'*< : W . S . '^-c. . ^ ^ : | ^ ^ ^ ' . \ *- . . '* > ...,. .- ,. : .,. " .. ; x-. >, *-w " r: gt WJA. LEE AND HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER t>, 1871. r, VOLUME XIX-^NO. 3?r GOV. SCOTT'S ANNUAL MESSAGE. 1*-... JJXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Columbia, November 28, 1871. Geiilleman of the Senate and House of jienrestnialives: liKgll have assembled for tho fourth timiQjince ftp i^feblishment of a system of ire? government in South' Carolina. Pursuant to tho Constitu tion, it is the duty of the (xovernor to "?;re to^l?Jtreneral Assembly inforcondition of the State, * nw't^mmend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary or expedient." Tho presfinancial condition of the State " ?BpwS?|{y demands the rigid and unshrinking compliance with this constitutional requirement, in order that Geiie^al^ssembly and every department of the State Government ? m*oy ueite in a common effort to cor r, rocMucb evils as are remediable, and J)revent their recurrence. In this, the ast anntri^nsreesage that I shall transmit to thi^Genera? Asscmblj^ I propose to state my viows frankly upon the chief matters of public interest, fand to mvft asll ihfc facts within my ki&wlcago,jJithout reservo, as like " due to the peoplo and imposed by my obligation. I will thus, I trust, Enabled to correct gross exaggerntfiat are being diligently circu.lated in reference to our finances, and j <3Afce?Dt?re administration of the State. ? jy Irr^ptpclbmiing this duty, I shall not sljrjak froaivcbarging upon others any first sharo of their responsibility fur evil consoqaeDCes of their acts, and ? rtilj^gjajt iolitate fully to admit my Jt ' T'S^vm "8TATE DEBT. btfrttfdEM ' . .t_rn , l&e loiiowing iu mc x ruusurur ? uaifilliit of tfie actual debt of the State. I know, from severo personal scrutimj^thutlhia exhibit is full and cori|t;fel|jbft'!t the present debt of tk| Stttfii^ lta tn Li rely, suppressing 3 |j6ta|erticnt of total amount of bonds ana stocks printed by the American Bank Note Company, and accounted foe*460r1>omls redemption bills receivable. at $1,000, $500,000; 2,000 ( bonds payment interest public debt, at SI,000 2,000,000; 2,000 bonds re-' .lief of Abe Trea9urjT, at 81.000,1,000,- ( .JOOO?13,500,000, 700 bonds Land Commission, at $1,000, $700,000; S00 "bonds redemption bills Bank of State, at 1,000, 800,000; 1,500 bonds redemp- j i.:IL ,A' Cutn r?no ft7r,fl _ I KJ4I Ul I VI UlidtVj uv uuvj V Wj- ( 000; 8001>onds redemption bills Bank : of StatoTat 50, 40,000: 3,500 bonds! -4?nversion Stato securities, nt 1,000, 3,500,000 4,000 bonds con version State ^purities, at 1000 400,000,000; 1.200 i bohHs conversion State securities at I ^$500, 000,000 j 1,000 bo lids conversion js State Mebrities, at 100, 100,000; ster- ! ling iOftf, "6.900,000 ; certiticales con~ji vcrwion stbek, 1,550,000?$22,540 000.! ] Accounted for as follows: On hand!I . in Stato Treasury?Bonds conversion j I State aocurities, not signed, $473 500;' < . brands' relief of Treasury, (7 per,) ct. j 101,000; bonds payment interest pub- i '?NSI 'iW.-OoO ; bonds redemption bills jBank of State, 331,000; stock ; Of?i, on^P.nn cunv vniiuii uvu^ Dbt/uiiuw, ugi^ijuw -*^,072.|OO?. Deposited for sufct keeping &ith "American Bank Xote Company?Sterling loan, $6,000,000. Bonds earn ol.ed and destroyed?500 bonds, payment iniercst on publie JfiJtOjuruetl ,n lbo State House, $5J)Q)QdQ_i. 50Ubonds eon version State bccurjtics, erroneously printed, rciterrited and cancelled by American TT$an*fc Nolo Compauy, 500,000; conversion bonds issued iu effecting conversions at Stato Treasury, i,2G0.500; "V'bhforsio.n^ bond, No. 520, cancelled UMid. destroyed at Stato Treasury, 1 0001; bonds redemption bills Bunk of kaoed Stato Treasury, 1.259^000j .conversion stock, issued, ^CTnceilcH, and transferred at Treasury ,i3^700?113,020,0*00. [Which dedupted from the total of amount of L&frdS 'arid stocks printed?822,450,000 ? loaves $9,514,000.] Iftaiemenl of Dtbl.? Old dobt,$6,G65908,1*8; 4^bs old-bonds, paid July. 1, 187S&OOO? $453,908.98. New oonds, $9,514,000; less in hands of Financial ^Ageut, to the credit of Kin tor g Pii n y 17, 1869, entitled 'An Act to au' thorixo a loan for the relief pf the Xroawirytho Act of March 27,1869, cpt$j?d 'Ap Act to provide for the Appointment of a Land Commissionct^aY UU3. JL UU iviiv n nig iv m v x>. . . ?, hibit of tho appropriation of moneys, tho levy of tax, collection revenue. 1 per annum, and the delinquent list , for tho years 1868, 1869 and 1870: Total taxation for 1808, rate of tax- ] ation, State, 7J mills, $1,338,742.19; : total amount collected, 1,163,053.28; ( delinquent, 175,688.91 ; total oppro- 1 priations for tho year 1868, exclusive of interest on public debt, for which ! no appropriation was made, 817,968.- 1 28. < Total taxation for 1869, rate, State, I 5 mills, $1,014,901.83; total amount 1 collected, 766,736.08; delinquent, 248,- 1 165.75; total appropriations for the ! year 1869, including interest on pub- ! lie debt, $1,191,805.09. 1 Total taxation for 1870, State, 9 1 mills, $1,670,063.66; total amount col- 1 lected, 1,146,037.06 ; delinquent 524,1)26-60?total appropriations for tho \ year 1870, $1,604,053.54. Total delinquent taxes, $947,881.26; 1 twenty per nent. penalty, 189,576.25 !; -total, 61,137,457.51. If the taxes, as shown in the fore- 1 going statement, had been paid, as 1 Lhoy should have been, it would have 1 >aved the Stato at least $2,500,000 of ( bonded debt. , BONDED DEBT. It must not be presumed that the i increase in tho bonded debt of the t State is tho creation, in any consider- t iblc degree, of tho existing adminis- f Oration. Tljis increase represents c mostljT liabilities contracted under ] previous administrations, the form of t the obligation, in somo cases, alone being changed, while a largo fraction sousists of bonds issued to meet the | matured principal and accruing inter- < est of the ante-war debt, in order to ? maintain the'faith and credit of the i State. The ?700,000 of bonds issued i for tho Land Commission form the only portion of tho debt actually j mated by tlio present administra- i tion, and for this the State ha9 an I ample equivalent in tlio lands' pur- i chased, which wilj ultimately repay both principal and interest. By reference to tho various Acts i cited in the foregoing statement of I the Treasurer, it will bo seen that, i with tho exception of those author- i izing the issue of bonds for the Land < Commission, they severally provide that a specified sum of money shall be < raised on bonds of the State, and not < simply that a given amount of bonds i shall bo issued. The amount of bonds 1 to bo issued for this purposo was not < specified by law, as our securities were i Untried, and, therefore, had no determinable market value. If tho Gen- j eral Assembly had attempted to approximate the probablo market value < of the new Stato securities, they i would doubtless have rated theiri at not more than five or ten cents on the i dollar, provided that in this they had boon guided by tho views of tho op , position press, which, in its efforts to break down tho State credit, fastened t upon these securities, in advance, the ' stigma of a threatened repudiation, and declared that they would be worthless to the holder. But it was < holinvnd hr the Financial Board that oar securities might be so made to appreciate as to be negotiated at par, and that $1,000,000 in our bonds would thus purchase 81,000 000. As the result of the financial policy adopted, these new bonds command- i ed, in the early part of 1870, from 80 to 85 per (rent, of their par value, and so well satisfied was I that our aecuri* .ties?boaring, as they did,. 6ik per cent, interest, payablo in gold? womld, in tbo natural order of tilings, farther appreciate, that I refused to sell even at those comparatively high rates. This apparent confidence of capitalists in the State Government aroused its opponents to a combined effort to depreciate the bond*, and not ? i ? fVia mnot inrlividiifl] Ull I_y MCIU vuv tuvrov uv.. . V ...... efforts mado to discredit our securities, bat even the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Charleston lent their aid to this schemo of. depreciation. The exchangeable vulue of a State bond depends: First, npoii the ability of the State to pay the interest upon it as jit accrues, and to redeem it at maturity; and, second, upon the recognized and acknowledged disposition and intention of thoso who administer the affairs of the State, to provide for the punctual liquidation of all its just obligations. As the resources of the nraMn nrwl o ro ? n n II PBf 1 On flbl V uvaw >?uvj uwvi uivj ? ample, even on an ordinary scale of taxation, as compared with its indebtedness the class of persons especially hostile to the State Government, and the principles upon which it is founded, directed their efforts to make it appear to capitalists that the State administration was corrnptand profligate, and thf^ta popular reaction had taken ptyce that would soon bear them into power. Founding their claims 1o consideration upon the&e pretences, and pretonding. to fepre-l sent the people of South Carolir. - ?i?IM???W??O?I? they boldly proclaimed their purpo9< to repudiato all debts contracted snb qucnt to the adoption of our nev Stato Constitution. As, by this course of action on th( part of mon professing to have th< honor and credit of tho Stato pccu liarly at heart, tho purchasing valu< of the bonds was seriously diminish ed, thereby requiring *an incrcasec amount in bonds to raise a givor amount in money, it follows that thoj and not this administration, are noi responsible for any unduo increase ir our bonded debt, upon the just lega principle that evory man is account oblo for tho natural consequences o: his own acts. Added to these causet for the declino in tho valuo oi oui securities was the manifest want o: confidcnce among capitalists in tht management of our finances by oui Financial Agent in New York. In proof that this scheme to nd. "U/iT-m-wl - What capitalist would touch 'bayoiet' bonds issued by our bogus Legslat'irc ? Would New York or Boson toiich these bonds, issued by anliority of a horde of nt-groes, and in ace of the protust of the white pooIle of the Stata? Would notour Northern brethren prefer to wait unil alter Xovembcv' Tho State debt of South Carolina ?the debt now existing?will be >aid to tho last ccnt, whatever the Jeneral Assembly may do; but no bayonet' bond, for whatever reason ssued, will ever be recognized by the A'liito people of State." Referring to the Act of the Generil Assembly providing for tho payment of tho interest on our State Donds in specio, tho same paper says, inper dato of December 1,1869: ' Wo can pay our debt as it stands, rhe question is, whether one year nore of Eadical rule will not so largey swell tho total that tho people will, it the first opportunity, shuffle off the ivcight of care, and repudiate every iollar of debt contracted after war. * * * the Governor advis ?d that tho war debt be paid?a debt contracted for the advancement of a ???oa in ur1?ir?l? Ani> winnla nrn Kn ^auou J ii u uivu uui |i\/V|iiiw i/iuvui ivvu fortune, life and honor?an attentive ;ar and willing heart would have met the proposal, and the whole subject would havo been considered with kindly and generous cure. * * * Every merchant or finuueier does see, Dr will see, that the whole scheme is a job and a swindle.1 Beyond this, there is the certainty that tho law of specie payments will ussuredly bo repealed as soon as property-holders and honest men have a majority in the councils of the State. This majority wo shall huvo in less than a year."' The cry of repudiation thus' raised by a large portion of the press, and continued, wreh a shameless pertinacity, in the interest of a small and malignant political organization, has done much loprodufco tho recent depi'cciation of our securities, coming, as it did, at a time when the money markets wero rendered peculiarly sensitive and stringent by various causes. ' jt~ The debt ata'tement made at the meeting of the Tax-payers' Convention, in May last, and that furnished by me to the Congressional Committee, in September, wera correct, to the best of my knowledge', atthoso dates! My information as to the ealo oi bonds was then necessarily limited tc the amount reported by tne Financial Agont and Treasurer. $2,200,000 of the amount of con; version bonds, issued as above stated, were signed by me for the express purposo of withdrawing' from the market and cancelling an equal amount of those issued and hypothe cated under tho Acts^for relief of the Treasury, the pay meat of the Interest oo tho .public debt, and for the Land Commission. They were signed aboul the time the Tftx-navers' ConvAntinr assembled. Subsequently, the Financial Agent represented that the rapid decline in the value of our State securities disabled him . from- getting control of the bonds deposited as collaterals, and to relieve which thes* conversion bonds were signed at thai date. Tho action of that body, and of the Chai'lc8ton/Boftrd.of;Trado, in refer enco to .tfeV proposed MBterling fund loan, warning capitalists,, abroac against itfl.negotiation, and declaring that-, if negotiated, it should never b( paid, had a jnost disastrous effect npor our securities, and thereby compelled a large and rapid increase in tho vol nme of our bonded debt. At tho tim< the sterling fund bill was onaetod, ] deemed it* policy a wise one, and i was pndorscd as a good fin^ncia .A 1 V v 3 measure, by many loading financiers, I - both in this State and in New York, i 7 Its design was to roplaco our socuri- < ties, already issued, with a uniform \ 5 class of bonds, many of sach securi- < i ties not being a good delivery at the i - Stock Exchange in New York. This t 3 loan was calculated to commend itself I - to capitalists, for, while it changed the 1 1 form of tho debt advantageously, it < 1 was guarded with the irrepealable re- I t striction that its proceeds should be i t "exclusively used in exchange for, or in t i payment of the existing publlo debt of < ! the State." . i Its very terms thus show how un- 1 f warranted was tho action of tho Con- J 3 vontion in stigmatizing it as an ipten- i ded increase of the bonded debt of < f the State. In view of all the facts in ] s tho premisos, tho sterling loan, thus < discredited in advance, was cot put i upon the market. " The gentlemen who guided tho acr i > tion of the convention, on questions of t ! finance, expressed, as a further objee- i i tion to the loan, their want of confi- t . dence in the Financial Agent in Now i . York. In evidence of tho real par- 6 i pose, and the wantonness of these > systematic attacks upon tho State t credit, Ijwould mention that I thcro- ? upon proposed that they should des- ^ ignate tho syndics, or agents for the negotiation of the loan, both in London and New Yj'rlc. I further propo- 11 sed, with tho unanimous consent of 1 the Financial Board, to guard holdors " under this loan from loss, through any 1 possible subsequent action of the Gen- 1 cral Assembly in regard to it, by en- a tering into such stipulations on behalf 0 of tho State with-the syndics, charg- ? cd with negotiating the loan, that no * future Legislature could divert its 8 proceeds without attempting to "im- k pair the obligation of contracts," thereby giving tho Courts of the F United States jurisdiction, should a 1 question of tho kind ever ari60, in- ^ volving tho lights of tho bond-hold- 1 ers and the faith of the State. I in- * stanced to them, in this connection, s the decision in the case of Minnesota, * where, under a similar stipulation, a the rights of tho bond-holders were ^ enforced by the Federal Courts, on ^ ex pott facto grounds oven against a a provision in the Constitution of that 1 State, adopted subsequent to the crea- c tion iti debt. Nothing, however, a could change their pro-determined 1 purposo. Ilad they and their allies 0 displayed tho same diligencejn co-op- 0 orating wilh the Financial JLtoard lor 1 tho negotiation of the sterling loan v that they have shown in their efforts n to discredit tbo securities of the State, * our entire bonded debt would not now ^ oxeccd ?10,000,000, and the State a would havo been saved near $3,000,000 e necessarily sacrificed in the negotia- * tioh of its depreciated bonds. For a Uicin now to complain of our immense L bonded debt and high taxation, and d to claim commiseration for these di- r rcct and inevitable consequences of 1 their own acts, is to imitate the crimi- 1 nal who, having murdered his parents, 0 plead ophanage in mitigation of sen- 8 ten CO, UD IQlS quesuuu ui reayuusi- bility between thorn and the Statoiid- v ministration, I invoke, and fearlessly 6 await, that just judgmont which al- ^ ways springs from the sober socond c thought of the people. The deprccia- P tion in our bonds, therefore, springs F jfrom causes purely artificial, and in their nature temporary. The State ^ can, and will redeem, all her obliga- e tions, to the last cent. I might, with propriety, end this branch of my mes- n sage hero, bat I deom it both proper I and timely to show who those men a aro that arrogantly and falsely assume n to represent abroad the. wealth i' of the State, and the sentiment 0 of the people ' of South Carolina. S They are a remnant of the class] who" ? ruled this State whon tho many toil- I.1 od and suffered for tbo benefit of tho n few, and its Government subserved c the largest good of the smallest nnmber. Asserting and oxerqising a pre- ^ scriptivo right to govern wrong, in ? 4 times past, they made the laboring o masses, without regard to race, their P i pack- horses,Jto bear tho burdons of a t Government that conferrod its ben- p cfits only upon a limited and select & , class of its people. They are csson- d tially non-producers, and do not con- fi tributo fivo per cent to the 130,000,- e 000 value of the annual exported pro- S ducts of tho State. Claiming to rep- il resent a largo amount of capital, a i their na.mes are chiefly found upon c the arrcar list, when found npon the I. arrcar list, when found at all in tho e tax books, and nearly all oi' them c have long since voluntarily recorded li i themselves upon the roll of. bank- t ropts. Their protenBe that they are o i tiro guardians of the honor and credit p of South Carolina, would bo supreme- c ridiculous, if it wore not so supreme- n ly shamclesR. ... 1 c > Their proeent cry of -'repudiation" t ' is not surprising. Repudiation is li P their chronic disease. When they b > were in power in 18G2, they repudi- t ! ated all their debts due loyal men, v both private and public, and have o themselves been repudiated by the n , people of South Carolina, upon the ^ i blood, and muscle, and sinews of e i whoso hard-handod laborers these I I privileged few so long fattened. Pro- a fessing to be tho champions of good 1 i govefument, when they were in pow- li . er, instead of effecting an equitable aisiriouuon 01 una. xaxcs over an u classes of property, they created c numerous railway and other corpora- e tions, exempting them for all taxa- n tion forever. These corporations, a althongh owning millions of proper- d ty throughout the State, pay not one 1 dollar of taxes into its treasury, and p > even successfully claim, in the courts, t i exemption from all municipal taxa- li tioD for the residences, and pleasure r s carriages and horses of their officers s ? io pur towns and cities, whero, in r I nearly every str^es, these wealthy c I bencfieiaries of the State own long ? j rows of houses, untaxed and untax- t 3 able, which they buy and sell on \ i speculation. t I Remembering tho general private - suffering that they have caused, and r 3 the great public burdens that , they c t have aidod to create by their treason' t t ablo acta, it would better beoome t I these solf-styled representatives of i Sooth Carolina to walk more humbly, wo *nd to show a more grateful appre- cial Nation of the generous magnanimity em that they bavo received at-the bauds par )f the National and State Govern- on oients, by honestly endeavoring, in cur some measure, to repair the ruin that int? ,hey have made. As these persons the iavo been pleased to except from a fl ;heir nroDOsed schcme of "rcnudia-|of I -ion" tho -'old bonds" of the State, it oen nay bo well to inform them that as 1 >houtd the evil day couio for Sooth by Carolina to proclaim her perfidy or but nsolvoncy, by repudiating any part of woi ior valid debt, she will not first die- ted aonor that class of her obligations in sho ;he benefits arising from tho croation her )f which the largest number of her cd < people have shared. On sach a finan- cur iial dooms-day tho last would suroly em lot be the first. mo; In dismissing this branch of ray the nessage, I would observe that the lo- moi 5al combination against our finances all vas simply Kuv Kluxism applied to and ho State credit, and naturally had, futi ipon the oschangeablo value of our I ecurities, the aamo depressing effect trai vhich that infamous system has had r?? ipon the material prosperity of the trol Jtato. Sep FXI 'HE FINANCIAL AGENT OP THE STATE ^ When the present State Govern- nen nent was inaugurated, (July 6,18G8,) Spo hore wero only $45 in the State tho treasury. A large bonded and float- dep ng debt, incurrod by former adminis- 8pii rations, had to bo provided for. The _I nciont credit o( the State, that had dul ?uce stood so justly high in tho raon- the y markets of tho world, was gone, tun t had been blown away with the bly moke of the first' gun fired at Fort er c tomter. to \ In order to meet tho current ox- has enses, until money could bo realized aaiv rom the tax levy, it was necessary to t or the Stato to borrow on its securi- and ies. To effect this object on the best bra erms for the State, the General As- I d< LI.. iL..t I it. _ P . A t I emuiy uuvuunzuu wio uvvciuur ai- ianj orney-General and the Treasurer, "to dec ppoint, under a commissioned signed 8pir y tbem, some responsible bank or Ass anker In tbe city of New York, to effe ct as Financial Agent of the State. roc< \> this end, I visited New York, and anil onforred with leading banks. They diti 11 declined tbe agency, alleging that stin he duties were arduous and the time at 3 f paymont uncertain; that we wero I nly borrowers in the market. While ble hus endeavoring to secure tho scr- strc ices of a responsible and efficient Fi- oxe ancial Agent, the name of Mr. II. II. had [itnplou was piesented. Ho was the igbly endorsed by prominent offici- han Is in tho Stato, and by leading bank- the re in New York, among whom wero ing ho Presidents of the Broadway Bank ball nd tho Bank of tho .Republic. Al- cy: hough averse to apppinting any in- 1 ividual banker Financial Agent, for ma casons which time has since fortified, pen here then appeared to bo no other al- the ernative, and I, therefore, as one the f the Financial Board, gave my as- sioi cnt to the appointment of Mr.Jiimp- $08 on, but on tho condition that he sun 11 ? _ 1 1 ii rouiu givo n ujnu tu tut? oiuiu jii lmu cur um of $500,000, conditioned fot the ma siithful dischargo of trust as Finan- ded ial Agent. Mr. Henry Glows, a furl iroroinent banker of New York, was dial iroposed and acenptod as bondsman, and nd I was afterwards informed by the the ?roasurer that Mr. Kimpton had ex- sho cuted and filled his bond. 556 It is proper that I should here re- rinj lark, that the law did notroquiro the of 1 ^inanciivl Agent to give a bond, nor clai re bonds over required of their fi- stai ancial agents by other States; but X pen osisted upon it, out of an abundance dra f caution in tho interest of the den Itato. I mention this fact simply to the how that this trust was not careless- defi y conferrod. In referring to It, I do exp ot mean to intimate that tho deprc- gtc iation in our securities bears any re- ject ition to tho bond of the Financial in ii Lgent, for, even though his bond had Ger xcooded in amount the total value of wel ir? Vi{o Uan/^o ' 4 V\ n f rvnn Ul* QUUUlltlCO ill mo nauuC) luuu uv- ^iuu rcciation ond the consequent loss to pur ho State could not have been thereby 1 uoventcd, as it would have indcraLi- vet< ed the Stato only in the event of tot* amage recoived through neglect or ded raud on the part of the Agent, neith- sho r of which is alleged against hira. cat* lubsequcnt events have raado it man- of 1 rest that it was a grave mistake to of ] ppoint an individual instead of a to** hartered company as our Financial "lej I gent. An individual banker, what- 858 ver may be his capacity as a finan- A ier, cannot, in tho management of con arge money transactions, command ey( ho samo high degroo of confidence, sidi n the part of capitalists, that a cor- Ire loratlon can-. Especially is this tho yea ase whoqthe basis of tho proposed of iegotiation consists of a class of se- aga uritics now to the market, at a time, tho oo, when thoro was an active specu- for iitive movement in tfio stocks and tire 1- -11 U IOUUS UI Uli bilO UUUUIIJ1U UMltO, UI1U IU^ be value of .the curroncy to holders can ras constantly made to fluctuate by or c perations of speculators in the gold prii rcarket. Hence, I again visited New pro fork, a year ago, for the purpose of bro fleeting a change in tho Financial offii Lgency. 1 found this impracticable, rev ,s the Stato was indebted to the will Lgent, and could not then arrango to Iiab iqnidato that indebtedness. mi The Financial Agent has probacy done the best bo conld, under cir- 1 umstances, embarrassed and check- trei d as ho was by constant "bear" cial novements, originating in the Stato, the s a part of an organized scheme to the iiscredit its existing administration. vic< Nearly every loading man of the op- 1 losition?thoso who had capital anil II, li?ri nnnn l?nf rkrot/?nf]f>r1 fn thfi UUOU n UV/ UMU IIVIIVJ wuv jfi wwuv>?v. ??. lave it?joined in this scheme. I am Cor cady to take my sharo of tbo re- por ponsibility for our present cmbar- furl assmcnt: but thoso citizens who mil* ombined against tho crcdit of the in j Jtato, at home and. abroad, and 83-s- pla< omatically depreciated the market whi 'alHO of its eocurities, cannot evade pen heirs. but I am, in public estimation, hold the csponsiblo for tho action of thefinan- tior rial board, when, in law and in fact, rcc< he Governor has no more power in dici ,ho board than any private citizen ami vho might bo a member of it. I vat< uld add, in reference to the tinan- t I agent, that he has been greatly t barrassed by the practice, on the \ t of the treasurer, of drawing np? t the agentiy for funds to meet the a rent expenses of the State; in the n srim between the periods fixed ' for t payment of taxes. thus. creating s oating debt constantly in advance s the revenue. I do not mean to a sure the treasurer for this course,' t le doubtless thoagbt it warranted the exegencles of the treasury; n the practise is a .bad one, and I G lid recommend that it be prohibi- v by proper legislation, which t uld at the same time provide that si eafter no money shull be. borrower debt contracted to defray the t! rent expenses of the State Gov-ti mont, bnt let all those to whom e cey is due from the State await d collection of the taxes, retrenoh- a at, will soon lift tho State abore e present financial embarrassments, ti [ prevent their recurrence in the a ire. ... 1 h AW ^ itlA. A UX* Ui vUCtUllUU D^tcuiouu y&- i>uviu nsactions of the financial agent, I b jr you to his report to the eotnpllor-ffoneral, for the quarter ending; a itomoer 30,1871, ' p 'ENDITUBES OP STATE GOVERNMENT, t STiiilo holding the political oppo- v is of tho State Governments re- b nsiblo for the great depreciation in * market value of our secuiities-^-a h rociation directly due to their con- o aoy against tho credit of the State t am bound by my sense of public 0 y to exposo to tbo i eprobation of P people tho improvident expend!- v ss incurred by the General Assom- P nnH t.hfi nvf.rnrnorant and imnron- ti lisburscmcnt of tlie State monoys, a vhich the legislative . department t given either its express or implied h ction. In so doing, I do not wish r )e considered as wanting in a due u proper rospect to a co-ordinate n nch of the State Government, but p isire to appeal, in plain and earnest p *uago, to the sober judgment, the & cnt self-respect and the public t1 it of each rriembor of tho General ti embly, to give bis active aid in ctln an instant reform in this di? [. iionyfor the whoie people, with fa Led voice, demand it, and the con- y on of our finances, and very in* fi ct of self preservation, require it ii rour bands. b would scarcely have been poesi- b for the men who combined to de- t iy tho credit of the State, to Have o cuted their purpose so successfully, f i not tho General Assembly l6nt f m its practical co-operation, by ex- r :?ting, through its extravagance, a funds in the Treasury, thus loav- t tho .State without any reserve 8 ance to meet the financial, cxigen- { instance tho following,1 among * ny other items of extravagant exiditures : tTbe money drawn upon . orders of tho presiding officers of J two Houses during the last scs- * i for current printing amounts to 1 ,904.90. In addition to this large i, $30,000 wcro appropriated for rent printing for the same session, c king a total of 898,904,90 cxpen- a I on this item Alone. There was o Lher drawn from the Treasnryj and g )urscd by the Clerks of tho Senate d [ House, for printing tho laws, Ac., f sum of $103,651.44, Thoso figures i; w tho enormous aggregate or $202,- o .34 expended on printing alone du- o * and incident to tho last session ii tho General Assembly, while largo ms for public printing aro still outiding. In addition to these ox* dituros, the sum of $29,814.05 was f< \vn upon tho orders of the Presi-. S t of tho Senate and ths Speaker of n Honso, for purposes not very well e nod, bot designated as "contingent d enses and repairs," making an ag- S gate, for the above specified ob- d s, of $231,370.39? a sum startling d ts magnitude for one sossion of the I leral Assembly, and which may c 1 bid tho legislative department r so in tho path that it has been suing. ... 'ho appropriations, including those Ded Dy tue .uxecuuve, aggregate a ~ il.of $480,000. To tbis is to bead- j< the amount of 6103,651.44, ns p wn abovo, drawn upon the cei'tifi38 of tbc Clerks of the two Houses ;he General Assembly, on account b printing the laws, and the grand c il of expenditures, on account of ;islative expenses,".- amounts to b 3.651.44. t l3 an evidence of the pernicious t soquencesof permitting this "mon- t )rder" system on the part of the pre- t ng officers of-the Senate and House, a sfor to the fact thatduring the past s ,?*, upon tho order of the Speaker t the House, an alleged liability inst the State was contracted, to amount ot yi,ouu, lor iurnuura i the,State House. This was cn- ii ly without warrant of law, and if g principle is admitted that moneys it be thus drawn from the Treasury, t; lebts contracted without "appro- a itions made by law," then all C per sfifoguards of the Treasury are c ken down, and a few ministerial t; ;crs in the State may mortgage its y enue in advance, or doprive it at a I of the means of meeting its legal t lilities. . o : PAY OP MEMBERS OP TQS GEN- C EltAL ASSEMBLY. t ?he first important measure of ro- t icbment demanded by our finao- G condition, is a great reduction in f< amount received "by members of q General Assembly for their ser- ji 58. M Mie Constitution provides (Article p Section 23,) that "each member of o first General Asseniblv undor this v istitution shall receive six dollars ii diem, while in session, and the n .her sum of twenty cents for every a oof the ordinary route of travel ja ?oing to and returning from thojjti :c where such session is held, after jo ich they shall rcceivo such com-. tl sation as shall be fixed bjr law j&< no General Assembly shall have n power to increaso the compcnsa-l i of its own members." I would Dmmond that, in lieu of a per'c< ii, each member shall receive an a ual salary, to bo fixed at such a o : as will greatly diminish tho cost A ;he amount now paid under the ays- ^ em of per - diem .compensation. It 0 ?11 *Ima /sn ? 1 r\ ik a d.am awmI a _ ft o viii aiau UIJBUIC me \Jcucriu.?*ibseillDjy o provide an assessment for the 11 ssessment required for the pay*of its ^ n embers;'and will ejaable them to ob- ^ ain thoir pay with certainty. I am fc atisffed that a moderate, yet adequate 8 alary ooald be provided by law, and ? rgrcat saving be thereby effected to I1 he State Treasury.. - ,f You would thereby also greatly di- 8 finish the incidental expenses of the ? leneral Assembly, by destroying1' ?bat might offer a great inducement. c o many members to prolong the sesions, : .... v : f I cannot refrain from expressing E xu_J. . 5 . r . t) no uupu mm vuq present session or z; he Legislature will be a short and -~ conouiical one, as the financial conition of the State will not admit of P ny unneocssary expenditure of. mon- r< y.' All the iuflaence of the Execu- ? ive of the State - will be exerted in "l ccomplishing this end, -and he trusts a e will have the active sympathy and 03 (^operation of each and every mem- ? er of the Legislative Department ^ The large amount of money paid to ttacheed, srich as clerks, messengers, orters; &c.t is without a parallel in " he history of legislative bodies. It A ?as claimed at the time by the memers that most of these were mqn iho who had bifcen driven from their | omes on account of their political 01 pinions, and it became tht> duty of ?. he- General Assembly to provide c icaris for tholr support. While this | lay be true, arid that it may have de- , olved uport the State Government to rovide some means for their protecion and support,-yet a vory onnsnal c< nd expensive modo of oxtendjng bat support waa. adopted. It might ^ avo been but justice to have made a V egular appropriation aqd levied it pon the Counties from which these len were driven; thus the victims of j1 olitical prejudice would, have been r rovided for and the actual bernetrn- 11 ore of these outrages made to feci ^ bat it was an expensive way of conrolling political opinions. , ughly at a cost of not moro than c I've thousand dollars. I would, there- r ore, recommend that this standing eproaeh to tho State Government, * ind unnecessary drain upon the treaslry, bo removed without-delay, by abolishing the code commission and r imploying a competent jurist to* com- ^ jleto the codification of our laws. ^ .Ub l/JL^lUJk Ul WJjttMJWIONKK J I-recommend that tbo office of a and commissioner be abolished, and r .hat the duties of tho office be devolved r ipon the Secretary, of State. o THE SCHOOL COMJIISSIONEBS. t r 4 .' l p The thirty-one school commissioners, attbeir present salaries, which ire exceedingly large for the amount' * >f service that they render, cost the State thirty-one thousand five bun- ? Ircd dollars per annum. I, thereore, recommend a material reduction n a the salaries of school commission- , r8, so as to reduce thft expenditures f n this account to a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars per annum. +1 l/J ENEBAL REDUCTION OP SALARIES, ti There is a great and instant need 3i* the reduction of the salaries of 1 Itate officers, and for a decided dilinution of the clerical forco employ- P d in many officcsof the Executive " epartmcnt. In eomo cases the a Itate is paying clerks to, perform P uties that should be, and" can be, 81 ischarged by the officers themselves. 0 n my opinion the salaries of all officrs, except the judges, should be , oduced one third. " - adjutant-Gexeral's offics. $ The office of assistant-adjutant gen- I ral should he abolishod, and the ad- b ntant-ganeral should be required to s erform tho dutios of his office. n ! STATE and county auuit0r8. 0 The office of State auditor should S q abolished, and its duties perform- e d b}' the comptroller general. < ti fPUz, /v-^aa aP rtAn y\frr a? Aon ti *JL Iit3 .UIUUU VI wuiibjr Auutvvi vau e dispensed wfth without injury to he public scrvico, and the duties of y hat office devolved upon the county g reasuror, thus effecting a saving to n ho State of not less than fifty thous- si ,nd (50,000) dollars per annum, and li ecuring even increased efficiency in he colloctioD of taxes. TRIAL JUSTICE8. tl L invite your early attention to the n ecommendations of my last message i regard to trial justices. Tho agregato cost of this class of officers c< j very near one hundred and twen- oi y thousand (120,000) dollars annu- m lly. The trial justices in the City of rf Jharleston alone entail upon the e^ ounty an expenditure of about thir- fr y-five thousand (30,uuu; uoiium a ear. I "would, therefore, urge, in ddition to m}* former recommenda- m ion on this subject, that the offico gi f trial jnstiee be abolished in the re Jfty of Oharlestoa, and that, in lieu b< hereof, three police judges becreated pi o tho State of the sessions of the 'sc rencral Assembly, as compared with T Dr that city, who shall receive ade- tl nato salaries, and shall exercise the ui jrisdiction vested in tj#al justices. I pj rould further recommend the ap- es ointment of ono police judge io each is f o.ir principal towns, dispensing ol ,'ith trial justices therein, and vest- pi ig in such judges the judicial powers dt ow exercised by the mayors' courts, rc s, under oxisting acts, tho mayors T nd intendanls of our cities and qi jwns may crowd our jails with pris- re ncrs 6antonced for trifling offenoos, sc [ins i?.r.rcasing the expenses of the of jveral counties. re ECOltDEH or THE CITY OP CHARLES- 8l TO". in I rccommond that tho office of Re- ai irdor of the city of Charleston be,so bolishcd forthwith. This is a State ti Rico created by Act of thu General ir sscuibly many years ago, but it has in or many years fallen into niter disbc. Although the Becorder receives salary Of twenty-five hundred dbW ire per annum, and has a clerk at six unared dollars per annum, payable y the oity, I am credibly informed hat he has not held more than two 1 p ii._ n!i_ ? i > , euoiuiJB ul ino v^tiy oourt. lur rial of criminal and civil causes dpjrag the.past ten orjtwelve yeite. i a mere excrescence on out judicial ystem, and the people of Charleston hould no longer be taxed to sustain ' '' - dgU . ''v LKSjta Of THE SENATE AND n6U.SE. I would especially direct your (titration, in this fconnectto'n, totheproriety of ?e^cineftho salaries of tho?f the Senate and IToaSe. 'aking the mimber of days orr which lese office** ar? presumed to? bo cm[oyed, tboir compensation, per diemr jspectively, is more than five times reater than that received by fa merrier of: the body in whioh'they are ' bordinates, while the annual salary ' f each eqaals the highest received by ny.officer in the State, except* the bief Justice. - This is an anomaly rithontprecedent in any other Stale, nd unwarranted by the preseivt- ^onitioo of the State Treasury.^ : - .UVl'IJUflAli LIUWh&JlVA JiE(4UlftlUI iu REGULATE PUBLIC PRINTING. . I recommend,that the present ays- ' sm for. the public printing bo changd without delay, and tho great drain pon tho Treasury, caused thcroby, becked at oooo. The authority vesjd in tho Clerks of the Senate and touse, in regard to'tho printing hould be rescinded, and a proper ifegoard, and' a rigicl aytem of acauntdbllity instituted, to Insure tlib tnrictest economy in this very eonaWftble Branch of the publio expendflres. It'should toot oo left to 'tKi ??sii 19VJOUVU Ui DUWIUUIUVV vmvwVi , - - - General Assembly, however hort- ' " st and- judicious they ma/ be in tbb j ischarge of such a trust. The existtg system bas involved an expend?ire forprinting as to bo a realealam- "s?^i ,y to tne State. It has certainly rentuated in a contract for the public t rinting which is a flagrant frand opnthe Trcasuiy, and should bo iur ,antly an nailed. . ~ X have ascertained that the com' Z any with which the printing coot ract baa been ma4o, to-wfci Benhlipjin Printing finmnimv luithAF - r r-o T*? ' wns nor control any journal oijpri^tf nig establishment, and is even wifho^t jgal existence, but has the work executed in this city atfthe regularmaj$et ates. and thus derives an iouiic.^ irofit frora the Treasury of tno'si^oj rithont any ootlay.On'their part. ., 8TAT* REVENUtS, Under existing la *s for the a^se.ssnont and collection' of tftxes, ' istate is mado to bear an ' undtfo'p:rd? >ortion of the burdens of t&fcdtfljt/J * ror the purpose^ therefore; of rl W t sufficient revenue to defray the'curent expenses of ^< ccondfnT6al',a^ ninistration of tho State/ and nreetrSts1 ^ligations to its creditors, while be same time lessening its tax On-' ealty, I make tb?f Allowing reeemsendations. These recommendations, f judiciously carried oat, will securebe payment of taxes on classes-of roperty hitherto practically exempt rom taxation, and .tend to utilize nU jgitimate sources of State rovonue.'he bulk of tho oottop and rice is hipped from t^e State or sent to mar-. et, in the., interregnum between the; nnual assessment of taxes, and is baa practically exempted from taxaion, contributing but a.smallsbaro lo. ho.amount of revenue derived from he tax on personal property. A, ax on those important and valuable. roducts, such as th6y may reasona-; ' ly bear without checking production,, nd, according to value, should be cs-^ ecially provided for, and the necesijrv measures enacted to insure its ollection with certainity. ' : > Tn* PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS. This vast natural source of revenue' ias notyet boen utilized; but a com-" arativeiy small revenue having thus' nr been derived from it by the State: recommend that some rironer officer e designated by law, whose duty it' ball be, by actual inspection and * ieasurement,.to ascertain tbe numberf tons of phosphate belonging to the tate, that wro excavated by the sev^_ ral chartered companies, and to ccr-;ify and to collect the royjtfty.due pon the same. , ; m LICENSES. *.,t : I recommend that all persons cn? agod in the sale of liquors, and all lerchants, factors, lawyers and phyicians, be required to take out a Stat? cense. INSURANCE COMPANIES. A tax should be levied on all prcjiums received by insurance compa- ' ics. ' TAX ON RAILROAD TONNAGE. All ikrt ?v%/%of imnAnfohf Ail f'UU JUVOU Illl jiVi bfliliv 4 uiu vau jmpanies in tins State pay bo' taxes n their property. I earnestly recomend that a tax be levied on every lijroad company in the State, for ;ery passenger and every ton of eight transported. DELINQUENT TAX SALES. To enforce the more prompt pay- ; ent of the taxes, and to eheok the > rowth of the present onorraous at*sar list, I recommend that the l*w>i 3 so amended that real and personal ' roperty, subject to taxation, shall bo <; >ld at public sale, by the County rcasurers, within thirty days alter i 10 same shall have become deliQqueDt > ader tbe 'tax levy?the' personal roperty to be first exhausted, if ncc>sary, to satisfy the tax, before sale made of the realty?and that bonds ' the State be taken in payment at n* for all real estate purchased at jlinquent land sales. I further icommend that the several Count}' rcasurers shall be Authorized and re**? lired to give absolute titles to,-ail..i ial estate and personal property on >ld, within sixty days after the date such sale ; that the Stato shall warint and defend such titles, and thoy | lall be held and takon by all Courts ; i the Stato as titles in fee simfolc : id that, in all legal pocoedings, *tho iid Courts shall ho concluded by said tics as to all matters touching any regularity that may have been had connection with such sales, and ??