Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, November 30, 1871, Image 2
THE BEAUFORT REPUBLICAN,
Printed and Published by the
PORT ftOYAL PRINTING COMPANY,
BEAUFORT, 3 C.
8UBSCRIPTI0SS.
One Tear, $2 00
?*x?Jontfea, SI 00
* ADVERTISING RATE?.
Advertisements will be inserted at the rate of $1.V) per
quarc (12 Nonpareil lines or leas) for the 1st insertion 1
and f 1.00 for each subsequent insertion. A discount will
be made to those who advertise by the year, and special
contract* will be made.
AGENT IN NEW YORK,
GEO. P. ROWELL A CO.
AO letters relating to the business or editorial department wil
be addressed to
J. G. THOMPfiOV, Manager.
ff&f ?ra?fort fvfjmMifan.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER, 30. 1871.
'
Official Paper of the State and County.
Largest Circulation in the C:u nty.
NOTICE.
In consequence of continued ill health
1 find myself compelled to retire from the
Beaufort Republican and Port Royal
Printing Co.
Geobge W. Johnson.
? i mmj'Jp
"We are most happy to announce to the
patrons and friends of the Republican,
those who compose the audience to whom
it weekly addresses itself; and to those
throughout the County who for various
reasons have not desired or welcomed its
visits, but who are favorable disposed toward
all such enterprises as have for their
object the enlightenment and substantial
progress of community; that a veteran
Journalist?albeit, a practical typo?and
well known in ihis County as an Editor
years ago?will from henceforth be the
conductor, the president, superintendent,
engineer, and brakeman as well, of the
Beaufort Republican, and will, beyond
question, run the machine for the public
and convenience, fif not for his
own.)
Mr. James G. Thompson has before
this venture shown his ability to trim the
sails of a newspaper craft; now he proposes
to assume command, to look after the
helm, and con the s?ip generally, and
while whatever has seemed obnoxious to
any class in the community, either in person
or sentiment, will thus give place to a
fresh, vigorous, and unprejudiced force
and intelligence, all the .best sympathies
and support of those who have heretofore
had the conduct and management of the
Republican will be given and continued
toward the new dispensation.
It is only simple justice to the retiring
manager, Mr. G. W. Johnson, that his
former associates should publicly say that
he has done all and more than a man
prostrated by severe and protracted, if
1 not hopeless disease, should do, to sustain
and render the paper acceptable and valuable.
But the hard pressure o? pain and
acute suffering must absolve all shortcomings
and deficiencies, and Mr. John
son will carry with him to a milder climate,
where he may seek such measure
of relief as Providence shall vouchsafe to
him, our hearty sympathy, and we doubt
not that of others also, who have known
him as the Editor of this paper.
Regarding the future of the Republican,
we shall not presume to epeak, except
that in behalf of the new management
and chief proprietorship we respectfully
solicit the cordial, friendly, appreciative
good feeling of the public, which
help an editor so greatly in achieving success.
There is abundant scope and a wide
field in our county for a well-conducted
journal, devoted to the dissemination of
Republican principles, to labor in; and the
concurrence, the united support of all
those who uphold such principles, is only
*. needed, to effect the best results. Let all
of the past that is bitter and evil be covered
in the grave of oblivion, or at least
* * * * * w .V _ _1 ?1 J
De maaen Dy ine manue 01 cuariiy auu
forgiveness, and "let us have peace;" the
peace that builds railroads aud steamships;
and grows cotton, corn and rice;
develops harbors, and all great industries,
and advances the smallest communities,
as well as a nation to the high-ground of
materir' prosperity.
Y7e are compelled to bring the extracts
from the Governor's message to an adrupt
conclusion, owing to the late hour and
want of space; but will give any further
portions that may seem to be of general
interest next week.
SALUTATORY.
In taking possession of a newspaper ii
Beaufort, the writer does not feel that h<
is entering on a new field,but rather tha
he is resuming a connection with the pub
lie of this County, which was long sus
tained in trying times and which has beei
only temporarily severed.
Under his management the Beaufor
Republican will aim to be a good loca
paper, devoted to the inte-ests of the towi
and county. He will endeavor so far a
in him lies to aid whatsoever things ar
pure, just and of goud report, recognizinj
a deep responsibility as resting upon om
speaking to the public through the press
In politics it will be an organ of the Re
publican party, but will not fail to rebuk
those who may prove false to the trust
committed to them by the people. Ai
honest, economical and energetic govern
ment will be demanded. If there are im
noc troitnrs in rmr na.rt.v_ i
l/UJVTVO r -j j .
will assist to purge them out of it.Abov
all, as long the Republican Is under th
management of the writer, it will be inde
pendent of all factions, cabals and cliques
"The pen of Douglass is his own."
J. G. THOMPSON".
Spare your forest trees. Let all wh
own land keep a goodly portion of wood
land untouched by the axe. Every on
who owns land deuuded of its wood shoulc
immediately set to work and plant fores
trees. Many think they canot spare fror
tillage any land devoted to wood. It is
terribly false economy. A'person may bi
the gainer for a few.' years, but the lam
will be sure to avenge itself, not only oi
himself but his neighbors.
It is a well established fact that fores
trees are great conservators of moisture ii
the soil. A case now comes to mind wher
a man had upon his land near his dwell
ing a thick grove of trees in which was s
spring of excellent water, almost unfailing
In an evil hour he had the grove cu
down, the spring dried up. Upon digginj
a little he came to water, but as tim
passed that dried up, till at length a trel
took the place of the spring.
And so it is everywhere, the powers c
the sun, for exhalation are tremenduou3,
and when its influence upon the soil is un
checked, the moisture is rapidly taken in
to the air and is home away ny me wiuu
It is difficult, and unnecessary here to ex
plain the philosophy of the matter, but i
is a well kuown fact that all deserts ar
devoid of trees,?that iu all places in tli
desert where water is found, trees ar
found; that the remorseless cutt ng awa;
our forests at the West is followed by lorn
continued droughts, and these again witl
tremendous floods in times of rain, fo
there is no wood land to retain the wate
for the innumerable rootlets of the trees
or in pools and lakes formed by the nu
raerous tree roots lying above the ground
The soil having no call for the water
sheds it like a house roof, and the soil be
ing deprived of its moisture by the ex
posuie to the sun, there is no moisture t<
form vapor for raiu and'so no rain come:
only as it is brought by storms from far.
Our thoughts have been turned in thii
channel, not for the sake of philosophi
zing, but for practical purposes; by readinj
of the fearful fires of the Northwest, an<
thinking what should be their cause. Tba
tenible tornado which swooped down up
on Peshtigo and swallowed up its dwell
ings with their inhabitants so remorseless
lv. and swept over the country like a be
8om of destruction, had lost well nigh al
its terror but for its terrible ally?fire
Fire found abundant fuel from the pro
longed drough's Aod these come be
cause so much of the land is denuded o
its trees. And so when I cut off all m]
timber my neighbor must suffer as well ai
I. And so, "Woodman spare that tree'
loses its sentimentality, and becomes o
tremendous practical import. _ Therefor*
we owe it to the community at large a:
well as to ourselves to .spare the forests
The beauty of a landscape interspersec
with forests, properly managed, needs ar
article by itself.
Trial of Cotton Gins in Great
Britain.?From a letter recently pub
lished in the Manchester papers, it ap
pears that the long deferred trial of cot
ton gins, under tne auspices or tne inaiar
Government, will take place in Manches
ter on the 28th of the present month
Premises suitable for trial have been se
cured, and upwards of thirty tons of seec
cotton have been provided. The cottor
consists chiefly of native or indigenous In
dian varieties, and of American seed cot
ton grown in Dharwar. Every facility
will be afforded to the competing manu
facturers.
Hon. Frederick A. Sawyer of ihe Unit
ed States Senate, is at the Charleston Ho
tel. Charleston Cowrier.
THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
1 We present herewith excerpts, drawn
5 seriatim from this long State paper, and
t comprising the chief points, (the message
- is a complete chevaux de f rise of naked
- points,) set forth in defence of executive
i action during the past year, supplemented
by a profusion of recommendations for ret
trenchment and reform. Oar paper is sc
1 nearly ready for the press that all comi
ment will be reserved for another issue:
8 but in the meantime we commend some ol
e the suggestions of Gov. Scott to th?
I thoughtful consideration of our readers.
6 As the Ku-Klux question is discussed a1
^ great length, we are unable to reproduce
- any of that portion of the message, bui
e must leave it for another day, when pers
haps the trials going on in the United
1 States Circuit Court now in session at Co
lumbia, wiil either result in sustaining oi
- controverting the positions taken by th?
1 governor.
e Executive Department, 1
e Columbia, .November 28,1871. j
_ Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives:
You have assembled for the fourth timi
sincj the establishment of a system ot tree
government in SDuth Carolina. Pursuant
to the constitution, it is the duty of the
0 Governor to "give to tha General Assem
bly information of the condition of the
e State, and recommend to their. consider
1 tion such measures as he shall judge net
cessary or expedient."
a The present financial condition of the
a Si ate demands a rigid and unshrinking
e compliance with this constitutional re
1 quirement, in order that the General Aa
1 sembly and every department of the State
government may unite in a qommon effort
' to correct juch evils as are remediable
a and prevent their recurrence. In this, th<
e last annual message that I shall transmit
" to the General Assembly, I propose t<
1 state my views fraDkly upon the chie
matters of pnblic interest, and to give al
1 the facts within my knowledge, without
? reserve, as alike due to the people, and im
e posed by my official obligation. I wil
thus, I trust, be enabled to correct grose
exaggerations that are being dilligentlj
^ circulated in reference to our finances, anc
the entire administration of the State.
In performing this duty, I shall not
shriuk from charging upon others any just
share of their responsibility for evil com
" sequences of their acts, and will not hesi1
tate fully to admit my own.
e l THE STATE DECT.
e The following is the treasurer's exhibil
e of the actual debt of the State. I know
y from severe personal scrutiny, that this
% exhibit is full and correct. It shows the
1 present debt of the Suite, in its entirety,
r suppressing nothing:
r Am?>uut of bunds printed by the Ameri
' can Bank note Company, $22,540,000.
Accouuted for as follows:
On hand in State Treasury?Bonds con'
version State securities, not signed, $473,1
500; Bonds relief of treasury, (7 per cent.;
$101,000; Bonds payment interest publit
3 debt,850,000; Bunds redemption bilk
3 Bans of State, $331,000; Stock conversion
State securities, $2,127,300.?Total, $3,?
3 072,800.
Deposited for safe-keeping with Ameri*
can Bank-note Company.?Sterling loan,
* $6,000,000;?Bonds cancelled and de^
stroyed.?500 bends, payment interest on
public debt, burned in Statehouse, $500,000
; 500 bonds,con version State securities,
erroneously printed, returned and
cancelled by American Bank-note Com*
pauy, $500,000; Conversion bonds issued
* in effecting conversions at State treasury,
$1,260,500; Conversion bond, No. 520,
" cancelled and destroyed at State treasury,
r ?1,000; Bonds redemption, bills Bank
7 State, issued at State treasury, $1,259,3
000; Conversion stock, issued, cancelled
' and transferred at State treasury, $432,f
700?Total,$13,0*20,000 00.-$9,514,000 00.
3 Statement of Debt.?Olddebt$G,665,90S3
98. Less old bonds paid July 1, 1871,
$212,000.?Total $0,453,908 9&
J New bonds, $9,514,000. Less in hands
1 of financial agent, to the credit of sinking
fund commission, $200,000.?Total, $9,314,000.
p New bonds, in hands of financial agent,
now in use as collateral security for loans,
$3,773,000. Amount of new bonds sold,
$5,541,000. Old debt, as above, $G,453,i
90S.-Tot.il, $11,994,SOS 98.
The fact and data upon which the fore
going statement, which has been exam
ined and approved by the financial board,
I is based, are open to the inpection of the
4 puDiic, Dotn at tne state treasury and at
" the financial agency in New York.
Many and extravagant statements have
f been made regarding the assessment and
" collection of taxes, and those not familiar
with the actual facts, when compared with
collection of revenue for the same purpos
es in other States, are doubtless frequently
' led to believe that taxation is extravagant
and unusual. I undertake to say that not
a State in the Union has collected less
tax in the same length of time in proportion
to its population and resources. The
following is a correct exhibit of the appro1
priation of moneys, the levy of tax, coli
lection of revenue per annum, and the de,
linquent list for the year 1S68, 1869 and
t 1870:
Statement of amount of taxes levied,
amount collected, and appropriations
made, during years 1868, 1868, and 1870.
Total taxation for 1868?rate of taxa.
tion, State, 7? mills, $1,338,74219.?Total
j. amount collected, $1,163,053 28.
Delinquent, $175,588 91.?Total appro*
priations for the year 1868, exclusive of
interest on public debt, for which no ap,
propriation was made, $817,968 28.
> Total taxation for 1869, rate, State 5
. mills $1,014,901 83.?Total amount collected,
$766 08.
Delinquent, $248,165 75. Total appro1
priations for the year 1869, including in
terest on public debt, $1,191,805 09.
Total taxation for 1870?State 9 mills
j $1,670,063 66;?Total amount collected
I a. ? ?/* An * v i . a% a r\c\r% r*r\
$1,146,U3Y uo; delinquent; q>oz4,uzo ou
?Total appropriations for the year, 1870
81,604,058 54.
Total ^delinquent taxes, ' $947,881^26;
' Twenty per cent, penalty, $189,576 25.?
Total, $1,137,457 51.
' If the taxes as shown in the foregoing
* statement, had been paid, as they should
have been, it would have saved the State
5 at least two millions and a half of bonded
debt.
_ Expenditures of the State Government.
While holding the political opponents
j of the State Government responsible for
r the great depreciation in the market v il.
ue of our securities?a depreciation direct.
ly due to their conspiracy against the
> credit of the State?I am bound by my
t sense of the public duty to expose to the
, reprobation of the people the improvident
> expenditures incurred by the General-Asb
sembly, and the extravagant and illicit
) disbursement of the State moneys, to
f which the legislative department has giv1
en either its express or implied sanction,
b In so doing, I do not wish to be consid
eied as wanting in a due and proper re1
spect to a co-ordinate branch of the State
3 Government, but I desire to appeal, in
r plain and earnest language, to the sober
I judgement, the decent self-resided and the
public spirit of each member of the Gent
eral Assembly, to give his active aid in aft
feeling an instant reform in this direction;
- for the whole people, with united voice,
- demand it, aud the condition of our fin
ances, and every instinct of self-preservation,
require it at your hands.
I It would scarcely have been possible
r for the men who combined to destroy the
( credit of the State to have executed their
? purpose so successfully had not the General
Assembly lent tbera its practical cooperation
by exhausting, through its extravagance,
the funds in the treasury,
thus leaving the State without any real
rv3 balance to meet the financial exi-<
gency.
I instance the following among many
other items of extravant expenditures.
The money drawn upon the orders of the
J presiding officers of the two Houses durt
ing the last session for current printing
amounts to 868, 904 40. In addition to
this large sum, 830,000 were appropriated
for current printing for the same session,
making a total of 898,904 90 expended on
this item alone. There was further drawn
from the treasury and disbursed by the
cierks of the Senate and House, for printing
the laws, &c., the sum of 103,651 44.
These figures show the enormous aggregate
of 8202,556 34 expended on printing
alone during and incident to the last session
of tbe General Assembly, while
large claims for public printing are still
outstanding. Iu addition to these expenditures,
the sum of 829,814 05 was drawn
upon the ordeis of the president of the
Senate and speaker of the House for purposes
not very well defined, but designated
as "contingent expenses and repairs,"
making an aggregate for^the above sped
fied objects of *232,370 39 ?a sum startling
in its magnitude for one session Of
the General Assembly, aud which may
well bid the legislature department pause
in the path that it has been pursuing.
The appropriations, including those vetoed
by the Executive, aggregate a total
of $4S0,0O0. To this is to be added the
amount of ?103,651 44, as shown above,
drawn upon the certificates of the clerks
of the two houses of the General Assembly,
on account of printing the laws, and
the grand total of expenditures, on account
of "legislative expenses," amounts
' to 8583,651 44.
As an evidence of the pernicious consequences
of permitting this "mor.ey order"
system on the part of the presiding officers
of the Senate and House, I refer to the
fact, well known to the members of the
General Assembly, that during the past
year, upon the order of the speaker of the
House, an alleged liability against the
State was contracted to the amount of
891,500, for furniture for the House. This
was entirely without warrant of law, and B
if the principle is admitted that moneys B
can be thus drawn from the treasury, or
debts contracted without appropriations
made by law," then all proper safeguards
of the treasury are broken down, and a
few ministerial officers in the State may
mortage its revenue in advance, or deprive
it at will of the means of meeting
its legal liabilities.
THE FINANCIAL AGENT OF THE STATE.
When the present State Government
was inaugurated, (July 6, 1868,) there
were only forty-five (45) dollars in the
State treasury. A large bonded and floating
debt, incurred by former administrations,
had to be provided .for. The an- ~i
cient credit of the State,, that lyu| - once
stood so justly high in the money markets
of the world, was gone. It had been blown
away with the smoke of the first gun fired
at Fort Sumter. * r.
w/i1. k >1 t
In order to meet the current expenses,
until money could be realized from the
tax levy, it was necessary for the' Stale to
borrow on its securities. To effect this
object on the beat terms for the State, the
General Assembly authorized the Governor,
Attorney-General and the Treasurer,
"to appoint, under a commission signed
by them, some responsible bank or banker
in the City of New York, to act as financial
agent of the State.?? > j jTo
this end I visited New York,'' and
conferred with leading banks. They all
declined the agency, alleging that the duties
were arduous and the tiftife of payment
uncertain; that we were only bor- ^
rowers in the market. - ? >?
While thus endeavoring to secure the
services of a responsible and efficient financial
agent, the name of Mr. H. H. Kimp-^ ,
ton was presented. He was highly en- 4
dorscd by prominent officials of^the State,
and by leading bankers in New York,
among whom were the -presidents of the
Broadway Bank ahd the Bank of the Republic.
' O
NOTES AID COMMENTS BY KAIL*
. ' i uLALt.Ki;*
The Gathtilng of the Soloas?What They
Talk of Doing?An Ishuc WjfU Gurrrnor
geott?A Prrpetnal Senion!-A Pill Pronosed
fur Charleston. ' *.
J *
Columbia, S. C., November 24.
The town is rapidly fillibg with legislative
Solons of variegated complexion^ caucusing
is becoming frequent and animated,
and rumor is busy with the expected
trausactions of the coming Legislature. It
is no small labor to separate among the J
innumerable prophecies atid speculations J
now indulged in,"the grains of truth from
the tusbels of chafF, but the following
stalcments may be relied upon as .funshing
a fair and rather detailed intimation
of the lone and temper^ofthe legislature.
One of the first bills to be Introduced
(probably next Tuesday by a suspension
of the rules) will provide for a trausfer of
the place of dep?*jit of the State funds
fiom Ilardy Solomon's Bank to the Carolina
National Bank, and perhaps{>4e other,
and a radical change in the foi^p of deposits.
It will be ordered that county
treasurers and others receiving State
funds shall, on the 15th of each'month
transmit the same, not to the State treasurer,
as at present, but direct to the back,
which will receipt therefor in triplicate,
one copy going to the depositor, another
to the treasurer, and the third to the
comptroller-general. It will be ftirt&er or- J
dered that these funds shall not be drawn m
upon, except for specific purposes, ex
pressed by appropriations, and theif upon ?
the warrant of the State treasurer, without
requiring, as at present, the countersignature
of the Governor. The' intent y .
of this action is perfectly apparent It is
a part of the plan of the Radical majority,
already announced, to "keep the State
money within the State." The legislature
want to repudiate, at least teethe extent
of refusing to pay interest, and tbey
think they can do so onl? by faking the
control of the State's income out of the
1' ' &
hands of the State officials, and folding
the State funds, subject only to their own
specific appropi iations.
An issue is expected, uery early in the
session, between the Governor and the Jf*4
Legislature, which will be provoked as %
follows: The message proposes, among its
other recommendations for retrenchment,
a gradual reduction, after a certain number
of days in session, of the {tor diem allowance
of the members of the Legislature
on the priciple that the sessions are now
unnecessarily prolonged for the simple
purpose of getting six dollars per day. It
is needless to say that this suggestion will ^
certainly not be complied with, but it is J
reported that the Legislature will not only 1
disregard the recommendation, but will j
retaliate by resolving to hold a perpetual
session. Another quarrel will grow out
of the statement in the message that the *
Legislature's expenses for last session ^
were $500,000. The reply ot the Legisla- 1
ture to Governor Scott upon this point
will be, in effect, that the appropriation J
for the legislative expenses was only $135,000;
that they tried to get another appropriation
of $265,000 passed, but it was