ts
corporate dignity. Thus ended a great municipal farce, to prolong which
the principal performers knew would disclose the intriguing scenes of
their secondary performers. The plot of this melo-comic concern was in
the sequel, and turned upon the very grave fact of Mr. C--having some
time previous withdrawn from the honorable board, to preserve some very
delicate considerations for conscience' sake.

How much spiritual consolation Mr. C--realized through the
acknowledgment of Mr. R--, or the honorable board in joint-officio from
the firm admonition, we leave for the secondary consideration of proper
wives and daughters.

But the reader will ask, what has this to do with poor Manuel
Pereira,--or the imprisonment of free citizens of a friendly nation? We
will show him that the complex system of official spoliation, and the
misrepresentations of the police in regard to the influence of such
persons upon the slave population, is a principal feature in its
enforcement. To do this, we deem it essentially necessary to show the
character of such men and the manner in which this law is carried out.
We shall make no charges that we cannot sustain by the evidence of the
whole city proper, and with the knowledge that truth is stronger than
fiction.

What will the reader say when we tell him that, among the leading minds
of the city--we say leading minds, for we class those who are considered
foremost in the mercantile sphere among them--are three brothers,
unmarried, but with mistresses bought for the purpose, whose dark skins
avert the tongue of scandal;--that, twice, men were sold, because of the
beauty of their wives, to distant traders, that the brothers might cast
off their old mistresses, and appropriate new ones to an unholy purpose;
that these men enjoy their richly furnished mansions, are known for
their sumptuous entertainments, set an example of mercantile honor and
integrity, are flattered among the populace, receive the attentions of
very fine and very virtuous ladies, wield a potential voice in the
city government, and lead in the greatest development of internal
improvements;--that these men even whisper high-sounding words of
morality, and the established custom considers their example no harm
when color is modified.

What will the reader think, when we tell him that there is no
city-marshal in Charleston, but innumerable marshalled men, supported
by an onerous tax upon the people, to quiet the fears of a few.