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- Ll1"1 mmmuumuwvm | H * THURSMY MORXIXG, RECE.IIRER 1, 1812. GOV ERNO R\S M ESS A G E. We delayed the publication of our paper, for the pu.-pose of laying this document before our readers, and regret that its great length compels us to divide it. The remainder will be published next week-. ITT This number concludes the third volume of the Journal. We tender our grateful ac knowledgetnents to our friends for the liberal patronage afforded 11$ and especially to those who have not forgotten that a printer cannot live without money. There arc a few whose accounts have been standing unpaid for two and three years, who, we trust, intend them to remain ao no longer. To enable us to call upon those within our reach, the regular publication of the paper will be suspended until the first of January; when, if we are successful in making collections, the Journal will appear in an enlarged form. We shall in the mean time, issue an extra every week for the benefit of our advertising customers, in which we will keep our readers advised of the Legislative aud Congressional procedinge. The Steamer Kershaw arrived on Monday last, and leaves for Charleston to day with 950 bales of cotton. A Duel was fought near the North Carolina line on Monday last, by Messrs. J. F. Mittag and H. Massey, both of Lancaster, in which the for In flia t {1 irr 11 I mer was wouhucu m ure n..s... COTTON-COTTON BAGGING. We have often heard doubts expressed in relation to the above article not answering the purpose for which it was intended, and* that purchasers in Charleston would not pay as high a price for cotton packed in it as in hemp. We are gratified in being able to remove those doubts, by quoting the following paragraph from a letter jrom Messrs. Robinson & Caldwell to a planter of this District.- "Your cotton is in excellent order, and will sell as well in the Saluda Bagging as in Dundee, when put up in the order your's is." We are informed that the above was a lot of 12-3 bales, put up in 4$ yards to the bale, which averaged 397 lbs. in Charleston. GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE, NO. 1. Executive Department, ) Columbia, November 29, 18-12. 5 Felloio- Citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives: Coming as you do, fresh from the bosom of the People, imbued with the high-' est and latest confidence of your constituents; guided by an enlightened perception! of their interests, and heedful of the as- j pect of recent events, the occasion may be regarded as favorable as it is important, to invite your attention to some of the means of promoting the weal and prosperity of the Slate and its institutions. j Among these, the most obvious and the most useful, are, doubtless, an affective preparation for defence, in our military, organization and munitions ot war; trie diffusion of the advantages of a liberal and enlightened education; the improvement of the morals of our people; the judicious regulation of our currency; the development of the sources, and an equalization, of the burdens of revenue; the encouragement of agricultural industry and im-j provement; and, finally, the attraction of the talent, patriotism, and aspirations of our citizens, to the performance of the highest duties and obligations of their allegiance; by dignifying and elevating her official stations, (and thereby improving their opportunities of usefulness,) to a standard worthy of the highest intellect,! as well as the most honorable ambition. ' Happily for our interest, the wisdom of the late legislature has provided the most ample and permanent means for improving one of these enumerated and essential resources of our strength, our peace, anu our security. The now complete organization of our militia, accompanied by a judicious and intelligible digest of all the acts regulating it, together with the restoration of the practical opportunities of improvement afforded by the camp drill, has more than realized its anticipated benefits, presents us in an attitude of defence, to command the respect of the world. Its influence has aroused the spi# rit aud the emulation of our officers, inspired a sense of duly in our soldiery, and animated the patriotism and confidence of all our people. Built upon the experience of more than forty years, since the first organization of our militia system?educed from the accumulated labors and opinions of many of our ablest and most efficient officers?the deliberate result of the popular will, ar.d reflected by the firm convictions of two legislatures, it ought to be regarded with a sacred veneration, which no supposed perception ot slight imperfections or inconveniences, should ever induce us to abandon, or to innovate. No scepticism in the morals, or patriotism, or the capacity of the people for selfgovernment, is more dangerous or unjust, than that which depreciates and derides their ability for self-defence. If, in the absence of all constitutional power to retain a standing military force, the States of this Union possess no means but that of a polemical argument to maintain their rights as sovereigns, those rights would indeed be found to be vain, shadowy, and unprofitable before the arbitrament 01 an armed federal potentate. In our late contest with federal potver, it was not Co the mere efficacy of its laws, or the sanctity of its ordinances?to the justice of hei cause, or the strength of her arguments ? but to the uplifted arms of her citizens, iwyr^L...iya'gawi ready to strike in her defence, that tin State looked at last for protection. Am were the dangers of the past to rccnr, o the unfavorable forebodings of tiie fulur | to be realized, it is to the bold hearts am nerved anil disciplined patriotism of th militia, that South Carolina would agaii appeal, as the first to feel and to syinpa ' thize for her wrongs, and as the only finn ! !y available source of defending her. Oc 1 - : imnnrlanl rplntlotl tO til I CIIJIJ III" una I State, they have asked and received fror 1 her confidence and liberality, the mean J and the opportunities, of acquiring nil th ' acconiplishments, as well as pcrformin j all the toils, of their laborious vocatior No capricious spirit of change?no servil deference to popular clamours?no igno hie homage to party pride or interest?n deluded sense of security?I trust, wil ever induce you to revoke it. it affords trie a similar satisfaction, t report the favorable condition and ado quale supply of our arms, arsnels, an j munitions of war. Procured at an cs pence to the Stale of not less than half i million, and requiring an annual appri priulion of twenty-four thousand dollars j for their care and supervision, as well a i for the indispensible police duties iuciden I to a military depot, they necessarily occup; I an important portion of the solicitude am I attention of the Executive, to whose con j trol they are almost exclusively subjected Under this responsibility, I instituted ai investigation, to ascertain if no pari o this annual burden on the treasury couh be judiciously dispensed with. The resul of a minute and dispassionate inquiry soon satisfied me of the fallacy of this e.v pectalion. A ruinous neglect of arms ordnance, anil military stores, to the v a I u < of more than half a million?the dange arising from the neglect or injudiciou ; care of powder, to the amount of niori than fifty thousand pounds, (with the ad dition of the entire supply of the city allowed by law, and required by the regu lations of council, to be deposited in ou magazines)?and the dilapidation and tie cay of valuable and costly buildings would, of course, ensue, nnd prove in it: results, the most unprofitable of all sys terns of economy, and could not be re garded as a pclicy which a people, vigilan of their rights, and provident of the pub J lie weal, would approve. The value ant utility of these military institutions, tic monstrated as they are by lime, by expc rience, and by emergencies that mus again recur, are, however, but secondary in their importance, to the necessity o providing adequate protection for their de fence, in the midst of a population likt ours. In either view, not a dollar's ex pense could be safely or judiciously dimi nished,?not a supernumerary discharget ?not a man, or an officer, who does no occupy an important post, and perforn an indispensable duly. And after an in vestigation, conducted in all the zeal ant spirit of reform, I am irresistibly led t< 1 / nnwirfinn that a wise or nrudent rc trenchment is practically impossible. I Under this impression, I have contcm plated the expediency of combining thi I original duties and purposes of these in | stilutions, with a system of education ; which, in the attainment of two- oh jects of such primary importance to tin safety and prosperity of the State, wouh amply compensate for the liberal and fnu [ niticent expenditures which she has hither to incurred, in maintaining one only, am more especially encouraged to hopi for your co-operation in promoting thi: view, from the favorublo manner in whicl it was received by your predecessors? from the almost universal approbation o our fellow-citizens?and front the very sa tisfactory success of the short and limitei experiment, which it was within my ofli cial discretion to institute. Requiring no additional approprialioi ?supplied as our arsnals now are, will officers whose qualifications, both mora j and scientific, for instruction or command J are unsurpassed, if equalled, in any simi j lar institution in the Union?affording (Standard of education, as they may, iin I measurably beyond our free schools, am ! inferior to our college?annually dilliisin, light and intelligence to more than fifty o our youthful citizens?and all litis withoti a single detracting circumstance, either i the safety or the preservation of the pub lie arms, or in the amount or fidelity o the services rendered to the State, I can not conceive any possible objection to tli charge which it is now proposed to intrc duce. The experience of kother States under great disadvantages, and at a ver considerable expense, lias not only con duced to the continuance of their fostei in?r patronage of similar institutions, bti to the gratifying conviction, that they or among the most useful and instructive t all their seminaries of learningIt would be enough, to determine tli advantages of the alterations proposcc (and which have hcen partially commci ced,) to contrast the usefulness of nior than fifty of our most promising youn citizens; educated in the service of th Slate, with the ennobling consciousne? of having paid fur that education by tiici services; going abroad under the first fee iug of a proud and manly independents to occupy their high places in socieli imbued with a. Stale patriotism, as ill nurslings of her institutions; romhinin the enierpnzc anu decision 01 <i mmon character, will) the acquirements of the scholastic opportunities; dispensing knov ledge ami intelligence through all the vi 1 rations of life which they are destined I fill; and perhaps most usefully, and appri pri itely diffusing them, as the instructor of succeeding generations: With this vie ? of the effects and influence of these inst Cj unions upon the morals and happiness, a9 JI well as .upon the safety of the State, we rihave but to contrast the indiscriminate C| enlistment of many of the most profligate, '1 j licentious, and abandoned ol society? o men without local attachments?the indon lent, intemperate, and depraved?outcasts -jfrom society, and sometimes fugitives I-; from justice, whose crimes impel to this i-j last resource for employment, whose pase sions prompt to the first occasion of treanjchcry or insubordination, and whose chars actor, however temporarily subdued by ej restraints of discipline, can never be res trained, or filled fur the duties and obliga >. lions of useful citizens, e I should be unjust, however, were I not to add, lliat there are many honorable and 0 distinguished exceptions to this general 1 depravity of character and of motals.? Hut were the benefits derived by the State, 0 from the former and the proposed mode - of performing the police duties of her d arscnels, precisely equal in other respects, > who can hesitate as to the wisdom and a propriety of adding the [advantages of a >- liberal and moral education, to the militat, ry services which she requires, when both s may be accomplished at the.samc expense? t If the education of our indigent poor be indeed an object commensurate with the d j annual expenditure of thirty-six thousand - {dollars, would it not he unwise to omit I-1 this opportunity of adding (without bur. n den to the people, or draft on the Treasuf ry, and with the most gratifying assurance 1 of much more useful results.) twenty-four t thousand more, to promote the objects of , that benefaction? The discretion now rested in the Exe, cutive by law, is deemed sufficient to efc fectuate the arrangement to which I have r alluded. Hut oth'er legislative provisions s are to prepetuate them, beyond the fluee tuating contingencies arising outofExe cutive discretion, and perhaps to impart , that strength, permanency, and dignity, - which State confidence and patronage alr ways confer. The interesting reports of the Comman, dants in charge of those posts, with the s views of the Adjutant General, arc here with submitted, and will be found, I trust, - to fiiirnishlhefull and satisfactory informat tion, which the enlighteded experience and - observation of such sagacious and compe1 tent officers may be supposed to supply. The unprontauie use ui me uimuai aj? propriations of the Stateto establish asyst tern of public instruction, consitulcs ano ther strong inducement to prosecute an f experiment, which promises, by its fruits, to from one exception, at least, to the hith; erto entire and unmitigated failure of all - her efforts, to educate her indigent youth. - If the success of those institutions should 1 form the trauis of future and important imt provenr.ents, which may be judiciously e.ct tended to our free schools; if they should - supply better teachers from their alumni; J ifthey should suggest higher standards j and better systems of morals and tuition; or if they only awaken greater aidor in the people, and a warmer interest in our rulers, to advance the cause of education; e they will achieve more for the weal and - honor of our State, than all the other la-; , burs and appliances of government could in any other manner confer. e In the meantime, I cannot loo seriously I repeat the invocation of my last annual mes i. sage, to remedy some of the glaring de. fects and unprofitable results of our Free I School system. Is there nothing to awae ken your attention ordissatisfy your hopes, s in the facts, developed by the statistics of i tlip late federal census, that more than20,* - 000 of the adult male population of this f State have not even received the ndvanta. tages of an imperfect cdtiiion? Is it noth.1 ing, that this uneducated portion of our - nonulation exceeds that of any other state iii the Union (except one,) while at the i same time our expenditures have been li proportionably greater? Is it nothing, 1 that, after an experience of more than thirI, ty years, and an expenditure of more than - a million and a half on Free Schools, their a benefits should have been so unprofitably . dispensed? that a research into the statisd tics of the State exhibits so melancholy a g result?such a blemish on the age in which fj we live?so benighted a condition of so ill large a portion of our population, and so n I depraved and extensive an abuse of the ?. j munificence nnd liberality *f the State. I, if therefore, respectfully reiterate the re-1 commendation of the appointment of a sue : pervising officer, whose wisdom, and ex). perience, after a year's exclusive devotion j.! to that subject, will unquestionably enable y him to present many valuable suggestions - on which to base judicious and eflicient - legislatiou. it One of the greatest difficulties hitherto e existing to the successful operation nf a >f uniform and practical system of Free I Schools, has arisen front the infiuence of e, climate and population, on the health,re1, | quirements, and opportunities, of different i- portions nf the State. In the interior and e upper districts, the establishment of a pubg lie school within the square of every six e miles, would not only be generally practi;s cable, but would perhaps be eminently exir pedient and useful; even if carried to the I- extent of substituting an entire system of r?, education at the expense of the public > ; treasury. The causes which would render ie it inconveniently impracticable on the sea cr ooaru, are too obvious 10 redout cuumvi uv lion: Bui while the observation of a suir pervising officer would suggest the ordinar-1 ry correction of many existing abuses and r>. dcf< ; vS, his experience may at the same in, time enable him to devise, and submit to i- your consideration, some system more ~s happily varied and accommodated, to the w J diversified requirements and circumstani-; ces of every portion of the State. He would, indeed, be the greatest of all bene-, factors to our age and State, whose labors and researches should develope some mode of rendering the application of this fund proportionally profitable and useful. If. in the view of establishing an entire ami uniform system of public education, our State revenue was even obliged to be increased, at least a third of its present amount; still, by diffusing Its advantages within the reach oferery man's dwelling and family, it would perhaps more than | compensate for any additional burdens; which it might be supposed to impose on the people, by diminishing the heavy and indispensable expenses of board and instruction, which necessarily enter into every computation of domestic economy; and which, oppressive as they are to the rich, operate as an exclusion of light and knowledge to the poor. Even as a ques-j tion ofeconomy, therefore, it may perhaps besatisfactorily demonstrated, that it would produce the greatest results, with the least expense, both to the State and the citizen. And while, according to our present system of taxation, its burdens would devolve chiefly on wealth, it would at the same time, diminish the contributions, which are now extorted from the rich, to obtain a more perfect erudition abroad, and wobld practically extend the benefits of a liberal, and even of a classical education, within every man's means, family and opportunities. Thus, would the factitious distinctions of rank in society be obliterated, by the moral elevation of all classes, to the same high standard cf knowledge and intelligence. Thus, would the association and affinity of ingenious youth in the same seminaries of learning, reciprocally exercise a beneficial influence on the minds and morals of each other, and result in the formation of ahigh national and democratic character and feeling. And thus, with less expense to the opulent, with no burthen to the poor, would the blessings and advantages of the best system of education, be universally diffused, to indigence as well as to wealth; from the grammarschool, to the college; from the first rudiments of i Ipnrninor. to the latest and highest devel- j Or -- -- opmcnts of science and philosophy. Contrasted with these just causes of dis-1 satisfaction, as to the benefits and appli-| cation of the Free School fund, wc may contemplate with a pride and gratification j proportionate to its eminent usefulness and success, the continued results of the liberal and enlightened patronage bestowed upon our College. The most munificent of all onr State endowments?the most honor- \ aide of all its benefactions?the most useful of all its institutions?the most imperishable monument of its wisdom and liber, nlity?its continued and uninterupted career of success and prosperity, even amidst the unusual disadvantages of the present year, cannot but be a source of the most heartfelt gratification to its official patrons. Adding its annual tribute of learning to the general intelligence of the State?the pprennial source of its literatnre, its erudition, and its eloquence?contributing its successive genera lions of enlightened youth to commence their ardent career of usefulness and of honor, and to occupy their distinguished places in society?we have just reason to exult in the unabated prosperity which it manifests, in the number, the morals, and the acquirements of its students, and in the zeal, erudition, and judicious management of its faculty. Rerpivina nn amount less than half of thean wv* ' *"o nual endowmentbestowed on Free Schools, the benefits of a single year; the attainments of a single class; the acquirements of one only of its ripe scholars; the fruit of a single one of those great minds, whose energies it lias developed; would not only compensate for all the patronage which has hitherto been extended to it, but is immeasurably moro valuable to the State, than the results of all her other benefactions to advance the progress of education. Under the recent bereavement of a venera. ted head?contending with all the embarrassments of a pro tempore appointment of its presiding officer?an appointment most heavily imposing the arduous responsibilities of the office without its corresponding dignity, and authority?it is a subject of joyful surprise and congratulation, that its affairs have been so ably and satisfactorily conducted. All our projected works of internal improvement being now in a slate of comnlAiinn ;? downliroc nnnn vmi in consider l'.Cl,U"l " ?V.W..W? J-~ ? the means of instituting some permanent and necessary arrangement for their security and preservation. Whether the duties hitherto discharged by the Superintendent, may not be devolved, without detriment to the public service, on district Commissioners, the Comptroller General, or the Executive;or whether the interest of the State in these works cannot be advantageously disposed of, are subjects worthy of your deliberations. In the Charter of Roads, Bridges, and Ferries, usually granted to Companies or individuals, I would suggest greater caution and restrictions, to prevent the enormous abuses and inconveniences to which the public are so frequently subjected by I the negligence and imposition of their proprietors. Instances of this kind arc becoming of a character so flagrant and numerous, as to constitute an evil of no little magnitude and importance. Much has been achieved by the dclib erations 01 me jasi session, 10 impro?r our syslem of road working. The regulations requiring Commissioners of the sev. cral Boards to exact the same amount of labor from each individual within their respective jurisdiction, has accomplished something to equalize, and perhaps to lessen, the burdens of the public duty; and the reference offines over u certain amouut, to a judicial jurisdiction, instead of th# former summary mode of imposition bv at self-constituted body, acting both as judged and accusers, has certainly thrown some' protection aronnd the civil rights of the community. But the reform ta not sufficiently radical, for the perfection of a system so essentially defective. The iniquity of an irresponsible legislation?the enormity of a self-perpetuating and self-supervising power of its own ptivilcges and authority?the injustice of exacting the whole amount of so inconvenient and irksome a public service, exclusively from the agricultural interest?and the gross nrirt nn nrn fi la hip rpcnlt nf itj nvo I.lg.VVt, J VACcution, still constitute its most prominent feutures, and interpose insuperable obstacles to its success and satisfactory opera tion. Some system of chartering; our most public highways to companies or individuals, with cautious restrictions, to prevent imposition or abuse?connected with a small tax on every species of productive capital, (instead of being exclusively borne by agricultural labor,) to supply the de- a hciency of revenue, in those less profita- J ble, it is believed would be the most effec- I live, and cheapest mode of improvement; * and at the same time the most equitable distribution of the expense. But should it be deemed advisable, to endeavor to improve rather than to abandon a system so radically defective, and incorporating all the errors and abuses of a long and fruitless experience, still the application of heavier penalties and more equitable and summary mode of conviction, are necessary to protect the community from lire inconveniences and delays, as well as the dangers and losses so often and so vexatiously experienced, from the negligence of irresponsible commissioners, and the privileged proprietors ol*chartered bridges and ferries. M olives of economy would spem to suggest a compliance with the recommendations of the Regents of the Lunatic Asylum herewith submitted, to increase the accommodations of that Institution, for the reception of a class of patients, whose profitable contributions would diminish, if not entirely defray, the general expenses of the establishment. If this be indeed true, ?and lam sure I cannot refer you to higher authority, or more satisfactory evidence, than their own frank and intelligent statement,?there would seem to he neither wisdom or prudence, in withholding the necessary and desired aid. To the considerations which a wise economy would thus appear most obviously to suggest, I am sure I need not add the appeals of an enlarged andenlightenedbenevolence; which on no proper occasion forits exercise, has ever failed to inspire the counsels of our rulers,or to actuate the hearts of our people. For the correction of some of the harsh features ofour CriininalCode, I mustagain referyouto the views expressed in my last annual Message. Fot the trial of slaves for capital offences, I respectfully but urgently, re-iterate my invocation, to substitute some mode lesssummary, less partial, less calculated to prevert the spirit of our benign laws, to the jnjtiryof property and the sacrifice of life, than ihe present imperfect and ignorantly administered forms of justice, as applied to cases of that character. The existing punishment of petit larceny has beed found in practice, one of the most salutary, but one of the most odious, ofalf the inflictions of the law. But the very efficacy it derives from it degrading influence on the character of the criminal, unfortunately produces, in some instances, a revolting effect upon the sympathies of the community, that may lead to remonstrance and opposition, Notwithstanding it is the dreaded and abhorrent of all legal inflictions, and that the criminal invariably and earnestly petitions for its commutation to any other penalty, yet the irresistible temp latiuns (and sometimes the wants and necessities) growing out of the embarrassmcnts, and the immorality of the times, have greatly multiplied and aggravated, the crime and the offenders. Under these circumstances, it would seem to be impolitic, at present, to ameliorate its penalties. The degradation which inflicts upon the character of the culprit, cunnot in fact, be supposed to exceed the infamy and disgrace of an open conviction, a blighted character, and u debased mind. The sensibilities of a convict, hardened to the moral impressions of a sentence of guilt pronounced by his peers; the perpetrator of a mean and debasing offence like that of petit larceny; is above or below the reach of all the ordinary appliances of the law to i ; ,i ^c :i? ,A reclaim, or me stuiuj 01 us pcuuuics 11/ punish, except through the pangs of the most painful and degrading of all human inflictions. The punishment of death, it is believed, may be judiciously ameliorate;! in ninny cases by other and efficient penalties ? But I would submit for your consider sti.-n, the expediency of substituting private for public executions, whenever the demands of a great and state necessity renders the exaction of the bloody sacrifice unavoidable. The idea of condign punishment is always most terrible and impressive, when left to the imagination to depict it, and especially in the absence of those circumstances of excitement, which are so well calculated to sustain the nerves and fortitude of an impenitent and incontrite spirit. No young offender was ever reclaimed by witnessing the heroism of a dying victim of the law; and while his sympathies arc but too apt to be enlisted for the sufferings (vvhich he witnesses, his imagination is not I less likely to be cxcital by 'he imposing (importance ol'a sceuc, in which the sciiie