CAROLINA. 





of the other river- the e>tu:iries of which are in- 

 cluded in that coast, and including also the terri- 

 tory lying to the north of the liasin of the Menam 

 Mtiiated between the Anglo-Siamese frontier, the 

 Mekong river, and the eastern watershed of the Me- 

 Ing. The two pow- i not to enter into 



any separate agreement permitting a third power 

 to "take any action from which they were bound by 

 their declaration to abstain. From the mouth of 

 the Nam-lluok northward as far as the Chinese 

 frontier the (Italicey of the Mekong was declared to 

 form the limit of th us or spheres of in- 



fluence of France and Great Britain. The two gov- 

 ernments agreed further that all commercial and 

 other privileges and advantages conceded in the 

 Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Szechuen either 

 to Great Britain or France, in virtue of their re- 

 spective conventions of March 1, 1894, and June 20, 

 1895, as well as all privileges and advantages of any 

 nature that may in future be conceded in those two 

 provinces, shall, as far as rests with them, be ex- 

 tended and made common to both powers and to 

 their nationals and dependents, and they engaged 

 to use their influence and good offices with the Chi- 

 nese Government for this purpose. 



The disputed area conceded to France in this 

 agreement covers 1,292 square miles and has a popu- 

 lation estimated at 4,000 Shans and 5,000 hillmen. 

 Mongsin, which had been occupied by the British, 

 was evacuated on May 11. The French on taking 

 possession reinstated the Myosa or chief whom the 

 English had deposed. The part of Siam of which 

 the two powers guaranteed the integrity is less in 

 extent than the Mekong watershed, which is left 

 out of the agreement, but is the most populous and 

 productive part of the kingdom, having 5,000,000 

 inhabitants and producing the bulk of the rice crop 

 and containing the most valuable teak forests. An 

 area in the southwest, bordering on Burmah, is ex- 

 cluded from the guarantee, as well as the eastern 

 parts of Siam. In the southeast the French include 

 in their zone of influence and protection the prov- 

 inces of Battambang and Angkor, over which they 

 claim rights of sovereignty by a title derived from 

 the kings of Cambodia, but this right is not ac- 

 knowledged by Siam or by Great Britain. 



SOUTH CAROLINA, a Southern State, one of the 

 original thirteen, ratified the Constitution May 29. 

 1788 : area. 3.750 square miles. The population, ac- 

 cording to each decennial census, was 249.073 in 

 1790: 34o.o91 in 1800; 415.115 in 1810: 502.741 in 

 1*20: 5*1.1*5 in 1830: 594.398 in 1840; 668,507 

 in 1850: 703.708 in 1*60: 7<>5.r,0r, j n 1*71): 995,- 

 577 in 1880 ; and 1,151,149 in 1890. Capital, Co- 

 lumbia. 



Government. The State officers in 1896 were : 

 Governor. J. Gary Evans ; Lieutenant Governor, 

 W. II. Timmerman ; Secretary of State, D. H. 

 Tompkins : Treasurer. W. T. C. Bates : Attorney- 

 General, William A. Barber; Comptroller. James 

 Norton ; Superintendent of Education, W. D. May- 

 field ; Adjutant General. J. Gary Watts ; Railroad 

 Commissioners, W. D. Evans. J. C. Wilborn. H. R. 

 Thomas : Dispensary Commissioner. F. M. Mixson 

 all Reform Democrats: Chief Justice of the Su- 

 preme Court, Henry Mclver ; Associate Justices, 

 Eugene B. Gary, Ira B. Jones, and Y. J. Pope 

 Democrats. 



Finances. The Governor says in his message 

 that the State finances have never before been in as 

 good condition as now. The State debt is smaller, 

 having decreased from $11 per capita to $4. The 

 following figures are given for 1896 : Acres of land 

 returned, 18.105,122 ; value of real estate, $100.976,- 

 705 ; of personal property, $45,838,607 ; of railroad 

 property, $23,940,162 ; total taxable property, $170.- 

 755,474"; number of polls assessed, 158,824; total 



j, $2,317,889. The dispm-ary has j, ;i jd into the 



:d to towns and coui 



$122,000. The interest on the public debt 

 >( 10. 



Kilneat ion. The enrollment in the pubi 

 in 1*9(5 wa- J:'.2.:::;7. of whom 109,159 were white 

 and 123. 17* colored. The im-rea^e this year cou- 

 sin iored and 5.4oii whites. The value 

 of school building;- is s*21.:!29. an ; n , -n-a-eof nearly 

 100 per cent, since 1890. The amount available for 

 school purpose? in 1*90 was *527.*4'i : in i*<i(} jt 

 was more than xsiiO.lMK). This includes the 1-mill 

 tax imposed by the Constitution, which also provides 

 for the collection of a supplementary tax by the 

 Comptroller General and for the application of es- 

 cheated estates and the dispensary profits to this 

 fund. The length of the school term has been grad- 

 ually incre; 



The total enrollment at the Military Academy was 

 127. fewer by 19 than in 1895. Of these 67 are bene- 

 ficiaries. The estimate of maintenance for a year is 

 $20,000. 



The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and the 

 Blind requires $19,000 for a year's support and $13,- 

 520 for improvements. 



During the two years it has been in operation the 

 Winthrop Normal and Industrial College has given 

 instruction to 335 college students and 72 children 

 in the practice school. The normal department 

 graduated 22 this year, and certificates of proficiency 

 were given to 11 in stenography and typewriting 

 and to 3 in dressmaking. The estimate for main- 

 tenance one year is $33.303. To finish the new dor- 

 mitory $29.613 is required. 



The Colored Normal and Industrial College was 

 opened in October and 960 students were enrolled. 

 The accommodations are hardly sufficient for 600. 

 The buildings have cost about $11,000. The faculty 

 consists entirely of colored teachers, with Thomas 

 E. Miller as president. 



The number at the South Carolina College en- 

 rolled in 1896 was 161, of whom 157 were from 29 

 counties in the State. 2 from Virginia, and 2 from 

 North Carolina. There were 17 special students and 

 14 law students. The number of young women en- 

 rolled as students was 14 : last year there were 13. 



At Clemson Agricultural College 350 students 

 were enrolled, a smaller number than in 1895. The 

 total amount received from the privilege tax this 

 year is *49.*72.:!7. The expense charged against 

 this department is s4.5::::.*2. leaving for the college 

 from net proceeds of the privilege tax s45.340.55. 

 The other revenues are : Interest from Land Scrip 

 fund. s5.754: interest from Clemson bequesi. 

 512.36: from incidentals. S554.95 : total. x55.161.86. 



The fund received from the Government is de- 

 voted to the use of the experiment station. 



State Institutions. At the Hospital for the In- 

 sane the number of patients under treatment dur- 

 ing the year was 1.247 : the daily average wa- 

 and 856" remained at the close of the year. The 

 Legislature authorized the purchase of about 110 

 acres adjoining the hospital property, on which 

 were 4 dwellings, at a cost of $27,000. Some smal lei- 

 purchases also were made : to meet the expense x2t'.- 

 000 of bonds were sold and a part of the purchase 

 money was drawn from the maintenance fund. The 

 total expenses of the institution were x 157.100.07, 

 which exceeds the income by sl.<i5*.2o. 



The cost per capita was *107.80, lower than at any 

 other time during the past seven years ; the highest, 

 in 1891. was $133.42, The managers ask $10.000 

 for a building for colored insane men and $100,000 

 for maintenance. 



Prisoners. There were in the State Penitentiary 

 at the close of 1896 818 convicts. 172 fewer than at 

 the beginning of the year. The financial statement 



