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^. Ht * "v * ... ~ * % THE CAMDEN JOURNAL. VOL. 10. CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA, DECEMBER 5,1849. NUMBER 49.~ i?? ???i ???? , ? 1 - - - - i - *? I ...k:?u ,u_ n _ . _i ,j , GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. 1 r To the Honorable the Speaker and J f Members of the House of Representatives: y Gentlemen : You are assembled under cir. j cumstances, in many respects, peculiarly lavor. t able to considerate and sound legislation. The ? year which is closing has been distinguished in ? % a very remarkable degree for the general health of our citizens. From the pestilence which has consigned to the tomb so many thousands of the f people of other parts of our common country, S. . Carolina has been entirely exempt. Even to those sections of the State in which malarial di>. . eases in summer not unfrequenlly occur, Provi. ?*t??nHed the arm of mercy. For this UriilA/ into signal blessing, bo widely diffused, may we hope thai a deep and abiding impression of gratitude to the Giver of ail Good has already been made on the public mind. 1 While the earth has yielded an abundant in* crease, our mechanic arts hare been multiplied and extended; the boundary of science and learning has been enlarged; the credit of the State is unshaken, and the spirit of the people, long depressed from various causes, is again buoyant, and would quickly be eieiled to its utmost energy, if every cause of discontent from external sources were permanently removed. j FEDERAL RELATIONS. * I herewith transmit certain resolutions of the ' States of Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and 1 , Missouri, on the restriction of slavery in the ter- ' rilories of the United States. I The opinion of South Carolina on the grave ' matter at issue has been so repeatedly expressed, < that, at its last session, the Legislature unanimously declared that the time for discussion by ' the slavehulding States had passed, and that I the General Assembly, representing the feel. ' ings of the State, was prepared to co-operate e with her sister States in resisting the applica* 1 tion of the principles of the Wilmot Proviso 1 to the territory acquired from Mexico, at any ' and every hazard. At a convention also ofde. 1 legates of the committees of safety, held at this ( , place in May, it was among other things re* * solved that, in the event of the passage ot the ' Wilmot Proviso, or any equivalent measure, the J Governor be requested to convene the Legisla* 1 lure, if not in session, "io cunsiucr iuc mwc and measure of redress." * Concurring in the belief of (be utter futility ' of further argument, I shall not attempt to de- 1 tnonstrate the false position occupied hy our ( antagonists, and the danger to the Union and 1 themselves, by their ingloriously persisting in ' maintaining it. The enactment of any one of ' the contemplated measures of hostility would ' probably, if not certainly, result in severing the ' political.lie* that now unite us, but which, in such an event, would no longer serve the elc- J rated purposes for which they were designed. Already it is known that the Legislatures of ' ' Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina, the ' former hy authority of law, and the latter in J > obedience to the wish of their constituents, will convene as soon as it shall be officially announ- 1 ced that sinister counsels have prevailed in the ' legislation of Congress^ I'o what specific mode * of action the agricultural States will resort, to * arrest the career of Federal misrule, time alone ' will develope. To provide that it shall be such I as the outraged rights of freemen and sovereign ' communities demand, the honor of those coin- 1 i montfrealth* is irrevocably pledged. rvor may conjecture be indulged concerning the course of ' coterminous States, having with them a com- 1 munity of interest, of affection, and of fears. ' f The same feeling, only to a greater extent, that would arouse the slumbering energies of the whole Union to crush foreign intermeddling ' with the internal regulations of the nation, would 1 call forth unanimity in the South, to repel a I wanton attack on their domestic peace and se- 1 curity. Our associates need not be reminded I then that the success of an attempt, from what- ( ever quarter, to disfranchise any portion of the . citizens of this great partnership of coequal so- I vereignties, and arbitrarily to control the au- 1 fhorities created by thern, may pro|>erly be I classed among the political impossibilities of the ' day. ' If the States were, in all respects, independent powers, the aggressions of the North, continued and multiplied in despite of fraternal apI peals to their justice, magnanimity, and enlightened patriotism, would long since have made ' % them practically acquainted with war and its attendant horrors. Why is it, that the strongest ' legal safeguards against encroachments on the ' | rights of foreign nations, have been so carefully provided by the Federal Government, with the assent of every parly in power?whilst to overthrow the constitutional barriers, erected by a common ancestry, * to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings 1 of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," the ' moral influence of that very government, under ( V the stress of sectional and geographical corobinations, is unceasingly and insultingly exerted? The true answer exhibits a melancholy view of human nature, and enforces the necessity for ~~ bn.n nf ngprh. providing omrr rnuuiuu) man mwvi r-. went bond* to confine the central power and its { lawless abettors within their prescribed limits. , In this hnrrassing controversy, reliance on the judgment and patriotism of the reflecting por- , ^ion of our Northern brethren, it is unnecessary f to .di'guise, is rapidly disappearing. The ques- , does.1 ^onS "tooted is of fearful import to both aeciioos." Consolidation is more tube dreaded j K thin ceptUion. Many of the acts of the Stale | ^jassembliea, a"d attempted and contemplated legislation of*. '?ngress against the slaveholding community, are destined, if successful, to enfrail a principle, u,00" our political institutions, fraught with immine.'1* danger to every member j the Republic?to th?' North more than to the 11 Soutli; to both, ho?r?v*.'r? ,n prostrating the : safeguards of all rights, pe> *onal, social and po- 1 liticai; but to the former espfc>c'*Hyi in arraying 1 labor against capital. f If masters, in violation of the federal Constitution and laws, may be prevented from recovering their fugitive or stolen slaves, if the transfer of persons and property, except under i degrading restrictions, be denied them, .wh&t protection for their rights will remain, wht/n ' the Northern States, by territorial aggrandize' 1 ment, unwarrantably acquired, shall hare se- i cured an undisputed ascendancy in the councils I f4 the nation. To force on such a result is now /seriously the aim of the enemy, and the non- | | jetfeutian of slavery furnishes a plausible plea < fo covey their real design. If the plantation * /States d$ Rfc PQW?? P"e slave, the records of f the Staip affd Federal Governments would ex. I hibit substantially the same reckless determina- i 1 J S?iitti?pii nmn?rtv ; I tion to coflirQi ana ? r?r~-j . j p of act ajbifrarllj the precptdt of rtt labor of i I I he richer, to be expended for,the benefit of the laterally poorer division of the Union. In the I lonsummation of so alarming a purpose, even i Southern politicians are unwittingly or designidly lending their aid. Party predilections are, ntoo many instances, stronger than principles; he higher offices in the gift of a commonwealth ire sought with less ardor than humble stations it the disposal of federal functionaries; the acts if the States, in which the real interests of the >eople are involved, are viewed as of suborditate importance, and the guarantees an<j comiromisesof the Constitution are looked upon as 1 inadapted to the moral condition and political idvancement of the age. There is but one re. nedy for the disease that portends desolation i ind ruin to our country?the maintenance in I heir original purity of the federative principles i >f the government, each State and every detriment of the federal authorities respectively 1 :onfining themselves within their constitutional >rbits, and between the States the extinguishnent of adverse feelings, the offspring of imaginary adverse interests. If these indispensable :onditions of our confederacy cannot be preterved by the people and the General and State jovernments, which past and passing events irould seem to indicate, then the period when | he legacy of a common ancestry shaf^cease to >e enjoyed, is already at hand. It remains for me only to add, that the South ias at last been amused from its criminal lethirgy to a knowledge of the dangers of its posiion. For the first time in our political history, rnrty affinities are becoming merged in the ligher obligation of co-operation for the sake >f safety, or for participation in a common fate. Of the two expedients advocated by those vhose common interests have been assailed, the 1 rroject of a Souther^ Convention is, in my I dew, undoubtedly to be preferred, where there i txixts a reasonable certainty of its assembling 1 inder sufficient rruarantees for united and har o noiiiou? action, [n the realization of this remit, we have at least reasonable grounds 'of issurance. 1 therefore hail with satisfaction he proposition of Mississippi, lor a convention >f the people of the Southern States, and ar? lently hope that it will meet with a warm and inanimous response. The paramount object s the preservation of the Union, in conformity ;o the principles of the Constitution of the- United States. If (hat cannot be obtained?which [ am willing to believe?then let it be resolved o protect and defend, at all hazards,.the free. Jom, sovereignty, and independence ot the members which compose it. In the latter al. :ernative, should a dire necessity be forced up. )n the South, it must not essay to penetrate the future, but at once commit to God its cause^and its destiny. With a view to second and further the objecte embraced in this proposition of our sister State, through the legislative channels of aft. hority, 1 suggest the expediency of empowering, by statute, the Governor, either to convoke the Legislature, if not in session, or to issue writs if election for a convention of the people, should :he Wilmot Proviso, or any kindred measure, iffecting the rights and honor of the State, rereive, the formal enactment of Congress. I would invite your special notice to the offence ? j?; > _ 1 71 inirouucing unu circulating, wiuim uui inuiia papers calculated to disturb the peace of the State; also to the fact of the extensive dissemination of highly inflammatory essays and letters, intended to awaken jealousy in the minds of citizerts, and ol offensive pictorial representalions, calculated to attract the attention oi the colored population. It is not unfrequently conceded, that every law of Congress, constitutionally enacted, is of supreme authority. This is an error, the exis tence of which the legislative history of Ibe Republic, and an accurate perception of the relalions between the States and their common a?ent, satisfactorily establishes. The regulation of commerce belongs exclusively to Congress; pet, by the quarantine laws of the Slates, that power is virtually abrogated. The laws of sev. sral of the southern states, prohibiting the in. ;ress of colored cooks and stewards into their borders, are embraced in the same category. The right of the States to resort to preventative legislation, in cases involving the security of health, life, and property, has been repeatedly recognised by the General Government. The act of 1803 sustained the law of North Caroliftgainst the admission of free persons of color Imm the West Indies. The State enactments on this subject rest on the principle, that the peace and security of a community are paramount to all formal provisions, and that, in ev. ery instance, lesser interests and considera. tions of convenience must yield to the imperious calls of public safety. That to prohibit the circulation of incendid% papers, through the mail, by Congress, is not a granted power; that the first article of the a* mendinents of the constitution puts it beyond ihe competency of that body to legislate on the matter; that, consequently, it is among the re. served rights of the States, and one which the South, at least, could never consent to abandon, I hold to be incontrovertible propositions. Congress and the States are indeed not only bound to abstain from all contravening legislation, but to grant effective aid, in certain cases, to any member of Ihe Union. The obligation of the former emanates from the constitution; of the latter, from international law, as well as the federal compact. Whatever penal safeguards, therefore, the Legislature may deem it necessary to provide, upholding and securing their endangered institutions, no human tribunal could rightfully annual or modify. I recommend that the circulation in our limits of incendiary papers, be declared an offence punishable with severe and definite penalties, and the existing laws be so modified, as effectually to prevent emissaries in the state, by perlonai efforts, or incendiaries out of the state, from effecting, through the mail, the accomplishment of their nefarious schemes. FREE SCHOOLS. In my Inaugraul Address, I directed your attention to the cause of education and learning. Among the various schemes which have been suggested for its melioration and advancement, not one is free from difficulty and embarrassvjent. To the South Carolina College you ?l?J-J ? >>..na.n.ia nolrnnoini a nrt narpn. Jit VC CUfllucu a ^v?ir.n/ui ? ? , a! guardianship. The amount of intellectual lower and moral energy emanating from that lource, which has been so signally develop, d in the councilsof the nation and state, constiute the highest evidence of the wisdom of its e?. ahlisbment. The preservation of this noble in> dilution, in all its vigor an^Pcommanding influence, ought not however, so entirely to absorb mention as to control the duty yau owe to the people at large. Their mental welfare is wor. thy of the highest public munificence How may this be more profitably bestowed, under the disadvantages incident to a sparse population is a question not easy of solution. Among the manifest errors of our present system, is the employment of incompetent teach* efh. The success of a school depends princi. ptlly on the character and capacity of the preceptor. Teaching is not only a profession but a science. While of all pursuits, none is more honorable, its responsibilities and the momentous consequences the present and future generations, inseparable from the administration of its functions renders the improvement of the instructor's occupation, as far a* that object is attainable by legislation, a primary duty of the sovereign authority. By constituting the busi ness of instruction a separate profession, the two-fold end is accomplished of securing its elevation, and enlarging and consolidating the influence of the schools upon the community. The purpose of early education is not the ac. quisition of mere knowledge, hut the practical development and strengthening of the mind. Hence the necessity that the master should be well acquainted with the temperament and disposition of his scholars, and he philosophy of teaching. Although, perhaps, all other pursuits into which society is divided are well furnished with competent followers, the most important? that of ascertaining and disclosing the intellectual resources of its members?is but meagrely provided. This arises in part from the want of demand for the fittest men, who again, by the unalluring prospects held out by the State, are deterred from embarking in a cause unsupportrd by the popular will and the popular sympathy. ^fAn adequate supply of instructors for the masses, able, faithful, and irreproachable in - - I.I character, is urgently required; auo mrtc piiuuiu be invited into the pursuit by rewards fully adequate to the importance of the services rendered. ' The necessity of such a policy in this country, all other reasons apart, arises from the consideration, that our children ought to be not only active members of a civilized community, but efficient citizens of a free government. To meet these requirements, I recommend the organization of a separate department in the col. lege for the special purpose ol qualifying a limi* ted number of young men, graduates of the State and Charleston colleges, drawn according to some equitable rule from different sections of South Carolina, lor the occupation of teaching. Another mode of effecting this design, would be the pledge of an annual appropriation for a few years to the first three or four incorporated academies, located in the low, middle, and upcountries, founded and successfully conducted for thn instruction of teachers; or a aimiliar promise to any of the existing schools of celebriety, that would provide for and practically execute a course of tuition in the attainment of that object. The expediency of providing for a superintendent offree schools has repeatedly been the subject of Executive recommendation. Such an officpr appears to be needed, mainly with a view to dissipate existing errors, and perhaps to reconcile conflicting opinions. 1 recommend that a suitable individual be selected to ascertain, by personal observation, the discipline and regulations of the schools; the mode of instructions; the books taught; the capacity and general fitness of the teachers; whether the sum* respectively received by the districts and parishes are adequate to their wants, and the regular supply of qualified instructors; in fine, to see and report the practical operation of the present system, and to suggest small improvemenls as he might deem valuable. In this way, more light, it is probable, will be shed on the subject in two years?the time to which the agent should be limited?than the reports of the commissioners have furnished since the organization of the scheme for popular instruction. As strictly germane to the matter under consideration, I am constrained to state, that suitable elementary works are greatly wanted. If a few of the books in common use tend to corrupt the taste of youth, other* show the utter unacquaintance of their authors with the philosophy of the mind; moreover, these productions are generally unadapted to southern pupils. There ire many in which the poison of fanaticism in some form is certain to be (bund. Hatred to our domestic institutions, directly or in directly expressed, is by this means attempted to be engrafted on the lender and flexible mind. For the ohtainment of proper elementary books, of which the Faculty of the college shall approve, the Legislature might offer a liberal reward. The public money could not be more judiciously expended. DEAF AND DUMB SCHOOL. In company with T. N. Dawkins, one oflhe commissioners, I visited, in July, a school for the deaf and dumb, at Cedar Spring*, Spartanburg, under the superintendence of*N. P. Walker. At that time, the number of pupils was eight~five males and three females?of whom seven were beneficiaries, and one nav scholar. Although the institution was not opened until the 22d ot January Inst, the remarkable proficiency ol its scholars assured us of the capacity, skill, and assiduity of the principal. We hc. cordingly resolved publicly to recommend to the parents and guardians of mute children Mr. Walker's school, as well entitled to their patronage and confidence. The location at Cedar Spring has long been distinguished for a salubrious utmosphere, and salutary properties of its water. To these ad. vantages?as soon as the work shops, in the progress of erection, shall have been completed ?is to be added the means of instruction in some useful trade, by which the male pupils will have the opportunity of profiting. Unpossessed as wo are of accurate data in relation to the number of mutes in tho State, there ye? seems to bo good reason to believe that fifty or sixty may exist. Forty pupils can now be accommodated with board and lodging by Mr. Walker. As the speedy enlargement of"the school will require additional teachers,-it may be gratifying to know that the services of one or more of that useful class arc obtainable in this or a sister State. In Hartford, Connecticut, there aro seven mutes from South Carolina. Every year the number will be diminished; perhaps, in 1852, not one will remain out of the State. As the fund to the credit of the deaf and dumb is large, no further appropriation by tbo Legislature is required. At present, the blind are without the benefit of education in our State. A hope, however, is indulged, that this reflection on this humani. ty will shortly be removed. CITADEL AND ARSENAL ACADEMIES. I strongly recommend these schools, which from the efficiency of their discipline and modes of instruction, merit the epithet of Normal, to your fostering care and protection.' The best commetary on their value is the fact that the graduates, without an elception, are now engag ed in honorable pursuits and in spreading over the State and elsewhere thft intellectual treasures gathered at these Institutions. So deep in my mind is the conviction of ibuir usefulness and immeasurable superiority over free schools in all that relates to moral, mental and physical cub ture, that, independent of grave reasons of publie policy, I am induced to recommend the establishment of another Miliiary Academy, to be located in one of the upper districts; also, that tlje accommodation for quartering the arsenal cadets be doubled, or by additions made sufficient for sixty.four young men. To increase the utility of the Academies, elevate the moral standing of the cadets, and render more certain the prospects ef their future efficiency, I submit the following proposals to your favorable notice: 1. That the Governor of the State, and the Board\)f Visitors and Faculty, he authorized to confer tbe'degree of graduate of the institution upon such cadets as may be found qualified te receive it. 2. That, in future, every beneficiary cadet shall be required to serve in the capacity of a teacher for two years after graduation, unless excused by the Board of Visitors. 3. That the number of the Board of Visitors, to be appointed biennally by the Governor, be increased to nine, and that these be selected from different pursuits, and not confined exclusively to the millitary profession. In conclusion of what has suggested itself on this subject, I would state that the number of students in the Arsenal Academy is twenty.one, ofVhom twenty are beneficiaries; the number in the Citadel Academy has averaged sixtyfive, in the proportion of forty beneficiaries to twenty-five pay Cadets. By the additional rooms which the new story to the Citadel building has provided, one hundred and thirty ca deti may be accommodated. BANK OF THE STATE. This institution was chartered in 1812. To the pecuniary pressure of the times, induced by the resirivtivc policy of the federal Government, it owes its existence. The distress of the planting community was so general and pa. ralizing, that the Legislature, after investigating every mode of relief, ultimately adopted the scheme of a system of public loans, in the nature of a discount, on real or personal prop, erty. The accommodation fornished on mortgage to individuals, limited at first to 82000 each, but by the act of'25, increased to 810,000 the 7th section of the original law prescribed should he distributed in proportionate amounts among the election districts. This proviso, I believe, has never been carried into effect*? Its execution, if required at the time, was soon , rendered unnecessary, as it is well known, that our agricultural population recovered from the consequences of the sudden revulsion in their condition, at an early period subsequent to the war. In 1820. the capital of the Bank was pledged for the redemption of the public debt. This was done to meet the expenses consequent on the establishment of a system of internal im. provement, then commenced by the State. The immediate effect was to convert the Bank, for many years practically only a loan office, into an Institution to be conducted on purely commercial principles. By the usual accommodations on bonds, it incurred embarrassments and hazards, and 'he operalion was too slow to attain the end, which, by a virtual modification ol the principal, in no exclusive, design ot the original act, it was henceforth to fulfil. In 1843, it was deemed "expedient and beneficial, both to its citizens and the State, to re. charter the Bank.'1 It now becomes the sol. emn duty of the Legislature to inquire whether its existnnce shall be prolonged beyond the year '56, to which by law it is limited. On this sub. ject a great diversity of opinion has for many years existed. The public inind sepms at length to have been brought to the conclusion that the Bank has not accomplished the high purposes lor which it was created; that it is a dangerous institution, anti.republican in its character and tendency; and that-lhe evils inevi. tably arising from the connection between a moneyed corporation and the State, increase and ramify, the longer the rights and privileges of the former are extended. The resolutions of your last session, adopted by very decided majorities, and the apparent acquiescence of I he people in the decision of their rulers would seem to have definitely settled the question of a recharter, and that necessarily all minor and col. lateral issues have been absorbed by it. The political history of South Carolina has too long presented the anomalous spectucle of its constituted authorities pertinaciously up. holding a State corporation, while it denounced any union [between a Bank and the Federal Government. To me it is obvious that, except the unconstitutionality of a United States Bank and its possession of a wider field ofoperation, everv argument which mieht be wielded against J r? ^ c* o it would fall with equal, if not greater force, against a Stale Bank. From experience, moreover, we learn that the establishment ol f^ich an institution, possessing the right of sub* stituting a fictitious currency for determining the value of the products of labor, is not easily divested of its established authority. By the influence it insensibly acquires, it measurably perpetuates its own existence. The fatal blow totho Federal Bank was given by the Executive in the exercise of an unwarrantable power. I invoke the Legislature then to profit by the admonitions which the past has written on the Legislative history of our country. I also de. sire, in this place, to express my settled conviction, that tho Bank of State was founded on a false and pernicious principle; that to grant to the members of a community almost exclusively devoted to rural pursuits unusual facilities for commanding money, is to inflict upon them and their posterity an unmitigated evil, that the more numerous and difficult the obstacles in the way of receiving Bank accommodations by that class the greater their contentment, and the morn certain the success in their vocation. When, ever the agriculturist substitutes speculation for the results of industry, his prospects may seem brilliant for a season, but the day of dark, nessand disiyUer will inevitably fullow. In submitting a plan for winding up the Bank, I scarcely need assure you that in suggesting kta/tnaiSlir uaiis uaIiah iimaa ifr f k n??.? Uln lirtriBiij ivri juui uovivu upiris ii| & ua? v i been influenced solely hy a high seme of offi. I ci&l duty. It is proper 1 should intorm you, ioai tnessrs Baring, Brothers Ac Co., of London, have ad dressed to me a communication substantially protesting against closing the Bank, on the ground that that institution was voluntarily of Tered by the State as one of the securities foi the loan negotiated by them. I will only here remark, that it is not proposed to destroy the Bank, but to deprive it of its banking powers It will continue as a corporation until 1800? four years beyond the the period to which its duration extends by the existing law. At thai time only 8488,888 88 ofthe foreign, and 8398, 019 50 of the domestic debt will be due, while the assests of the Bank will amount to aboui two and a half millions. But, in truth, the foreign debt will then have been paid, ifthe plan of hypothecating securities, or emitting new bonds should the ordinary means fall, be resorted to. In order to secure that result, the directors should be invested with full powers. .i ny mis eipeuieni, me argumeiuui nuiaicu tauu will have no ground on which lo rest. The State will have discharged its obligations in full, and that, too, before the period specified in the contracts. In the meanwhile, let the assests o the Rank, riot required for the redemption of the liabilities of that institution, be seleindly set apart for the liquidation of the public. PUBLIC DEBT. The following is the detailed statement of the debt of the State : CO Cfl O C5 C? 05 tn <35 ? Jg H 78 | oT r? O O ^ ? o o ? ^ gJL D.c.Q.a.Q-c-r S3' a.- ? o o o o o ' am O "? "1 ? JOSJ# 3 ' E;2 ,V, n> to ? _ ** o o a o 2 a. ? v a JO rr o o^Q.e.&.= S. ?. r.8/o ?? 9 o 2 m 5? g | ? a CO 5 <* ? 5 S S P -3?S> P v; x-o MZJ *5. P? oo E. X3 1 >? ?- ? Ji QC QD CO -J ? Maoppjo?pp 7r ^^Q?uDVjC5c-iM ? ?l72S?'i2Mfi ? 5 ?&. ? oc qd to ? as ao ^ ? 0 M ?WMMJ-H ^ lS CE^CBcDODCDcDQDg. OOOiO'lMO1* ? 5oon o c oj ST* ST 2T* ^4 s- ^ ^ 1 ? o> ? r? r * ^5 ?* ? 2. 2. ? 12 &. H. S n a n s.2 E.? ? 2 ????oio ? ? 3 O O O 3 O 3 O "#???*?" ? Tfje resources of the Bank, applicable tothi payment of this debt, amounting to $3,888, 368 60, whcib is an excess of available asseti over the liabilities of the State ol $1,532,834 99. or over two and a half millions, if the sun of $1,051,000, received from the federal gov srnmenlon deposit, bo included. In conclusion, allow me to add that, as far ai my personal knowledge extends, the Bank fron its organization to the present day has beet ably and faithfully conducted. My objection: are not to its administration, but to the policy it which the Institution itself originated. The accompanying letters from the Presiden and Cashier were written in reply to certait interrogateries propounded by me. CATAWBA INDIANS. The Legislature, at its last session, confidei to the care of the Governor this whole subject with a request that-he would "appoint some fi and proper person to examine into the condi tion of the Indians, and report to him." Ii conforming to the spirit of this resolution, nominated five commissioners from the district of York and Lancaster to meet me, with a many of the Catawlms as could be assemble: in the vicinity of Nation Ford, on the 23d da; of July. At that meeting full and satisfaclorj answers were obtained 011 inanyjmaterial points Subsequently, I proposed'a series of question to the commissioners to elicit a written replj At the same time, B. S. Massey, of Lancaster was dispatched to Ilaywood county, Nortl Carolina, for a purpose connected with the mail object to.be accomplished. Copies of the pa pers, disclosing the result ot my investigation I now forward. The two important questions involved in thi general inquiry, have reference, the one, ti the proprietors of the lands in the Indian boun dary; the other, to the Catawba tribe. Thirty-seven years ago, the Catawba coun try, embracing an area of fifteen miles square was unrepresented in the Legislature. Th member elected in 1808, being only a lease holder, was declared ineligible to a seut. Th law of 1812, constituting a lease for ihrce livet or ninety-nine years, a qualification equivalen to a freehold, placed the people of that regior in relation to representation, on a footing wit the rest of their fellow-citizens. By an at passed in December, 1838, the Kevolutionar right to the lands, which thereafter were to "b considered nnd adjudged real estate," was trans ferred from the State to those who owned ther "as leasses from the Catawba Indians." I inao an nnrrp?menl was concluded with the In dians, by which they contracted to cede thei interest in their lands for twenty.one thousani dollars. To be refunded /or this expenditure the Legislature imposed a tax of one and a ha cents on every acre within the Catawba limitt The present assessed rate is one half a cer an acre. By the act of that year, "to carry int effect the late agreement between the Catawb Indians, and the commissioners on the part < this State," South Catolina succeeded "to th right, title, and interest heretofore vested in th Catawba Indians, for the purposes of taxatio and of issuing grants to the respective le^ec thereof."|Thc 7th section declares, that the lei sees who hadjexcculed bonds, enjoined by a pre viousact, were required to pay into the Treat ury the anuual sums stipulated, until they shout accede to the terms "of this act, or until th expiration ol'tho term of their leases; at eithe of which periods, they shall be entitled tograni for their respective leasehold possession." B the ftth section, it appears that the sum of $700 was set apart to purchase land, and for "th establishment and outfit of tlie Indians." Ui der this provision no action was taken, as ne tber the money nor object were named in th appropriation act of that year. In 1841,8250 was appropriated for that purpose. At that tim the Agent had conditionally bargained for tract of land in York district, containing ofi acres, at 84 pei acre. As it was subsequent ascertained that no better arrangement could I, made, the contract was concluded. This brief history shows, that tho inhahitan of the Indian territory occupy an anomalous p< , oiiiuiiy iii wmtu inn uwciiiiuriii annum uujuu* . per compel (hen to acquiesce. South Carolina r did not, by the treaty of 1840, buy the Catawba > lands. The fee simple from the first settlement . of the country had been vested in ber, according r to the legal doctrine as to Indian lands within > the boundary of the original thirteen States ; > nor did she purchase the usufruct of the Indians, , for the State had, two years previously, Con-. . veyed it to the lessees, who then held a right to i their possessions for ninety-nine years, with the t privilege of renewing their leases. Jt is true,. . that by the in erposition of the supreme author* ? ities, an uncertain tenure has been converted t into a sure and permanent one. For this just > exercise of power, the proprietors have return i ed an adequate equivalent. In confident anlicir pation of speedy relief from their rulers, they . settled and reduced a wilderness to the domin! ion of the plough. Where beasts of prey un* , disturbedly roamed, a hardy, highly intelligent^, and dense population are now to be found.--' , With an accurate perception of their rights and: ( obligations, they teel that they do not stand otv the same firm and elevated ground with the? f other members of their political family. The , , high prerogative of equality, by persistance in an invidious discrimination, is practically denied them. They do not complain of the pecuniary burden which they are made to bear, but that its imposition substantially proclaims them a* i in the enjoyment of a benefit, obtained generally without full costs, and in many instances, unworthily, if not'fraudulently. It may safely, be affirmed, that four fifths of the farmers are in possession of their estates by purchase for an ample consideration. For a large proportion of their possesssions, the real worth was paid before the existence of the treaty. The number who hold by inheritance, and who morally, rf^, not legally, should be considered as purchaser*,^ is comparatively very limited. In despite then, of this decided evidence of right-ownership, the Legislature has subjected all the proprietors to an annual charge upon their lands, which I hold to he unequal and unjust, and probably unconsiitutional: unequal, in reference to rent and taxes ; unjust, because poor land pays more than the rich; unconstitutional, for the reason that it annuls written contracts. If the public-spirited and industrious citizen who now hails from that interesting division of South Carolina, bad been prevented by considerations of insecurity of title from constituting it his home, the result would have been a loss to the State of over three thousand fanners, all the advantages flowing from their agricultural enterprize, the labor of a large black population, and a very considerable revenue derived from the tax on slaves. To constrain him therefore to remain in his present unsatisfactory situation, would be manifestly inexpedient and impolitic. Barriers which create avoidable distinctions, especially in relation to pecuniary burdens, ought not to be allowed in a republic! ; but if, from any cause, permitted, they should exist only so long as the public interests imperiously demand. At this period too of difficulty and alarm, we should rigidly abstain from the enforcement of any measure that by possibility might interrupt the current of harmonious feel; ing which now so happily pervades our borders. The difference between a half cent per acre and the tax that woura be levied, if the lands were assessed in the ordinary way, is too small to warrant the exercise by the Legislature-of a questionable power. Virtually, equality in the payment of the State taxes would not remove j the lien on the possessions of the proprietor,' but by diminishing the yearly rate, only extend ' fka iiuvinr) of vaimkiiraomant rtC tko rlphl fi i P | IVU VI I V mi vui oviiiviik vi ?ifw viv"*^ ?va which his lands by statute are pledged. 1 Influenced by these views, I recommend that ^ the bonds, given in pursuance of the requires ments of the' act of '38, in number 25, and 3 amounting in the aggregate to 91,226 24, in* j terest and principal, he cancelled; that the lands within the late Catawba territory be classified and valued; with a view to the payment of taxes by their owners; and that the State g discharge the remainder of the debt due the r Indians from the public treasury. . By treaty of 1840, South Carolina agreed to [j expend Ave thousand dollars for the purchase of n land in Haywood county, or in a mountainous . or thinly settled country; to pay for the outlay i of the Indians two thousand five hundred did. lars; and afterwards fifteen hundred dollars anQ nually. A true construction of this clause of 0 the "agreement," perhaps warrants the con. elusion that, whether or not the emigration of the tribe should take place, the State was bound ?> . to pay the respective amounts, and at the peri!f ods specified. So far is this from having been e done that, from the report of the commissioners only an amount of nine thousand two hundred e dollars of the debt, that was to be liquidated in ,t 1851, has been cancelled. It is to be inferred t from the evidence adduced, that many of the Tnrti.inc in North Carolina have received either h no part, or legally an insufficient portion of their t nnnnity ; and with regard to the majority, that y its apportionment has been made at times irre.. e gularly, and without reference to any establishi. ed rule. For this result I acquit the agent of a all censure. In the pjosecution of his responsi. n ble engagements, I believe htm to have prac. i. ticed all proper zeal and fidelity, r The terms of the treaty not having been com. d plied with by South Carolina, how and when the remainder of the debt, $11,800 is to be If paid, is a question for legislative decision. In i. aid of your labors on this subject, I desire to it bring a few facts to your notice. The present o Indian farm, within the old Catawba boundary, a was purchased for 82,000. Only one family of )f six persons?a mother and her young children, e roside upon it; of the other members of the e tribe in this State, forty-eight lead a wandering n life; and fifty-eight are in North Carolina.? is Strong efforts have long been persoveringly but s- fruitlessly used to induce those who form a part !- of our population to Jive on their own land.? t- The ropurt of Mr. Massey shows, that the Gael tawbas in Haywood are dissatisfied with their e condition ; that many design returning to South r Carolina; and that, after due deliberation, their is chiets or head men, in both States, had notified y him of their willingness to emigrate and unite 0 with the Chickasaws, us soon as the means of e removal shall be put at their disposal. In the i* act of Congress making provision for the curs' rent and contingent expenses of the Indian Dee partment, passed July, 1848, it appears that 0 the sum of ?5000 ha* been appropriated "for ie tho removal of the Catawba tribe of Indiana a now in the limits of North Carolina." As this 8 grant was obtained, it is believed, through the ly instrumentality of Mr. Thomas, the Indian agent ie of that State, the reason why the act does not apply to South Carolina i* apparent, ts When the debt of twenty-one thousand dol3 ' iars shall be discharged, our obligation to miois