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THE WEEKLY SUlfllliei TIMES. Omiied to -ViniliuiT, horticulture, pomcniiq (fconomg, polite ffiftfaturq, flolitiijs, and tin) .facntJfe|y$Lj|c( VOL. XIII.?New Series. UNION C. II., SOUTH CAK(J|JNX^ECBMBBR^8^8^?^T^ \ NEW GOODS ! NEW STORE! NElf PRICES! *T) ECENT purchases in the Northern Cities .iAi enable us to display to buyers a very LARGE AND HANDSOME SELECTION OF SEASONABLE Fall and Winter GOODS, Adapted to the Wants and Tastes of this community. We have full lines of Goods in NEW STYLES AND FA liRlCS FOR LADIES' WEAR WITH TRIMMINGS TO SUIT. Cassimeres, Jeans and Kerseys, FOR MEN AND BOYS. TOGETHER W1TII BOOTS I SOHES, MEN AND BOYS' CLOTHING. HARDWARE, GROCERIES, &C., &C. All the above goods we are offering at verj low prices, and think it would bo to the interest ot everybody to look at our stock before buying. RICE & MC'LURE May 5 18 tf Were to Bey Pure Medicines Drugs, Perfumery, &c-f JW, l'OSEV & BltO., have on hand and are . constantly receiving additions to a Full Line of Drugs and Medicines, Paints, Oils and Varnish, Palenl Medici HON, Perfumery, Hair Oils A Variety of Hair Dies <Sc Roatorors Tooth and Hair Brushes, FACE POWDERS AND TOILET ARTICLES. Fancy Toilet and Laundry Soaps. Pocket Hooks, Stationery Lamps of All Kinds, From the finest Swinging IIall Lamp to the wee little wincy tincy Hrass Lamp. :o: Pure Wines and Liquors, (For Medical Purposes,) Port, Claret and Blackberry Wines, Whiskeys, Brandies and Gin. Crab Apple Vinegar. :o: * TOBACCO AND CIGARS. A Fresh Nupply of GARDEN AND FIELD SEEDS, FROM FERRY k Co., SIBLEY AND HUIST. Onion Sets, Ate. :o: To Physicians Wo have a few Hypodermic Syringes and Self-Registering Fever Thermometers. we Ask the Public To call and examine our Stock. Work is our motto, and we are always ready to wait on cus loiners . W. rOSEY & ltUO. Opposite Union Hotel. Roberson & Mall, HAVK just filled their store with a very large Stock of FALL AND WINTER MERCHANDISE. Their stock comprises almost everything that can he asked for. All for sale at the very lowest prices. Call and see, and they will save your money. Oct 20 42 tf UNION HOTEL, GIBBES & RODGER, UNION, S. C. TKIIMH PKIt W. M. C. HUSKS. I,. N. KODUKIt. hJcp 8 uG li 1 GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. Executive Cmamukr. Colcmria, S. C., November 29, 1882. Senators and Representatives. 1 beg leave to submit my annual Message: TIIB PUBLIC DEBT. The debt funded and being funded is $0,571,825. This is a decrease of 870,190 ou tbc amount reported last year?the Sinking Fund Commission having retired by purchase and coucellution 871,309, and a small amount of additional stock having been issued by Joint Resolution of the last Legis laturc. Of tllrt nilKlin lliii enrm aP I l*rt A cultural College*, amounting to $191,800. is a permanent iuvcstuicnt ; the deficiency bouds and stocks, amounting to $501,922, mature in 1888 ; aud consols, amounting to $5,878,033, mature in 1893. Tlio debt bears interest at G percent. This is promptly uict as it accrues, aud is paid in Columbia, Charleston and New York. If the bolder of the State stock desires it, and furnishes the Treasury with bis postofficc address, the interest due is forwarded to him upon each January and July. The securities of the State arc sold upon the market above par. We have no floating debt. Current expenses as they occur are met with current funds, and there is a balance of S98,017 in the Treasury awaiting your disposition. The coupous of brown consols are received in payment of taxes. There is no good reason why the coupons of deficiency bonds should uot be receivable iu like uiauncr.? It would put all the creditors of the State on the same footing; and as the holders of deficiencies are largely our owu citizens, it would add to tl.eir convenience while it enhanced the value of this class of bonds. I respectfully recommend this measure to your consideration. REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. me revenues ol the State for curreut expenditures are derived froiu the net earnings of the Penitentiary, froui the phosphate royalty aud from the general tax. The Peuitentiary paid into tho Treasury last year $1U,00U. The phosphate royalty is steadily iucrcasiug ; darning the past year it amounted to $1118,251?being an increase of over $10,000 upon the preceding year. ]5y the report of the Comptroller General, you will sec that the usual and ordinary expenses of the State government, not defrayed by the phosphate royalty and the surplus in the Treasury, can, without cou sidering the income from the Penitentiary, be met by a levy of live-tenths of a mill upon the dollar of taxable values. The levy for interest ou the public debt, (three and one-tenth uiillsj is to be added,?thus making a general tax levy of three aud sixtcuths mills. Interest upon the public debt is payable before the annual taxes are fully collected. To avoid subjecting any of the public creditors to delay iu receiving their dues, the Legislature has for the last two years annually authorized a temporary loan iu anticipation of the taxes. The liberal action of the banks of deposit iu permitting overdrafts aud requiring interest upon eachI i.-- ?.i .-> .1-- !?_ ? v,..., ..a* oi.tu.vu ?...? ircasury 10 effect the accommodation at trivial expense. Authority lor a similar purpose will be necessary for the next and for each ensuing year. The expedient answers well enough while the money market is easy, but with the occurrence of a financial panic it might be dillicult to accomplish. The public credit is of too much conse<jueucc to the welfare of the 8tate to be thus jeoparded. The d bt will soon mature, audio rc* fund it at a more favorable rate of interest is an end to be kept steadily iu view. A failure to meet promptly the interest under any circumstances would iajuriously affect this purpose. Again, our taxes are paid semiannually, and the first payment is optional, the taxpayer being charged interest if he defers payment of his whole tax till the time of the second payment. Under these eircumstauces, to return to a collection of the taxes for interest before the interest is due, | it is necessary to make the first semiannual payment of taxes compulsory, and then for one year to increase the tax levy sufficiently to raise the sum for which, in the experience of the Treasury, it has been found necessaiy to make over drafts upon the banks. We are experiencing a period of exceptional prosperity, and there will be no better time to accomplish this desirable end. If the measure commends itself to your honorable bod), the additional sum to be raised this vear will be about ?100,000 and will necessitate the addition of810 mills to the 3 0 10 mills previously estimated. The whole tax levy well then bj l 1-10 mills.? The levy for last year was -1 31 mills. It will still be necccssary for one year longer to authorize the temporary loan, because the first paymeut of interest for 1881 will occur before any part of the tax you now author* ize is collected, and will have to be met out of funds n-.w in the Treasury, which arc not sufficient for the purpose, and at the same time to carry on the government until the taxes of 1883 are collected, TEN ITKNTIAKV. On the 1st November, 1881, there were C'JO convicts in the Penitentiary. At the same date this year the number was 831.? Of these 778 were colored and 10 white.? Of the 831 couvicts. 331 were leased upon phosphate work ; 131 were leased upon railroads; 35 on the Seegcis farm, and 151 within the walls of the prison. Of those within the prison 07 were at work with a contractor in making shoes, 13(1 at work on the Columbia canal, and the remainder in various employments. The convicts under lease are are subjected to a rigid surveillance by the authorities of the Penitentiary, and I am satisfied that during the year, both within and with r... t >1 I..... I - I 11 ? I vuv ?n\i 1'iiiiyii, via j iiiivu UCl'll WUII IUU, properly eared for, and their sentences uf penal servitude humanely executed. ^ A lar^c amount of work has beeu done uy convict labor upou improvements and extension of the Penitentiary itself. A number of hands have been worked on the Columbia canal, and an examination of the Superintendent'*. Report exhibits 'he following transactions : A balauce in hand at the beginning of the fiscal year of $21,11)9; earnings for the year, 891.220; expenses proper of the Pouitentiary, 350,989 ; per diem and mileage of Hoard of Directors, 81,207 ; paid ou canal 88,090 ; paid into State Treasury, 810,000 ; and remaining in hands of Superintendent 814,901. This last amount is in cash and bankable notes given for convict labor ; its disposition await your direction. This exhibit contrasts favorably with the management of the Penitentiary in the period from 1808 to 1870. Then, besides the earnings of the couvicts, it required an anual average appropriation of 802,800 from the S:ate Treasury to support the institution. In the health, general appearance and judicious discipline of the convicts, a like i npruvemeut appears. LUNATIC ASYLUM. During the year there have been under treatment in the Asylum 755 patients.? There arc now present 220 white and 222 colored, making a total of 550. Of these, 525 arc supported by the State as indigent poor and 25 by themselves or friends. The laws establishing and regulating this institution contemplate that those receiving its beuefits who arc able to pay iu whole or in part should do so, and that the pauDcr alone should roemvo fli<> humit# <>?* State. That supposed abuse in this partic ular exists has been heretofore brought to the attention of the General Assembly, aud at its last session additional legislation was provided to coircct it. These laws are cither not executed or are insufficient. Fewer p..tients pay now than before. It is not in the power of the Trustees and officers to supervise this matter. The power and responsibility rests with the authorities in the Counties who give the papers of commitment. It may be that popular sentiment demands that unfortunates of this class, without regard to their means, should be supported by the State. If this is so, the laws should be changed aud pay received from none. In 1870 there were 21)8 pa ticuts in the Asylum ; now the number is nearly doubled. Your attention is called to the report of the Sup iriutendent, in which the increased demand for the coming year and the still larger prospective demand in succeeding years which will be made upon this institution is clearly set forth. 1'here arc, by the United States census of 1SS0, in South Carolina 2,000 persons who may, and iu most instances should receive fh. benefit of this wise ami noble provision for suffering huuiauity, With one fourth of that, number present in the Asylum now, about one third of the aggregate current expenses of the State is for their support-.? It appears to inc to be the part of wisdom to at once settle and enforce the pecuniary basis upon which patients are to be received, and, with comprehensive and economic measures, meet the increasing dumauds of this branch of the public expenditure. The details of the Superintendent's report arc suggestive of these, and some of them he forcibly urges. The appropriation asked by the Trustees for the Asylum for the coming year is $114.104. 1 am happy to believe that in scientific treatment and in all that promotes the comfort and well being of its inmates this institution will compare favora bly with others elsewhere. DEl'AllTMKNT OK AHltlCUI/IUIIE. A tax of twenty-five cents per ton is collected on every ton of commercial fertilizers sold in the State and is made applicable to the maintenance of the Department of Agriculture. The tax realized last year 823,704. The Department is charged with the inspection and supervision of the sale of fertile izers; with the duties of a Fish Commission; with the 1 ill f lii? nl./o I est in the phosphate mines; with the devcl. opmciit of the agricultural ami mechanical interests of the State, ami with the promotion of inmigration. It has been in opera tiou for two years, ami the elaborate report of the Commissioner to bo submitted to you will exhibit the well directed energy it has brought to bear upon the various and important duties with which it is entrusted. I am persuaded that under its present vigorous and judicious management its usefulness, already manifest, will greatly redound to the benefit of the State. The pursuits of our people are so largely agricultural that the bounteous returns of husbandry during the last year is a subject for devout gratitude. 'J'lie cottou crop was better than an average. The com crop was b (tor than for many years. The small grain er >ps were undoubtcly the largest ever produced in the State. Iticc was fully up to the average, and the smaller crops?sorghum sugar cane, peas, potatoes, fruits, &c., ? were better than usual. The Commissioner estimates that the excess of this year's production, exclusive of cotton and rice, which are our chief market crops, over last year, is much more than the amount of farm supplies of which the short crop of that year necessitated the purchase ; I have heretofore expressed my sense of i the paramount importance, socially ami industrially, to the Stale, of the advent of ! a thrifty and intelligent immigration. The resources of our fields, forests, mines and i water powers are comparatively untouched, i A complete and exhaustive hand book of the State, under the direction of th Hoard, i has been prepared and will soon he published. Its distribution will bring to lite at I en t ion of capitalists the opportunity for investment that these resources offer, and to the immigrant seeking a home in a go- j i nial climate the means of bettering his fortunes, wliieh will surround him on every , hand in our midst. You will permit me i earnestly to bring to your attention the sub: | joct and to express tlu: hope that youf wisJjm will deviso measures whic Itwilfcoromotc this desirable end." STATU AURHJ^LTUKAI. ANl? MECHANICAL SOCIETY. This socioQf has borne an important part in the development of the material interests of the Slate. Organised in 1855, it received an annual nppropriatiou of $6,0(H) from the public Treasury, and was handsomely endowed from other sources. During the civil v\ar its buildings were destroyed and its endowment dissipated. Four years after, its revival and reorganization was the first indication on the part of capital and intelligence of reviving hope in the future that awaited our industries. For the btst three years it hits annually received rfn minrni>rn.iion of $2,">00 froiu the State. This society holds a Summer meeting fi r discussiou of agricultural and kindred subjects, at which is elicited much valuable information. Heretofore its tranactions have not been published in permanent from ; but its increased resources will now permit, and it is intended in the ensuing year to collect them in a compendious fortn. It J annual fairs are held at Columbia in November. At the last, 10,000 persons attended ; the premium list amounted to !?5,000 ; and there were over 2,000 entries for the premiums offered. Order and good feeling pervaded the throng, and during theeutirc week it was necessary to arrest but one person for disorderly conduct. A continuance of the appropriation for this society is asked. KniTCAN IN. The educational system of the State, as now established by law and in successful operation, finds its development in the Public schools, the University a.id in the Institution for the education ol the 1 >e if, Duinband the Blind. The University consists of the Claflin College, the Military Academy and the South Carolina College. This distribution of the aid given by the State to education is comprehensive and judicious. The full development of these various schools will, in my judgment, accomplish all that can be done by public instruction in qualifying the rising generation for the high duties of citizenship and I carucsty commend each of them to acoutiuuanec of your fostering care. THE PUULIO SCHOOLS. The Report of the State Su . perintendent of Education shows a gratifying improvement in the public school system. During the last j-car there was in attendance upon the public schools lib.399 white and 80bTo colored pupils, making a totil of 14b,974. This is the largesct number of pupils ever enrolled in the public schools of this State in any one year. The average length of the school scs-ion was four months ? a slight increase over the sessions previously reported. The number of teachers cmp oyed was?white 2,120; colored 1,287 ; total 3, 3? being an increase since the last report c 104. The number of schools was 3,183?an in ease | of 126. | Che school fund has steadily Die ised since tl idoption of the amendment the Constitu n relative to the public school tax. The fun <r fiscal year 1881-82, the last year for whicu full returns have been made, was 54.V2.90b.44?this amount being the largest ever available in one year for the support of public c'tools in this Stato. The public school fund is now almost free of debt. The amount of the claims outstanding against the school fund in October, 1877, was 5209,940.00. In nearly all the Counties this debt has been liquidated. The claims now arising against the school funds are paid each year out of the current funds. The effjet of the proppcr management of the school fund is seen in the enhanced value of teachers' pay certificates, which are now paid in full each year by the Treasurers of the several Counties. The Report of the .Superintendent of Education contains full accounts of the management of the two large and successful Slate Normal Institutes? one for white ami one for colored teach...... I.?l.l .1 : .1-- i~~? < - c."mini- in? nisi gcnoiasuc year. I lie public school system is now firmly established in this State, and the friends of popular eduoaeation may look forward with confidence to its steady progres and improvement. CLAFMX CObbKflK This College is endowed with a portion of the fund donated hy the I'nitcd States government for the promotion of agriculture and the mechanic arts. It is located at Orangeburg and is sot apart for the benefit of colored stu louts. It has been in benefit cial eperation f?r sonic years and the President reports the past as the most successful year in its educational work since its organization. Those have been 111 1 students in attendance, of whom 21 were in the Colicgiate Department, llltiin the Normal School and 181 in the Grammar School. The Normal School is doing perhaps the most important work in this College, lloth graduates and under- graduates readily find employment in the public schools for colored children of the State. An Agricultural farm of one hundred and fifty acres is attached to the institution and is profitably worked, chiefly by student labor, under the instrue tion and direction of a superintendent. TilK MILITARY Al'AHKMY. IJolorc the establish nicnt of the Military Academy 824,000 annually was expended in thosuppcrt of two couipunu a of enlisted men, who were entrusted with the care of the ordnance and ordnance stores of th: State. In 1842, by Act of the Legislature, this appropriation, afterwards increased to 81 JO,000, was divcried to the maintenance of a military school, the cadets of which should also discharge the duties hitherto performed by these enlisted men. The school was modeled upon West Point and approximated that institution in the thoroughness of instruction. Its career of usefulness was continued Ibr twenty-two years, when at the close of tlu civil war its scat, the building known as the Citadel in Charleston , was taken possession of ly the Federal government and used for military purposes. In anticipation of the return of the Citadel to the possession of the State, at its last session the Legislature directed the reopening of the Academy and appropriated 515, 000 for the purj os s of i epair and maintenance for the short period which would probably cdapso between the recovery of the building and the close of the fiscal year. The Academy was also by law made a branch of the University. The building has been restored to the State, and on the 2d of October i lust the Academy was rcopeued with 177 I cadets. The report of the Hoaru of Visitors, to I be .submitted, will inform you fully of the j present condition of this school. A marked i feature in its organization is that of its ca* ilets. sixty-ci^ht-being two from each tluuuty?are maintained as beneficiaries by the State an 1 are required for two years after graduation to teach in free public school, of the fount) from which limy tivlv 1 receive their appointment. Regulation* rigidly enforced seek to coufino this bounty to deserving youths who have not the means iu their owu right and whose parents are < unable to educate theui. Selection is made 1 among applicants by competitive examina- 1 tioii. The beneficiaries are furnished, free ' of charge, with tuition, clothing, subsistence , and the necessary academic appliances. I The remaining cadets are pay pupils, and are charged per annum, which is the , estimated cost to the institution of each ca- , det, pay and beneficiary alike. '1 ho curri- j culuui of the Academy, as before the war, i seeks to approximate that of West Point, iiiu v;ii i.iiiuu, ? iicii it uccurs, ut'in^ ill view of,the fact that its graduates will find employment chiefly in civil life and their tnili- , tary training be needed by the State only in the emergency of such warsiis will call for other than the regular forces of the coun- 1 try The demand of our people for practi- 1 cal and scientific training accompanied hy , the wholesome discipline afforded by this school is evidence hy the numerous appli- I cation.-, for pay cadetshipe which had to be 1 declined for want of suthc cut accommoda* ! tiou in the building, as repaired with the , sin ill appropriation of the last session. The ' number of cadets admitted iu October ex- < huustcd all available room. The means ' were not furnished to rebuild the burned ' wing of the Citadel, which would double , the capacity of its barracks. Such appro- ? priatiou as you may deem proper to make ' for the maintenance of beneficiaries (the .' pay cadets maintain themselvc-) in this | school must be based upon the csti- t mate of ?1500 for each. To continue the I present number will require ?20,400 for the preseut fiscal year. Arms and accoutrements, which the Adjutant (jencral's ' department cannot supply, are also ucccssa> ' rv. A small annronriatinn to that di-nart j - ; i i?i i i mont for this purpose is needed. ( A claim, on behalf of the Slate, upon 1 the Federal Government, for the use and 1 occupation of the Citadel since the \var, 1 a been madoand will, 1 have no doubt, be soon , equitably adjusted. When this fund is i realized it will reimburse the Statu for the sum already expended in repairs, and prob? : ably be sufficient to restore the wing burned j while in the possession of the United States , troops aud to equip the Academy fully lor the part which 1 am convinced awaits it in affording to our people the much needed facilities for higher education. SOUTH CAIIUI.INA COU.KdK. This branch of the I "diversity, situated J at Columbia, is endowed with the portion s t apart for the benefit of white students of the fund donated by the United States for the promotion of agriculture and the mechanic arts. It was reorganized last Spring by the establishment of five additional professor-ships, making tenia all, and one of which is of agriculture and horticulture. The scope <>1 the instrucion offered was largely extended., and for several distinct and full courses of study, some libera' and some technical, provision is made. The t'nlh'irn ill llv; FiM il'ir i i, i'/,1 < I Mini fMil'i r opened with 1 IS students in attendance. Lodging is provided, the only charge being ten dollars annually for repairs, and j tuition is free to all students whose parents i reside in the State. The students are I boarded at their own charge. ! . i The development hereafter to be given , to this institution should, in order to meet i the just expectations and demands of the age | and the requirement of the .Vet of Con- " gross, to which it owes all its permanent j endowment, be largely in the direction of , applied science. It should be made the ( borne of the practical arts and science as Well as of the classics, it should he able ( to send forth the youth of the State well ' equipped lor llie practical pursuits and j avocations of life, and hence technical i training should be as anxiously provided for ; as liberal culture. ' The agricultural depart neat should be so de- 1 vcluped as to materially aid in building up the agricultural interests of the Stale. Not only should the opportunity be given to the rising generation of farmers to acquire the scientific j principles upon which their calling is based, hut the farmers themselves should have the benefit of the ex erinients and tests of a well conducted experimental farm located in their midst. Ne- . gofiations are now in progres between the Stale Itureau of Agriculture and the agricultural de- i part men t ol the College, which will, if perfected, tend largely to bring about this most desirable result. In order to secure harmony of purpose ?i and union and concentration of effort, the two . departments will In* made to mutually assist and strengthen each other. To this end the College I will make the analyses, researches and pnicti- t cal tests required by the Bureau of Agriculture, and the results will be given to the public i:t the occasional bulletins of (be Commissioner of j Agriculture. The report of the Professor of Agriculture will also be made a part of the An- ' 11 ital Report of the Bureau. s The Report of the Trustees of the University, to be submitted, will ask for a continuance of | the last appropriation of.>12, oDOfor this College, which, in addition to its permanent endowment, , they estimate will be sufficient for its needs. < institution r ut rnr. nK.tr ani> t?t >111 ani> thk 11UMI I This institution for the education of the tin- ' fortunate youth oi ihc Mnlo in locatril at Cedar i Springs in SpartanburgCouuty And lias fur years been in successful operation. I'uring the past year it lias had sixty-two pupils in attendance, i 1 woul l ask your attention to the interesting t lleport of llie Superintendent, and particularly his rccouieudatiou that provision be made for * the education of eolorcd deaf and dumb and i blind children. The suggestion is tn.ido of the establishment of a separate department for this ' class of pupils, under the same general manage- ] ment as t ia( for whites, hut with its own subordinate otlicers and teachers. This arrangement has been adopted in most of the Soul hern States I and is in accord with (lie general educational *s system of this State in the public schools and in t the University. The (Vnmissionors fthc institution will ask | for an appropriation of Sl'J.d'ilt, which inclu les the expenses of establishing the proposed col- *' ored department. " 1! AI LitCA l>S The llailioa l Coinmi- ioncr reports tluit his ' inspections of th'- lailroads last year have been highly sati factory to him'. Many and extensive f Improv.iiK't'.i 'are not-I, an I the facilities for I the safe and speedy transportation of persons and properly have been much increased, lie thinks thai in unothcryenr of prosperity there will be few better roade iu theSotith. The Commission* .. ?uv *iii auuo \|uv;9iiu(i3 nris.u^ iruin I lie mutual relations of tlie corporations owning the roads ami the people who use them. You arc re-pectfully referred to liis Kepi rt for tho views he expresses. They are entitled to weigiit as coining from one whose position lias given him opportunities of impartial observation, and whose opinions have been maturely considered. Many interesting tables accompany the lleport. 1'hey are, howevei, incomplete on necount of jome of the roads failing to make their returns in proper time. 1 am unable, therefore, togive, as I desired, a summary view ofthe condition and working with us of these jmportnul factors in the life of to-day. Several important new railroads have been projected and considerable progress has beeu trade as to the construction of them. The Kdgellelil. Trenton and Aiken Kailroad Company and the Atlantic and French Kroad have been con* solidatcd with certain North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky roads, whose objective point at present ts Lexington, Kehlufcky,under thcs?yl?" ? of the Carolina, Cumberland flap and Chicago Kailroad Company. The organization has been perfected ami a contract lias been entered into for r ipidly l ushing the construction. Fifty odd miles of the road have already been graded in South Carolina. When completed it will be much tho shortest line from tho Northwestern tnulc ccnres to tho South Atlantic and must prove of in:aleulable value to the Stale. It will realize the 1 reatu of fifty years ago?the direct and indopculent connection of our commercial metropolis with the tihio Valley. Some grading has been lone on the Savannah Valley Kailroad from Aulcrson towards Dorti's Mine on the Augusta md Knoxville lload. On the Spartanburg, Laurens and Greenwood Road the grading is hung pushed forward; and on the Georgetown anil Lane's Road, running from Georgetown to Lane's >i? the North-Kastcrn K.?ilroa<l, worTt has recent* y been cctiimciicc I. Mlt.lTI A. The organized militia consists of eighty-one :oiiipnnics of State Volunteer Troops (white), numbering 4,37ft men, and twenty companies of National Guard (colored), numbering 1, 185 men ; Aggregate, 5,5(11. The Adjutant and Inspector Uencral reports the general condition of the militia, in every respect, better than when he inspected them in 1881. The ollicers arc more conversant with their duties, companies better drilled, and a more general spirit of military sntl usiarm pes vales all ranks. More than one half of the companies of the Volunteer Troops would compare very favorably with like organizations of any other State of the Union. This improvement is to he attributed, in agre.it measure, to the encouragement given by the liberal appropriation made by the General Assembly at its last session "to enable companies to maintain their organizations and to increase their efficiency." Many of the old companies have been disbanded, and perhaps it may be advisable to still further continue the system of weeding out Iho inefficient corps, ns the number of men given above can very well be reduced to the extent of one fifth, leaving, in round numbers, about 4,000 men of all arms?a force amply sufficient for all purpose. The appropriation asked for the militia is $'22,700. I'AlttlONS AM) CUM MUTATIONS. 1 have deemed it proper within the last year to exercise Kxecutive clemency in twenty-five instances, of which ten have been commutations of sentence nu*l fifteen have been pardons. In another communication, 1 wll lay before you, as required by law, a full statement of each case. CONCLUSION. The history of the State for tbo last <jtiaiter of a century has been varied by strongly contrasting periods, Just preceding the civil war, in social and material development we reached ihc highest point which had marked onr progress since the Knglish colony landed upon the [tanks of the Ashley. The war f llowed with ts heroic efforts ? its disastrous results. Of the tocti 111 iili*Lion of two centuries of industry, ivherever it had found invest (rent in personal roperly, there remained the ashes. The land done was left, cncumbcrcM with debt, and with he capital to Work it only to bo obtained at ismious rates. Then came the first period of econstruction : the painful struggle for bread ; lie government of the Slate by its baser elements ; loeiety slowly adapting itself to its changed iotiditions ; and the native energies of the whito nan's blood, under riotous misrule, stubbornly iVinning its way to competence and power. In IH7<? Ibis unhappy period ended, and to-day reconstruction is done. The exhibit laid before you of the affairs of the Stale is that of a wellordered. smooth working and economic government, and of a happy and prosperous people. JOHNSON HAtiODD, Governor. A Vll.K Co N.SIM It AC V.?Jchiel Jaspor it rolled into the grocery ami post office of one >f our back country villages recently, and ?ftc-r standing around with his back to tho ire until he was pjrmeated with caloric, Willi, I guess I'll road the mows and get iloug lioni . Squire l'jrkius' paper come ret'{" and lie stepped behind the post office mxes, as was his custom, to take it out and cad it. "Can't let you see it, Jeliicl," said the lostuiastcr ; "government has is>ued orders hat any pos'inaster who allows a non sub* criber to read subscribers' papers will lose lis position." "No, you don't tell me? Well, if that lin't a good idea. It's a put-up job; a gol. lamed conspiracy between these ere newsiap"rs i n 1 the government to keep the tnulitude in ignorance, so that they can dotniicer over the community. And they talk ibout this being a free country. It's driftng right into despotism just as fast as it tan. How in thunder's a man to know vliat's going on if he don't read ? And now he government's setting down on all ideas if oddication, and taking away that privilege." "Oh, not so bad an that, Jeliicl,"said the (ostuiaster. "The government docs not ay anything againt your subscribing for he paper yourself, you know." Subscribin' for it '{ What d'yo tako me for? )'yc suppose I'tn to subscribo for , paper 1 have read fourteen years right e:re by the stove without eostiu' me a oont? m'o, sir ; I aio't a going to help 'cm oppress no by kuepin* me in ignorance. Nor, sir-eo. Aod having got a supply of cheap toincco, ''put on the slate," he jogged along loine a th'oougiily oj-pres-ed citiz-.-ti