay State and County 
 taxes for tlie year 1872, which taxes, with the penalties and 
 costs, amounted to |32,858, or less than thirteen cents an acre, 
 without counting the buildings. This simple truth staggered the 
 Central Committee, and had to be met in some way. No intelli- 
 gent man, however, will believe that the landowners are as fool- 
 hardy and infatuated as the Central Committee represent them 
 to be. The truth is, the people had not the money to pay, and 
 could not procure it. Nor could the colored population become 
 purchasers, because excessive taxation falls directly or indirectly 
 upon all classes of citizens in the State. We commend to the 
 Central Committee the words of one of their own organs, the 
 Union-IIerald, of Columbia, which words are as true as they are 
 pointed : 
 
 It is a mistake, as a principle, to assert that when the taxes 
 are so heavy as to compel the owners of land to sell, the poorer 
 class can buy. The middle class may buy, but real poor men 
 can't. When taxes are high, rent and provisions are high, and 
 yet wages are low. It hits the 2^oor man both loays. Every 
 poor man should keep this in mind. That is the reason why, 
 although about 250,000 acres of land have been sold for taxes 
 lately, still the State has had to take it all, and the poor man has 
 not been able to buy a tax title. There is no getting round 
 that fact. 
 
 The State Committee take great credit to themselves for tiie 
 Ilepudiation of six millions of Conversion Bonds. And yet it is 
 admitted that the money arising from the hypothecation and 
 sale of these very bonds went into the Treasury, and was used 
 by their party. The Legislature " validated" these very bonds, 
 and legalized the acts of the officers in disposing of them; while 
 another Legislature, of the same stamp, has declared them void, 
 on the ground that they were illegally and fraudulently issued. 
 What a precious specimen is this of Ring legislation in South 
 Carolina ! But Avas there no show of a purpose to hold to ac- 
 count the officials who were declared by the General Assembly to 
 
11 
 
 liave been guilty of a violation of the law ? There was ! As 
 soon as the person wlio was State Treasurer during the adminis- 
 tration of (lovernor Scott A^entured to print, in a New York 
 newspaper, a defense of himself and a declaration of the validity 
 of the bonds which had just been repudiated, the General As- 
 sembly adopted a Joint llesolution requiring the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral to prosecute the accused ofhcial. This Joint Resolution, 
 however, was conveniently lost at the close of the Session, and 
 the Governor, to whom a duplicate copy was sent, regularly 
 signed by the l*resident of the Senate and Speaker of the House, 
 refused to sign the Joint Resolution upon the ground that it was 
 not received while the Legislature was in Session. Comment is 
 unnecessary. 
 
 The statement of the receipts and expenditures at the State 
 Treasuries from October 1, 1859, to September 30, 1860, as pub- 
 lished officially in one of their o^vn organs, is in itself sufficient 
 evidence of the disingenuousness of the reply of the Central Com- 
 mittee to the Memorial of the Taxpayers. For instance, that 
 statement shows that, in the year named, the payments for legis- 
 lative purposes and Public Printing were as follows: 
 
 Legislative Expenses. $16,828 TO 
 
 Public Printing 11,177 78 
 
 Total ^28,006 48 
 
 But in the three years ending respectively in October, 1871, 
 1872, and 1873, the amount of money actually paid out for Leg- 
 islative expenses and Printing was as follows: 
 
 Legislative. Printinf^. 
 
 1871 $ 280,361 $ 133,651 
 
 1872 712,240 214,629 
 
 1873 291,339 331,945 
 
 $1,283,949 $ 680,225 
 
 1,283,949 
 
 Total for three years $1,964,174 
 
 Annual average . . , $ 654,724 
 
12 
 
 Tliis shows tliat the average annual expenditures for Printing 
 and for LegisLative expenses, from 1871 to 1873, and for the 
 year 1859-GO were, respectively, $654,724 and $28,000. In other 
 words, our new rulers, for the two purposes named, spent twenty - 
 three times as much as was spent, for the same purposes, in that 
 year before the war, which they themselves have chosen as an 
 example of heavy expenditures under Conservative rule. 
 
 The Central Committee admit that under Republican rule the 
 debt of the State has been increased from $5,000,000 to $1G,- 
 000,000, of which amount the present Legislature, as already 
 noticed, has repudiated $6,000,000, as having been issued without 
 authority of law. This, according to the Committee, " leaves 
 the unquestionably valid debt at $10,000,000." Of this amount, 
 " $5,000,000 were issued by the Democrats, and $5,000,000 by 
 the Republicans "; but " of the amount issued by the Republi- 
 cans," say the Committee, " they are only really responsible for 
 $1,700,000, issued for the Relief of the Treasury and the Land 
 Commission." The $3,300,000, for which they hold that they 
 are not responsible, were issued, they say, to pay past due inter- 
 est, also, to redeem bills of the Bank of the State, used before 
 the war; also, to redeem the Bills Receivable issued imder the 
 administration of Governor Orr. The disingenuousness of this 
 explanation is shown by, the records. When Governor Scott 
 succeeded Governor Orr, he reported to the General Assembly 
 that the amount of interest on the public debt due and falling 
 due up to July 1, 1868 (when Reconstruction was absolutely 
 complete) was $355,204. The holders of the bonds and stocks 
 of the State were perfectly willing to fund their interest. In- 
 stead of doing this, the Scott administration sold new bonds, at 
 low figures, to meet the overdue interest, in order that a profitable 
 speculation in Wall street might thereby be made. The result 
 is, that the bond debt of the State was increased some $800,000 
 to discharge a liability of less than half that amount. In like 
 manner with the Bills Receivable. These were a loan without 
 interest, and, as they were receivable for taxes, could soon have 
 been absorbed. There was no need to force a liquidation of 
 them, but the Scott administration immediately authorized the 
 issue of bonds to redeem these bills, and the consequence is that 
 
13 
 
 tlie State stands charged to-day with an interest-bearing bonded 
 debt of 1500,000, incurred in redeeming a debt of $298,781, whicli 
 Avas not pressing for payment, and which bore no interest. Tlie 
 case of the bills of tlie Bank of the State is a similar one. They 
 could have been taken up and cancelled at forty or lifty cents on 
 the dollar, which was far more than they would bring at that 
 time in the market; but the bulk of them were held by a ring of 
 speculators, and the Legislature, regardless of the public interest, 
 funded the bills in bonds of the State at par. Grouping the 
 different sums of floating debt, it is seen that the floating debt, 
 for which the Republicans incurred a bonded debt of $;l,TOO,000, 
 represented a true value of about half that amount. The differ- 
 ence between what was paid and what ought to have been paid, 
 is chargeable to the maladministration and corru])tion of the per- 
 sons whom the Central Committee represent. For the Land Com- 
 mission, bonds to the amount of 1700,000 were issued by the 
 Republican administration, " to purchase," as the Committee say, 
 *' land for sale in small farms to the freedmen ;" which " benefl- 
 cent object has accomplished much good." It has put money in 
 the pockets of various officials, wo admit; but we deny that it 
 has been of any advantage to the poor freedman. In 1871, the 
 Legislature appointed a Joint Committee, who, among other 
 things, investigated the affairs of the Land Commission. Senator 
 Swails, who is one of the Central Committee, was a member of 
 the Joint Committee. That committee denounced " the Land 
 Commission and its operations " as "an outrageous and enormous 
 swindle." They declared that there was " little to encourage the 
 belief that the State had valid titles to one half the land pur- 
 chased by the Land Commission," and that the " whole spirit, 
 letter, and body of the laws" in regard to it had been " disregard- 
 ed or wantonly perverted." The Central Committee have as- 
 suredly very little cause to congratulate themselves upon the 
 " beneficient " results of this pet project of their party. 
 
 The Central Committee further say, that they are not ashamed 
 of the fact that the appropriation for schools in 1872-73 is four 
 times greater than in 1859-CO. That is an evasion of the ques- 
 tion. The taxpayers approve of liberal appropriations for the 
 furtherance of the cause of popular education, but they demand 
 
14 
 
 that the money, when appropriated, shall be well and honestly- 
 applied. TJie tax for the support of the schools has been regu- 
 larly levied and collected, and yet the State Superintendent of 
 Education has recently reported to the General Assembly that 
 the outstanding and unpaid school claims amount to $306,25(5. 
 The same officer admits that the non-payment of the claims has 
 " most seriously marred the success and usefulness of our free 
 school system," and he says that the "incompetency" of many 
 of the teachers furnishes no reason why their claims should not 
 be paid. A similar wail comes from the administration organ, 
 which says: "Inefficient officers are primarily responsible for the 
 present state of our schools, and unless some steps are taken to 
 elect good men to the position of school commissioners, the Gen- 
 eral Assembly might as well cut off the school appropriation at 
 once. Our schools need renovating, and this can only be done 
 by securing the services not only of good teachers, but good 
 school officers also." There is, therefore, good Republican au- 
 thority for saying that hundreds of thousands of dollars intended 
 for scliool purposes have been squandered or stolen, and that 
 what has been laid out has done very little for the advancement 
 of education. The Committee also take credit for the " liberal 
 appropriations " made for the " unfortunate patients " in the Lu- 
 natic Asylum, which Asylum, however, is head over ears in debt, 
 and has reduced to the brink of ruin the charitable merchants 
 who ste])ped forward to r.ave the lunatics ironi starvation or the 
 streets, and who are now unable to obtain payment of tlieir just 
 claims against the State. 
 
 With their usual recklessness the Central Committee say that 
 the Conservative members of the State Lesjislature held a caucus, 
 and "unanimously resolved not to participate in the proceedings" 
 of the Taxpayers Convention, which they deemed to be " unwise 
 and injudicious." So soon as this statement appeared in print, 
 the Democratic members in question published a card, in which 
 they declared the statement of the Committee to be false, that it 
 misrepnisented their sentiments and actions, that they adopted 
 no resolution not to participate in the proceedings, and that 
 several of them, who were members, did participate in the pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
15 
 
 The Central Committee say that the allegation of the 
 JVfemorial that tlie appro})riations made in one year for the public 
 printing amounted to $175,000, exclusive of .^100,000 for i)ub- 
 Hshing the laws, " is wholly incorrect." For the statement of 
 the Memorial there is, nevertheless, sound KepuLlican authority. 
 The committee appointed by the Legislature in January last to 
 investigate the charges against the llepublican Printing Com- 
 pany, say, in their published report, that the " aggregate of aj)- 
 l)ro[)riations to the llepublican Printing Company, during the 
 last twelve months, amounts to $475,000 ; the Legislature has 
 also appropriated, during the same period, ^100,000 for publish- 
 inff the laws." I^ut the Committee uriijethat the work for Avhicli 
 the enormous appro])riations were made was extraordinary, and 
 will not occur again for twenty years. The shortest answer to 
 this is a statement of the money paid out for public printing 
 during live years of Republican rule, ending in October, 1S7;J, 
 as follows: 
 
 18(38-00 ^ 12 000 
 
 1869-70 22 316 
 
 1870-71 1^-3 051 
 
 1871-72 211 629 
 
 1872-73 o31 945 
 
 $714 541 
 Due and unpaid Oct. 31, 1873 118 055 
 
 Total, five years $832 596 
 
 Annual average $166,519 
 
 This latter shows the steady increase in the amount of money 
 paid out for printing, and exposes the flimsy subterfuge of the 
 Committee. 
 
 It seems to be admitted by the Central Committee that gross 
 corruptions exist in the Legislative and other departments; but 
 it is regarded as a sufllcient justification that, without bribers, there 
 could be no bribery. Let it not be forgotten that those who occupy 
 positions of authority exercise a trust, and are responsible for its 
 honest and faithful exercise. We are no apologists for those 
 
16 
 
 who bribe, but we do say and insist that public officials, who 
 yield to bribery and become corrupt, are unworthy of the func- 
 tions with which they are charged — betray the trusts reposed in 
 them, and cannot shelter themselves under the plea that they 
 were tempted. They are put in office to resist temptation; and 
 if, when tried in the balance, they are found wanting, they should 
 read the handwriting on the Avail, and hide their miscreated 
 fronts in confusion and shame. To attempt to justify it, is only 
 to magnify the wrong and the wickedness. 
 
 That the South Carolina Government is the worst in the Avorld 
 has passed into a by-word. It is needless to multiply proofs. 
 The country knows that this is no false or senseless clamor. The 
 honest men of all parties are seeking to rid themselves of the 
 stiofma and the incumbrance. Even the leaders of the dominant 
 ])arty in this State admit the existence of the evils of which we 
 complain, and condemn them in more bitter phrase than we have 
 used. During the session of the Taxpayers' r\:)nvention. Con- 
 gressman Elliott, in a speech delivered on the occasion of a 
 public reception given to him in Columbia, said: " I confess, with 
 sadness greater than I can express, that here, in South Carolina, 
 we to-day present a spectacle which does not excite interest in 
 our cause; a spectacle which disheartens our friends, paralyzes 
 our best efforts for the complete civil protection of our people, 
 and makes the name of the State a by-word and reproach to our 
 race. '^ * ''" * * It is not the Democracy that 
 will overthrow us; it is our own party, with its faitliless leaders 
 and their infatuated henchmen. Let us not look abroad for our 
 enemies. They are here ; members of our own party, officers 
 filected by our own votes. * * * * *'' * * 
 I appeal to my fellow Republicans, of every race and nationality, 
 to arise in their strength and shake off the terrible incubus that 
 weighs down our party, to strangle the poisonous viper that is 
 sucking our life blood, to remove the corroding leprosy that is 
 gnawing at the vitals of our body politic." Similar utterances 
 have been made by other prominent officials. A happy day will it 
 be for Carolina when the wicked men Avho are preying upon her 
 life, and gorging themselves upon her substance, shall be driven 
 into obscurity; and Avhcn a just, honest, and benignant Government 
 shall again dispense its care and its blessings over her people. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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