Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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E? B% MURRAY, Editor. THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 17,, 1877. T$E ELECTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE. | Special Dispatch to the Andereon Inteltigencer. Columbia, S. C, May 15.. Associate Justice A. J. Willard -was j elect?i'Chief Justice to-day by a vote of eighty-six to Gen. Samuel McGowan'sf thirty-nine, with four votes scattering. Every Democrat, voted for Willard ex? cept Gary. Gen. McGowan was not a; candidate by. authority from him. jT: JAS. L. ORR., ~~ ? r ". The European war is progressing slow? ly, but is becoming more complicated. There" has as yet been very little fighting.' Both Russia and\*frurkey are worried; by internal revolts. Poland tioubles.rlussia, a nd Rouman ia, and sora e oth er territories, worries -Turkey. Theses <soantries are fathering their forces, however, arid the ^ar.wilt no doubt.be a fearful and desso lating one., . .. ? ri ..-?-?.~ ? ? -itThe.-patent: right'of >a-number of the) leading" sewing machines ^expired on Tuesday, the 8th inst., and their inana facturei.by'any othec company from-thi* time forth will be legitimate. The result of this; abolitionof the'patentright has reduced-' -cthe: prices of the letting machines down to one half of what' they formerly,were, and hence..many persons who were unable to purchase a machine heretofore cari;'affii'rd to buy them now. ; The tax levied by'the present Leg^slia lure will pretty certainly: be seven, mills for State purposes, including: the pay merit of interest on ifche' p?blxc debt, and three milk for county purposes, to t>e paid in two installments one in June, the other in October with. the.privHege of paying all in October, by r?yihg inta-est at 12 per cent, on the first installment. "The poll tax is to be paid under penalty of fine or imprisonment or both. We will publish the: bill in full as soon as-it is ' -ao<\.-. a*'v-3 1 ??. ?o ? '? -. ?--? ujok} Judge Carpenter did not receive his new commission nor qualify for his new term until after the Chamberlain usurpa? tion was attempted. The Columbia Reg? ister calls on the Legislature to elect a Judge to take his place, because the last Legislature had no right to elect a Judge whose term did not expire until after the meeting of another Legislature. We think the Register's position is correct, and hope it will be adopted by the pres? ent Legislature. Then We can say good ? bye Carpenter. ^ The Seriate has decided the election of Circuit Judges invalid because they were elected viva i voce instead of by ballot. We baye already expressed the 'opinion:! that this electibri was valid, , for there is a | conflict in the provisions of the Constita- < tion, and our Legislature has no right to pass Judicial judgment Upon the acts of its predecessor. The Democrats con? tended for the#alidity of these elections j last fall, and we hope the House of Rep? resentatives will riot concur in the opin? ion of the Senate. We ought riot to change our opinions to suit the. times, but we should base them on principle and | stand to them. - mm ' " ' Uncle Sam'is growing weary of the constant incursions of Mexican banditti,; who cross our frontier and carry off flocks j of cattle and commit other depredations. It is "probable that General Ord will be directed to cross oVer"the Mexican Iirie to catch and punish these offenders, if the citizens of the- United States are further molested'by these robbers, who the. Mexican government encourages, by refusing"to either prevent the recurrence of these crimes or to punish those who commit them. It 'is-highly- important for our citizens living along the border to j be protected in their lives and property, and it seems ?necessary: for.the United States army to render ? the ? protection needed in this case. .'v THE AUGUSTA RAILROAD MEETING. The meeting held in Augusta last week in the interest of Augusta and KnoxviUe Railroad was very well attended by dele- j gates from South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, but of j all the ridiculous farces ever enacted by a deliberative body, (and some of the previous conventions of this proposed road have been very great farces,) the" proceedings of this Convention entitle it j to pre-eminence. The city of Augusta | had sixty delegates, which was a con? trolling vote in the Convention, and other counties of Georgia were also repre- J sen ted by good sized delegations, so that we might sum up the character of the j body by saying that it was intensely | Georgian in its objects and action. Every thing about the Convention, even to the details of appointing committees and so forth, was cut and dried before it assembled, and upon the day of meeting they went through the pre-arranged pro? gramme almost without a ripple of dif? ference of opinion finding expression in in their proceedings. These proceedings, which are sketched in another column, will no doubt amuse every reader.who is acquainted with the difficulties of building railroads. If reso? lutions can complete them, the recent j gathering in Augusta has made a rail? road, but, if it requires anything more substantial, the construction of the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad will have to be provided for by some other body. It is indeed remarkable that a meeting of delegates to an informal Con? vention should undertake to locate the line of a railroad for the building of | which there was no organized company, , and for which no actual stock has been-1 subscribed. No doubt the delegates from the West think Charleston has been inactive. -We ?R. agree with them upon that point, but it furnishes no reason why they should have made themselves ridiculous by locating the road before forming a company or ascertaining what support they could receive on the dif? ferent routes. We believe the action of] this Convention will come to naught, and. that the people of South Carolina should proceed at once to organize prac? tically to secure, the- location and con? struction of a road to j run from Portl Royal and Aiken to the Rabun Gap, at j which point it would no donbt meet the { road from XnoxvilIe and become the Great Trunk Line. THE USURY BULL. The bill fixing seven per cent, as the limit for interest on jpan?, passed" the Senate, and was se^at to $he House of Representatives for its concurrence or re? jection. On last Friday the Committee on Ways and Means in the House re? ported a recommendation that this bill be postponed to the next session of the Qenerar-Assembly-.- Messrs. R-Wv Shrrp son, Muller .and Wind submitted a miuorify report, recommending that the toil pass, but after discussion* the- report of the majority was adopted,, and. the further, consideration of the bill post? poned to the'regular session next fall. Before any bill had been introduced we thought it better to wait until "next fall about agitating"the subject, but ^heneve? j the o^es#qu,.$w -brought. b^fpr^.'tVeGeh era! Assembly so that it had to be acted upon, it should have stood upon its mentsy-andjbeeh-'-either adopted jected. The country wants what ia' to be the law upon- this subject settled, and the; condition it is now left in is as unsettled as it could possibly be.: One1 fitfuse; has passed'it and tbe other is to act upon it next fall I What could the representa? tives who voted to postpone have been thinking of? Do they expect capital, to come here with the question of interest? ? so'uncertain ? JDo they expect the cap? ital already here to be-easy-or accessible from now u n?J' ? the ^uesfidfl - is de? termined? 'They' are ijuitferab&ken .if they do. The 'House *At^i^^oi^g^^fy shirked action upon the subject, for. by postponing the bill they have given it a:. j bldck'eye/ and prejudiced its ^rOspect of passage next fall.1 It was the-most im jportant measure: they, have had* before them, and it should have been adopted: j We feara number bf the members of the House have been influenced by the .com-: mittee from the Charleston Chamber- of Commerce, which went. up i to Colombia on Thursday td -oppose the -Bill,'arid oh Friday, it was pwtponed, \Ye. do not blame capitalists for opposing the Usury Law, nor for.letting out their' money--at reasonably high rates; but we insist that the Legislature should not act to suit their wishes simply because a portion of them send a delegation to represoent them. The whole people of South Caro? lina are1 interested in this law, and it ought not to have been put to sleep by any other means than a vote upon its merits. The Chamber of Commerce urge the, following objections/ to the measure, which we will answer in the order in which they are proposed: 1st. Tb&itirestricts the'natural free? dom/of individuals in conducting com? mercial and money affairs. Quarantine laws restrict the - natural, freedom of individuals in conducting .commercial and money affairs also, and; yet they are maintained because they are necessary for. the public good. The Usury Law rests upon the same general principles. 2d.*That'freedom of action' in regard: !to money contracts cannot be abridged upon any-principle of governmental in? terference which will not equally sane tion the regulation of contracts for wages and rents, because interest is the hire of capital just as wages is the hire' of labor and rent the hire of land, ji 3d. That it is against the established principles ; of; personal liberty ? for the State to touch individual rights o'f person and property, mid that money is as much property as land. The mistake in these two propositions rests in the fact that the thing to be proven- is ^aasnmeoVto ' be true, when in fact it is not. Money is an artificial, standard of value created by government/ and therefore government has the fight to control and dictate the terms of its use. It is not Kke labor or land;' for an act of Congress cannot create labor nor can.it create land, and therefore it ought not to attempt to control such matters. Money is an arbitrary value or standard for exchange issued, by the government for the convenience of its citizens, and it has the right to say upon what terms this convenience shall be used. '?'?'.."' , 4th. That the proposed measure will tend to make money dearer Instead of cheaper; that .money is now'dearer'in Georgia and North Carolina'where there' are usury laws, than it is here where there are none, and that this increased dear ness of money'will fall upon the most needy and numerous borrowers, and will besides enhance the price of all articles required for farm and plantation supplies, i A sufficient answer to this is that if it increases the value of money capitalists will be benefited, and ought not to com? plain if the people persist in enhancing the value of the use of their money. ?ih. That cheapness and abundance .of capital are requisite to develop properly the resources of the State, agricultural, mineral and manufacturing; that such development of resources now dormant is the only practicable means by which re? munerative occupation can be found for the unemployed skill, intelligence and labor now abounding in the State. This proposition is true, and is one of the strong arguments for the Usury Law. The way to secure cheap capital is the enactment of a law regulating the rate of interest, and then all the other ad? vantages set forth in the position will follow. 6th. That under improved government, both Federal and State, we may look confidently for such accessions of capital as will produce these desirable results, provided no hindrance is offered by legal regulations, which, however ineffectual -for the purpose intended, must inevitably prove in practice vexatious and dis? couraging to capitalists. We agree that a return to good gov? ernment will be advantageous to all our people, but do not believe a regulation of interest will prove a hindrance to re? turning prosperity. If low interest is vexatious to capitalists, a high rate is vexatious to borrowers, and hence the prosperity of the State is more impeded by a high rate than it would be by a low rate, for the borrowers constitute by far 4the larger class of our people. We have not seen the vote upon this bill, but pre? sume that our delegation voted together. We congratulate Capt. Simpson upon op? posing the rejection of the bill and are sure he represents the sentiment of this ^county in favoring it. ? Mr. J. P. M. Epping, of Charleston, has been appointed by the Commission? ers of Claims in Washington Special Commissioner for the State' of South ; Carolina, under the act of Congress ap? proved March 8, 1877, extending the .time for filing proof in claims to March 10, 1878. This same act also provides that all claims wherein the evidence is not filed within the time therein limited shall be deemed to be barred forever thereafter. THEY LEAYE. "One .by one the roses fall," and in the same manner the Radical criminals are departing from South Carolina. In si? lence and sliame and'jear tHey.are leaving i the State they haveiiuined) and seeking for homes where their guilt and .'their corruption are unknown. Ex-Gov. Chamberlain, after tumbling from the -highest position in our State, to the lowest depths of political disgrace, has, like the swallow, in view of the approaching hot "weather, nought a home in a Northern clime, and we shall see and hear him in j our midst no more forever, we hope. So, too, the notorious carpet-bagger^ cadet ship-sellcT, Yankee politician Whitte more, has been unable to stand the search ing in ves'iigation or the Senate Com mi t ! tee, and 11as taken an indefinite leave of absence. It was shown, however, before he left, ?hat ho had squandered large isufns- of fiftmey from the State. Besides getting his liquor, cigar, &c., &c. bills out i qj^the State," fie drew from the treasury, $3,500 to pay for portraits of Lincoln and Sumner, ordered by the - Senate, and pocketed $2,000 of the amount. He pays he deposited it in Solomon's bank- and lost'it there, but a portion of the money was drawn after the failure, and hence he lifasclearly caught. He also drew$4,400, for printi-ig the acts in the Darlington SotUtemer, when the paper's bill for the .printing: was only $1,100. Although at .its proper %ures the bill was outrageous Iiy/.!|ar4;e,'(.'yet.'' Whittem ore' managed, to ipocket $3,S0P; ?more- than, it .-called] for, Being thus caught up with, he followed the .ex-Gov :.rnor and fled from the v.'rath j which was ^t; coming upon him. Who While we are watching the slow move* I ments of the Russian and Turkish armies with great interest, feeling that the fate Qf mpre tltf.n, two of the nations of Europe hanupon its result, there is a strong probability that we may have a bloody little episode between the Mor? mons and Gentiles in this country. iBrigham Young, the great head and prophet of ti e Mormon faith in Utah, far famed as the champion polygamist of the nineteenth century, is putting on his war paint and breathing out mutterings of vengeance and war because of govern-; ?mental interference in his dominions for the pre ven tic;; and punishment of crime. Dispatches fr :m Salt Lake say that they are drilling in meeting houses, barns, stables, &c., the**, and in most of . the minor towns. Great numbers of breech loading rifles 'have been shipped to Utah, and Brigham Young arose at an unex? pected moment in the tabernacle and ad? dressed saints and sinners, giving the latter, who-ave Gentiles, to understand that if they w&atedwar'they could get it at any time, a.: I that they were likely to have more blood-let out of their veins soon than they could conveniently spare at one time. " In. the Territory of Utah there are aborafc one hundred thousand Mormons and only about fifteen thousand .Gentiles, hence an uprising on the part of the former ^ould easily make a com? plete massacre of the latter, many of whom are preparing to remove their families from the- impending danger. The governmeiih will punish all criminals vigorously, a noif the Mormons resort to force there is v:ry little doubt that their settlement will ultimately be entirely de? stroyed. These people are in many re ppects not more than half civilized, and the existence of such a colony'upon our soil forms a. dark spot in the history of our civilization. If the spirit of aggres? sion becomes too violent in these people, and war is I?gun, it does not" require much prophetic vision to. foretell their utter destruction. . "Whom the gods wish to destroy they first make blind," and if the Mormons, have become so blinded as to inaugurate war, ii is not improbable that the sworu, the great purifier and corrector of crying political and moral evils, which h:j.ve reached their last state of crime, may put. a speedy termination, to the complicated problem of converting the Mormons, by blotting out from our country the people who practice the hideous vice of polygamy, coupled with the other. h&lf-barbarious heresies of Mormonism. We trust no such severe remedy may be required, but the rum? blings of the storm have been distinctly heard, and it may break forth at any day. The House committee appointed to in? vestigate Judge Wright have made the following report, which we hope will be adopted: Resolved, That J. J. Wright, Associate Justice of tha Supreme Court of South Carolina,; be impeached for drunkenness. USURY AND "B.? Mr, Editor : The idea held out in the t doggerel published in your last week's issue over tjhe signature of "B," that farmers (to s? v nothing of mechanics and merchants) mske their bread and meat by borrowing sioney, is about on a par with "B's" theory of the establishment of National Banks, viz: That the stock? holders simply, deposit their bond for $100,000 with the government, and re? ceive in consideration $90,000 currency, to be loaned cut to planters and others to buy their provisions at a ruinous rate of interest. Now, in the first place, national banks are based upon United States bonds ac? tually purchased?often at a considerable premium?and deposited with the United States Treasurer to secure their circula? tion ; and in the second place, the amount of bills issued to the banks is one-tenth less -ban the actual amount of capital paid in. To illustrate: A na tional bank with a capital of $50,000 has $50,000 United States bonds at par, which may luve cost the stockholders $62,000, owing to the premium the bonds were selling at the time the purchase was made, paid for in actual cash, to secure $45,000 national bank bilb for circula? tion. So much for "B's" banking system. Perhaps, before going further, it would be well to illustrate the practical opera? tions of a national bank in our midst, as some may be unduly prejudiced by the inconsiderate (to say the least) article of "B"; and in doing so, I shall mention but one transaction, though nnmerous [ others could be given, that came under our own observation a short time since. A lady came m town to buy corn, and, as usual, on time. She went to the mer? chants, and the best she could do was $1.40 per bushel, secured by lien; but for the cash she could get it at 90 cents. She called ac the bank, obtained the' money, and purchased the corn, costing her. interest and all, one dollar per bushel, 1st November next. So much for ?'B's" oppressive usury. Mr. Editor, I am not one of those who believe that the high rates which money commands in our State is the cause of the;unfavprable condition of, our people financially, but it. is simply, ah^effecV The. cause is.;far more ."serious.We see it presenting itself legalized under the form of homestead and lien laws f "the first relieving men from pecuniary re-? spbnsibilitv/and causing every man .to distrust his neighbor, and, as a result, driviug the floating capital of the coun? try into the strongholds for safety"";" and the latter forcing the farmer to plant al-" most exclusively cotton to enable him to pay for supplies, bought on 'time,' at an enormous percent, above the actual cash value."" Let the people go to work , and have these laws wiped out, and let the farmers produce their own bread and meat, and very soon many of them will have money to loan. Then we shall hear less of ex? tortion, and money will be at a low rate of interesti whether usury laws, are in force or not, as the price of money, un? der ordinary uircumstances, like the price of corn and bacon, is regulated by the supply and demand. ? A. COLUMBIA CORRESPONDENCE. .,, Columbia, Jllay 14^,1877. One of the most serious questions now interesting the minds of the members of the Legislature is, what disposition shall be made of the public ;debt. Being a member of the Ways and Means Com? mittee, I have been,forced to investigate the entire financial condition of the State, and we have -labored day and night to arrive at such a'conclusion as would be a satisfactory exposition of the entire subject, and to hasten the-adjournment of-the Assembly We find that all the bonds issued since 1790 down;to 1873yin accordance with acts ' authorizing7 the same, (except such as hav* been declared null and void,) were consolidated into new bonds at tbe rate of two old bonds for one new one. The other 'bonds ? hot enumerated in this act, including the Blue Ridge scrip, were, declared illegal and void The amount of bonds consol? idated in accordance-with this act so far; amount to about, in round numbers, four and a half million dollars, and when all that are authorized to be funded are funded, the amount- of the consolidated debt will be^000,000. The amount of the State's ante-bellum bonded indebted? ness amounted to $6,183,000 ; hence it is seen that if the act authorizing the fund? ing of the entire debt has been strictly adhered to, the present bonded indebted? ness of the State is a little leas than what - the debt was before the war.1 The amount of bonded indebtedness gotten rid of by previous Radical Legislatures amount to about $14,000,000, viz: $600,000 Conver? sion bonds, nearly $2,000,000 B. R. R. R. Scrip, and $6,000,000 by compromise in the funding scheme. The policy of the Radical party, as it seems, Was to strain | the credit of the State to its utmost ex-, tent, and when its bonds would no longer bring cash upon the market, they com? promised and repudiated the debt, and then turned their attention to filling their I capacious pockets by means of direct I taxation. Our recent, experience has taught us how necessary-money is to sus? tain and support our newly established government; and while it has been our policy to reduce taxation to the very lowest amount' commensurate with the necessities of the government, it is' well understood that when so reduced it is absolutely necessary that whatever taxes are raised should go directly to the sup? port of the government. Right here comes in onr difficulties, i and when. ex? plained you will readily understand Why it is the public debt must necessarily en? ter into the consideration of this special Legislature, and why it is we are not able to bring the session to a close. There are three kinds of debts staring us in the face, which threaten the treasury with bankruptcy: ? t First. The bills of the Bank of the; State, which . the' i Supreme Court of the United States has declared valid and binding upon the State, and also receiva j ble for taxes. The Circuit Judges have also ordered Treasurers to receive and receipt for them. ?; bru Second. The Big and Little Bonanza j claims, which have been by act of the Legislature declared a contract between the holders and the 'State, and for the j payment of which - and a part of the contract, the same Legislature levied a tax amounting to about 2} mills annually, the same to continue for four years'; ana as part of the same contract, the levying j of the tax was not left to succeeding Leg? islatures, but the" tax was actually then and there levied, and it was made the duty of the Auditors and Treasurers to collect it under 'heavy-pains and-penal? ties. To attempt to set r this aside ? by legislative enactment would be decided by the Courts as a violation of that arti? cle of the Constitution 'of' the United States prohibiting the passage of any law impairing the obligation of a con? tract:'. l?Tfl ! ;?? ? Rh* '? I Third. The bonded debt. The act which created , and authorized the con? solidation of the bonded indebtedness, was so framed as to be a contract between the bondholders and the State, and pro? vided in consideration of the holders de? livering up their old bonds and taking new ones at the rate of two to one; and the State further agreed, in consideration of the holders accepting the compromise offered, that a tax of two mills should be annually levied to pay the interest on the bonds when consolidated, and the coupons of said bonds should be receiv? able for taxes. There is also, besides these three characters of indebtedness, a large debt in the shape of deficiencies, claims, floating indebtedness and jc?n-, tingent liabilities,- all of which can readily be gotten rid of by legislative ehr I actment, and when opportunity presents it no doubt will be proven to be fraudu? lent, at least the largest portion will be. This debt can not worry us at present, and therefore we don't propose to touchy it this session. . .. \1 '".\*J ' The question, then, is how can wejpro tect the treasury from being flooded: by these bills of the bank of the State and j the coupons of the consolidated bonds, and how can the tax-payers be protected from the levy of 2} mills to pay the pro rata share of the two Bonanza claims ? It ? will take $500,000, or five mills, to meet the actual current expenses of the State government, cutting down expenses to our own figures. Now, if these bills and coupons are not provided for, or kept out of the treasury, our tax will have to be that much higher. In other words, be? fore taxes can be reduced,-as the necessi? ties of the people require, something must be done to protect the State from being flooded by bills and coupons, as above stated. Suppose a tax of five mills should be levied, and a large part should be paid in these bills and coupons, the treasury would be necessarily short to that amount. We are preparing a Scheme to keep the bills of the bank of tbe State and the Bonanza claims out the way, but so far' we have been unable to devise a plan to avoid the coupons, notwithstandingjwe have had the assistance of the ablest counsel. The committee baa recom? mended that these bonds should be sub? mitted to the scrutiny of a commission appointed for that purpose before a coupon should be paid, and for the pay? ment of the honest interest a tax of two mills was recommended to be levied. But being anxious to still, further reduce the levy, they .are still trying to effect an arrangement providing for the funding of this year's interest found to be honest. I think this arrangement can be effected, in which case the tax levy will not ex? ceed five or five and one-half mills for State purposes. It would be an easy thing to make a - tax levy and go home, but it would be;a terrible blow to Qov. Hampton if we should leave him in such a position that a large part of the taxes should be paid in these non-convertible bills and coupons, thus creating so large a deficiency as to produce disintegration. The Radical Senate sees this danger we -are in, and so far they have blocked us .from effecting any arrangement looking rto the great ultimatum?low taxes.. They unite with us heartily in reducing: salaries, because they are excluded from participation therein, but when we at? tempt to touch the bank bills, Bonanza claims and the bonds, they snap and snarl because these claims are in the hands, to a large extent, of their co operators. Think of the large tax levied by the Mackey House last winter?fifteen mills for State purposes alone?and we can realize/the extent of the sum from which we have been saved. The people of this State realized dur? ing the past few years how essential to success it was to be thoroughly united, and by union and a sinking of individual Erejudices and preferences the Radical' osts were beaten and the State redeemed. Our .small majority in the General As? sembly'made it necessary to pursue the same: course in order to render the suc? cesses of the campaign available, and having such a leader as Hampton?pure, wise and successful?it was thought to be an easy matter to unite all elements upon him, being as he was so absolutely the people's choice; but this has proven in a. measure not true, as there is a disposition on the part of some to set at naught his prudent and statesmanlike counsels Having so small a majority in the Gen? eral Assembly, experience should teach us, in order that the^ voice of the tax? payers ,:should prevail, that. the. tax? payers',Representatives should be united solidly, and this can only be accom? plished by a thorough understanding in. caucus, and then by sticking together. Notwithstanding this self-evident conclu? sion, we have members who entirely dis? approve^ the. caucus system,' and are. doing all they, can to defeat'it. It re imjhas one.of the policy of .the indepen? dent. candidates, .from whbm we have suffer edsomuch. I am apprehensive of ser^Outf results grewing out of this oppo si?n to caUcussing, for it would take but a few defaulters to defeat the Democratic majority, and lose to us the fruits of our victory. Our only hope rests upon sup-, porting Goy. Hampton and his adminis? tration. If he is defeated the Democratic party ..is defeated. T wo years ago the Democratic minority succeeded in insert? ing' a . wedge, as; It were, between Gb'v. Chamberlain and his party^ and by re? peated Ihlows we succeeded in sundering the Radicals in. twain, and rescuing the State from their grasp. They realize , to the'fullest extent the danger of such an attack, and are now lending their utmost powers to retaliate upon us in the same manner. A considerable amount of work was accomplished during the'last week, such as amending laws so as to make salaries and expenses conform to' our low. tax levy. The lien law. is virtually repealed, bills to that effect having passed two readings in both Houses. The further consideration of the usury question has been postponed until next session. A bill giving counties the right to vote on the no fence law has passed the Senate, but unless materially amended, which we hope to do in the House, I am afraid it would prove an injury instead of a bless? ing to a community. The Auditors and Treasurers will be retained, but their salaries will be reduced and shorn of their perquisites, whereby something over $100,000 will be saved annually. A cau? cus ' will meet to-night to nominate, a Chief Justice. R. W. S/ , CORRECTION. . Mb. Editor : In my communication lagt.week on usury I fell into two errors, from my miscellaneous reading, from in? formation obtained from, others, and from my writing on, the spur of the mo? ment, which I ask to be permitted to correct: 1. The tax paid by national banks is not more than half of what I stated. 2. National banks deposit with the United States Treasurer United States bonds, and not the bond of the stock? holders. 11 These bonds bear interest, which is paid to the banks out of the treasury of the United States, some of them, bearing six per cent, interest in gold. Since sending yon my communication last week, my attention has been called tor the i act of Congress on banking, and finding that I made the errors, I hasten to correct them, although they effect very little the profits made by national banks. B. AUGUSTA AND KNOXVILLE RAIL? ROAD. ,; The friends of this enterprise in: the States of Georgia, South' Carolina, North Carolina mid Tennessee met in Conven? tion at: the Opera House, in the city of Augusta, on the 9th inst, and organized bv making Maj. W..C Sibley temporary chairman. An address of welcome was delivered by Mr. M. J. Verdy, of Augus? ta, and responded'to by Mr. Samuel Mc Kinne, of Knoxville, after-which the credentials of delegates were provided for, and a committee on permanent or? ganization appointed. Fending the permanent organization of the body, a number of gentlemen were called for and addressed the Convention upon the general objects of the road, and among them was Hon. E. M. Rucker, of this place, whose speech is reported as follows: Maj. Rucker, in response, said he might say he had a sort of hereditary interest in this enterprise. A convention on this subject was held in Knoxville in 1836, and his father was a delegate to that con? vention. He thought the proposed road was one of the most important ever con? templated. Wherever the chain of the Blue Ridge Mountains had been penetra? ted by railroads, the most beneficial re? sults bad followed. The whole of Ten? nessee, the whole of Georgia, the whole of South Carolina, the whole of North Carolina had an interest in the building of this road. Augusta had been relega? ted to the back ground, by Atlanta, but this road once built it would occupy even a better position than Atlanta. Then Augusta will be a great distributing point for the Southeastern States, and a great deal of the commerce with the West In? dies willbe directed to Port Royal through Augusta, nit/is 700 miles nearer from Chicago to Port Royal than from New York, and perhaps to New Orleans. It is important, if this Union is to last, that it should be a Union in:everything. This road built, it will do more to bring us to? gether in real harmony than all the polit? ical parties in the country) Those .cities which understand the situation should constitute themselves distributing points, great commercial centres. It is on ac? count of the great through lines centreing in Atlanta that she has made such pro? gress. Augusta should now inaugurate a great through line to connect it with the West, and thus become a distributing Soint for North and South Carolina and reorgia. He believed that many thou? sand bales of cotton can be secured to. Augusta if this line is judiciously run; aye more, he felt satisfied that a large subscription could be secured in South Carolina if it was properly run. He be? lieved for one, that the road was perfectly practical. The people in the country wanted the road built Augusta's hopes were their hopes, and her success would be their success. The Convention organized by electing the following permanent officers: Presi? dent R. I. Wilson, of Knoxville, Tenn. Vice Presidents, Prof. C. D. Smith, of Franklin, N. C; Dr. H. R. Casey, of Georgia; Gen. P. H. Bradley, of 8. O.;. Robert A. Thompson, of S. C.,\W. C.r Sibley,, of Ga. For Secretaries, W,, J.. Ramage, of Knoxville; J. L. Maxwell, of Augusta. After this a committee on business was appointed, and the Conven? tion adjournea for dinner. Immediately upon the re-assembling of the Convention the committee on busi ?II JWWII-WIWIWI-MPtM-MMreMOMIIIlWIllll. ness submitted the following reports As a part of the business of this cominittee, .while we do. not, intend to map but and determine"Mte exact^line'OrtMs A^usta and Knoxville Railrpadj'yet we hold'jt to be obKgafory up?ii us to carry out the great leading idea of a direct connection otweeh Augusta.-and Kno#Hlle:vFirst and foreto'ost'fwe hold thatEabun Gapis the great objective point common to the citizens of both the northern and south? ern terminus of this road; that the trunk line, "from this city no~Wiilton*'ff Island, we leave to those immediately interested; that from this point the next objective point we hold to be the_ connection with tEe' Elberfon B^??^jeraded, *and to be graded, from or near Thompson Factory,, on Broad river, to Toccoa City, and from thence the most practicable and feasible route on .to the Rabun Gap. FromToc'coa to Clayton.;....... 27 miles. Clayton to North Carolina line* ' -9. ' From Augusta to Toccoa City.".i25 f 'V j *j Total.;......v..,......;..^....151 ?? j From the oest information we can get, the opinion of the committee is, that Augusta can, with the assistance of the counties of Columbia and Lincoln, com-1 j1 e te the Augusta and Knox vi lie Railroad to Broad nver, say within'a niire of Thompson's Factory. Mr. B.'Frank Sloan, of Oconee, repre? senting the wishes of the South Carolina delegation, moved r? substitute the fol? lowing preamble and resolutions for the report of the committee: Wheeeas, The proposed line'of rail? road between Augusta',, Ga., and Knox? ville, Tenn., is divided between different interests south'of Rabun Gap," each inter? est claiming to :be a suitable trunk line; and whereas, one of the' factors'in deter? mining said route is the amount of local trade which shall be1 ^tributary to said road;'and further, an additional and im? portant, consideration' is^1 the amount of local subscription,either State, county or individual, that may be obtained for the competing lines; therefore 'be it Resolved, That the location. , of said trunk line be'postponed to ah adjourned meeting .to be held ?t-^ .on ?? day R^olmd^.Thixt a. eommitteVof --be appointed by ' the Chair, whose, duty it shall1 be "to obtain'the necessary" informa? tion of local support and Ideal stibscrip tion and report the same to the meeting provided for in first resolution. - A.motion Was mride to lay this substi? tute-on the table, and'Hoh:"u. S.Hurray, addressing the Convention in favor of the substitute, said : That this enterprise had occupied the attention of the people of the Mississippi Valley for forty years, and he thought it best not to settle upon a location for the road now without consid? ering the merits of the different routes Ereposed; The choice of location was etween the east of the' Savannah river and the west. Augusta already has the trade west of the river. If the road Ts" ran east.of the river from thirty to forty thousand bales of cotton^ yearly,, will be secured to Augusta which she has hot now. If it is built on the west side, she will get only the trade that she already has and lose that on the east1 side: The real interest of the great "West is to find an outlet for its produce, and hence it should seek such, a route as will give it the best market. The eastern-; route would enable this road to supply the Western prodb^to.both South Carolina and Georgia, thereby-greatly increasing its business.: Its location ought not to be I decided upon hastily.-and an effort should be made to ascertain the material aid likely to be furnished by the local; sec? tions of each of the proposed routes, j The; su bstitute was lost and the report of the committee adopted, ' J; Col. Charltbb, of Knoxville, Tehh., addressing the Convention, said: He would only say a few words. He had had the opportunity for several months of feeling the pulse of this beautiful city of Augusta. He recollected ? year ago that they held a convention in the city of Charleston,-whose people they all loved. He meant to cast no reflections upon 1 Charleston and'her people, but it Was well known'that.they did not meet with success. Socially they were treated all ' right, but little was done for the railroad. When they weht h?rne they; decided to hold the next convention I in Augusta. He wrote to Augusta about the matter, and received an invitation, numerously signed,; for the convention to meet in Augusta. Prominent business men oi ; Augusta took the work in hand with a vim, and secured the passage of a charter for the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad. The Tennessee delegates came here pledged heart and soul to the people of Augusta and the section along, the river for. the completion of the trunk line. South Carolina had. her .opportunity, and she lost it. He thought the pathway be? fore them was clear. < He saw nothing in the way of linking together Knoxville and Augusta. . They were going home in the very best .possible .humor. . They were going back to tell their people that Augusta was all right, and would, do her duty. He would say to the people. Of ' Augusta that, the people of" Marys ville and; Knoxville intended to show their faith by. their works. In less than ninety days, if the people of Au? gusta and North Carolina gave, substan? tial evidence of what, they intended to do, they would .have their portion of the road under control.. ?Gen". Bradley offered the following res? olutions, which were adopted: ! Resolved, That the .railroad heretofore known as the Greenwood and .Augusta Railroad shall be incorporated into and become a branch of the Augusta, Knox? ville and Greenwood Railroad. ? Resolved, That all monies heretofore paid on the stock of the Greenwood and Augusta Railroad shall be acknowledged as so much stock paid into the Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad.Com : pany. '...-..;, . .. , . Resolved, That a business committee, to consist of. fifteen members, shall be appointed by the President of the Au? gusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Rail? road, whose duty it shall be to canvass the entire line running through the State of South Carolina, from Walton's Island, in the Savannah river, to Greenwood, the upper terminus of the old road. Resolved, That a commission, to consist of five members, shall be appointed by the President of the Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad; with full au? thority to secure the right of way by deed and title from parties- through whose land said road will run. Resolved, That a committee of three members shall be appointed by the Presi? dent of' said. i Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad to examine careful? ly tbe charter of the Greenwood and Au? gusta Railroad and see if there is any? thing in it that will be incompatible with the surrender of said charter, with all its rights and privileges, to the Augusta. Knoxville and Greenwood, Railroad, and if so to petition the Legislature of South Carolina to remove any such impedi? ments. Resolved, That all monies, loans, labor or material subscribed in the State of South Carolina shall be used in the con? struction of that portion of the road lying in said State, and .that a committee of three members shall be appointed by the President of the Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad: to petition the Leg? islature of said State for the convict labor now in the penitentiary of South. Caro? lina. A committee was appointed to memo? rialize Congress on behalf of their several States in favor of establishing a. navy yard and naval station at Port Royal, S. C. An executive committee was appoin? ted with power to call another meeting, and the^Convention adjourned. ?An Illinois youth invested $1.50 in a,' New Tork firm to discover "How to appear well' in society." ; The receipt which he received by return, mail'' was short, simple, and easily understood: '?Always kee'p.your nose clean, and don't suck more'than one finger at a time." STATE PRESS ASSOCIATION. The South Cm^lina State Pres? Asso ciation held its third meeting in Charles? ton, 'beginnmg.bn Wednesday, the 9th inst.:; ; ' the^rdbms of the Chamber of l^mny .ce; v|The following persons were present, and. represented their respective journals: Y James A. Hoyt, Columbia Register, President; F. W. Dawson, News and Courier, First Vice President; T. Stobo Farrbw^'r"SpartanbuT^~"2^aW, Second Vice.President; S.. W. Maurice, Kings tree Star, Third Vice President; James T. Bacon, Edgefield Advertiser,,., Fifth Vice President; E. B. Murray, Anderson Intelligences,. Corresponding Secre? tary; T. F. Greneker, Newberry Herald, Treasurer; F. P. Beard, Kershaw Gazette; J. C. HempUill, Abbeville Medium; "D. J.' Carter, Lancaster Ledger; W. J. Mc Kerral, Marion Star,- B. R. Riordan, News and'Courier; 'J. 'D. McLucas, Ma? rian. Merchant and Farmer; H. L. Farley, Carolina Spartan; W. IX Trantham, Camden Journal,? 'Rev. J. I. Bonner, D. D., Associatei J&formed^ft J? MuRa!e,Aiken'/oMma?, President Hoyt called the Association to order and expressed gratification at the number .of journals represented, and the auspicious circumstances of the meet? ing. He believed the organization had accomplished much good in the recent canvass, and was destined to continue its usefulness. He referred to the legislative attempts to regulate newspaper advertis? ing rates as unjust, and asked' th'e: Asso?; ciation to act upon the subject. He closed by paying , a high tribute, to the memory of Col. B. H, Wilson, late of the Georgetown Times, who had tiied sfnce the lost meeting of the' Association. "[ Mr. j. C.; Hemphill fyas elected tem? porary Secretary, and the following; fjpfc tleraen wefe;elecl^;memb^eT^ of the As-1 sociati?n: E. Ai'Brorisbn,i;Bariiwell Sen*, tinel;:C. W. Dudley; Ji&rmTo* Flatter,1 F. Melohers, ?Zeitung; A'. S; TooU An? derson Journal; W. C. Keith; Walhalla Courier; R. B. Rhett;; E. G. Dill, Journal of Commerce; 0. Irvine Walker, Monthly Record; Li'M. Grist Yprkville Enquirer^ : On' motion of Mr;' J. C. Hemphill,. Messrs; J. A. Hoyt;'F..W; Dawson; J:'C. Hempb ill,. H. L.' Farley :and.J.; T>. Mcs.; Lucas were' appointed a committee to memorialize the: Legislature, and ask for, I a repeal of all laws tending to interfere with the private business of publishers by enacting rates for official advertising. On motion of Mr. E. B. Murray,, a committee, consisting of Mesars. R. ,B. Rh'ett,, J. I. Bonner and T. F. Greneker was appointed to. draft suitable resolu? tions upon the death of Col. B. HTWil-. son, of Georgetown.:'"" An invitation to .witness the Regatta from the steamer Sappho on - Thursday morning, and also an invitation to snp with the proprietors of: the Newt and j^Courier at the Charleston Hotel on J Wednesday evening at' eight o'clock; were received, and the thanks of the As? sociation returned to the parties extend? ing them. A recess was taken to 5- p. m. afternoon session. At the re-assembling of the Associa : tiqn, Capt. F. W. Dawson stated to the members that he desired to call their at? tention to the effort being made to raise : funds to complete paying; for the memcf rial proposed to be erected to the memory; of William Gi 1 more Simms. . The gen-; tlemen entrusted with the work have se? cured an excellent bust of the great his? torian, poet and patriot, j and need, about fifteen hundred dollars to complete the payment and erect the bust. If agree? able.- the Hon. Wl; D. Porter, President of the Association, would be pleased to explain the objects and desires of the Memorial Association. Capt. Dawson was appointed a com? mittee of one to inform Hon. W. D. Porter that this'..Association would be pleased to hear him at 1 p. in. on Thurs? day. ...' . ; On motion of Cot, C. Irvine Walker, 1! Dr., G. W., j Bagby was elected an honorary member of this body. ;|i The Association then went Into an election for officers, with the following result': ;'.', ?'? -... James A. Hoyt, President. . F. W. Dawson, First Vice-President. ' T; Stobb Farrow, . Set?nd' Vice-Preal dent. ' "'.. * '??' S. W. Maurice, Third Vice-President' j R. R. Hemphill, Fourth Vice-Presi: dent. ...... - j James T. Bacon, Fifth Vice-President A. A "Gilbert, Recording Secretary,. E. B. Murray, Corresponding Secretary. ,; T. F. Greneker, Treasurer.. "? " : ; . Th'e Association then adjourned"'. to meet at 1 p.-m. to-morrow.' the annual address. was delivered before the; Association in Hibernian Hall, at 8 o'clock p. m^ by i Dr. G. W. Bagby, of Richmond, Va.. A . large audience of ladies and gentlemen 11 listened to it with great pleasure; and we re-publish it upon another'page, t \ At the conclusion of the address the members of the Association repaired to the Charleston Hotel, where they enjoyed the hospitalities of Messrs. Riordan & Dawson in partaking of a sumptuous 8TJPPEB, j furnished by them for. their brethren of j 'the press. About thirty gentlemen were present, and enjoyed the,entertainment j most highly. Numerous informal j speeches were made, and the party did not separate until a late hour in the night. Thursday's proceedings. On Thursday morning the members of the Press went out upon the steamer Sappho to witness the rowing races had under the auspices of the Regatta Asso? ciation. Four races were witnessed, two of them being closely contested and eliciting great interest. The Palmetto Club earned off the honors of the day. The occasion was much enjoyed by all who were present.... At 1 p. m., the Association was called to order. Hon. W. D. Porter addressed the. body'under the invitation extended him upon the subject of the Simms Me? morial, and said:". . Mr. Chairniah and Qen?emeii; I am glad that you have allowed me the priv? ilege of. being present with you' to-day; and to speak to you on a subject that I know you all feel an interest in.. My object in bringing before yett ithu matter is, that Mr. Simms' was a Printer long before he became a Poet and Histo? rian. He was a man of remarkable char? acter, and the'architect of his own for? tunes. His whole time was devoted to the State of South Carolina and the whole South, and it was but right that some? thing should be done in remembrance of his memory. When Mr. Simms died a few gentlemen in this city thought that the memory of such a man who had done so much for South Carolina and the South should not be passed unnoticed, and that a monument ought to be placed over his last resting place. These gentlemen met at the Cemetery, and through their en? deavors procured a lot free and raised the sum of $1,000. At the same time I ad j dressed a short letter to the several edit? ors in the State asking their co-operation in this noble work. The matter was started in 1872, and is now in such aeon-' dition that it ought to be.pressed. The. bust has been completed,'-land is now. in the lands of Mr. Ward, of New YprtC The bust is a fine work of art, and as a' great admirer of Mr. Simms said, that "it looked like a noble old Roman ." The cost of the bust is, $1,700.: $950 of that amount has been paid, ' ana the bal? ance due has been owing for some time, and should be paid. He thought as this was' a State matter, that each county should' contribute their quota, and that the proposition he wished, to make was this.: .That the press in each county un? dertake to raise the sum of $50; that he was satisfied that through the instrumen? tality of the press the amount could be easily raised. Mr., Porter conclude^'m^; an earnest appeal to the'mem^erraf The press to take the matter up in earnest, I and not allow it to fail. That if they .i n.? ihmii. would adopt "his suggestion they would accomplish all that was desired of them. After some discussion. Messrs. "Rhett, Farley and Murray were appointed a committee to report upon this subject, and after (consultation they submitted the following which was unanimously adopted.: ? . Whereas, no man whom the State of Sooth Carolina has produced has il? lustrated and adorned, to the same extent, the life of a practical printer, editor and literary man, devoted t?'the Tustojjr and ci vilizati on of our people, as Wm. Gilmore Simms; and whereas, a balance of $1,500 isneededi? MS.hi a sni tohlff momr'acit of granite and bronze, ordered by his ad? mirers and noww^n^iryraentlri'New York. "Therefore 7 . . Resolved,, That this Association calls upon every editor, in the State, as a com? mittee of one, with authority to associate others in the good work, to raise at least fifty dollars in each couaty of .South Car? olina. ' ? ' Invitations for the Association's ?ext meeting were given from Charleston and Columbia and after a, close vote it.wa* decided to meet again in Charleston. i of the com mit Col. Rhett, as < tee to prepare a. the memory of the late son, of Georgetown, lowing: ' Whereas, since the ] of this Association owpof its the;.Hon. B.; H. Wilson;, editor. . Georgetown nTV^r. Wi&^ii%mfi. bourne from whence no traveller returns; and whereas, it^Jtting f?, his fel? lows, give formal expression to; our esti? mate of the vi^esJ'audM?W^ which ^eltytwtated ourjt^cj??t; fore,;\\ nfo . ? ? ' >????'?? Ck>I.:Wusou(.theSta^Jr*? Association of South Carol ina has lost a olistingnished and honored member, \?Bf?$?ti departurpNof an assp^e.vwho^^ governed by convictions:oi nght; whose* nature, (wurageou?,-g^eTOUS. andenu. dence and-.,, biart in Ita,every._ Carolina. . ., . 8. Resolved, That this these reselutft.fe Ute Book of this Association and the President of the Association to tho ! *g|gf DawKmffffia* m m been aware that these resolutions would be introduced, but he could not withhold the expression of his cordial wncurreace in every word they contained.; ., (-: i ? The resolutions were unanimously a, . -? v.;... :\.V7 Ar>; Farrow said &at he desired to submit a memorial in respect to the memory of one, though hot a member of tue Association, was closely, id with its interests.k He raweffipife leave to offer, the following: ,7." Whereas, %9M^^S^^^k recently been ^mM^^^ brightest ornaments by the death of Charles Pierce ^elham^^^ed^^|W Columbia JH&M' ?becoming that this he was not a mem ive some expression 0 he ability with which , ,nth the journalism of n ' has been marked;.therefore, i l'X: Resolved. ?Ti"MC ,in- ^e ? [Charles Pierce Pelham; the press of South Carolina has 'been depnve67?f r'one.of its j worthy, talented and dwtingu^e^ein the death^one >*& uietxSt?tt cafed and tieWi WM donC so much to elevate nalism in'theStat in? devotion MR* ?^ ^.^^ ~~~~ ?..~ uted bo much to the success of the recent campaign and the redemption of South LCaro^na;i'ji,.:',;':' f ? ?** ,U3C ~'/"" '' 3.; ^o^ Tha* the'above land resolutions be recorded in utes, and published in the iStater?J?0, that^?J??^ Association transmit a Copy of }tb/tfae pSHSH^^"-^ expression of the sym, . . ?hereofthe As^stiou-iri reavement. I "-The resolutions, were nt adopted: "' ' - Mr. McLucas offered a resolution that the.tyanks of the Association be return? ed to IfcT&agby, for the. able ; lecture de? livered before\the Ass?^O^ and ml quest a copy, of the same for publication. Adopted. -< ,?*MWi& ? Col. Walkerofferedresolutibn-'tfiift the thanks of the Association be'returned to the Regatta Association for courtesies shown, and to Messrs. Riordan & Dawson for the handsome manner in .which th? : Association "had 'beenentertained: bf. these \gehtlemeh. The resohrtipn was unanimously adopted.': The chair appointed .Messrs. Murray, Hemphill and. Walker a; committee; to. take charge of the printing of the annual meeting of the Association: President. Hoyt returned his thanksjto' the Association for the, honor conferred in re-electing him as their President, and pledged himself to do all in his power to advance the interests of the Association, land the7 haitoony. and good *Hl. of its members. edu hafc die The Association then adjourned tine f-atm .. ?' mHE undersigned lias a YOKE Of OXEN. (X ' ? for sale, which any qne desiring to purchase can obtain on reasonable terms by applying at ah early day at my residence, nine miles East of Anderson C. H. They - are large, well trained and in fine condition: k M. McGEE. j May 16,1877 U SEWING GREAT REDUCTION. rTTHE NEW FAMINY SINGER'Ww- , X mo MACHINE will hereafter be sold; $35 DOIXAES. m. And all other styl? of Gen nine chines at eqnaUy reduced prices. . these Machhies have been reduced ope-half Imitation ? by irresponsibfd talne? at its highest lie is cautioned against Machiaefl, which are alw. inferior manner, and soi parties. All Genuine Singer. Machines are sold through .authorised agents, at a less price than any Other good Machines car. be. sold for; and ahrays bear the patented Trade. Mark and the name Of the KngerCMopcny1 distinctlyprintedon the^^arm oftb?m?fthln?.' The public will see from this that the price of thb celebratcdand long-tested Ma? chine-is now. ftt the. reach: of all. 8a JipV cbm'e right along and get one of them. I. have at this time forty oh hand, that yi?.' Can select from. I. will still cany them to your House, and spare no pins in giving in? struct ions. They are sold on yttf^kmW^ terms. A little cash down?the balance in" thfl'Eall. ' ssi - :? rirdi U-i:^o\t^ it , a?.. CLARhx, Agent for Anderson alid Pickeas.