Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1875 — South Carolina. [ARTICLE]

South Carolina.

Trying to get at the truth of Southern outrages is like searching for a needle in a hay slack or for a pin in the gutter. The prejudice of every hearer distorts the tale. For the last few weeks, the faction of South Carolina politicians led by ex-Gov. Moses, has been making desperate efforts to get up an excitement over some alleged outrages by whites upon blacks in Edgefield county, South Carolina. All sorts ot stories have been telegraphed North from the Botany Bay of American politics. Judging from them, we should say that the dastardly Ku-Klux-Klan was again hard at work. The last thing in the programme of Moses and his gang was the introduction of a bill into tjfe South Carolina Legislature for a special tax on Edgefield County tor the support of negroes denied work by the white employers of the county. The man who proposed this curious piece of legislation was the Hon. Paris Simkins. Simkins remaiked that his course in doing so “might consign him to a bloody grave,” but, etc., etc. We, spare our readers the gory eloquence of Simkins. Suffice it to say that he verbally wrapped himself up iu the starry Hag about fourteen times and wound up with a half-hour’s peroration in reference to that soreabused biid, the American eagle. A colored Republican answered Simkins, and the Legislature promptly laid the bill on the table. Speaker Elliott made the motion, but said that Edgefield county was in a bad way. He mentioned, as proof, that a certain Andy Jackson had been forced to leave the county “by a notice threatening him with death.” The colored Republicans, however, rescued A. J. from the role of a martyr by explaining that Andy ‘had a wife at McWilliams’ place and another at the Court-House, and he went to the Court-House because he preferred to live with his CourtHouse wife.’

~ Gov. Chamberlain, moved by the rumors of warfare, has Sent a prominent Republican, Judge T. J. Mackey, to investigate the matter, and the Judge has submitted his report. He declares that no Englishspeaking people has ever been so tyrannized over since the days of the Norman Conquest as the people of.Edgefield. The County Government, which is in the hands of the blacks, has been shamefully mismanaged. The State Constitution forbids calling out the militia except by the Governors command, but Edgefield County officials call it out whenever they have a personal quarrel with aVhite man. A negro indicted for burglary got his militia company under arms, the other day, in order to help him resist arrest! The white people held a meeting, and resolved not to employ members of the militia. Both sides have therefore been in the wrong, but the superior gffilt of the whites is not apparent. The attempt to raise a Kn-Klux scare on such grounds will hardly succeed. btfrts every Southern community by keeping away capital and shilled labor,„and by keeping alive' fear, hate, and distrust between the two races. — Chicago Tribune.