

CAROLINA. 



401 



murder ; but there likewise, as with us, a verdict of 

 simple manslaughter is uniformly given in by tin- ju- 

 tad the criminal who, by thela \\-iof God tnd 

 sober reason, is condemned as more guilty than the 

 ordinary murderer, is received into society without 

 any mark of abhorrence, or even of disapprobation. 

 Several strenuous efforts have been made in Carolina 



press this pernicious and criminal practice. 

 Virtues of a less stern complexion, and amiable 

 even in their .-xcess, form the more engaging features 

 in the character f the Carolinians. Their hos- 

 pitality to strangers, and cWity to the indigent and 

 distressed, are scarcely limited, cv^ n by their pecu- 

 niary circumstances. The doors of everv Carolinian 

 are opened, not without reluctance merely, but even 

 with eagerness, to decent travellers ; and the whole 

 state may be traversed at very little expence, by a 

 person who, with or without letters of introduction, 

 chooses to call at the houses of private gentlemen on 

 his way. Among this generous people, the voice of 

 misery is never raised in vain. Whatever can relieve 

 the wants of poverty, or heal the pangs of distress, 

 is administered with an unsparing bounty and affec- 

 tionate sympathy, which would cover more numerous 

 and more enormous sins than any which can be fair- 

 ly laid to the charge of the Carolinians. 



The prevalence of these amiable qualities may per- 

 haps be ascribed, in no inconsiderable degree, to the 

 influence of the ladies, whose character shines forth 

 in Carolina with peculiar lustre. Generally well 

 educated, their information, without fostering their 

 vanity, enables them to maintain, with dignity and 

 spirit, a refined and rational conversation. The po- 

 liteness and elegance of their manners, imparts to all 

 they say and do a charm, which is the more irresistible, 

 as it seems to proceed less from art and culture, than 

 from the native goodness of their hearts. With the viva- 

 city and love of pleasure natural to their sex, they 

 unite a sweetness of disposition, and a discretion, 

 which, while they delight and- animate every social 

 circle, save the hearts of their friends from all feel- 

 ings of anxiety with regard to the propriety of their 

 behaviour. It is in the bosom of their own families, 

 however, that their amiable qualities are most en- 

 dearingly displayed. To soothe the cares and in- 

 crease the comforts of a father, to administer with 

 affectionate attention to the happiness and respecta- 

 bility of a brother, are the favourite occupations, 

 from which no allurements of pleasure can withdraw 

 a young lady of Carolina. In the discharge of their 

 duties as wives and mothers, they are particularly 

 assiduous and faithful ; and their prudent manage- 

 ment and kind attention, render home a most pleas- 

 ing refuge from the bustle of business, and the jar- 

 ring contentions in which the rougher sex are too fre- 

 quently engaged. 



In Carolina, the subordinations of rank which pre- 

 vail in other countries, are almost unknown. Among 

 the white people, the relation of master and servant 

 is scarcely to be found ; and the relation of master 

 and tenant is, in the country at least, equally rare. 

 The most obvious subdivision of its inhabitants is in- 

 to planters, farmers, cottagers, and squatters. Each 

 of these classes has a peculiar character. 



The planters, who have in general large incomes, 

 live in a luxurious and splendid style, devoting much 

 of their time to the puruit of pleasure, engaging 



in no employments which require great or continued South 



ions of mind or body, and possessing much of 

 th;tt |iri,!r and dignity of spirit, which characterise* y ~~C** 

 an independent country gentleman. 



The virtues of the farmers are less brilliant, but Partner*, 

 more substantial, and their vices fewer than those of 

 the planter. More dependent on their own exertions, 

 they are consequently more active ; their desires, like 

 their incomes, are more limited ; in the reverses of 

 fortune, they exhibit greater fortitude, and have 

 ampler internal resources to meet extraordinary emer- 

 gencies. 



The cottagers longcontinued in a state of depression. Cottagerr. 

 Unwilling to mingle in the labours of the field with 

 the slaves of other people, and unable to procure the 

 situation of overseers, many of them were compelled 

 to engage in some trivial business, which afforded 

 them only desultory employment. Without the in- 

 citements of regular gain to stimulate their exertions, 

 the sole end of their labours was to earn a supply of 

 the plainest necessaries of life, which, in a country 

 like Carolina, was so easily obtained, that much of 

 their time remained unemployed, and all the vicei 

 which result from idleness of course disgraced their 

 character. Of late, however, both their condition 

 and their character have been considerably improved. 

 The culture of cotton holds out to this class of the 

 community strong inducements to personal industry. 

 It enables them to work their own lands, to procure 

 a large share of the comforts of life, and daily to ac- 

 quire consequence in society. 



The squatters have been at all times, and still con- Squatter*.' 

 tinue, great nuisances to the public. Settling on any 

 man's land, paying no rent, cultivating no ground, 

 they lived by their guns ostensibly in hunting, but 

 often in shooting down the domestic animals of their 

 industrious neighbours. In the vast tracts of poor 

 and unoccupied laud with which Carolina abounds, 

 these people found it easy to make temporary settle- 

 ments. From these, as centres, they made their ex- 

 cursions, returning to them regularly with their booty 

 and their game. In several places, the Methodists 

 have had such influence on many of this class, as to 

 induce them to engage in regular industry. The 

 number of squatters has thus been considerably dimi- 

 nished, and of industriouscottagers or farmers increased. 



Since the establishment of the federal constitution Govern- 

 of the United States, the government of South Caro- ment. 

 lina has become somewhat complex. Acknowledging 

 a federal legislative, executive, and judicial authority, 

 and ceding to the union every power that is necessary 

 to a common national government, it restricts these 

 powers to objects of a general nature, and reserves 

 for its own local jurisdiction the management of every 

 thing that is purely domestic in its operation and 

 consequences. By a convention of the people, held 

 in 1790, the constitution of South Carolina was 

 new modelled, so as to harmonise with the general 

 constitution of the United States. The legislature, 

 as in the other states, is composed of a senate of 

 members, and a house of representatives of 124 mem- 

 bers, elected by the inhabitants of the districts which 

 they represent. The governor is elected for the term 

 of two years ; and, after an interval of four years 

 from the expiration of his authority, may be elect- 

 ed again. The governor and lieutenant-governor are 

 nominated by the legislative body, and both at the 



