The Government Of South Carolina

The government of South Carolina, nlthough protessedly republican, i? in fact an oligarchy. The power s vested n the hands of the few, etill il has the appearance of being wielded by the mnny. The many can vote, bilt under such restrictior.s tlat they have Ecarcely any more power than if they did not vote. They must vote for one of a certain class, not for one of the oi polloi-of the people. A man to be a Representatie to the Staie Legislatura must be "Jegally eeized ant) posseeeed, in his own rirrht, of a eettied freehold eslate of five liundred acres of land and ten negroe; or of a real estáte of the valué of Ll50steri!ngr,cearofdebt. Ifa ncn resident (in the election district) he el.all be legal l. eeizcd and possessed of a eettled freehold csl taie therein, of the value of L500 sterling. dearofdcbt." The produclive lana is estU mafed Tar the lands in the Northern and Northwestern States; and a man may own thousands of acres of land in different parte of ihe State, and etill not be eligible to the office of Representatie, unlees he owns ulavee, which he must do to make hh lands profitable, if he owns as much as the hw reqm'res. And it is a fact that there is seldom, if ever, a pereon ín the House who is not the owner of ten sla ves. A man to ba a Senator must own twice the amount of freehold estate more tban a Representaiive. Tho Governor of the State must be 'vorth not less Uian SöjOOO-and tntiit be elected by the: Legislaturer eoinposed as it ia -of elaveholdThe Senators to Congress, ETectors for President, Judges and Justices of the Pe.ice, are also elected by tiie Legislatura. The L Legidature divides the State inïo Congresrsional Districis, oud, of coiirse, tokes care to I do it in such a manner that ihe Representa tives shall be of this privileged class - the slaveholderp. TherrTect of ttiis nrrnnement is to tVp the wliole power of the Stare into the haiuïs of SÜ,70Smen, women ad childrcn, or about 4,000 hiods of fiimüies! Tiie whole popnla tion of the State, amounls to nearly 600,000 - tho white population to 250,084, the re mainder are colored, and nenrly a.'l slaves. So these 4000 heads of families own, as property, more tii&n one huif of the inhnbitanla óf the State, to wit: 320,038, and have the enlire politica] power over the remainder. , But a short time since the whole democracy of Rhode Island, and of MnssnchusettF, and of Maine, were ready to buckle on the knap! sack, and shoulder the musket, to force the monied aristocrifcy of Rhode Islnnd to do away with the "property qnalification" of voters, that every ckizen might have a voice in the government. How much worse is the situalion of the people of South Caroline, and still the rleniocracy do not open their mouths j ft. That chivaJrons State whichproduces such llustrious remocrats as the Callsouns, the McDuffies and the Preston?, cunnot have a government otherwise than {perfect. It is not only democratie to own slaves there, but to own the people! The JegHatJon in that State is, as it is in the United States, for ihe benefit of the slaveliolJers. It is for their interest that manufactures should be low, henee their erv of free trade" - or rather of no tariflf for proUction, except where (he elavehf-lding interest requires it. There is a high duty upon cotton and a high duty upon snar, and tho people of the North must buy those anieles and pay the South their owti price for Ihom - whilst they must furnish them with manufactures at the price lliey are disposed to give. This system, the slaveholders have brought about indirectly through the , cal parlies. In their own State, they have J , the direct power and no political fine?se isj necessary to tlieir purposes, but m the U:ntetl States their power is indirect thongh no less effectual. By consummate tact they succeeded in the legisiation in thcir la I vor; nnd they vvill continue to have t so while they hold the balance of power bet ween the parnés. j But we digress. The conseqncnco of this partial legislation in South Carolina has been a decrease in the white population. The decrea?e was several thousond bet ween 1880 and 1840, while there is not a f ree State in which there was not an increase during the same period. There is no inducement for agriculturalists to move into that State - there is no inducement for those to remain who arealready there. The colored prpulaton already óutnamhers the white. The dieparitv is yearly becoming greater, and unless there ehall be a peaceful revolulion brought about by the non-slaveho'ding whites at a day not distant, il is not difficult to foresee that the State will nndergu all the b!oody horrors of a