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y the Report of tit Mayfield. >N QUESTION. ? tables show general lent has been free from friction Harmony bas railed among the teach officers. Considered the schools Tar have been satisfactoiy 'results accomplished as great Id have been expected, school law passed at your last contarne a few conflicting is of minor importan e which call to-the attention of the [ttees on education during your iw changes in the law are need* ?hese I will suggest when I the subjects to which they enrollment for the year is [than ever before in the history [State.. Last year the norader fte pupils was 103,728 and this )9,159, an increase of 5,431 : pupils last year 119,292 and is year 123,178, an increase of ? ijaT?t?l increase of white and & pupils of 6,316 This in bas surpassed the most san [expectations of those charged' me management of the depart This scholastic year was but [months instead of twelve, com November 1st and ending Uh, catieed by the change in Had the schools that were during the summer months jcluded in this report as they have been had the scholastic ien twelve months instead of i possibly the enrollment would ien still larger. [schools for the whites average >nthsr"?nd those for the color swnths.. It will bepbserved average is not as erreat as (laet year for by the shorten the scholastic year, putting lools for the summer months next scholastic year. Had fools for the summer months icluded in this year the aver [gth of the session would have ised beyond that of any is year. jareful management all the of many of the counties have rought to a cash basis, and in other counties some of the districts have been brought to basis, In but few of the are' all the schools on a ! ns. Mai s ?hool expenses for the ire s< ?vera! thousand dollars last pear, but this is also ac ie for by the sho-i^ffrtrg-Oi^ [lastic year '"&i>d putting the summer monhts into X may have been expected at the expenditures for the be largely in excess of us years. But it should ered that the counties on need only the tax form , a poll tax and a two mill some counties not on a cash y a poll and a two mill tax d, and in no county was the nt of poll and three mill tax e condition of the schools ifferent' counties rendered e both proper and expedi is is but an instance of the ity of mating the law more [the act passed at your last iude ?n hand and those ice for the permanent id have been invested by treasure as follows : per cent cou ids, $ 22,000-00 4J per cent. 13,757 95 4J per cent, rown, 11,700 00 per cent, con 1,700 00 $ 49,157 92 the year ninety-eight {see have beeu erected at a |$8,733 12. The school >r whites number 2,448 ; I $570,863 90 ; those for lumber 1,632, valued at 5 ; making an aggregate [houses, valued at ?746, he total furniture and ap valued at ?74,653 33, led to the value of houses, [tal value of school prop ,329 78 le year special school die been established by the rds, and a special tax \he general law authoriz levied under v ,? ?. .--. ing the same,^.ch Estr?e s are un der the juried^100 *f ;he Sta<e board, as folloni Anffe/O80n ?\ special tax none ; B??**"12 sPecia] tax 10 ; Berkeley 1, spe^altax none; Chesterfield 2, 8pecialHm. no"e? Clarendon 1, special tax none"; ^01 leton 2, special tax none ; FairfieftJ ? special tax 1 ; Greenville 5, speci? tax 2; Marlboro 1, special tax 1; Oconee 2, special tax 2 ; Orangeburg 1, special tax 1 ; York 1, special tai none; making a total of 31, with 1 levying a special tax. FreviouB to this year special schoo districts had been iifitablished by th< country boards, and a special tax levied, under the general law author izing the jurisdiction of the State board, as follows : A-aderson 8, special tax none : Barnwell 22, spocial tax 9; Berkeley 2, special tax 2 ; Chester 1, special tax none ; Chesterfield 10, special tax 7 ; Ciar endon 2, special tax 2 ; Colleton 12. special tax none ; Edgefield 10 special tax 1 ; Fairfield 16. special tax 10; Florence 7, special tax none ; Green ville 1, special taxi; Hampton 3, special tax 1 ; Kershaw 7, special tax 7 ; Lancaster 1, special tax 1: Marion 4. special tax 2 ; Marlboro 1, special tax 1 ; N^wberry 7, special tax 7 ; Orangeburg il, special tax 11 ; Pickens 3, special tax 2 ; Sumter 1, special tax 1 : Union I, special tax 1 ; York 4, special tax 1 ; making a total of 137 disdricte, with 66 levy ing a special tax There are eighty-nine public schools in the State, as shown by the school commissioners reports, in which tbe public funds are supple mented by private subscriptions. In some of the counties, reports not in cluded in the above, the school com miseioner say "many V ' nearly all," "one fourth to one-third," etc. The school commissioners' reports show eighty five academies and high schools in operation this year. The State coll?ges, male and female, have had a prosperous year. Reference is here directed to their several special reports, and to their separate mention in the body of this report, that you may have a fall and clear conception of the condition of each of them. All the private col leges, male and female, have been well attended and appear to be in a most prosperous' condition. j ? i* The "vexed question of free tuition in State colleges should be settled and put to rest. For many years it has been a eubject of dissatisfaction and complaint on the part of the r friends of the other colleges in the State and thus has worked injury* to all the interests of education. - That such dissatisfaction should exist is not surprising in the absence of all uniform law or practice on the subject in the several State colleges The private and denominational colleges are dependent largely upon their tuition fees, and their friends com plain of what they consider a want of du?Vegard for their interests aud rights Under such circumstances, and for the sake of all the interests concern ed, it is very desirable that some equitable and permenent settlement of the question should be reached, which would be uniform in its appli cation to all the State colleges, and just alike to the?nterests of the State and of the private colleges. So long as the question remains open, the agitation and the harm resulting from it will continue, and the failure of each successive legislature to settle it only increases the irritation and danger Iii the hope of reaching such a settlement, and thus harmoniz ing so far as possible all the interests of higher education in the State, I recommend that at an early day in th? sessi'on the committee on educa tion invite a conference of the presi dents or superintendents of all the colleges of the State and of the State board of education, with the view of agreeing upon a general scheme which may then be enacted into law, and henceforth enforced in all the State colleges. I feel sure that such a conference would meet in the spirit of compromise and with an intelligent desire to advance all the interests of education in the State. Of course the special scholarships, for normal or other purposes, should be protected, but the general ques tion of tuition fees might be settled npon a just and uniform plan, with which plan the private colleges would doubtless co operate I beg leave to commend this suggnstion to early consideration W. D Matfield, Superintendent of Education. The Irish Potato. In the near future, we predict that the Irish potato will be planted large ly in the South as a field crop. It is well known that potatoes raised from our second planting made in July or August are superior for Spring plant ing to those obtained from New Eng land or Nova Scotia Thousands of barrels are yearly shipped to the South and find ready sale for use on the table or for plant ing in gardens. The advantage is by nature on our side, and we should use it One difficulty is in the way, and that is to get the tubers to germinate with cer tainty when planted But the way out of this trouble will be found when there is the demand urgent enough to stimulate investigation When that time comes a wide open ing will be made for disposing of a valuable crop that will increase as its value becomes known. Its keeping qualities are superb. m il- ."gnw? ' The Diocese,77 a four page month ly paper, has made its appearance in Columbia It is published by Capt J. . Neathery and edited by Bishop Capers. In his ealutatory the Bishop states that he ''will write .boat diocesan matters, and matters tat especially touch our parish and dioc?an church life and work." Notes^f church news and communi cations^1"0133 members will be re ceivedjkd published also. onsi"vi" red?dp? Spanish Promises. The Reforms to be lostituted in Cuba. Washington, Jan 1.?Senor de L?rme, the Spanish minister, resident here, famishes the Southern Associated Press the following copy of a telegram from Minister Tetuan : "In the coun cil of ministers, presided over to-day by her majesty, the queen regent, a roya! decree was signed, which will ap ply to the island of Porto Rico the last of reforms voted in the cortes on the l?tbof March. 1895. "The preamble to this decree ie of the greatest importance, because of the statements it contains regarding Cuba, it begins by explaining the reasons why the reforms are applied to?day and wherefore this has not been done he f?re ; amongst other paragraphs, it con tains the following, which, owing to their importance, I copy in their en tirety : " 'In the aotual circumstances, the government considers that th* proper time has arrived for giving to the world ample proof of its firm resolve to fulfill the engagements voluntarily contracted by the nation, by implanting and carry ing into effect in Porto Rico, the form of the system of government end civil administration, voted by the cortes and sanctioned by her majesty and which, conveniently enlarged and extended, will be applied in due time to Cuba.7 "In unfolding the bases of the re forme with that scrupulous care which the complex nature of the case and its many and varied problems demand, the undersigned minister has been in spired with a sense of the necessity of ample administrative decentralization, aod has proceeded to the utmost limit, which the actual law allows, without dimuoitiou of the independent sover eignty of the nation. At the same time, true to tbeldlemn promise made before parliament by its president, the government proposed tft give a more ample scope to the reforms when, as a herald of peace, the happy moment arrives for the definite application of the reforms to both the Antilles as soon as possible, her majesty's government will basten to apply to Cuba not' only the reforms which form the ground work of the law applied to-day to Porto Rico, but also will extend to both provinces the reforms which have been offered with /he view of a local character, wbioh shall facilitate the complete intervention of the country in its own affairs, maintaining at the same time intact the right of sovereignty and the condition necessary to the maintenance of that right ss. was stated in the words ber majesty deigned to address to the cortes by the advice of her responsible government upon the opening of par liament. "The amplified reforms can be partly put info practice by means possessed by the executive government aod partly will require the sanction of parliament The government is confident that it will not encounter insuparable obstacles to i?s rapid action in this sense, to the patriotio uniformity of op?L?on respecting the fundamental ideas which underlie the application of the reforms. *'Briefly, the law of reforms voted by the cortes aod sanctioned bv the crown, which bis to-day to he applied to Porto Rica, will form the foundation stone of, the new regime ; but an additional de cree, account of which will be given to the cortes, will amplify to such an ex tent these reforms that a genuine home administration will be constituted in our Antilles,'in the first instance for Cuba, but to hi extended to Porto Rico as soon and at the earn') time as it may be possible to apply it to the former island. (Singned) ? Tetuan, Minister of Foreigo Affairs. A Minority Report. That is Whu? Commissioner Thomas is Going to Pres ent. Railroad Commisfioner H R Thom as, who has gaiued considerable noto riety from his row with the other mem bers of the commission over the fertili zer rate question, was io the city yes terday. Mr Thomas made the an nouncement daring the day that he was preparing a minority annual report which would be presented to the general assembly. When asked about Editor Gaott's last reply to him he stated in regard to the reference to his brother, that his kinsman had been employed by the railroad lang before he was elected a railroad commissioner, and that he did not see fit to resign that position be cause of bis (Thomas') election as a member of the board. His brother held practically the same position then tnat be holds now. In regard to the reference to his eon ho said that the lad was a student at Clemson college. He wools not stU'iy there and as a punishment be took him from college and placed him in the ma chine shops of the Southern railway as an apprentice. The iad. he ^ a i ., had not been able to buy his own clothes at the salary he g-.t rhe?e Speaking further about. Mr Gantt's card, he said : "I a.>ked Ga??tt to hold up bis hand and answer h;.!W much money had been contributed by my colleagues and Secretary Duncan to The Cotton Plant. Ga.it t evades the question by saying they they hadn't givcu anything to his knowledge. I will give to Mr. Gautt the best hat in Columbia if he will eay that they have not contributed one cent to The Cotton Plant ?The State. looking The-Outlook in Congress. What the Two Houses are Likely to do this Week. Washington, Jan. 3?Just before the holiday recess the house of Rep resectatives, upon the recommenda tion of the committee on rules, ar ranged the busineBS of the House for the first week of the new year On Tuesday and Wednesday the Loud bill to amend the postal laws so as to prohibit the transmission of the mails of# serial novel publications and "sample" copies of newspapers at the second-class rate will be the special order. Discussion under the general rule will continue from the reading of the Journal on Tuesday, the 5th instant, Until 2pm on Wednesday, and under the f?ve minute rule upon the proposed amendment until 4 o'clock, when vot ing will begiu upon the pending amendments and the final passage of the bill. When the bill was called up rather unexpectedly eeveral weeks ago it developed surprising strength, but since then the opposition has been active, and tbe chances of its pass age are now considered rather doubt fal. After this bill has been disposed of the rest of. the week?Thursday, Fri day and Saturday?will bp devoted to the consideration of the Pacific Railroad funding bill, reported by Judge Powers, chairman of the com mittee on Pacific railroads Two days will be given to general discus Sion and one day to debate and action in committee of the whole upon the proposed amendments. The bill will be reported to the House at 5 o'clock Saturday, and the vote on its pas sage taken on Monday, the 13th in etai!t, immediately after the reading of the Journal The debate on this measure will doubtles88 be interesting, owing to the opposition which exists among members of the House to the action of the majority of the committee. The bill proposes to extend tbe Government lien over all the physical proper*, of the companies, which, it is claim ed, the present lien does not cover, and substituting for all outstanding obligations a new 4 per cent mort gage, the Government debut to be carried at 2 per cent per annum When the Senate meets on Tuesday morning after the holiday r?cese it is quite likely that the matters pertain ing to our foreign relations and the position assumed by Secretary Olney for the Executive will at once begin to take shape. Whether Senator ! Cameron will call up the Cuban reso ? lution on the opening day of the ses sion is not yet known, for he has not returned to the city, and the subject is entirely in his hands It is hardly -thought that he will seek to force the issue on the opening day, owing to the fact that there is not likely to be a quorum of the Senate present Senator Hale, who is looked upon as the leader of the Anti-Cuban re cognition sentiment, in the Senate, said yesterday that several Senators who have been heretofore silent on the subject had come out against the I Cameron resolutions, and there was I now no possible chance'for its pas On the other hand, Senators Came ron, Lodge, Chandler, Morgan and Mills assert that the Sentiment favor ing action by Congress is becoming more vigorous, and that the fighting will be forced from the start Sena tor Hale, who in the absence of Sen ator Allison, is acting chairman of the committee on appropriations, ex pects to have the army bill reported to the Senate on Wednesday, and this will be put forward to antago nize the Cuban proposition. The Harmon Appeal. It is said that tbe governor will on Saturday take up the Harmon murder case. This, as is generally known, has been appealed to the supreme court, where it is now pending. It is unus ual for the executive to interfere under such circumstances, but it is under stood .that the defense is pressing for actiou before Governor Evans retires from ofSce, and that he bas been told they wiil abandon the appeal if tbe governor takes up the case. Mr. F C. Caughman, father of the deceased, is in the city. He, with his attorney, Col. P. H. NeUco, will appear before the governor and vigor ously oppose executive action at this ! time.?The Srate. F. S. Peer is on his way to Europe I for tbc purpose of buying for George j W. Venderbilit choice ?rock of vari j ous kinds to i;C placed on tbc ostare ! near Ash avilie. . C. In Scotland be ! will seiect ?rotn various beida o* Ayr i shirt s the best specimens obtainable on I basis of blood ai.d poin?s. Io Wal-s he wiii pi-.'k from the herds which ream ; on :i:c mountains a number of pot:ies to I serve as foundation of a pony stud at ! Biltmore. In various Darts of Ew? : land will buy hackneys. Crossing the j islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and others i of the group in search of cows and : bulls of the famous inland breeds. Mr. j Vanderbiit ia desirous of securing a j few of the ca-i'ift peculia- to Brittany, ! but the law prohibiting tbe importation i of cows from Fracce makeo this impo.s [ sible at present. Maceo Brought to Life. Excitement ?n Habana Over the Report That he Still Lives. Habana. Jan 2.?via Key West, j Jan 2 ?Reports that Maceo is alise ere coming constantly from the field aoij all tend to show that he is recuper ating rapidly. Litter* received in Habana from his medical attendants explain the nature of bis wounds and confirm previous reports of the charac ter of the same and repeat the same story of Z'rtucbVs treachery. They say that Maceo wi*h bis staff came to meet Ahumada under a flag of truce and that Cirojeda and his forces were ambushed. As soon a* Maceo appeared, the Spaniards ooeo? ed fire. Maceo beiog ic front f?il! from his horse, Gomez also fell at his side. The rest of his staff, some of whom were wounded, managed to escape and reach Balmordore. Acosus' camp in stantly gathered all i-s small forcee and rushed to the assistance They made a desperate fight and drove Cirujeda in'o Punta Brava, recovered the bodies and carried the apparently dead Maceo with | them He remained uocooscious four days and five nights, and when pte pared for burial it was found that he was stiil alive,. As soon as he was able to be transported he was carried with the greatest care under a strong escort to the Uienega hospital, though others say to Siguauea. It appears that the project of the Cubans as soon as Maoeo is able to move is to send him to the United States, a&d a steamer has already been ordered for the purpose, and tbus per?; sonal'Iy prove thai he is alive. Great excitemeotpre vails in Habana over the news. It is widely discussed, even the Spaniards are talking of the possibility ^f his beiog alive. A mem ber of the exchange produced a sensa tio the 01 ber day when he aonouoced ?he fact and a commotion followed Weyler's position is critical and the Spaniards are highly indignant at his Constant deceptions Threats are free ly made that if Maceo is alive. Weyler will be dragged through the streets. He surely cannot return to Spain after the outbursts ot joy there over Maceo's death. His last foolish utterances con cerning the pacification of the Pinar del Rio have also greatly incensed the Spaniards, they knowing that, it is a gross He The idea thai are only 500 rebels in the provioce is deemed simp y absurd when Weylcr personally admit ted a fortnight ago that there existed at feast 3,000. The Spaniards also ridi cule the fact of the need of eight gen erals, twenty colonels, and 40,000 men to crush ?00 famished rebele. The low price of tobacco has not lessoned the ardor of the tobacco grow ers as we hear that there will be more of the yellow leaf planted sext year than last ?MaQoiog Times. G?veroor-eiect Pingree, of Michi gan, favors a law that will send to jail every person v?ho smokes cigarettes as well as those who sell them, and de clares that if such an act is passed dur ing his term of office he will sign it. Ooe of the Berlio newspapers de clares 300 factories in Germany have resumed operations since the recent, election in this country. The proprie tors of those concerns are obviously under the erroneous impression that the un-American Wileon-Gorman free trade hill is to continue in force per manently ? . Y. Maii and Express. One of the most abom;nable divorce records is that of a Rhode Island wo man who has married for the sixth time, although five of ber so called husbands are not only living but four of them were ushers at her alleged wedding. Strange to sa), she will be married io a church and a clergyman bas been found to perpetrate the disgusting farce. - mmm ? Tbe progressive ladies of Westfield, Ind., issued a "Woman's Edition" of the Wear 6eld News, bearing date of April 3, 1896. Tbe paper is filled with matter of interest to women, and we notice tbe following: from a correspondent, wbicb tbe editors printed, real zing: that it treats upon a matter of vital importarjce to their sex : 1 Tbe best remedy for croup, colds and nroncbiti's Cough Rem edy For family use it bus no equal. 1 glad gladly recommend it." 25 and 50 cent oottles for sale by Dr. A. J. China. -11*??????Bfr- ?*>??-^ ^? Cure from Lame Back "My daughter, when recovering: from an attack of fever, was a great sufferer from pain in the back and bip.c," writes Louden Grover, of Sardi.-, Ky. "After using quite a number of remedies without any t-enefit she tried one notile of Cnamnerlain's Pain Bilm, and it h?s inveu entire reiief." Cham berlain's Pain' Balra is also certain cure for rheumatism. Sold by Dr. A. J. China. It's a case of "Charmed at the First Sterbt and Sonori" see and near a STIEFF PIANO That's ji?st why a STIEFF would t>e a most appropriate XM * S PRESENT. It f-iimpiifies the iatest phase of Piaucfurte Construction. V?re only a?k an exaa ination of our i:;5Jtru:.'.enis and their co.i parison with others Their exquisite tone and deligbtfuily local effect gives tbera a peculiar charm. Ac commodating tetras CHAS M STIEFF. Baltimore?9 . Lfrerty St Washington?521 Eleventh" St. . VV. SHAREHOLDERS EE 8. THE ANNUAL MEETING ?F THE Shareholders of the First National bauk of Sumter, will be held at the B-ir-ik on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1897, at 12 o'clock noon. L. S. CARSON, Cashier. Dec. 16?4t. The State's Militia. The Adjutant General's Re port. The adjutant genera! has prepared and forwarded hie annual report to the adjutant general of the United States giving the figures showing the status of the volunteer militia force in this State They are interesting. Under the new enlistment act the number of men in the State militia has beeil materially decreased There are now 97 active companies in the State?31 cavalry, 2 light bat teries, 61 in the infantry and 3 in the naval militia. In addition to these theie are 6 resesve companies as fol lows : Greenbrier Rifles, Fairfield ; Hickory Grove Rifles, York county ; Montgomery Rifles, Spartanburg; Saluda Rifles, Saluda ; Mountviile Light Infantry, Laurens, and a new company in Kershaw county. The total militia is as follows : Gen eral and staff officers 47, in the ca valry 1,212 officers and men, in the light batteries 77 officers and men, in the infantry 2,398 officers and men making a grand total of 3,734 ofS cers and men. The number of privates is as fol lows : Cavalry 648, light batteries 47, infantry 1,479. The total number of commissioned officers is as follows : Cavalry 145, light batteries 12, infantry 316. The total number of non-commis sioned officers is as follows : Cavalry 310, light batteries 18, infantry 603. The number of men in this State available for military duty but unor ganized is placed at 20,000. General Watts says in' his report that tlTe militia force of the State is in better condition to day that it has ever been. He also says of the new enlistment law that it has bee.j of great benefit to the militia, as hereto fore "the force was entirely volun tary '1 Dragged by Wild Horses. Presence of mind and cool nerve are what H. Fersten, a cowboy, possesses to a marked degree. To these he ow?s his life, which seems to b:iveiiuog on a slender thread one day last week. He left Billings early one cold morning, riding a horse and lead ing three bronchos. He crossed the river to go to the Crow reservation, where there is no settlement, when his horee slipped aod- fell. This caused be led horses to jerk back, throwing him from the saddle and entangling bis legs in tbe rope. The frightened horses then ran, dragged Fersten, who realized at once his awful danger and lay on his back, says a Butte special to the Philadelphia "Times" It was necessary to act quick. So with rare presence of mind and consummate coolness he reached for his knife, opened it with his teeth, but in slai-hingat the rope had it knock ed from his band. He then reached around to his revolver. Suf fering severely from contact' with the bard, frozen ground, he managed to fire, but did not hit the nearest horse fatally.* Then he fired again, ?bis time bringiog down the horse, to which he clung in such a manner as to relieve him from further bruises and the strain of the yope which had already broken a small-bone in bis ifc. The horses soon stopped, when he was able to extricate himself ftom tbe danger of, bis situation. He immediately mount ed a horse and returned to Billings for medical aid This instate deserves to be put down as one in which rare pres ence of mind aod nerve were displayed, und^r the most Irving of circumstances. But the hardv cowboy only smiled and seemed to regard it more of a joke than anything else. He blamed himself for being caught of bis guard aod io such a positioo as to be dragged by wild horses. Richard Cornelius, cashier aod for forty-two years connected with the Farmers and Planters National Bank of Baltimore, was found to be $60,000 short in his accounts,and committed sui cide by drowning in tbe Druid Hill Park duck pond yesterday Choice Extracted Honey, bj the gallon or less quantity. For sale at my residence, or orders may be left office of the Watchman and Southron N. Osteel. Fast Freight Line BETWEEN Sumter, S. C, The 1-crtn, Ivcrthwest, South and Southwest, -VIA ??-SOST? & 6E8E0I? R. ?a Rites and inforninoli furnished by H. R. JACKSON, T. F. A.. Columbio, S.C. A. G. JACKSON, G. . A., Augusts, Ga