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TO THINK OWN SELF BB TRUK AND IT MUST FOLLOW AS THK NIGHT TEE DAY, THOU ?ANS'T NOT THUN BK FALSB TO ANT KAN. BY .TAYNIS9, SHB&OR, SMITH & STKOK. WAI.HAl.liA, SOUTH CAKOWM, JAN. 9, 1901. 9B .?.^ GOVERNOR MCSWEENEY^ SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. Reviews Conditions in South Carolina and Recommends Legislation Deemed Desirable. THE STATE'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS IS HOST NOTABLE FEATURE OF YEAR AU the State Institutions Are Reported in Excellent Con ditioned the?Treasury Department Has Borrowed No Money-The Cause of the Common Schools is Strongly Urged Upon the Peo ple's Representatives. Gentlemen of the General Assembly : It is gratifying to mc to welcome you as the representatives of the people under such favorable conditions. You come as the first Leg islature to assemble in South Carolina in the new century. The Nineteenth century lias been one of marked progress and develop ment in all the arts and sciences, and it contains lessons which we may learn with profit to ourselves and which may bc of usc to tis in legislating" for thc future. Those who constituted the first Legisla ture one hundred years ago little dreamed of the advance in all lines of industry and of thc discoveries and inventions which have signal ized the century just passed into history. Wc cannot realize or even conceive the advances that will be made during this century upon which we are entering. There seems to be almost no limit to the achievements of the human , mind, It is for us to contribute our part to make the world better and happier by our having lived in it and to leave to our children a goodly heritage and a name untar nished. It is your privilege to meet and to counsel with one another and to consider and enact such laws as will be of benefit not only to the present but to thc future growth and development of this grand old commonwealth. The march of material progress and the development of the State, to which I had thc pleasure to refer one year ago in greeting the members of the Legislature, lias kept up with steady and sure step. Tlie business depression through which the people had passed and which was almost unprecedented seems to have been followed by a revival which is touching all branches of industry. The increased price which our farmers have received for their staple crop makes large amend for the falling off in the yield. Our farmers are learn ing the importance of diversified farming and in consequence are be coming more independent. You need no better evidence of the progress and prosperity of the State than that presented in the figures contained in the annual report of thc Secretary of State. From this report it will be seen that approximately fifteen million dollars were invested the past year in South Carolina companies ; and while a large proportion of it is in cotton mill building, yet many smaller manufacturing enterprises and industries have been organized. New manufactories continue to go up and wc are no longer simply an agricultural people but are fast becoming as well a manufacturing State. We now lead all Southern States in thc manufacture of cot ton goods and arc second only to Massachusetts in the number of spindles, and at tlie present rate of progress will soon lead all the States in the Union in this important branch of industry. It is well to keep this fact in mind as you deliberate. Taxable values have increased $4,245,695 during thc past year, as will be seen from the Comptroller General's report, but thc increase is not near as large as it should bc or would be if our system of as sessment and taxation were so revised and amended as to have placed on the tax books all the property of tlie State now escaping taxation and if that which is assessed were cquitably^asscsscd. Peace and good order have characterized our people during the pa3t year. Wc have not been visited by plague or- pestilence and no resort to mob violence lias marred the record or stained the fair name of the State, though in one or two cases the strong arm of thc mili tary had to bc called into requisition, but the majesty of the law was maintained and no blood was shed. In one case there was strong provocation for summary justice, but with thc assistance of tlie mil itary the culprits were protected, lawlessness w?;? prevented, and through thc ordinary channels of thc Courts stern justice will bc ad ministered and thc penalty paid. You as thc chosen representatives of the people should guard with jealous eye their interests and welfare which have been committed to your keeping, remembering always the responsibility which rests upon you. FINANCES. I take pleasure in calling attention to thc very creditable showing which thc Treasury Department will be able to make as to thc finan cial transactions of that department for tlie fiscal year closing De cember 31, 1900, as will appear from tlie statement of receipts and disbursements below. Tlie Treasurer, by his strict attention to duty, and the uniform courtesy with which he has treated all parties hav ing business relations with Iiis department, deserves high commen '.i. ,', !?* 1 ,!< , 11 :i ,". ? \ . ?;.'?!. dation and Lfcel quite,.^f?*that .'he will;receive in retiring from the office, Which he has so wovjtlnly^Hlled, the hearty well-done of all thc people of the State. Cash? Receipts for year "ending December 3.?st, 1900. Cash balance,-Dec. 3i,'-iS99,.. '.. $ 508,875 65 Hack Taxes....V. ?j 1,071 63 General Taxes 1899. ? . .. ... 606,510 91 General Taxes, 1900.. 292,476 69 Railroad Assessments fqr R. kl .Commis sioners ?y.......,-;f. ...;..." 10,381 64 Income Tax .. 1,66b 07 Annual Insurance License Fcc..^ ? T3;iob 00 Graduated Insurance License F?es. 11,877 99 Fees, Office Secretary State....... 9>450 22 State Penitentiary '........ IO,<XXJ 00 Privilege Fertilizer Tax. 75?ai4 34 Commissioners Sinking Fund. 44,02900 Sinking Fund for Reduction Brown 4J4. per cents : ' Loans returned ....'...$91,241 50 Interest on loans and deposits,. 17,995 84 Phosphate royalty ... ........ 23,475 01 - 132,712 35 Permanent State School Fund:' Interest account. 2,225 99 Principal (escheats) '. ?...... 27732 - 2,503 31 Special State School Fund (Dispensary). 100,000 00 Morrill Fund from.-U. S.'Government. 25,000 00 Insurance Sinking Fund (public build ings). 73 75 Incorporation Fees..'... 6000 Dispensary, S. C.>,.. i>9lZ>?^9 76 Refunds-sundry accdunts '.. < 2,384 70 $3?76o>452 01 Cash Payments for Year Ending December 31, 1900. Salaries.$ 148,73* 50 Legislative Expenses..... ? 40,895 77 Education, Charitable and Penal Institu tions. 274,606 23 Pensions. 100,815 71 State Special School Fund..'-.../ 100,684 51 Interest on Bonds and Stock. 273,456 59 Sinking Fund for Rcductiou' Brown 4^ per cents:-Loans. 70,600 00 Commissioners Sinking Fund. 42,048 18 Clemson College: Privilege Fertilizer 'fax.$70,114 51 . Interest Land Scrip ' i>nd, P.cr .. .. mancnt Fund,. . ........ 9,266 36 Morrill Fund. 12,500 00 - 91,880 87 Stato Col. Nor., Ind., Agr. and Mech. Col lege: Morrill Fund .._ 12,866 23 Interest Land Scnip.;.. 5,754 00 - 18,620 23 Public Printing . ? 11,258 62 Election Expenses. v 19,248 88 Quarantining State.v. 10,234 11 Erecting Monument at Chickamauga.' 5?392 l$ Permanent State School Fund. 2,320 00 Direct Tax Proceeds-Act of 1884. 1,116 90 Miscellaneous Accounts. 43i47? 82 Dispensary, S. C.. 0 Account proper.ff... .$1,779,631 98 Transferred to School Fund 100,000 00 1,879,631 98 Cash Balance, December 31, 1900. 625,438 96 $3,760,452 01 Thc claims of thc United States Government against the State of South Carolina for the payment of which at one time the State was " seriously pressed and notice of suit given, are now in abeyance for want of authority to prosecute said claims in the Courts. And it is hoped that an equitable adjustment and settlement of thc counter claims between this State and thc United States will be effected by appropriate Congressional legislation which will be filial, without thc payment of any moneys by the State. The State of South Carolina holds United States 4 per cent, bonds with interest payable quarterly to thc amount of seventeen hundred dollars, which mature on July ist, 1907. The State Treasurer re ceived a circular letter from the Treasury Department at Washing ton, D. C.? calling attention to Section 11 of an Act of Congress passed and approved March 14th, 1900, proposing to exchange these and similar bonds for two per cent, gold bonds. The Treasurer docs not think that he has authority of law to surrender and exchange the bonds now held by thc State. If the General Assembly should deem it advisable to make such exchange it would be necessary for special legislative authority to bc given him. At the close of each fiscal year, it is always a matter of anxiety and doubt to thc Treasurer as to whether he will have at command funds to meet the January interest on the public debt and thc current ex penses of thc State gov?rnmcn' This state of affairs arises from the delay in collecting thc State taxes under existing law. If the tax books were made to close on the 15th of December instead of the 31st of December, as is and has been the case for thc last few years, this doubt and uncertainty would be removed and no one be oppressed thereby. It is well known that those most able to pay their taxes are generally thc last lo do so. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, we have been able to meet all demands against thc Treasury without re course to borrowing or over-drafts upon banks. . In my Annual Message to the last General Assembly I asked their attention to the condition of certain bonds to which minc had been called by thc Treasurer, to wit: thirty-seven (37) bonds of $1,000 each, issued by thc State in 1859 m a-'l ?i trlc Bhic Ridge Railroad, and which have heretofore been carried on the Treasurer's books as "Old Bonds Fundable," but which can now no longer bc so carried. These bonds among others, it has been established in the Courts, were plundered and rifled fromioiie of the old banks of this State / known as thc State Ba?$<-by Sherman's army in its march through / tlie .State in 1865. Notice was.immediately given of the loss of the ; bonds to the Treasurer, and that officer WUP cautioned not to recog- > nize any one presenting them as the owner. Under the Act of 1869 requiring the old banks lo resume business or go into liquidation, thc Attorney Genoral of the State had this bank put into the hands of a receiver, and so the winding up of its affairs has .been from that time under thc direction of the Attoi/ney General. Upon his motion in 1870 an injunction w? issued en/oin- / ing thc Treasurer from paying any of these bonds without the/sane- . tion of the Courts. All but thc said thirty-seven bonds, or.Ahirty eight, for there seems to be some question as to one. have beim from time to time recovered and funded, and the proceeds distributed .under the direction of the Courts. / There have been several applications to the Legislatur? forJcave to fund the said thirty-seven or thirty-eight bonds, and ,^roceeding3 in the Courts were had for mandamus to" require the Treasurer'to't<o so without further action of the Legislature. In all of these the mer its of thc case have been thoroughly investigated, and thc Courts ^ have declared the bank thc owner of the bonds, and its receiver the only person entitled to fund them. In the mandamus proc?edings, in which all the,judges in the State were called to sit en bane, (though all but two ultimately decided that the Treasurer was not authorized to fund without special action of the Legislature, two holding that he was and that the receiver was entitled to have the lost bonds funded without such action) the judges were unanimous as to the merits of the claim. Previous Legislatures have hesitated to allow thc bonds to be funded, fearing that some one might possibly turn up with the bonds, and claim to own' and fund them as an innocent holder. But as I pointed out last year this danger is now removed, as in this case thc twenty years from maturity, during which these bonds might have been funded by the Treasurer upon their presentation and deliv ery to him by any such holder, expired on the ist of July, 1899, and any such holder is now barred under the Act of 1896. Under these circumstances, the claim of the bank to be allowed to , renew and fund these bonds in my judgment is valid and just, and should be allowed. It is not denied that the State owes the bonds to some one-they are carried as part of the old debt of the State on the ' books of the Treasurer as owing to some one-the Courts have de creed the bank to be the owner-no one else can now claim them, as all persons but the bank are barred under the Act of 1896 from doing so. It seems to me that in the face of these facts it will be a little short of repudiation if we continue to refuse to allow the receiver of the bank to fund these bonds. In some States, provision is made for the renewing of lost or de stroyed bonds, without requiring action of the Legislature in specific cases; it might be wise in this State to make a similar provision, as the renewing of such lost evidence of indebtedness should be a matter of judicial rather than legislative inquisition and remedy; and for the further reason that everything which adds assurance to the creditor that he will be paid even though he loses thc paper evidence of his debt adds to the credit of the State. I have gone somewhat into the merits of this matter as I cannot but feel that the credit and honor of the State are now to some extent in volved. I earnestly recommend it to the attention of the General As sembly as one upon which some action should be taken, for the bonds . ?an no longer,be carried on thc Treasurer's books as "Old Bonds Fundable." EDUCATION. Not thc least gratifying evidence of our progress is the remark able awakening in all departments of education. At thc beginning of the century just closed the civilized world knew no such thing as a State system of education ; and in many quarters, until a compara tively recent date, the position of those who advocated free public education as a legitimate function of State government was stub- . bornly contested, thc opposition in our State being largely due to peculiar racial and social conditions. State education is now the settled policy of our country, being recognized as both a function and a duty of the government ; and it may well be questioned whether the nineteenth century has made a more important contri . bution to the cause of democracy and civilization. Since 1870 the public expenditure for common schools in thc United States has nearly trebled, being now $2.67 per capita of population, or an ag gregate of $200,000,000 annually. It is a principle now well recog nized, that the safety of thc government itself requires that it give its citizens the opportunity to fit themselves for an intelligent dis charge of their duties to thc State. Encouraging reports come from the schools and colleges of our own State, indicating that they have entered upon an era of unex ampled prosperity. And yet much remains to be done to increase the efficiency of our public schools. The first essential is teachers of high moral character and adequate professional equipment. Our teachers have better opportunities for professional training than ever before, and they show a higher average of intelligence and pro fessional fitness; but they are too often poorly paid for their ser vices, and the best results cannot bc expected until thc schools, in stead of advertising for bids from teachers, offer adequate pay and demand good qualifications. Thc complaint is made, and not unjustly, that our school system is not well articulated; that no provision has been made to fill the gap between the common school and the college, and that the col lege must therefore maintain a preparatory department. While it is true that very few of those who enter thc common school ever reach thc high school, and fewer still the college, yet those who de sire to fit themselves for college should have thc opportunity to do so in their own schools. This deficiency has been met in many o? thc towns, and in some of the country districts, by the erection of graded schools ; but in most of the country schools inadequate pre paratory training is offered. The result is that many of thc country pupils who desire to compete for scholarships in the State colleges, or vu* . desire to enter college, arc at a manifest disadvantage, and must either employ some one to coach them, or must attend a pre paratory school or graded school in town, at a considerable outlay forNboard and tuition. The importance of levying an additional tax for the support of the country schools cannot bc too strongly urged upon our people. This will enable them to employ competent teachers for longer terms ; it will enable them to ,ive their children elementary and pre paratory training at home; and it will tend to check the abnormal flow of population from thc country to the town ; it will bc bene ficial from every point of view. While it is possible for thc graded