Page:Journal of Negro History, vol. 7.djvu/381

 of manslaughter. This man and such as he have done an immense harm, and it is time we were getting rid of them. We can't hold that class of men and be successful in politics. It is with pain that I utter what I do. If this were some other occasion, and the gentleman was from some other county, I ... of ... Cathcart. Hayne then went into a review of the testimony, concluding with the remark that as to the expulsion of Mr. Robertson bringing disgrace upon his children he did not deny; it was mournful that the sins of the fathers should be visited upon their children.

Black ... Davis then got up, and, as usual, talked a great deal and said very little. The general tenor of the harangue, however, was that if they expelled Robertson they would establish a precedent that would work harm for the party. They would be opening a door that they might not be able to shut when they wanted to. That Republican material was scarce, and if they punished this man it would discourage other white carpet-baggers from coming down and help lead the party in this State.

Freeman of Charleston, then followed in a strong speech against Robertson. He said that the question was one of peculiar significance. It was whether the colored men of the State were able to lead themselves, and capable of upholding their self-respect. He had remained silent until he had heard the defence entirely exhausted, and he was forced to say that the accused had in his defence done nothing but make an admission that the charges were true. He then read a letter of Robertson's dated June 2d. This, he said, was a confidential letter, and no public servant had the right to write such confidential letters to put money in their own pockets. If he (Robertson) knew that it was the character of these Northern firms to defraud the people of the different States, as he says he did, then why did he go to them? If he knew that they were swindlers, why did he go to them to strike a bargain for the State. Robertson had cast an insult upon the colored men that would not be tolerated by any other race upon the face of the globe. He had flung out to the world the insinuation—nay, the assertion—that the colored members of the Legislature were for sale on every question. He hoped that the colored members would assert their self-respect and hurl back the charge with scorn, and show to the world that they had some sense of honor, and will not be duped by unprincipled carpet-baggers any longer. Whipper then followed in a harangue in support of Robertson