\ 
 
 F 
 
 # OJR^TIOlSr 
 
 DELIVERED ON THE 
 
 THIRD ANNIVERSARY 
 
 OF THF< 
 
 mil} Carolina historical Sdet^^ 
 
 HIBERNIAN HAIL, m CHARLESTON, 
 
 ON 
 
 THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 18:s, 
 
 JAMES LOUIS rET^ORU 
 
 PRESIDENT OP TEr. SO. CA. ni I'o IICA^ SuflEiy. 
 
 Pi. BUSHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 CHARLESTON b. C. 
 
 STEAM POWER PRESS JF WALKER, ^^JVANS & CO. 
 
 1858. 
 
 .<•«»?*►: 
 
'^1 
 
 / 6 d-d '3 
 ORATION / 
 
 ON THE THIKD ANNIVERSARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 South Carolina Historical Society, 
 
 HIBERNIAN HALL, IN CHARLESTON, 
 
 ON 
 
 THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1858, 
 
 JAMES LOUIS PETIGRU, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE SO. CA. HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 CHARLESTON, S. C : 
 
 STEAM POWER PRESS OF WALKER, EVANS & CO. 
 
 1858. 
 

 -Ic^ 
 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 It is the province of Reason to distinguish between right 
 and wrong, and to deduce from that distinction rules for the 
 conduct of Hfe. 
 
 But Reason itself is not exempt from error. Theory and 
 speculation often fail in doctrine as well as in practice, and 
 there are no errors so dangerous as the mistakes of men in 
 whom the faculty of reason is predominant, because they 
 have the power, by persuasion and argument, of making those 
 mistakes the source of pernicious opinions. Not to mention 
 the disturbing influence of interest and passion, the seeds of 
 error are so thickly sown, that Reason itself must lean on the 
 authority of Experience. 
 
 Many trains of thought, like streams that have no outlet, 
 terminate in uncertainty : and there are problems in moral 
 philosophy on which reason disputes in vain. 
 
 Not individuals merely, but wliole communities, are divided 
 by opinions in which both parties are equally clear. There 
 is many a debate, where there is no decision ; and the judgment 
 of one age is often reversed by the next. Thus the adherents of 
 antiquity, under the name of Conservatives, and the partisans 
 of progress, under the banner of Reform, wage an endless 
 war. While by one party the clouds that obscure the sky are 
 hailed Avith gladness, as harbingers of refreshing rain; to other 
 minds the troubled atmosphere is filled with direful portents 
 of the coming storm. On the one side, whatever is new is 
 welcome ; while with others, truth itself would be rejected, if 
 it have not the stamp of antiquity. 
 
Though opinion assumes such various shapes, and whole 
 armies are recruited for the defence of every sort of doctrine, 
 they all equally appeal to the authority of Reason; nor does 
 Reason spurn the appeal — for they all draw their weapons from 
 her armory; and neither intellect nor acuteness in debate, can 
 be denied even to the most dangerous fanatics, or the wildest 
 enthusiasts. 
 
 It is History that comes to the relief of conscience when 
 perplexed by the conflict of opinion; and furnishes a guide for 
 conduct and judgment, when reason is at fault. It is to the 
 human family what experience is to the individual. Prece- 
 dent and example furnish a clue for arriving at a decision, 
 when the mind is bewildered by doubt. They show the dif- 
 ference between the line to be pursued, and that to be 
 avoided ; between the way that leads to ruin, and that which 
 conducts to safety; and questions which Reason could not 
 solve, are silently settled by Time. 
 
 Time, which is the destroyer of the works of men, gives 
 them History in return for what it takes away. The legacy 
 is of inestimable value, but it has not always been transmitted 
 through faithful hands. The truth which it is the duty of 
 history to reveal, is often clouded with fable. Yet it is to the 
 study of history chiefly that we are indebted for the skill that 
 is necessary to separate the ore from the dross ; to discriminate 
 between the true and the false ; between the tales of fiction 
 and the phenomena of real life. In early times this operation 
 was but very imperfectly understood; and in the narratives 
 that have come down from a remote antiquity, truth and fic- 
 tion are so intimately blended as to defy separation. The 
 credulity with which things contrary to nature and experience 
 are received, even by able and observing men, becomes a 
 marvel and problem for succeeding ages; that cherish, per- 
 haps, on other subjects, opinions equally at variance with 
 truth ; destined in their turn, to be rejected with amazement 
 as the exploded fallacies of an unquestioning period. As in 
 the external world the senses are often unconscious of sur- 
 rounding objects; so in the interior life of man, the mind may, 
 for want of attention, be insensible to ideas that would other- 
 
wise be obvious. The jurists say, with justice, that nothing 
 is certain which has not been questioned — for till the question 
 is made, there is no comparison, and of course no judgment; 
 so that, without an actual examination, it is impossible to tell 
 whether anything received for true will stand the test of inves- 
 tigation ; for it may have been admitted at first by indolence 
 or inattention, become fixed by habit, and gradually acquired 
 the character of public opinion. 
 
 Although the difference between truth and falsehood is a 
 distinction perceptible to the understanding of all rational be- 
 ings ; yet to discriminate between them in a complex proposi- 
 tion, where there is a necessity for comparison and reflection, 
 requires the use of rules that are the later productions of a 
 cultivated Reason. As long as History depended on tradi- 
 tion, and no contemporary memorials preserved its integrity 
 against the defects of memory, or the interpolations of parti- 
 ality or hatred, the line between fable and veracious narrative 
 was scarcely perceptible. 
 
 The account of what happened in former times, was not 
 only inperfect for the want of accurate information, but the 
 narrative was varied by prejudice or vanity ; by the desire of 
 inculcating the opinions, or gratifying the ambition of the 
 writer. But when public registers of some sort began to 
 be kept, cotemporary evidence checked the license of the im- 
 agination, and history assumed more and more the gravity of 
 a moral teacher. The critical judgment of Polybius, for in- 
 stance, is in strong contrast with the credulous avidity of He- 
 rodotus. For though the Father of History, as he is called, 
 is a lover of truth, and deserving of confidence when he 
 speaks from his own knowledge; so that succeeding investi- 
 gations have tended more and more to raise his character for 
 fidelity; it must be acknowledged that he seems to have been 
 sadly deficient in weighing the credibility of evidence. 
 
 But there has ever been a wide difference between the tra- 
 ditionary and the critical school in the appreciation of history. 
 The prevailing style has varied with the state of public opin- 
 ion. Till the revival of letters, the traditionary school had 
 clearly the advantage in popularity, and it is not without 
 
wonder that we see that even the daring genius of Milton was 
 so far subdued by the spirit of his age as to lend a sort 
 of credence to the legend of King Brute and his Trojan 
 Colony. 
 
 With the revival of letters, as a more liberal way of think- 
 ing prevailed, a more strict adherence to truth was exacted in 
 every branch of knowledge. But it is mainly owing to the 
 study of history, and the light which has been thrown on the 
 records of the past; that the critical judgment, for which 
 modern times are distinguished, has been refined and im- 
 proved. 
 
 Recovering as it were from the sleep of ages, the human 
 mind rejects the dreams that have been imposed on the world 
 for history; and renders to truth the homage of an exclusive 
 worship. That which is asserted without proof is deemed 
 unworthy of credence or even of refutation. Assertion is not 
 enough without evidence, nor a witness without some voucher 
 for his competency as well as his integrity. 
 
 Authentic history may be said to commence with the times 
 when historians began to avail themselves of cotemporary 
 memorials of the events which they undertook to describe. 
 Our pride may be humbled by the reflection that after all we 
 know so little of the past ; that even the dim light of tradition 
 throws no ray upon the beginning of the present order of 
 things. Moses alone takes up his theme with the morning of 
 creation; but his mission is not that of satisfying profane curi- 
 osity; nor is the sacred narrative a fit subject for the critical 
 tribunal. But it may not be improper to remark of the two 
 main features of that narrative, that his chronology, which 
 assigns a comparatively recent date to the first appearance of 
 man on this globe, is corroborated by the investigations of 
 science; and that the unity of the human race, a dogma con- 
 secrated by his authority, and dear to the sentiments of hu- 
 manity, cannot be disproved by reason. 
 
 But the origin of nationalities, and the names of the great 
 benefactors of mankind, who colonized the fairest parts of the 
 earth, and made the greatest inventions, are buried in the 
 darkness of oblivion. For great things were done before the 
 
historic period began, and many great events, since that time, 
 have been so transformed by fable, as to come down to us in 
 the form of Apologue and Mythology. 
 
 But since men began to keep records and to raise intelli- 
 gible monuments, new life is infused into the world by ex- 
 ,tending the pleasures of memory to the bounds of history ; 
 and elevating the enjoyments of hope to the height of an en- 
 during fame. And whereas truth was once so mixed with 
 error as to lie undistinguished in the mass of fable, she now 
 shines with her own lustre; and though the path of life is be- 
 set with thorns, and the ascent is steep and laborious, the 
 light of history irradiates the way: while the noble example 
 of those who have gone before, encourages the generous souls 
 who are willing to climb the hill; like the voice of companions 
 calling from above to cheer and animate their efforts. 
 
 •Well may Cicero, great master of wisdom as of eloquence, 
 exclaim: History is the evidence of ages, the light of truth, 
 the life of memory, and the school of life. 
 
 The South Carolina Historical Society aims at promoting 
 historical studies, and preserving the materials of history that 
 are derived from cotemporary witnesses. 
 
 The public mind, in our country, is far more occupied with 
 the future than the past. It is a very general complaint that 
 our people are careless of records. The materials of history 
 are treated very much like the noble forest, not to be surpassed 
 in beauty, with which Carolina was once covered. It is de- 
 livered, without mercy, to the havoc of the axe or the ravages 
 of the devouring flame. The supply is supposed to be inex- 
 haustible, and the process goes on till the recklessness of 
 waste is checked by the alarm of approaching scarcity. We 
 would interpose to protect the remnant of that noble forest 
 which is threatened with extermination. We would be happy 
 to lend our aid in preserving the memory of things remarka- 
 ble or interesting, in our country, which are beginning to lose 
 their hold on living memory. The labors, the trials, and dan- 
 gers that have proved the endurance, or exercised the virtue 
 of our countrymen, are in our eyes of sufficient interest to be 
 preserved from neglect. We would inscribe with a name the 
 
8 
 
 battle fields of Indian and British hostility; and would fain 
 prevent the soil that has been watered with blood poured out 
 in behalf of the Commonwealth, from being confounded with 
 common earth. Our labors, though unpretending, are accom- 
 panied by good intentions; and I am happy to say, encouraged 
 by a benefaction from the State equal to our moderate desires. 
 
 But the annals of our State have not been entirely neglected. 
 The Colonial History has been written by Hewett — a writer 
 rather pleasing by his style than instructive by the depth or 
 extent of his information. The subject has been treated by 
 Ramsay and Simms in narratives extending to our times. 
 Ramsay's History is the work of a man of liberal mind, en- 
 gaged in professional cares, and pursuing literature as a sec- 
 ondary object. But he had been an actor in many of the 
 later scenes which he describes, and abounds in information, 
 the result rather of his own observation and intercourse with 
 life, than of a careful examination of books. Of the period 
 antecedent to the Revolution, a critical examination was not in 
 his power, for the records were beyond his reach. They lie 
 disregarded in the State paper office in London, and it is a 
 favorite object of this Society to make their contents known 
 by copies obtained from official sources. 
 
 The History of Simms is a work of which parental affec- 
 tion may be proud, having been composed under its dictates, 
 as we are informed by the Preface; to provide for a want that 
 was felt in the education of the author's daughter. He de- 
 serves great praise for his attempt to reform the vulgar nomen- 
 clature of many places and natural features of the State, which 
 are disgraced by obscure or trivial names; and to restore the 
 historical and oftentimes euphonious designations by which 
 they were characterized in the Indian tongue. 
 
 Valuable documentary materials belonging to the Revolu- 
 tionary period have been supplied by Drayton in his History, 
 and Johnson in his Life of Greene, to which the volumes 
 published by Gibbes form a valuable addition; and the story 
 of the war in Carolina may be read with pleasure in the sol- 
 diery narrative of Lee, and the lively pages of Weems, the 
 biographer of Marion. Without dwelling on the laudable 
 
munificence of Mr. Weston, who has invested some rare old 
 memoirs of the colonial times with all the splendors of Typog- 
 raphy, we must not omit to notice the Historical Collections 
 of Carroll, and the work of Rivers, on the Proprietary period; 
 which is a foretaste of the pleasure and instruction which we 
 may hope to derive from the progress of his labors in the 
 same field. 
 
 Perhaps the opinion is tinged with the partiality of a native, 
 yet after making all allowance for the bias of patriotism, it 
 may be said, I think, with justice, that the annals of South 
 Carolina offer to the eye of the historian a field worthy of 
 more than common attention. 
 
 The first scene partakes of all the interest of romance. The 
 voyages of Ribault and Laudoniere carry the reader back to 
 the period of the civil wars of France; and are connected with 
 the great name of Coligny. 
 
 France, by means of these voyages, impressed the country 
 with a name, but nothing more. It was intended as an asy- 
 lum for French Dissent; and so, in fact, it became, but not 
 under French domination. The sad fate of the Protestant 
 exiles — the extinction of the hopes that had animated the 
 great soul of Coligny, and led his adventurous countrymen to 
 encounter so many sacrifices, is a gloomy picture; unredeemed 
 by a single incident of a more genial nature, unless it be 
 admiration of the noble DesGourges; who assumed the pub- 
 lic cause when neglected by the State ; and with a private 
 hand avenged the insulted honor of his country. 
 
 To the same shores, dark with the shade of the primeval 
 forest, after long years of undisturbed seclusion, came the 
 English Colony, under better auspices. It was an eventful pe- 
 riod, between the Great Rebellion and the Revolution. Society 
 had been profoundly agitated, and the heaving billows bore 
 witness of the recent storm. It was a singular colony of men 
 who had fought in civil war on opposite sides, and were ready 
 to do so again. It was equally an asylum for the oppressor 
 and the oppressed. There royalist and republican, churchman 
 and dissenter, found alike a refuge from the storms of life. Nor 
 was it merely from the discordant elements of England or the 
 
10 
 
 British Isles that the strange medley was gathered. The 
 rivalry of England and France, which has disturbed the peace 
 of the world for centuries, was then at its height. They re- 
 garded each other as natural enemies, and on the continent of 
 America their meeting was the signal of hostilities. But as 
 every variety of living thing found refnge in Noah's ark, so 
 in Carolina there was a strange meeting of the human race. 
 
 The Protestants of France, that had waged many a hard 
 fought battle, and seen the downfall of hopes to which hu- 
 manity might cling as to a promise of blessing; now turned 
 their eyes again to the shores which, in the preceding century, 
 had attracted the attention of Coligny. To Carolina they 
 came; but no longer French — not as masters, but as suppli- 
 ants for the rights of hospitality. Bitter must have been the 
 struggle with which they had overcome the natural pride of 
 the human heart, when they sunk the proud name of French- 
 man in that of Protestant; and taught their children to speak 
 an alien tongue. They came with small assurance of wel- 
 come to join a discordant throng. Though the Huguenots 
 have been scattered far and wide, and given proof in every 
 clime of the power that abides with sincere religious faith; 
 nowhere, is it believed, have they been more conspicuous — 
 and nowhere has the sentiment of honor, so characteristic 
 of their race, been cherished with more devotion — than in 
 South Carolina. 
 
 The heterogeneous colony received accessions from every 
 side. The Germans added no small share to the increas- 
 ing stock. The European exile and the African slave 
 mixed in the throng, and every shade of color and opin- 
 ion had its representative in the mass. Then there was, 
 in the process of time, a contrast no less striking between 
 the Upper and Low country. The Upper country was 
 not peopled from the older part of the colony, but by a 
 different race; and its inhabitants maintained few relations 
 with the people of the Low country, from whom they dif- 
 fered in manners as much as in origin; and with whom 
 their sympathy was as limited as their intercourse. So great 
 was the difference, that sixty years ago it was noticed in books 
 
11 
 
 of geography that these parts of the State differed among 
 themselves more than the other States differed from one an- 
 other. 
 
 "If any city ever was in a state of inflammation, Rome at 
 first was, being composed of the most hardy and resohite 
 men, whom boldness and despair had driven thither from all 
 quarters; nourished and matured to power by a series of wars, 
 and strenghtened even by blows and conflicts, as piles fixed 
 in the ground become firmer under concussion."* 
 
 Though the fame of Rome throws that of all other cities 
 into the shade, and exposes even the mention of a casual re- 
 semblance to the suspicion of presumption ; yet in one par- 
 ticular, we may, without exaggeration, challenge compari- 
 son. For though the name of Numa, the Roman law- 
 giver, is renowned in history, it is too much mixed with im- 
 posture to be the theme of genuine admiration ; but we had a 
 lawgiver whose fame places him in the front rank of real liv- 
 ing men. The men of wit and fashion in the court of Charles 
 II. who asked and obtained the gift of Carolina, selected a 
 philosopher for the lawgiver of the nascent colony. And 
 such a philosopher! 
 
 Locke was the friend of Shaftsbury, and he who shook the 
 world by his Ideas — who sounded the depths of the Human 
 Understanding, and walked undismayed to the brink of that 
 abyss where lie the absolute, the incomprehensible, the un- 
 known — he at the request of friendship compiled the first 
 constitution for Carolina. 
 
 No existing constitution can boast such an illustrious an- 
 cestry. In reference to the mind from which it emanated, it 
 is indeed an interesting document. It possesses interest also 
 as a sort of sea-mark by which it may be seen how high the 
 tide, that has since swept away so many institutions, had 
 risen in 1672. 
 
 On examination, it will be seen that on the subject of reli- 
 gious liberty, the philosopher, though liberal, has many reser- 
 vations ; and in matters of State, his ideas conform to the 
 pattern of the British Constitution rather than to any Utopian 
 
 *Plut. in vit. Numa. 
 
12 
 
 standard. But some of his notions might well excite a smile, 
 and others might give countenance to the common opinion, 
 that great men are unfit for public affairs. 
 
 Shaftsbury, one of the Proprietors of Carolina, who with 
 all his faults enjoys the undying fame of being the author of 
 the Habeas Corpus Act, is the only person in modern history, 
 neither priest nor lawyer, who was clothed with the highest 
 judicial office; and took upon himself to he a Judge in the 
 last resort, without serving an apprenticeship to the Law. And 
 though the experiment was never repeated, the praise of a 
 bitter enemy forbids us to regard it as a total failure. Per- 
 haps the author of the Habeas Corpus Act will be more in- 
 debted for his fame to these lines, than to all that has been 
 written in his behalf: 
 
 "Yet fame deserved no enemy can grudge 
 The Statesman we abhor, but praise the Judge, 
 In Israel's courts ne'er sat an Abethdin 
 With more discerning eyes, or hands more clean ; 
 Unbribed, unsought, the wretched to redress, 
 Swift of dispatch and easy of access." 
 
 It was perhaps, in deference to the example of his great 
 friend and patron, that the Philosoper admitted into his con- 
 stitution this article on the value of professional learning: 
 
 " It shall be a base and vile thing to plead for money; nor 
 shall any one, except a near kinsman, not further than cousin- 
 germain, be permitted to plead another man's case, until he 
 has taken an oath that he does not plead for money." 
 
 Another article will be read with surprise by some in the 
 present day, and deserves notice for its historical value: 
 
 " Every free man shall have absolute power over his negro 
 slaves.'' 
 
 Though we are justly proud of Locke as our first lawgiver? 
 it must be owned, to the disparagement of philosophy, that 
 his constitution had a very brief and limited sway. But this 
 only adds one instance more to the lesson of history, that a 
 constitution cannot be manufactured. It must be so far a 
 spontaneous production, as to proceed from and truly reflect 
 the condition of things for which it is intended. The insti- 
 tution of a provincial noblesse, of seigniories, baronies and ma- 
 
13 
 
 nors, new courts, and new notions of administering justice, 
 were inconsistent with the real wants of the country, and hos- 
 tile to the natural development of its resources. The constitu- 
 tion was quietly set aside, without having given rise to revo- 
 lutionary measures. But all attempts to govern by a form of 
 State which is not in keeping with the condition of the vari- 
 ous interests which go to form a commonwealth, is a danger- 
 ous trial. The experiment was innocuous here, because the 
 fulminating material was so minute in quantity. The gov- 
 ernment was unarmed, and the people were at ease. The 
 same experiment on a great scale has shook the world with 
 its explosions. 
 
 In a society constituted Hke Carolina, much harmony could 
 not be expected, nor is the judgment deceived by the event. 
 Fierce party contests prevailed from the beginning, but there 
 was no anarchy. Tlie colony was preserved from that by the 
 ascendancy of party. 
 
 It is rather a discouraging fact for those who look forward 
 to the indefinite progress of society, that the solidarity which 
 should complete the edifice — which is the perfection of the 
 principle of association — the harmony which secures the indi- 
 vidual and the mass — is realized in the union of party, rather 
 than in the union of all. But party is held together by a com- 
 bination of those who have more than an equal share of 
 power. 
 
 The history of Carolina is no exception. The elective fran- 
 chise was liberally diffused, but the Test and Corporation acts 
 guarded with jealousy the steps of the Provincial Assembly, 
 as they did those of the Imperial Parhament; and the ave- 
 nues of office were closed to all but the dominant sect. This 
 state of things existed till 1778; a legislative fact, strangely ig- 
 nored in the voluminous collection of Cooper, under whose 
 revision the Statute Law of Carolina attained, in 1834, the 
 bulk of ten quarto volumes. 
 
 After fifty years of contention a revolution took place — the 
 proprietary government was subverted, and the colony placed 
 under the direct control of the crown. The spirit of liberty 
 which all these circumstances combined to foster, made it 
 
14 
 
 very natural for this colony to take fire at any encroach- 
 ment on their rights as British subjects, or to borrow the 
 expression of Drayton, one of the leaders of the revolu- 
 tion, "the imperial people." By such men the cause of inde- 
 pendence was embraced with great ardor. But where there 
 is freedom there will be many ways of thinking, and the 
 question of independence was not one of those propositions 
 about which doubt is inconsistent with integrity. 
 
 There was in South Carolina a numerous Population, bound 
 to the Government of the mother country, not only by the 
 general sentiment of loyalty, but by the ties of gratitude for 
 distinguished favors. They had received at the hands of the 
 crown valuable laiids as a free donation, which, by their in- 
 dustry, had been converted into thriving farms. 
 
 The government was known to them only by its benefi- 
 cence, and the very failings of the administration were calcu- 
 lated to prevent collision — to preserve the kindly relations that 
 subsisted between the people and their rulers. It was the 
 duty of the royal government to extend to all their subjects a 
 regular administration of justice and a due provision for the 
 instruction of the people. Both Church and State were justly 
 chargeable with the neglect of this duty. But it is not improb- 
 able that the King was liked the better for not sending bishops 
 and lawyers into those settlements, where people lived in a 
 primitive simplicity. Some irregularities were the consequence 
 of disturbances connected with the rise of a set of men called 
 Regulators. But upon the whole, simplicity of faith suffered 
 but little from the want of ecclesiastical establishments, and 
 manners supplied the place of law. Upon an impartial ret- 
 rospect, it is difficult to condemn such people for being con- 
 tented with their lot. The evils which they suffered from the 
 want of what might be called a vigorous administration, had 
 some compensations. Perhaps they bore them patiently be- 
 cause they seemed to be the inevitable concomitants of free- 
 dom and a frontier life ; an opinion that derives no little coun- 
 tenance from experience. For if like causes produce hke 
 effects, the want of justice that gave rise to the Regulators is 
 still a desideratum attested by the prevalence of lynch law. 
 
15 
 
 Whatever may be the cause, certain it is that the people of 
 South Carolina, were on this, as they had been on many other 
 occasions, greatly divided ; and the war of independence in 
 this State, was marked with all the bitterness of civil strife. 
 It is for that very reason more interesting to the historian. 
 
 Zeal in behalf of our country and oar country's friends is 
 commendable, and patriotism deservedly ranks among the 
 highest virtues. But even virtue may be pushed to excess, 
 and the narrow patriotism that fosters an overweening vanity, 
 and is blind to all merit except its own, stands in need of the 
 correction of reason. 
 
 History is false to her trust when she betrays the cause of 
 truth, even under the influence of patriotic impulses. It is 
 not true that all the virtue of the country was in the Whig 
 camp, or that the Tories were a horde of ruffians. They were 
 conservatives, and their error was in carrying to excess the 
 sentiment of loyalty, which is founded in virtue. Their con- 
 stancy embittered the contest, but did not provoke it. Their 
 cause deserved to fail; but their sufferings are entitled to re- 
 spect. Prejudice has blackened their name, but history will 
 speak of them as they were, with their failings and their vir- 
 tues, as more tenacious than ambitious ; rather weak than as- 
 piring; and show towards them the indulgence due to the 
 unfortunate. And let it be remembered for the benefit of 
 those who are influenced by a name, and pin their faith upon 
 party; — for the instruction of those writers who, like unskillful 
 painters, daub their pictures with glaring colors ; that it was 
 after the epithet of Tory had become perfectly detestable that 
 it was freely bestowed on the Federalists, their most redoubted 
 enemies. 
 
 South Carolina has been taunted with the division of par- 
 ties that marked the war of independence. It is the reproach 
 of ignorance. The division is a proof of sincerity, of free- 
 dom, of manliness of character. It embittered the contest, it 
 gave occasion for the commission of many crimes, but it was 
 also the cause of opportunities for the display of the highest 
 virtues. Rutledge will ever stand in the ranks of fame with 
 the great men whose civil wisdom, courage, and fidelity were 
 
16 
 
 equal to every emergency, and proof against every trial. Nor 
 is it wonderful that the name of Marion is inscribed on coun- 
 ties, towns and villages far beyond the theatre of his actions. 
 For his character combines the virtues that appeal irresistibly 
 to the instincts of the human heart. His courage, gentleness, 
 simplicity, and superiority to interest or revenge, mark him as 
 a fitting character for the gallery of Plutarch; and such a por- 
 trait as that great Limner delighted to draw. 
 
 It is not our intention to enter into details, far less to at- 
 tempt to do justice to all, or to even a part of the eminent 
 men, to whom as citizens of this State, we are bound by 
 the debt of gratitude. Let us leave to Bancroft, and the mas- 
 ters of the historic page, the ample roll of fame; and the hon- 
 ored task of inscribing a nation's gratitude on the tablets of 
 memory. It is enough for us to have shown that our State 
 has furnished some historical materials, and called attention 
 to the objects of our Society. 
 
 And now after having observed at some length on the com- 
 posite structure of society, and the strong tendency of the peo- 
 ple to fall into parties, the unanimity which for years has 
 marked the public counsels of the State deserves to be men- 
 tioned as the unexpected solution, or successful development 
 of the long continued drama. From the most heterogeneous 
 we have become the most united of all the political commu- 
 nities on this continent. May that union be consecrated to 
 peace, and the future history of the State contain the record 
 of its steady advance in all the arts of life, and all the virtues 
 that dignify humanity.