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1STABLISHED 1865 NEWBERRY, S. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 1898 WICE WEE THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. A V44W BOBEl, NOT TO SAY SOBlliBI: PU116o DOCUMBNT. The People not to be Congratulated onl tile Condition of Afrairs Withl the State-t Ie Vinances of the state fit a Very Unsat isfactory Condition--A Present Dell elt of One 11undred Thousani Dollars- #We ritit Either En act Prohibition or Continue the 0tspensary System Without the P1on1t Feattare." Gentlemen of the General Assembly:. In this firat annual message I ro gret that I cannot congratulate you and the people of the State upon the condition of affairs that faces you today. ' But while we have not had the predicted return of prosper ity, we.should recall with thaakful ness the good health, peace and hap piness we have boon permitted to enjoy. Without further preliminary -I proceed to discharge one of the most important duties imposed upon the Chief Executive by the Consti tution. The finances of the State aro in a very unsatisfactory coL-lition. Dur ing the session of the Gonoral As sembly, for 1890, a levy of four and a half mills was laid to moot the cur rent expenses of the fiscal year bi ginning January 1st, 1897, and oud ing December 31st, 1897. The sum raised by this levy proved insuflicient to meet the expenses, and we have, tbercfore, a deficit of $100,000 to be provideod for. By using every dollar from every available source and by overdrawing in small amounts upon banks in which large sums of the State's funds have boon deposited, we have met promptly all current obligations without borrowing a dollar. The books were oponed for the collection of taxes October 15tb, and since that time we have used money thus collected to pay curront expenses. This money now being collected, however, belongs legiti mately to the carrent appropriations for 1898. By refusing to borrow $100,000, as is often done, though I have not saved the State any great amount in the way of interest charges, I-have refused to sanction whit 4p pears to me to be a bad policy-the policy of borrowing monoy at inter est. The levy for State purposes will - be high, but you must romember that we have a deficit of $1 00,000-not of your making-to be provided for, and tLat the State will no longor ro celve any revenue for current ox penses from the Disponsary profits, for under the provisions of the Con stitution all profits from the dispon sary must hereafter go to the school fund. During the past year the genteral fund has boon augemonted by $92,O0 received fLom the dis pensary; the year previous this aug montation amounted to $100,000. I have endeavorod to secure a statement of the finances of the State from the Treasurer. But, as his : books-were naot balanced up to the time of completion of my Message, I beg to refer you to the Treasurer's report. -THE DIsP'ENsARIY. jThe most dimeiult problem that confronts you is the regulation of the liqur traffic-and it is your duty, as the trusted representatives of the people, to use your best efforts in satisfactorily solving this question. In my inaugural add ress I askod that no material change be miade in the dispensary law until it could be given a fair trial. .This it has never had.- Upon my recotumonndaition t.ho law remained as it was, with the ox * ception of a few unmmportaint amend ments.' On assuming thio dutica of Governor I undertook the enforce ment of the law, endeavoring to do Ho with as little friction as possible. At first, my efforts wvere encouraging ly successful, but this success wvas hindered by disagreements among the members of the State Board of Control. The mismanagement in the State dispensary and the bicker insaddissensions in the State Bad disgusted sonic of the warmest supporters of the law, and caused a great many to lose faith in the sys temn. But by reorganization of the focethsmismanagement wscor rected, and the Board has since worked in harmony. Be it isaid to the.ir credit, the dispensary is nowv conducted in a miore business-like vas than ever before. Had it not *been for the intervention of the F"o:ieral Courts I do not besitate to Ssay that the dispensary would today have very little opposition, and would have already proved, both finani ci ally and morally, a great success. The Federal Courts have seriously U crippled the law and aendei-ed futile all my efforts for its enforcement, by Scott that citizens of the Stato have a right to import -whiskey for per sonal use. A great manty who were engaged in the illicit trameI ini whis key took advantage of this decision to import whiskey for sale; it thus became very difficult for the State constables to tell when it was im p)rted for personal use only. The State constables, under my in structions, seized quantities of whis key where thvre were suspicious ir ouimstunce.s connected with its im portation; but upon application to Judge Simonton nearly all the whis key seized was released. Beginning with this decision, the Suato has been involved in con tinuous litigation. fi the case of Ex Parto Loeb Judge Simonton held that. agents of Liquor dealers outside the State might come into the State, take orders for liquors a4d qhip thom to citizens of the State. Encouraged by the above do cisions, the liquor men applied to the United States Circuit Court for greater privileges and in the Van dorcook decision wore granted all they dosired. In this case the same Judge hold that citizens of another State might import, store away, and soll liquors in original unbroken packages of all siz-s not less than one half pint. This led to the open ing in the State of hundreds of pri vato liquor houses and flooded the whole of South Carolina with whis key. Blind tigors, furnished by "orig inal package" dealers,- began the stle of whiskey in quiot, peaceful communities where liquor had nover beon sold. In my efforts to enforce the dispensary law as modified by the Judgo's de6isions I met with grout difficulties. At one time Judge Simonton seemed to assume the coi bined prerogatives of the Chief Ex ecutivo and the Legislature of South Carolina, and undertook the amend mont of the dispensary law by in junction. The Governor, the con stables, and all persons connected with the enforcement of the law were enjoined from interfering in any way with the "original packago" dealers, and a law enacted by the representatives of a sovereign Stato was practically repealed by a Fod eral J udge. When it.. wats reported to me that Varn, Byrd & Co.,, "original pack age" dealers at Bamborg, wore soll. ing whiskoy to drunkard., I imimo diately ordered tho constables to soize their liquors and arrest them for maintaining a nuisance. This was done, but they applied to Judge Simonton to have the stock of liquors returned at once, and asked that the constables and all porsons noeting under them, or by virtuo of authority from them, be restrained from fur thor intermeddling with the said property. This request was granted notwithstanding witnesses swore that they had soon the man who bou'ght liquor at or about the time of the salo, and that he i-as drunk. The Judge held that, to be guilty of the off'enso of solling to a drunkard, the party solling must either know or must have substantial reason to be lieve that the paity buying was drunk at the time. Again, in the caso of E. J. O'Connor vs. Goeo. S. McCr-avy 0oL al., Gee. S McCravy, Sherill' of Laurons Coun ty, n)OtiIiedI me that four two-horse wagonls hmad beenl sent to Augusta for whmiskey aind that Oil their wvay bacek to L~auroens lhe received infor mlationi thlat tihe drivers were dru-lnk and1( boisterous anld were selling whis. key from the wagons. I ordered tihe wagons and3( liquors seized as soon as they arrived at Laureons. Thereupon E. J. O'Connor filed a bill of complaint in the United States Cir-cuit Court praying for- a perpetual majuniction rostra ining the defendants fr-om seiz inmg liquors of the complainant. Upon this bill being filed Jndge Si mouton gr-anted a rule against the defendants, requiring thm to showv cause why a temipor-ar-y wriit of in - junction shonuld not be0 gr-anted1; and at tihe same time he made a rest rain ing order to the following effect, to wuit: Enjoining the defendants from seizing or attempting to, .-soize, in tr-ansit or- after arrival, ortotlirwviso carr-ying away or- confiscating-or do taining any of the liquors, wvines or beer1 implor-ted or sent into tile State by the compllainant: . and further mere con}maniding said defendants to forthwithI dliver the horses, wvagonls, wines and liquors to the p)ossessioni and contr-ol of the complainant. In the abov9 iinstancies you can see seime of tihe difliculties that have con fironted me in'tile enforcement of the dispensa-y law. "Original pack age'" dealers have been allowed to sell to dlrnnk{ards, and1( froim wagons On p)ublic highways. Whlenever a soi zure was mnado the comp jlainanlt would hasten to Judgo Simnonton, who seemed at all times ready and willing to lend A hlelpfig hand to such aipplican'sr Judge Simonton's decisions and his unfriendly attitudo towards thmoso whmo were charged with tile enforcement of the (dispen sary law.-so completely demoralized thle State coiistablos that they wvoro of little use, and became almost a deadi eIxpenJsu to the State. The cost of maintaining the constable was about $.i.000 per month They were afraid to seize liquor for fear .the Federal Judge would jail them for contempt. When they did make a seizure it was, with few exceptions, ; eloased and the constables enjoined. Fisto u ,h, thoro!ore, as Judge Si montoin had practically paralyzed the constabulary I dismissed the force, leaving the responsibility for the enforcement of the law, in the incorporated towns and cities, in the hands of the city and town autho ritios. I retained a few detectives to suppress "blind tigers" in the coun try where . the peoplo have little or no protection. The Dispensary Act makes it the duty of the State Board of Control to withhold its share of the profits of the dispensary from any town or city in which the au thorities do not enforce the law. So far the profits havo been withheld only from the town of Sumter, and I havo appointed a consiable, to be paid ont of the town's share of the profits, to soo that the law is enforced there. We havo, then, to face the follow ing condition of affairs: Under the protection of a Circuit Judge of the United States Court, liquor is being sold throughout the State, in the country as well as in the municipal ities, and in defiance of tho iaws of the State. The rights of a sovereign State to pohlco and rogulate the liquor trafic in its own way is nulli fied and trampled under foot. The Act of Congtes of July 8, 1890, has been, so fNr as Southi Carolina is concerned, renlh-d, and we are told that the enact iniit of vrohibi tion alone gives a Stato tho right to exclude "original packago" dealers, unless the profit feature of the dis pensary is destroyed. The language of Judge Simonton in the Vander cook case is as follows: "If all al cobolic liquors, by whomsoever hold, are declared contraband they conse to belong to commerce, and are within the jurisdiction of the police power. But so long as their manufacture, purchase or sale, or their use as a beverage in any forin or by any por son, are recognized, they belong to commerce, and are without the do. main of the polico power." The powor t% license the sale of liquor, to the exclusion of these interstate commerce dealers in "original pack. ages," has been therefore destroyed by this decision, unless it should be reversed by the Stprome Court. The Attorney General of the State has appealed, but the appeal will not be heard until March 7, too late for you to know what the decision will be, in timo to legislato in accordance thorewith. It cannot be doubted that a large majority of our people favor the dispensary law, if it can be secured against the interferonce of the Fod oral Courts. Three successive Gen oral Assemblies have declared in fa vor of the dispensary as the best method of dealing with the liquor question. Our Representatives in Congress are at work seeking to se cure additional legislation for the pirotection of the State against the interference of the United States judiciary. The United States Senate has already p)assed a bill by unani mnous vote giving the complete con tr-ol of intoxicants to the States, and it is hioped that the House also will pass it. But we must haveimmediate relief from the present intolerable conditions. Free liquor, with its ac company ing increase of drunken ness and the consequent increase of crime, must at all hazards be got rid of. As I have said1, a license law wimll not secure imnmunit.y from this evil. Judge Simnonton~ has destroyed,along with the dispensary, the license sys tem when run for profit. What, then, is left to do? We must either enact prohibition or continue the dispensary system without the profit feature. Many-a majority, I be lievo-do not think prohibition is p)ract.icable; and mnanythave opposed the dispensary system because of the profit feature. We can certainly get rid of the "original package" dealors and their dlemoralizing trafle by con tinuing the dispensary, shorn of all profits and administered only as a p)olice regulation to control and re dluce the liquor evil. The Federal Judge will have neither occassion nor excuse for his ever-ready injunc tions, if that system shall be inaugn rated, unloss he shall again reverse his own previous decision. This then, appears to me the best and al most the only thing left us to (10. We might try this policy for a year, arnd next wmitor, after Congress shall have actedor failed to act and after the St;preme Court at Washington shall have decided what is to become of the State's power|to cont rol liqunor un thre Wilson bill of .1890, we shall be0 ini a positio>n to take final action. It is useless for me to make an ox tendled argument to show that our system of liquor control is a proper exercise of the police power, and that Judge Simonton is wrong in his dlecision denying this power to the State. But as facts speak louder than words, I will giva the testimon of ministers of the gospel of the State as to the efoot of the dipen sary law on the morals of the poo ple and on the reduction of drunken noss among them. Out of four hun. drod and sixty throo answers recoiv ed from the ministers of the State to questions submitod to thon in a cir cular lettor, dated October 1st, 187, three hundred and twenty-four re ported a docreaso in drinking of fort.y six and one-third por cent., and a corresponding decrease in drunken ness since the dispensary law wont into offect. Sixty-nine reported an increase in drinking of fifty-four and throo-fourths per cent. Yet, in the face of such testimony as to the good results of the system, Judge Simon. ton declares it is not a police meas ure. What then is the police power? Horo is a definition of the United States Suporemo Court it sO f: "The police power includes till measures for the protection of. life, the health, the property and tho welfare of the inhabitants, and for the promotion of good order and the public morals. It covers the sup. pression of nuisances, whether in jurious to public health, like un wholesome trades, or to the public morals, like gambling housos and lottery tickets. The police power extends to things not only instrinsi cally dangerous to the public health, such as infected rags or diseased ment, but to things which, when used in a lawful manner, are sub jects of property and of commerce, and yet may be used so as to be in jurious or dangerous to the life, the health, or the morals of tLe people. Gunpowder, for iustance, is a subject of commerce and of lawful use, yet, because of its explosive and danger ons qualities, all admit that the State may regulate its keeping and sale. And there is no article, the right of the State to control or to prohibit the stale or manufacture of which within its limits is better established than intoxicating li quors." There is profit to a Stato in any form of license, yet liconse has beon held to be a police regulation even when protecting licenso holders in a monopoly of salo, until Judge Sim onton's recent decision abovo qaoted allowed liquors in "original 'pack ages" to enter a Stato "so long as their manufacture, purchase or silo, or their use as a beverage by any person are .rocognizod." Inters1ato commerce has, according to Judge Simonton, destroyed the police power unless a State declares the use of li quor as a beverage to be contrary to good morals and against the health of the people. No license system does this. We cannot, thoroforo, got protection from "froo liquor" by such onactai.:nt. We can, however, get relief by doing away with the pro fit foatlra, as the following quota tion from the Vandercook decision shows: "I'be decision of the Su promo Court of the United States must control all Circuit Courts. Iv this decision it is clear that so long as the State herself engages in the bus iniess of importing and selling nlce holic liquors for- the purposes of p)ro fit ; so long as she recognizes that the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage is lawvful and can be encouraged; so long as she seeks a mnonnpoly in sup plying these liquors for that use, and in this way looks to an increase of her revenue, she cannot under her constitutional ob)ligaitionis to the other States of this Union, control, hinder and burden comnerce in sucll articles betwen their citizens aind her own." Here is the law arnd we must obey it until Judge Simonton is over. ruled by the Supreme Court or by Congress. Under a license system. inasmuch as the State wvould receive money, those "orngi nal packtages" would continue to come in, and Judge Simonton would continue to, "enjoin"~ the State otlicers from ini terfering with them. Let us, thero fore, do what is left us, and wait for action at Washington. The money used in conducting the Disponsaries and in enforcing the lawv could not. be regarded as p)rofit, but as expend ed purely and soley for maintainiing the morals and health of the peop)le, Judge Simonton might declare this~ not to be an exercise oL thn police power; but we will have to risk it, and1 depend for our security on wvhat, lie himself has wvritten in v~arious do cisiOns. THE s ITATEa's EDUc(ATVIONA m, s vsTMm. The CJonstitut ionalI three- mills tarx for school pulrp)oses yields on the present assessed valuI o of property something over $5O,000I. fkis is t larg6 sum to collect from a ttax-buir deod people, arid this money should be so expended as to secur-o the best po sible results. W ith th is incer(e(o expenditnre of money on the public sch o's the p>ople htave the lighmt to exp 'at better results than have here tofore been secured. In the cities and in a majority of the towns tha. schools are well sustained aiid meet, the demands upon thoen; but in the country the reults a..e generally very unsatisfactory. With better school houses and bottor equipmont and better teachers, boys and girls could be prepared for collogo at the COMmoni sichools in the country with out nooding to take a courso in fit ting-schools, preparatory to outoring college. The Stiato's educational system, including all schools, high and low, primary, secondary and collegiate, looks to one end and aim-to correct illiteracy, to dispol ignorance, to train intelligent and pati iotic citizons. It. is sustained by public appropriations, gathorod by taxation from overy class of citizons. It exists for the bonefit of all the poo pl of the commonwealth and all are interosted in its economical and of ficout administration. The system is a body composod of members of various capacities and functions, to bo exercised, not in dependently, but each in conjunction with the others; with constaut re forenco to a common purpose, and upon a common plan. Harmonious cooperation is necessary and this im plies organization, embracing in well blanced order every part of the sys tom and supersvisod by intelligent. and efficient officers. At premnt such organization and superviion are wanting; and,the whole system is split into dopartments working each towards the supposed common ond, but with no clear understanding or approciation of each other's noods, methods, and aims. There is, thoro foro, an unintontional but inovita ble lack of sympathy and under standing, which makes a separate system of each lbrlinch of the Statte's educational plant, and stands in the way of that unity and cooperation which are the proreqiisto., of economy and olicioncy. Thoro is no headship, no leadership, no intolli gent policy, no common purposo. Necessarily, the result is a iduplica tion of worIk, a lack of connectiou an uno coniom ical, becauso i usysto matic, oxpondituro of funds, an inox ensablo wasto of energy, and above tll, an unsatisfactory effort. to for ward the causo of popular education. An ideal plan would be tho combina tion of all higher StatO institutions in to asinclo coeducational univorsity hnt. at present this is not practicable. arid the nex,-t besti mesuro is tho or ganization of theso now diverse olo ments into one systom, properly di rected )y compotent oflicials, who should be, as far as pcs iible, siparat od from politicalentanglomonts and whose duites and responsibilities should b caiefully delined by stat ite. The common country schools, the moro Ilorishing town schools and the vairionus Stato colleges should be so related that no gap shoald occur in the succession of grades through which the pupil passes from rudi montary to post-gradnato studios. "Every stop should imply the pro coding step," every advance in classes should be a natural sequence of antocodont preparation; so that the pupil who ontors the lowest grado in the lowlest rural school might move forward and without a b)reak to an A. Mf. diegree in t he highest college in the State. Especially should the higher institutions supported by the State he hbrought into coop)erativo re lations with each other. Thore should 1)0 no (1uplication of plants and courses and chairs andi apliances that could possibly bc0 avoidled. If there are to be various State col leges they should fill as various fields of educational work, and ini answer to a rationail demand for such variety of advantages; more over, each should b)e kept strictly to its own lino of instruction. Further more, thore must b)o no sentimental hesitation in reduicirng the State's higher educational systemi to the basis indicated b)y the petoll's aic t.ual noods5, prolsonlt and p)rospectIvo. Lower education should p)ress abiond( of popular denland arnd seek to draw the people on to a full realizat ion of their necessities in this line of odu1 cation and culture. But the higher education may, for the p)rosent at least, h)0 content *o meet offectively the immediate dlemand(. From what has bhen said1 above you maay easily infer that th(e pr-imoa necessity for the h'gher education in South Carolina is that all thin State cdllogos be brought under the control of a si gle boaird of trustees, who shall see that eachi is supp)orted and1( expanided acco)rdi ng as the needs of the lpol shall indicate. No) ono1 of thoso should be allocwed to t ronch upon thle p,rov'ince, of the others, or take from the necessary financial support of the othiors. A t present each State college has its own indop1endenit hoard who consider themselves re sp)onsib)le onIly for its sulport anid for its success; and who are nartuiral. ly not conoerned1, Have in a senmtiment al way, wvith the p)roslierit.y or inter (,.sts ot the other State instituti. T1het control of the Stato's education. al instit.utionis is now in the chiargt of separate boards of truinstets fom 01ac1 ~ol lege, diviided as follows South Caro ina College 1'7; Clemson ColIgn 1:; Sonith Car.olinu Milltnr, Academy 11; Winthrop Collego 14; South Carolina Stato Colorod Nor. inal and Industrial Collego 7. Tho work of the several boards could ho bettor dono and it consid eriably less expenso to the Stato by a board of stven coimpotent members. The trustees of tho various institu tions are, at present, placed in an attitudo of pti ttisanship to their own intorests and of 'tdifloreoe, amount almost to hostility, to the other Stato colloges. Thus, oiach struggling to tako caro of itself alone is by that efrort brought iuto conpetition with tho others, instead of working w,th them and dividing with them. This broods sollishnoss, distrust and an tagonisim among inistitutions that can flourish only by working in har miony. My belief in the lecessity of Stato higher education is ily war rant for candidly pointing out what seoms to me1 tho onily rational and econmiileal arrangement for its elli cient administration. STATE COL,E1.l. Tho itt.on danclo it the Stito col logos is fully up1 to tihe avorage. Thoy all appear to he doing satisfiac tory and careful work. During the past year Dr. Frank C. Woodward was olectod President. of the South Carolina College, aimi Prof. Ilonry S. 11artzog Prosident, of Cleilson College. They wern elected to fill Vacancies occlsionod by th resigna tions of Dr. .hnos Woodrow, P'rvsi - dent, of the South Carolina College, and Prof. E. B. Craighead, Presidmit, of Clemson Collogo. Rtsults aro proving the wisdom of thlt) triistoes in making thoso excellent. selections. The most. earofull atitoition is so licited to the dotailed reports of tho oflicers of the vaious Stato colleges. PENAL AND CiAITAnbLE INSTITUTIONS. The finances of tho peiihmtinry aro in a very healt.hful condition. For the first tiito inl the history of this institution it. hIls paid imonoy int.o the Stito treitsury, for the cuir rent exponss of the S ato govern 1mit. 'llo $9,11tM.72 horrowi from the sinking fund conunis, i ml to meet the last paym ent oi the Eovtd plan tationl has biein ropilid, and nll alddi tionatl sumi of $10,000 Is been t,lrnod itito the Stat,o Tresury. In1 addition to those payients there is suflicient cish on hand to purchin all the fortilizors needed for the next crop. The income from1 conVi'icts leased, with tho calslh Oil hand, should moet current exponses of this insti tution amid the gross procevids from the crop produced this year shliould bo paid into th Stato treasuiry for golloral expenses. THE STATE nOSPITAL FOR TEl INSANIE. Tihe im agumnrit of the St.to H1ospital for the insano is all that Coul1d bo dosired. '.r'h an,airs of t6h institution have been successfully aind ecovinmically manag(d. The constrtction of the Parker imilding for the colored insane, is i grett md noeccld improvemlieit. Uponl the sm11i1l alloltwco of $7,1500 tis hian somel brick st ructuIro, wvorthi many timos as much, hais been nearly finished. The State lisi overy rea son to congratulate itself upion the mnarkeOd imp Lrov'emnt and uce t(ossfu)l p)ocially whlen its :1imiiited'( rtesources lire c'onsidIored. I w~ould urge t.hat, theosmaltl app)rop)riationt asked for by the board of regents to coml)Pe thuis work be grallted1. Special at tenition is di rected to ie iinstittion for the deaif, donb andi blind. It will be found that th(is inI st ittion is dloinig admirahle work aind dleserves the earn7est cmonsiderat ion of your honorable bodies. iJPHosPATEIC IU5'TaV. Only SI (,70)t. 23 have been1 paid1 duing thet yer in,to the Staito Irmets ury fromi the phosphate miining in (dustry. ThiIs aiizont, under t.iie la\v must be dlevoted to the si-.kiig fund for the redeiiptioni of Stato1 bonds(1. You may (expo't, a still smauller revenue from th is sou re next, yoear. lasso roducedi the priCo of plhos phmate rock that some1 of our minuors have been forced to suspend1( opeira t.ionis. Those whot aire engaiged in the business aro( iin ig atatilos-i, not withstandinug the fact t.h at thle board of ph ouphate conis ioners010 redueced the royalty from filly to twenty-flive cents per too. On)i tho.irist. day of April, 189)7, the phiosphaito commis sitoners miet at U3oaufort. t)o 1 it'ec the phos~l iaite terriltory. TIht puhos. phuatoe miners were invited to he pIresenlt and they were 1al1 represented at thme meeting. A ftoi-r thoronugh in vestigationu thle board adopted Ite following resolution: "Itesol ved, ',iTa t n and afteor Apiril 1, 189)7, the r-oyalty3 to bo patid to the State of South Carolina by aill persoiin, co)rporatis or15t)I coipi res ininig phloshalto. rock or pIilh ipt dleposits firm thle bed(s of ni ivigale streams and wateirs of the Stato andl thme maIIrshes thereof, shall be, and I ha am is hereby fixe, a the rat of twenty-five cents per ton of dried rock, so long as the price of said phosphate rock, free on board to the said miners at their several mines shall be th roo dollars pc r ton or un dor; but in cam) thoro shall be tiny illcreaso n such prico over and abovo throo dollars per ton, then and in every such case, thero shall be paid to Who Stato an additional royalty por ton equal to one-half of such in creased pricm over and abovo three dollars por ton, froo on board. Pro vidod, that all phosplate rock dlug, mmned and unshipped on hand on the firt day of April, A. D. 1897, shall first bo awcounted for at the royalty fixed by the act of the Gen oral Assembly, entitled 'An Act Ite lating to the Phosphato Industry of the State,' approved Decomber 22nd, A. D. 1803. Provided, further, that all comlipanies sha1ll pay into the Stato Treasury the royalty upon aill shipmoits mado prior to the first, day of April, A. 1). 1897." Soon after th adoption of this resolution citivizs of Beaufort filed with the Board of Phosphate Com nissionernt a potition praying that tv royalty on rock already minod bie also reditced to twenty-ive cents per ton. On the first of January, 1897, t.ho p1hosphato riinerii had on iinnd about .15,000 tous of rock which was suojeoct. to royalty, and on the first of A pril, 1897, about 49,000 tons. After duo consideration, the petition referred to was refused. The board hold that, the royalty of fifty cents por ton fixed by the Act of 1803, should bo paid on all rock on hand on the first day of April, 1897. 'Tho board took the view that the phosphatto minors wore bound, by the contrat contained in the Aet 6f 1893, to pay the royalty fixed by the smd Act, until it Was changed by authority of the General Assembly. They fiur-ther hold that they had no authority, nor did they doom it right, to niake tlie minors a prosentof $12, 000 then duo the Stato. 'The Fariiorti' AMining Company failed in October, 1897, being in debted to the State to the amount of $10,38-1 for royalty on rock. Thim amount has not yet boon collected. The miat.tor hus bnon refirrod to the Attornoy (Ionoral ain( ho is iing proper efforts to collect the money dun the Stato. The royalty now paid the Stato by the mmiers is only twenty-fivo cents per ton, and I boliovo that rather than mako groater concessions it would ho botter if mining operations on tie Stato's rights bo discontinued. IL fivoims uiwise and utbusinossliko on the part of the State to sacrifico thoso viluiable deposits, whila prices are so low and business is so do. pressed. On avconut of the great epantity iinied th,% pr'co of rock is now below th cost, of production. The supply of rock is exhaustible, atd in a fw yearIs the demand will probably be grater than tho supply; th1n1 wo nimay rosmilo mining at a profit both to the minors and to tho Staite'. Thie app3rog-". .on1 of $2,000 for the salary and expenses of the Plhos phap'e .Inspector is too muilch to pay13, conisiderimg the 8small1 return to the Staito fromi l ti.s sou1rc. I recoin mond11( t hat 111( oflice of Phiosphiato 111spect or be abolished0( and1( thait the Comp lt roller General be charged with lie collectionl of revenue from phos0 lilate inniig. Du)nring thiel yeuar the1( oflice of Pub1i l ic Printer having ben dleclaredi va (cant, the( coniunlitto provided for by3 law, consisting of' the( Governor and the( chanirmar. of the comlmittees oil prlinltinig of your H onorablo Bodies, moet anid elected Mr. Charlos B. Cal v'o Public Printer. Thliis comiit ,eo thought the1 State might hauve been saived soveral thousanid dollars hiade the( Act provided for, or p)ermlittedl, comnpet itiv b. lids. Tqhe pirice to h)o paid for thie work is fixed ill till Act and( thie comminit.too found itself comn polled, under (lhe provisions of thie la1w, to mak11o (lie a jppointIment. reco)mmuend( that thle Act be repealed and (liat a comimittee fronm each or youir 1Hoorablo Bodies 1b0 selected to lot the contract for public p)rintinig lat comipet itivo prices. I fit her re commliend( that (lie Act lix t,he mnaxi mum111 price to be palid for thle work so as nlot to exceed th1( price niowv b in paid( unlder t he preen law. DI)nEcT TAx. There3 a1re .88,130.7971 inl the State Treaishury to.te 1.13ecedit of thle (direct taix fund, wich unde(1r an Act ap p)roved 2411h Do)cember, 1891, is av'ail 1abl1( for public puIrposes. I recomi moind t hat y'ou pass a joint resolut ion authorizing the0 State TIreasurer to tranusfer t his accouiit to the general aiccouint. Theonumb1 er ofspecial statutes should be reduced by t hie enactmuent ofgeneral laws, (elmbodyinig amplo)1 provisions and1( remiedio~s for thle relief of per. soins, corporations anid conimunities, relative to subjects of genierat a char. { Conch,1ded on Fou,rthe Page.]