Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE (Continued from Page Three.) question; and procuring and pre paring for publication any series of documents desired by any State, provided such State bear the ex pense thereof. The work of this Commission -would embrace such matters as the purchasing of the valuable collec tion of abstracts and transcripts of European papers bearing on Amer ica, made by the late B. F. Stevens, of London, and now for sale by his successors. This particular collec tion of papers would be of inesti mable benefit to the student of the Revolutionary history of South Carolina, as a large part of the pa pers bear directly on the struggle in this State, and the matter therein contained cannot be found else *here. To the end that the passage of this bill may be accomplished, I suggest that a memorial be present ed to Congress by your body re questing its passage. THE STATE GEOLOGIST. Since the establishment of this Department; the work has annual ly -increased in magnitude and im portance. Not only is the State Ge olegist kept occupied in his own State, but numerous calls for in fotination have -been received from .vrious - sections .of the United -States -and from abroad. During the past year much -valuable work has been-acomphshed by:this. De .aftment in various sections of the Stite. The State Geologist , ias alsc gWien- especial attention to the ex ploration of the rineral resources of the upper section of our State. This .ork, though not completed, beewnpubished, together with revious results tinder the title "A Catalogue of the. Mineral Lo -Ma1ties of Soilth Carolina." Thi5 -gQblieatione al'one -wifl be of gr eal -rknd lasting benefit to the State, and jgesents 'some surpdsing facts in 'rference to our .great mineral re Mrees. The daracter of the work under tiken and accomplished by 'this De artnitnt has inspirod "the United 'States Geological ASurvey to hear tily cooperate in the work, and valh uable..aid is thus secured. It is amei-ited tribute to the effi ciency and ability of our State Geologist to adid that Dr. Merrill, who is the head of the Smnithsonman Institution, pronounces the reports received -from the South Carolina Department the equal of any receiv ed at -that inistitution.. RAILROAD COMMISSION. The report of this Commissioi1 has been received and will be sub mnitted to you. Full and complete details concerning work within onr State is discussed and valuable sta tistical information has been com piled and classified. Other subjects of interest are also treated, among these being railroad taxation, as sessment per mile, value of all rail road property in the State, rail road construction, complaints, ad justment of claius, local and inter state rates, private car lines and demurrage. The building of new depots is considered also, and this situation shows improvement. A statement of railroad receipts and expenses in South Carolina for the past year is also included in the report, which deals fully with the large interests in charge of $his Commision. LAWLESSNESS. In my last two Messages I thought it my duty to call.your at teition to the absolute necessity of -adopting more stringent measures for the proper enforcement of law, and particularly for the prevention of lynchings. In response to my *request, you apropriated a special find for this purpose. This fund -has been practically exhausted in the prosecution of cases which oc curred prior to your last session. Although I cannot report a single conviction of the parties supposed to be implicated, I am satisfied that the appropriation has not been used in vain. Investigations and prose cutions wvere possible only by means of this fund, and the results have strngl contributed to the uphold ing of law and order througnot the State. You are only too familiar wit the record of past year. You knom how South Carlina, together wit other of our sister States, has ha reproach heaped upon her on ac count of the dastardly deeds c reckless, lawless and irresponsibl men. I have just stated that n convictions have been secured y< in spite of this fact, the realizatio that the arm of the law would b invoked :that a determined attemp at least would be made to prever 'its ruthless and barbaric desecra tion; that criminals would be pros ecuted for their crimes; that th coroner's inquest and the usu verdict would not be the end, bu only the beginning-these have prc duced their effect. and, as a resul better conditions have prevailed Those who would take the law i their own hands have been made t think: the masses of our people who are at heart law-abiding, hav found hope and encouragemen * and the sworn officers of the lav have had their grave responsibil ties brought more closely home t them. For more than a year Sout Carolina was not disgraced by lynching, no case occurring whic could be properly so classed. Had I been able to report to yot as I had sincerely hoped to do, tha our State, since your last session a least, had been spared the shame c another lynching-that for this pe iod no human life had been law lessly and barbarously taken by a armed mob-I would have bee -deeply gratified at such convincin evidence of the increased respe< shown for law and order. Whil we have every reason for encou agement, the recent killing of tw defenseless negroes by an arme mob is for every reason to be d< plored and condemned. Such ou rages are not only flagrant and ir ~excusable, but they inevitably lea to the disregard of all law, tl cheapening of human life and tlh undermining of our very civiliza tion. The lawless element must 1: made to realize the consequenc< that follow the blind passions an prejudices of mobs.which take tli law into their own hands; huma life must have every right gual anteed in our constitution, and las less and reckless violators must t pro-secting without fear or favc toi the utmost limit of the lawv. As long as I am Governor of tla State I shall use my strongest er deavor for the suppression an punishment of those who disr< gard our laws, especially in the mai ter of lynching. I shall not be d< terred in the discharge of this dut: however-unpleasant it may be, b< ieving that in thus seeking to ui hold the law, I am serving the bei and highest interests of our Stat< I have been actuated solely by thi motive in what I have done, and am frmlyconvinced that one cor vcinwould not only materiall decrasethe future record of tli State in respect to ly'nchings, bt would also encourage the upbuild ing of a better sentiment amon our people. In this connection I am gratifie to report that during the past yea1 whenever necessity arose, the Sc licitors and Sheriffs have show every dedire to discharge their fu: duty and to cooperate with me i every wvay possible for the enforce ment of law. This is as it shoul< be, and when 'a Sheriff or other offi cer, whose duty it is to protect th life of a prisoner in his custody, al lows the mob to take him awa: without a determined effort on hi part to prevent them, then, as recommended last year, ther should be a penalty provided fo such failure of duty, even to re moval from office. A fund for th supression of lawlessness, to be ex pended under the direction of th Governor, seems again to be a ne cessity, and I recommend that yo1 make such an appropriation as vol deem proper for this purpose. SPECIAL COURTS. In increasing the number of ju dicial circuits in the State I un derstood it to b)e your intention t< abolish the holding of special court for the transaction of civil business The law, however, providing fo these courts was not repealed a your last session. and, in additiox it to this. you renewed your former appropriation for the pirpose of h holding special courts. A number v of these courts have been held dur ing the past year: the appropria I tion has been entirely exhausted, and an unpaid bialance amounting to several hundred dollars will be e presented to your Committee on D Claims for aynent. :t Without discussing the serious , objections to special courts, my ex e perience has convinced me that it t is unwise to maintain them as a t part of our, ju .icial system, and I further believe that this is against - the spirit of the law, which estab e lished two additional circuits. Our .1 tax problem is a serious one, and it t should be relieved whenever the in - terests of the State do not suffer. : For this-'reason and for other con L siderations which I have referred to, I recommend that you make no 3 appropriation for special courts, and. in addition to this. that il e law creating them be repealed. A PUBLIC LIBRARY. In the growing educational ad vantages of our State I have h thought, for some time, that the es a tablishment. upon a suitable and b proper basis. of a public library would be a most desirable step. Ion. Win. A. Courtenay. who has done so,much to preserve the his tory and literature of our State, has submitted an interesting paper to me bearing upon this subject, from which I shall present the fol lowing extracts for your considera tion: n "Much interest is felt in . the t founding of- a proper public libra e ry, which, in its scope and purpose, means a great advance beyond any o thing previously considered; and d I as Columbia has been the vicarious sacrifice for the whole State, there are those citizens who think, in this new life of the Capital City, that the agood offices of the State might well e be given to aid in the city's coming e advance." * ** I"Valuable preliminary work has e already been done in the establish Sment of the Timrod Library. The d first need of such an institution e wvould be a site for the erection of a suitable building, and as the loca tion of such site is within the ac tion of the General Assembly, it e has been suggested that the small rarea needed for such a purpose might be granted, under certain e limitations, by the Gencal Assem -bly from its unoccupied land hold d ings. The area wanted will not ex cedd in extent one-eighth of an acre, -and it should be so located as to be readily accessi'ble to the community. As no money will be needed, it has been subbested that the first step to the desired end might well be ta tken. by the General Assembly, and .authority given for the occupation s of a small area of land, to initiate I this promising project." SThis is a most desirable proposi Y tion. The library is now establish e i ed and its scope and field for useful iness vwould be broadened by adop ting the above suggestions-, which I 6 heartily recommend that you do. THE CATAWBA INDIAN LANDS. Another matter which I think necessary to call to your attention is the question raised by the rem ~nant of the tribe of Catawba In dians, respecting the tract of 18o square miles which they once held - in the counties of Lancaster and e York, and the small remnant of that - tract, consisting of 620 acres, which they now ocupy in the county of s York. These lands were formerly I ceded to the Indians in a legal man e ner, and until 1840 were recognized r by the State as their property, but, - in the above year, the State made a treaty for purchase of these lands. - The matter was not satisfactorily ar Sranged. however, and has been in . incomplete form ever since. The SIndians are now threatening to sue the State for the recovery of these lands, and have employed council for the purpose of presenting the matter to your body and for bring -ing action in the courts in case no -satisfactory arrangement is madeC. In view of these facts. and the importance of ,having the matter thoroughly investigated, bo0th for the purposeof rendering justice to Sthe Indians andl defending a suit in case one is brought. I recommend that the matter be ivestigated. and such action taken as the facts var rant. You will find in the office of the Ilistorical Comission valuable data concerning these lands. This infor mation was compiled at my request by Mr. A. S. Sally. Sec. of the His torial Commission. RIVER NAVIGATION. It is a matter of prime importance to our State that our rivers, wher ever possible. should be made nav igable. We have several rivers which could be utilized greatly to the benefit of the State at no great expense. The General Government in spite of the efforts of our repre sentatives in Congress, has not dealt generously with us in this matter, considering the great importance. of these streams. I believe that you should aid our representatives by taking action -pon this subject, going to the ex tent of memoralizing Congress to make the necessary appropriation. Such action on your part would be of material asistance to our repre sentatives in accomplishing the pur pose for which they have been striving. Not only are the rivers which: flow through our State of import anc to us, but also of great import ance is the Savannah River divid ing us from Georgia and running the entire length of our State. An earnest efforts is being made by the representatives in Congress from Georgia to deepen the river and our representatives have been asked to cooperate with them. It would be greatly to the imutual benefit of the interests involved to -act together in the matter of securing an appro priation for the rivers of each State, and I hope this will be done. DRAINAGE OF SWAMP LAND An amendment to. our State Con stitution provides by law for the con demnation of all lands necessary for the proper drainage of the swamp and low lands of the State, and provides also for the equitable assessment of lands so drained for the payment of expenses so incurr ed. This amendment has never had your attention, and millions of acres of fine lands are not only rendered useless by lack of drainage, buat they are also a serious menace to the health of the inhabitants. It is most probable that the Unit ed States Government will pay an equable portion of the necessary cost of draining these lands, and thi should be looked into. Comn missioner Watson, in his report, calls attention to an excellent plan for doing this work. This is an iportant subject, for many rea sons, and I ask that you give it the attention it deserves. PROTECTION OF FISH AND OYSTER INTERESTS. *These interests are 'of decided importance to our State, and, pro perly cared for and protected, would furnish valuable contribu tions to our revenue. If neglect ed they will absolutely be destroyed. I am gratified that you appointed a Commission to make a thorough examination of this subject, to re port at this session. The Commission has been active lv at work during the year secur ing all available information rela tive to the practical needs of this important subject. This report I have not yet-seen, but believing that, the Commission wvill present valu able facts and practical recommen dations for the protection and de velopment of our fish and oyster interests, I trust you will take the proper steps to carry these recomn mendations into effect. BIENNIAL SESSIONS: At the general election of 1,904 an amendment to the constitution: providing for biennial sessions of the General Assembly was sub-; mitted to the people, and was adopted. A committee was ap pointed from both houses at your last session to report what amend ments to the Constitution and stat utes of the State wvill be necessary and proper to provide for such ses Sions. I trust you wvill act upon the report of this committee. in order that the amendment may b)ecome effective as soon as possile. T believe that biennial sessions wil afr all necessry legisia tion. and the people of the State is have expressed themselves in fa- al vor of the change. In this connec- ce tion I renew my recommendation of last year that State officers be elected for a term of four years' t not allowing them to succeed them selves. Upon further reflection, I would not include the offices of c Comptroller-General and State A Treasurer in this recommendation with reference to reelection to their respective offices. INCENDIARY FIRES. The recent law requiring the t Comptroller-General to investigate F incendiary fires has no. proved sat-: S isfactory, and no doubt this officer E: will suggest necessary changes to aN you. Since the enactment of this ar law I have, in many cases, refused ea to offer rewards, believing that it a would be proper for me to have the of required legal investigation made.. Considerable expense has been in- . i h curred in conducting these inves- h tigations, and experience convinces me that this has been an unwisea expenditure. Many fires of sup-. posed incendiary origin can easily be traced to some other cause, and in this connection I beg to call at- fC tention to the fact that the State of S New York has a law requiring all fC dealers o sell nothing but safety tl matches. I recommend your fa- P vorable consideration of such a law, ti especially as safety matches sell at! C about the same price as the other ej variety. c( tc INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND: REFORMATORY. jo: The bill to establish an Industrial School and Reformatory was de t feated at the last session of your body because you failed to agree r upon minor differences which de- 1P veloped during the discussion of ts, this measure. I trust that at this session these - differences may be adjusted and thfe school establish ed, for I feel that muich good wouild be accomnplistied by such a Reform atory. To the South Carolina Federa-! tion of Women's Clubs much credit is due for the active interest they; have shown in this matter. CONFEDERATE FLAGS. During the past year I received a number of Confederate battle flags, wh':h wvere returned by the War Department in accordance; with an Act of Congress. These flags. I requested the Wade Hamp ton Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy to take temporary charge of, and they have been placed in their relic room in the State House. I would recommend that suitable glass cases be provid ed for these flags in order that they be most carefully preserved. THE JAMESTOWN EXPO SITION. Our sister State of Virginia has taken the initiatory steps to cele brate the establishment of the col ony at Jamestown, the first perma- I net English settlement made in the Southern portion of the Unit ed States. The fitting comnmemora~ tion of such an event has a special significaance, not only to the origi-. nal thirteen States, but to every [ State in the Union also. Now that Virginia has taken official steps toc properly celebrate this historic. event, it seems most appropriate to me that the original thirteen States should promptly take the lead in making this event all that it should - be. Virginia has made a large ap- C propriation for this purpose, and the Congress of the United States,E realizing the historic significance L of the proposed celebration has generously assisted. - You will have the honor, at this session, of receiving envoys from the State of Virginia, who come to invoke your interest and your aid. in the ceremonies attendant upon a the celebraton of this occasion. It is peculiarly fitting that South Car- 0 la, of all the States. should have place of conspicuous honor in this event, and I know you will re eive the representatives from this -. honored old "Mother of Statcs" E with distinguished consideration. This event will be of no ordinary importance. and the work already accomplished in other States and abroad gives most auspicious prom d of an oppropriate observance of I which it commemorates. I sin relv trust that your consideration ill give to South Carolina the po Lion she deserves in this celebra >n. and I recommend such an ap opriation as you may deem nec ssary for this purpose. STATE MONUMENT ATM VALLEY FORGE. Governor Pennypacker, of Penn Ivania, has written me several nmmunications relative to the erec >n of monuments at Valley :>rge by the thirteen original ates. A recent letter from His xcellency advises me that the enues along the intrenchments e so far completed as to enable ch one of the States to mark, with suitable monument, the location its troops. This is a matter concerning the story of our State and is submit d to you for such consideratidn you many think advisable. CONCLUSION. I have submitted to you such in >rmation concerning affairs of tate as I have deemed necessary >r your consideration. Unto you le honored representatives of our !ople, belong the responsible du es of your office as law-makers >r your State. From your delb -ation results must inevitable )me, and by these results you are > be judged. Believing that in the discharge F these grave responsibilities you ill be guided and controlled by in ,grity of purpose and fidifity to :>lr trusts in all that you do, I con tend the great interests of our !ople unto you and await the re ilts with confidence and withhope. D. C. HEYWARD, Governor. 'OBE MSH IONA BLE Does not only5 apply to stylish clothes, but a good, clean Shave and an up-to-date Hair Cut as well. In order to makte your toilet complete call at m~y Tonsorial Parlor. First-class work guaranteed. Hot 'and cold baths. CHAS. P. BEECH ER Under Crot well Hotel. Dr.-R. M. Kennedy, DEINTIST. lewberry, - - S. C. OVER NATIONAL BANK. .edgers~ ournals, )ay Books, rder Books, qemorandums, "ime Books, |ash Books, lill Books, ,itter Files, ypewriter Note Books and Paper, r fact e ve ry thin g eeded in your home r office. Maves' Book Store. rick! Brick!! For Sale by C. H. CANNON.