Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

EXTRA, Wednesday Morning, July 22nd. SCOTT'S MKSSAGE. THE POLICY OF HIS ADMINISTBA ; TION MARKED OUT. ?N IMPORTANT DOCUMENT. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: ' For thu first time iii tiie history of Sou t li Carolina,-her Genera I Assembly has con? vened under u Constitution ihat recogni? ze* the rights of mau. The monopoly of class, by which the few governed the m?ny^flms ; g??ue ?town beloro the sove? reignty ot the-people,' and her institutions ? Ui?ve bt-en-toii-nded on the broad basis, Hutt -all governments derive their just powers Irwin tiie consent ot the govern? ed.**' Our Constitution, iveently ratified hy the vast majority ol' the voters of S mth Carolina, guarantees to tho citizen every privilege consistent with the safety or ihe State, and invests the State with every prerogative not inconsistent with the rights of thc citizen. Sound policy and correct principle thus unite in our pol it hui I system, and it will be your duty, as rt will doubt Io? be your chief aim. so , toi legislate that the public laws, and ad tn iii-st ation of the Slate, shall not dis-j credit the-Constitution under which you j have asseinhled. . The object of all legislation should be j ' the greatest good tri the greatest number; ? equal and exact justice to all is. therefore, required at your bunds; and I have no ! -dotibt that each and every class uno lo. .cality in the State will reeeivo their due - aiuire of public favor from your honora hie; body. FINANCE AND STATE DEBT. The financial condition ol the State with-doubtless engage your early and; most .serious ut tent i mi, and the necessary i w-tvs and means bc provided,both tor the 1 support o? its government ai.d to meei file la.wful demands ol' its creditors, lor . -vi?iO: ?nd dornest ie. i ; Character is credit, and credit is the . yery sinews ot the Sute in pence and war. The obligation itt the Slate, llieivtore. to meet all ot its lia bi Ii lies is founded alike '..upon c-rreel moral principle and sound ' . public, policy. Thi< obligation should he - ti?eoiore sensibly li lt iront thc tact that a Slate c.timoi, like an individual, become tiie subject ol' coercive process to compel i?-to meet its just indebtedness* but thc Cedit??!- must rely solely upon its honor. Til? Convention appointed a Hoard of Commissioners to investigate the debt: ?nd available assets ol the eta le, with in? struct ions til report, the results of their , investigation lo the (ie.icral Assembly at its first session, and a's lam without any positive ?lata upon this subject, I must re? lee you lo tiicir report, which will doubt less soon l?c laid liefbre your honorable -body. I will make this matter of thu debt, ol" the State the subject of a special message to the General Assembly, as ii is one thal vitally concerns thc reputation . ot our people and the future credit of the ?State. j The information that I now have places the valid d ht ot tho State, exclusive of tito War <b ht.at about five million five hundred <h >u*atitl dollars (5.f.0 y Hil*) This debt" is very small coinpai ed with that of other ? ?Stxtct* and thc resources* of the State, mid if proper measures are taken to prompt y ?iq?hiUte^the interest due upon it, thu j credit <>f South Carolina will stand as : high as that of any Slate in thc Union. i- " i Would -recommend thc landing ot the! ^.unpaid interest now due upon the State ; v debt, and also that accruing up lo a period ? when the State will, without doubt, be able lo meet her liabilities; and would . .s .ggcst the 1st of July, 1869, as the date ' to winch it should bc funded. ? would also recommend that all bonds of the . State should be made payable in New ! York as thc financial centre id" thc coull-1 tty; ami thal all stocks shall be colive!*- j . ,tibie, into bonds, at tho pleasure ol the j hoblers' STATE BANK. I recommend an early and thorough iiive.-iigaliou into the affairs of the State Bank, with a view to ascertain thc lia? bilities it may have emailed upon thc S ate, pirsunnl to the terms of its char? ter, ils debts nml assets should be ?II quire-t into, and il sh oil I* I be put in liqui? dation us soon us possible, in order ihat the jost claims against it may be prompt? ly settled. BONDS OF STATE OFFICERS AND DEPOSITORY FOR STATE FUNDS. Iii order to guard the Stale against loss oy defalcations or otherwise, 1 earnestly recommend thal all officers who arc elMi'ited With thc custody of public funds -? ii: lie "required I" ?jive ample bonds ami .tiri'y for tho sale keeping or faithful ? o ii-setiifitt of the sn inc. J abo recom rc-poitsiblc bal k shall he de 'letI ;c? ,. .?i-pi>s;ii<i v ti?i- tin- 'tilids ot ? o Stab and llial aol fiori ty should he -'. ?! in i lie (!?veruor aod i.vn private .... io bc selected by the G?-?i?ral A -moly, or olh< r \ ise. t>? demand trout * ' Stat? Treasurer al any lim?- an exhib '? ?< Id-, hooks, and all public monet s |..r eh be may be accountable ; ibis in ? i.rion lo bc made at le;i>l once in . ich oimiter. TAXATION AM) ASSEStMhNTS. rio-re is no problem that can engage ! the attention ot'thc legisbitnre more diffi- j cull than the I ra m i mr ot un cu iii I able sVs ' fin ??t" taxation. Kven io thc most pros-! perons communities, thu laws that exact from the eil ?zen a pori ion of his means to support the government that, protect sj his life and property, are viewed willi ex? treme sensitiveness. Especially is this the case in a society such as ours, where values of every kind have beeb suddenly changed by the convulsions of war, and where the exclusive government ol' class has been expanded into the ti lie Rep?bli? ca n is m of universal suffrage. Hence, tboso who oppose the free Constitution of our Stato allego that it enables the non proporty holder to legislate for and tax the property helder. This argument, ??w6Ver specious as it ma;' seem, destroys I itself by proving too much ; for as i [republics tho majority must mile, as tiie majority are always non | erty holders, or as individuals pay of the taxes, it follows, under the ; nient alleged, that the very basis ol republican system should be expui I'While'the capitalist may justly de< : thal he should not be made the subje I il ii reasonable exactions, as upon his i tal depend the creation ot great pi and private enterprises, and the em] ment ol labor in every pursuit in life; the working masses?ibu agriculli and the mechanic?-may, with no less ti?e. assert that by their labor and capital is multiplied through all thc ried forms ol production and trude, I that they are the bone and sinew ot Stale in peace arid war, and should til tore receive their due share in its adi ist i alien. Recognizing thc justice of both ot'tl claims, ii is your delicate and impon duty so to adjust our system of taxa thal t!ie enterprise ot the capitalist s not be depressed bj imposing upon undue burdens, while at th? same t every class of real and personal prop? shall bc required to aid in the supp?t" tb? Slate, and in sustaining the inst lions thal its condition demands, lu you will be guided by Section 36, Arl 1, of our Slate Constitution, which ??hires that '?all property subject to ta tion shal! be taxed in proportion to value. Each individual of society ha right to be protected in the employ ni ot life, liberty and property, according standing laws. Ile should, there!? contribute his share to the expense of protection.*' it is proper for me here to call your tenthill to the fact that under a ruc? decision ol the Supreme Court ol i bailed States, :.ational banks, within I limits ol thu State, are subject ll) St taxation; whiie the property of railn comma.?es, mu.i.iejpaiiuee and ail --tl corporations will be embraced in y general a %. bd .. 1 invite your attention to Article 9 the Constitution, which provides tl '?The General .sseiuhly shall provide law for a uniform ami ?-qua. rate of ass? meut and taxation " and deb*ne* the po ers of the corporate authorities of coi ties. Cities, towns. a.c.. and authori; them lo assess ami coiled taxes for r? pora tc pu i'| M?es, The assessed val?e the real estate oj'South Caroona, in 1st was one hundred ami i w ent \ -nine millio seven hundred ami seventy two t holt su six hundred and eighty-tour ? j_S'!,77?.??S dollars. ; hi> value hus ??! course, bo> materially lessened >?) the ?. ole.it roiiv sinus to trade an : the indus ral nilen of the people (lur.mg ?he past -even yea yet it serves to indicate li.ai with ? ve allowance tor ila* known reduction in t market value ol om real estate, i hal ev Upon a minimum assassine ni of values, will form an important basis ol laxatii and of the financial resource- i-f I lie Stat county trkasukkks ano auditors. in ibis eo;in?H*tiofi I would rcoomtuet that the General Assembly will provii by law for the creation ol thc <itti?vs Cou a ly Treasurerami County Amtitor. be appointed in such manner usymir ho ora hie hotly shall direct. These office ahoii hi be placed under ample bonds for 11 sale keeping and tit i 11 ? f ti I return ot ; moneys ?tl the Sta te and County that tm at any time come into their possessio The ? ?tiiiiy Auditors will be the ile ri of the several Hoards of County I'oin mi sinners, ami will make up ami audit il accounts Itel ween th?- County anil i he tn payers and thc State, ami examine ai countersign the necessary drafts upon il County Treasurer. division of thk CoL'NTIKS. I respect tully recommend that yon wi provide at your present session for thud vision of the larger counties of the Slat According to the United Slates Census < I860, South Carolina has au area of (wei ty lour thousand tive hundred (24,50?. square miles, with a population ol suve hundred and three thousand seven hui ?Ired and eight (7o3.7cb). or near fi ft ce (15) persons io the square mile. As th Stale is divid d into thirty-one ("?'! Counties, these figures show ihat th average area o', our counties is a bon eight hundred (8Ut) square miles, wini several of them actually embrace an aie ol' moro than eighteen hundred (l.Vio square miles. Ju the present condition 1 our public roads,with man}' ??] ino stream unbridged, and with the few facilities t?i travelling possessed by thu most ot ou people, the great distance of the count; seat and records, from those living upoi the bonier of one of those large eoiintief entails the most serious inconvetiicne upon them. lu view of tho necessity of a nev geographical subdivision of thu Statt1 article 2, section 3, of the Constitution provides "that the General Assembh st.a ll have the power at any time l< organise new counties by changing th? bolt uda Hes ol'a ny of the old ?mes; but tu new county shall bc hereafter formed o less extern (han six hundred and twenty thc square miles; nor shall any exi-tin?, counties be inluced to a less extent thai six ll ll I ld red and twenty-five square miles Each county shall constitute one dectioi district/' I *ugt>*cst 'bat six hundred ?nc twenty fi vc (i)..?) square miles, or iwciit) (Jo) loWirdiipM, he nuule the niaxilittin j area of any new county 'hat may bi hereat'?r formed. IV BLI C ROADS AM) ItRinfiF.S. lu view ot the veiw had condition ol our publie roads ami bridges. I recommend thal the Gem ral As-.?uihr\ will prov ?th by law foi i Im sub-iiivismn ot t a?*h county into road dist nets and lor the appoint ment nf competent persons supervisor.? of slM'h tl ?st rici, ii'.i I i li e di red ?on nt tilt cmittiy ?-oiuniissioncfs. These supervisor!* ! of ronds should receive a rea vt nm Ide pet titt'in when n.-t milly employed ami I he county commissioners ?lioiihl bc 1 mpow : ered to require ilo.t each able bodied j citizen.between I he ayes ol IWeutV one (21 j and tilly five (.*.:>) sln.H give his labor ? reasonable number ?d' days in the year, to he fixed hy law, lor working lin; public roads, or shall pay in lieu thereof a certain sum. ? It should tiNo bc provided, that the County Commissioners may be held re sptinsible in damages for any injury to persons or property that may accrue to any citizen because of their failure lo keep j the roads and bridges in good and safe I repair. JUDICIARY. Article 4, of our Constitution, prov i for the reorgtiization of the Judicial '. partaient ot the State, und deli ti es .Jfffi?d ictiol i ol' th? several courts, to organized in pursuance ot the saine. T important subject, so vital to thu prot . lion oi the person and property o' J citizen, demands, and Will, tloiibtfo receive your early and most serious alt lion. 1 recommend that the jurfsdicti ol' Justices ol the Peuce bo extended, ? that they may render judgment in pei ; cases, involving the liberty of the accus ; subject ol course to an appeal. The Sit will thereby bo saved tim cost ofsuppc j ing many prisoners in the jails, ellary ! with small offences, but unable to gi ! bonds for then- appearance al the gene term ot the court, while the committi Justice has tio authority to pass senten upon them. I would also reconnue that Justices of the Peace should be vest j with the power to discharge from arr? ?ti any case where there is not probal : cause oi reasonable grounds for bclievi j the accused guilty. This would riot deb the Grand Jury from investigating l case ol a person so discharged, and iiudii j a bill of indictment against bim, sholl ?the facts warrant it; while it wou j prevent much hardship to innocent pt sous, and expense to the ??tate, by the law delay. In this eonnoction, I would urge lb the fees ol justices of the peace, clerks courts, sheriffs, constables, and (dh officers whi) may be entitled to reeer fee?, should be strictly regulated by stu ute. REVISION OF CODE AND CHANOS OF PLEA INGS. I invite your earnest attention tc Sc I tion 3, Article 5, of the Constitutif I providing that " the General Assent bf I at its ti rsl session after the adoption < ' this Constitution, shall make provision i ? revise, digest, and arra ugo under prop? beads the body of our laws, civil an criminal, and form a penal corie fcundu upon principles of reformation." Th section also provides that the Genen Assembly ??for tnat purpose shall uppoii some suitable person or persons, who.* duty it shall be to revise, simplify au abridge the rules, pra? lice, pleadings nu forms <d the court* now in use in th State. A well digested code of Publi Laws, with a tull and clear imlex, will t of givat value lo all classes of our p?'opl< professional or otherwise. Such a cod South Carolina ha* never possessed. Th Commission appointed for this pur pos nhoiihl be composed of men of the highe.* legal ahili'y,and should be empowered t omit from the code such statutes hs ar tn* longer in accord with our Constitutor or that conflict with the changes in ou political and civil systems. ?spc<-iall should the plea of " Benefit ol Clergy, which has so long disgrace*! the judien system ?d' the State, be rn? longer reeo/j nixed hy ?air courts. I trust that, th General Assembly will make an appropr a tion suth'?eui ly liberal, to give a l'ai compensation to the members of thu Commission for their necessarily arduen labors. STATUTE OF FRAUDS. Section 20, Article1, of the Conn?t ti lion, having prov ??led that " no persot shall be imprisoned tor th bl, except ii ease* ol hand," I recommend that tlc General Assembly shall, al an early day enact a Statute ol" Fraud*, ami also a nev Statute ol Lon i i.v ions, defining the right?1 remedies, und liabilities ot creditors am debtors. ELECTIONS. I invite your attention to Section 3 Article 8, ?d' tb?; Constitution, which pro vides that "it shall be the duty t-f th? General Assembly to provide from tim? lo time tor the registration ot all electors.' It is important to the safely ot til? Stale thal tim rights of its electors am the purity of the ballot box should b< rigidly guarded. I therefore recommcne that you will pass stringent laws pre scribing the duties of registrars and judgei ol elections, with appropriate penalties ?mi providing als?) for thu punishment o' briber}' and corruption at public elections REMOVAL or POLITICAL DISABILITIES. I would earnestly recommend thal yow honorable Doily will, at au early period, memorialize Con ress to relieve ever} citizen ol South Carolina fr??m ul) pol?tica disabilities. I make this recommendation the more readily Irom the fact that then are Ind i ev eil to be none of that class in thisSiate who have committed infamout offences against the laws of war. Tho statuto ?d' disfranchisement wai doubtless wise Um! proper at the earlier stage of reconstruction, and justly marked the nation's abhorrence of those who. having been the trusted leaders of the people, had led them into their rebellion against tho benign government of their country. Yet tho continuance ot such disfranchisement would be an anomal)' under our Republican system, based upon the doctrine of universal suffrage, Let us hope that such an act of magnanimity .viii not be mistaken by I he ?das* disfran? chised, w hile to deny it will tend to maleo them objects ?d sympathy,and will be. as it were, to keep a knife sticking in an open wound. EDUCATION. Civil liberty ami the education of tho masses are inseparable. The safety of a frc?' Sfato rests upon tho vii inc ami intelligence ol the people, und it cannot preset ve tho ono without cultivating the other. All republics ?d' which history makes mention, have owed their ?lecline and fall to thc corruption of the people; who, having become unmind? ful of their rights and duties through ignorance, became the prey ofdemagogues through choice. In a count rv such as ours, where the humblest citizen, if worthy and well qualified, may aspire to the statioti of the highest, and where tho hard-handed child tit poverty and toil may become the chief magistrate of the republic, tho diffusion of intelligence among lite masses is not only a measure of public justice, but vitally concorns the public safety The Government of thc United States has heen so mindful of tho importance of popular education, that it has already ?given 70,000,01)0 of aeren of public lamls, ^?orth at least ninety millions (800.000, 000) of dollars, for tho establishment of schools and colleges In tho ?States and territories of tho Union. I would, there I fore, earnestly recommend that th? pro ! vision of our constitution upon this subj be curried ont rn its fullest extent, : tb at as thorough a system of free sehe ?hall bc established us is consistent w the present taxable resources of the Sh I deem it proper to add, that satisl tory assurances aro ghan that Congr will, within a brief period, make a libe grant of public lauris to this State, for creation ot a permanent common sch lund, thus in ft great measure relievi our people from the burden of tuxat for that special object. I respectfu suggest that yan will memorialize i Cen i gross of the United States upon t subject., and solicit the grant referred at thu earliest possible day. Article It?, section 3, of the Co nsf. i lion, provides that "there shall be k? open, at least six mouths in each ye one or more schools in each school ti trick" 1 respectfully recommend that tho G< eral Assembly will provide by luw fort establishment of at ltrnst ?i) schools each school district when necessary, a that one of said schools shall be set upi and designated as a school for color children, and the other tor white childn the school fund to bo distributed equal to each class, in proportion to the numb of children in each between the ages six and sixteen years. I doem thia sei. ration of the two races in the pub schools a matter of the greatest impc tunee to all classes of our people. While thc moralist and the philanthi pist cheerfully recognizes the fact th "God hath made of one blood uti nat?o of men,'' yet tho statesman, in legisl ling for a political society that emhruc two distinct, and, in some measure, a tagonisiic races, in ihe great body of i electors, must, as far as the law of equ rights will permit, take cognisance of e ?sting prejudices among both. In scho districts, whet'* the white childi ea ms preponderate in numbera, tho color? children muy be oppressed, or partial excluded from the schools, while the san result may accrue to the whites in tho districts where colored children ure in ti majority, unless they shall be separat* by law as herein recommended. Mor over, it is the declared design of the Coi siltation that all classes of our peop shall be educated, but not lo provide lt the separation of the two races will bel repel the masses of the whiles from tl educational training that they so mut need, and virtually to give to our color? population the exclusive benetil of oi public schools. Let us. therefore, recoj nize facts as they are. und rely upon tin and the elevating influence of popuL education, to dispel any unjust prejudice thal may exist among the two races < our fellow-citizens. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. I invite your attention to Section ! Article ll), of the Constitution, which d reels the General Assembly to provide tc the establishment of an Agricultun College, upun the basis sci forth in un ai of Congress of July 2, 1802, providin for the endowment of Agricultural Co leg?* in the several States. The act pr< vides thal each Slate and Territory sha receive thirty thousand (30,000) acres < public land scrip for each Senator au Itcprcseiilalive that it may have in Cot gress. Under its provisions South Can lina will be entitled to eleven hundred au twenty-live pieces (HZ5) of 100 acre each, representing one hundred an eighty thousand {,180.OOO) acres ol publi laud, worth in the market at presen about one dollar per acre, or one hu mire and eighty thousand (180,000) dollars. This scrip may be I twa ted in any Stat or Territory hating public lands mibjee to sale, ut one dollar and iwentv-tiv cents (81.-6) per acre. The uct also pic vides thai, the money arising from the sal ol'such scrip "shall be in vested by th State in public stocks, at riot less thai five (5) per cent, interest, and the inter?s shul! be appropriated for the establish lishitient ol at least one college, when the leading object shall be, without ex eluding scientific and classical studies o military tactics, to teach such branche asare related to agriculture and the me cha nie arts." I would also invite your attention ti the general act of Congress of 1864, doria ting five bundled thousand (500,000) acre .of public land to each State in aid of in ternal improvements. Other States have under the authority of Congress, nppliec that donation to educational objects, am 1 suggest that you memorialize Congres: to extend tho same privilege toThis State STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AXD EMIGRATION. A celebrated statesman has observe?: that "Agriculture feeds us ; in a great measure it clothes ns; without it we could not have manufactures, and we should not have commerce; they will stand togethei like pi.lars, the largest in the centre, ami that is agriculture." Agriculture is, indeed, the life of a nation?its very ex ist euee, depending upon the annual pro ductioh ol' its s?>il. In view of the vital importance of this subject, and of thc amount ?d' arable land in the State now lying wild and fallow, or at best poorly cultivated, I respectfully suggest the passage of at. net creating a State Board of Agriculture and Emigration, to consist of at least thref capable persons, one of whom should be a practical chemist. This Board should be charged with the dutv of investigating and making known I to the entire country the agricultural re? sources of the State, and should be re? quired to make an annual report t?) the Legislature, embody the results of their labors, and recommend such improvements ! ns they may deem necessary in the system of cultivation now practiced among our \ people, and such improved agricultural j machinery ns to them may seem most ' proper, together with the value and mode ! of niing fertilizers. They should also set ; forth the attractions that our soil and cli? mate and mineral resources ttffer to the i thrifty agriculturists, mechanics, and mi 1 tiers of out Northern States, and to those ' of Europe. They should also present ta i hies showing the cost of living, the rates of wages, the number ami class of mechan? ics needed in the several counties, and thc price nf land, and the terms upon which ; it ?-an be rented. Their report should be i furnished to the trade's unions of this (munt rv and Europe. I This'information, if properly distribu? ted, will, I feel assured, start a tide of em j gration that will flow into and greatly en I rich the State. The German and French ?grape growers will find in our upper tier of ' counties a soil and climate as genial lo the j grape as their own vine clad! hills, being | j precisely on the same parallel of latitude . as thc great wine making districts of Spain j and Portugal. The Swede and the Dane I will find ample scope and verge for their j talents for mining in our gold and lead i j regions, while even the Hollander may <? ? exercise his cunning in draining the marsh I ? lands of our low country, which ha may ? get almost for the ashing. Our rivers, I abounding with noble falls, are running to waste, when they should resound with the hum of thousands of busy spindles. These | invite the manufacturer uf the North, who will find labor among us abundant and cheap, and may look from his own door upon the fields white with the cotton that supplies his mill. RAILROADS. According to the eighth census of the United States, there we're nine hundred and eighty seven (987) miles of railroad in South Carolina at the close of the vear ?18G0. built at a cost of twenty twomil i lions three hundred and eighty five thou I sand (22,385,000) dollars, j It may bo interesting to observe that I the Charleston and Hamburg Road was ! the first passenger railway constructed in I the United States, lt was commenced in j the spring of 1829, and six (t?) miles were completed in that year. It is a notewor? thy fact that before the Use of locomotives was established in Great Britain, or they were known in the United States, the di? rectors of this road determined, under the advice ot their engineer, Mr. Horatio i Alleu, to make them exclusively the mo ' live power. The same gentleman, in the j winter of 1829, made the drawings of tho ! first American steam locomotive, called the "Best Friend," which was planned by Mr. E. L. Miller, of Charleston. Upon ! the Charleston and Hamburg Road was introduced in 1831, for the first time on any railroad in the world, the important ar angement of two four (4) wheeled trucks for locomotives and long passenger cars. The facts here stated are designed to show that the State has never been want? ing in men of mechanical genius, with the capacity to achieve the greatest enter? prises, if properly encouraged. South Carolina, although the first to initiate a railway system, has prosecuted it to a very limited extent, compared with the demands of her commerce and the resources of her i soil. The facility with which railroads can be built in this State is evidenced by the fact that the railroads of South Carolina have cost in their construction less pet mile than any of equal length in the Uni? ted States. I would recommund the fos? tering of these great and beneficent pub? lic enterprises by the State, so far as may be consistent with the proper maintenance of other important public interests. At the same time that railroad corporations should be generously, but judiciously, fos? tered, yet suitable laws should be enacted to regulate their tariff ot charges for freight and passengers, or otherwise they may oppress all classes by their excessive rates, and check the trade and enterprise of the people. Railroads are the main arteries of com? merce. They stimulate pioduction by bringing the market within easy reach of the producer. They gi**e an impetus to every brauch of trade, while they promote unity and good will among great popula? tions, by enablii g them to circulate freely among each other. I would especially re? commend that ibo State should furnish all the aid that it can expediently for the speedy completion of the Blue .Ridge Railroad. The importance of that road to the j>eople of the State at large cannot well be over estimated. Starting at An? derson Courthouse as a prolongation of the westerly branch of thc Greenville and Columbia Railroad, it will trav erse por? tions of the Counties of Anderson and Picken?, and of the States of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, having ita western terminus at Knoxville, whence it will have connections with Chattanooga, the great local point of southwestern rail? roads. It will also connect at Knoxville with roads running direct to Louisville, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio. The entire length of the road will be one hun? dred and ninety six mile?, of which fifty two miles lie within the limits of South Carolina. Thirty four (34) miles of this distance have been finished, and are now in running order from Anderson to Wal? halla. "The Blue Ridge Railroad Company in South Carolina" was chartered by the Legislature of this State in 1852 ; but un? toward events, among them the alleged bad faith of the first contractors, have prevented the prosecution of the work : upon it. Thc total amount thus far expended on I thc road is three millions two bundled and j fifty thousand (*3,250,000) dollars. Thc ? additional amount required to complete it [ is stated by the President of the road at ! three millions five hundred thousand (3, 500,000) dollars. This increased estimate of cost per mile over that portion already constructed is due to the heavy amount of tunneling that will be tequircd in getting through the Blue Ridge. The State now owns stock in this road to the amount of . one million three hundred and ten thou ! sand (1,310,000) dollars. The present bonded debt of the com ! pany is stated at two hundred and thirty j thousand dollars ($230,000,) secured by a mortgage on tho road and its running ?stock. Mr. J. W. Harrison, President of j I the Company, states, in a recent report j that he has made of thc condition and ! prospects of the Blue Ridge Railroad j ? Company, that "all that is expected of the ; State is that she shall guarantee the bonds | j of the company for, say three millions of! I dollars, to be issued in such sums and at j ? such times as the progress of the work | ! may require. And that the State shall provide for the payment of the interest on the bonds while'the road is being built, j For example, the emu pany could perhaps ' expend one million of dollars a year, for; : three years, in which time the road can be completed. The State would provide for? interest on ?1,000,000: i First year.$70,000 I Second year.140,000 j Third year.210,000 S420,000 ' So that by an expenditure of four hundred and twenty thousand dollars, to be raised by taxation in three years, this great en? terprise would be secured. The State would have ample security for her gnar I anty. A first mortgage on the road thus eligibly located, costing $7,50o,???, with a debt of only three millions." In view of the groat commercial impor? tance of the Blue Ridge Railroad to all sections of the State,",i?id of the large amount of its stock that the State ahead j holds, I recommend that your honorable bodies will take into your earnest consid? eration the expediency of furnishing the company such timely aid as will secure its speedy completion. The Blue liidge Railroad when com pleted will give us a direct connection upon the shortest line, with the grea: "West, with all its inexhaustible supplies of pork, beef, corn and wheat, and will thus cheapen many of the necessaries of life to our people, and at the same time furnish a valuable outlet for our products. The city of Charleston is the nearest of albtho Atlantic ports to the great States of the West, and by the construction of this road the wealth of that imperial re? gion will be poured into her lap. She may then cast off her widow's weeds and become again the "Queen City of the Sonth." I will hereafter submit for the consider? ation of the General Assembly, a plan of State aid for this road,differing somewhat from that set forth by its president, based upon the proposals of the most competent railroad men. STATE HOUSE. I invite your attention to the condition of the State House, and as the State is at present too poor to complete it accordance with its original design, I recommend that it shall be repaired and fitted up so far as to make it tenantable for the Gener? al Assembly and the Executive Depart? ment of the State. The:work should be executed in such a substantial proper man? ner that it may be made available on the final comp'etion of the building. For this purpose 1 recommend that the General Assembly will authorize the Executive to advertise for proposals, with plans and specifications from architects and builders, to be transmitted by him to ti e General Assembly for its action during the present session. PENITENTIARY AND JAILS. I invite your attention to the condition of the Penitentiary Building, and recom? mend the completion of the same as soon as the finances of the State will warrant the requisite outlay. Under proper regu? lations and judicious management, this institution may not only be rendered self supporting, but may become a bO'.iroe of revenue to the State. I would also recommend that you will provide by .law for a thorough and regular inspection of prision throughout the State. I am satislied that a great sanitary reform is needed, as their present conditiou makes them the means ot physical punish? ment to offenders, who are confined within their walls for even a brief period. Tho true design of imprisonment should be rather to reform than to punish. ASYLUMS AND ALMS HOUSES. The calamities of war have added large? ly to the number ot those who must depend upon the public for the support and assistance that that unfortunate condi? tion demands. I therefore recommend that you will extend your fostering care to the asylums and alms house of the State, and that they may be founded and admin? istered on a broad and liberal basis worthy of a Christian people. THE FUEEDMAN's BUREAU. The assistance rendered by the Bureau of Refugees and Freedmcn to the people of this State, has been mo>t timely and valuable. While it has cared for large num? bers of destitute poor, who from physical infirmity or otherwise were unable to labor, it has at the same time made judicious advances of provisions to our planters, secured by liens upon their crops, without which advances thousands of laborers, now usefully employed, would be necessarily idle, and thousands of acres of land, now bearing abundant crops, would be lying untilled. It has not only been the chief organizer of labor in the Stale, during the past two years and a half, by supervising the execution ot equ'tabio contracts be? tween employers and employed, enforcing the rights of both, but it has inaugurated and sustained a widespread system of schools, that have been open to all without distinction of race or color. As, however, the civil functions of the State are Wing rapidly resumed, 1 have informed Major General 0. O. Howard, Commissioner of the Bureau, that it may be dispensed with an an institution in this State, immediately after the civil officers shall have been elec? ted in the State, and shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices. The ' several Justices of the Peace can discharge ! the duties that are now performed oy agents of the bureau. I have, however, requested that our people may continue to receive the benefit of the school fund ot the bureau as long as the same is disbursed in the several Southern States for the bene? fit of the poor. THE LATE ASSASSINATIONS IN KERSHA.W COUNTY. I have learned with profound sorrow of tho recent murder, at his residence in Kershaw County, of the Hon. S. G. W. Dill, a member of the Constitutional Convention, and a member elect of the State Senate. Mr. Dill was assassinated while surrounded by his family, by an armed band of lawless persons. Air. Eraser, a private citizen, Mas slain by them at the same time, aud Airs. Dill was seriously wounded. The cause for this infamous deed, is unknown, but it is generally believed to have been political. The military authorities have been actively investigating the matter, and have ar? rested and now hold^in custody, several persons charged with aiding in, or hav? ing a guilty knowledge of this great crime. I trust that a rigid investigation will be made, aud that the guilty parties may soon be brought to justice. It should be clearly understood by all, that no man in this State shall be subject to violence because of his political faith or utterance, j The citizen is amenable only to the law, ; and 1 intend to enforce the laws of tho State for the protection of every person within its limit;, peaceably if I can, forci? bly if I must. SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS conrus. I invite your attention to Section 24, Article 1 of the Constitution, which de? clares that the power of suspending the liws, or the execution of the laws, shall never be exercised but by the General I Assembly or by the authority derived