636 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



the acquisition of land by the landless, and that it can 

 be rendered legally practicable by providing that the 

 decree of sale, in each case, shall declare that only 

 so much of the debtor's land, or the subdivisions 

 thereof, shall be sold as may be necessary to satisfy 

 the judgment. 



6. That all due-bills given by planters to laborers 

 shall specify in terms the special consideration for 

 which the same shall have been given, and shall be 

 transferable, at the option of the holder, and shall 

 operate as a lien upon the crop and land whenever 

 such due-bill is given, in lieu of payment for agricul- 

 tural labor. 



7. That nine hours shall be a lawful day's work for 

 all mechanics and laborers engaged in manufactures 

 or in any business requiring skilled labor. 



8. Abolish all taxes on sales of cotton and rice, by 

 either State or municipal authorities. 



Your memorialists are satisfied that the enactment 

 of the laws herein prayed for will be of vast benefit to 

 the agricultural laborers, and will greatly tend to ad- 

 vance the industrial reconstruction of the entire State. 



This action on the part of the laboring-class 

 was not without its effect;, for a bill was 

 promptly introduced into the House, with fair 

 prospects of becoming a law, embodying the 

 main points of the memorial. 



The total receipts into the Treasury during 

 the fiscal year ending October 31, 1869, were 

 $2,084,911.44; the total expenditures amount- 

 ed to $2,099,345.44, of which the sum of 

 $995,973.24 was paid on account of floating 

 debts, and expenses incurred prior to the 

 beginning of the fiscal year, thus reducing the 

 actual cost of the State government for this 

 year to $1,103,372.20. Deducting from this 

 sum the amount of disbursements ($69,119.80) 

 made in fitting up the new State-house, and 

 in taking the census, there remains as the 

 ordinary current expenses of the State govern- 

 ment for the year the sum of $1,034,252.40. 

 The balance remaining in the Treasury at the 

 end of the fiscal year was $11,851.07. The 

 funded debt of the State is $6,183,349.17, bear- 

 ing an annual interest of $338,693.86. Of this 

 debt, the sum of $304,443.89 falls due in June 

 of 1870. The total amount of assets held by the 

 State is $2,754,660. The taxes paid into the 

 State Treasury during the fiscal year amounted 

 to $1,028,696.98; in addition to which there 

 was paid into the Federal Treasury, for the in- 

 ternal revenue, the sum of $2,622,690.68. 



The Land Commission, established in 1868 

 by the Legislature for the purpose of purchas- 

 ing lands to be sold in small parcels, on favora- 

 ble terms, to meet the wants of purchasers of 

 limited means, has been productive of much 

 good to the State. Forty-five thousand acres 

 of land have already been purchased in the 

 several counties, which is now in process of 

 survey and division into tracts of a size adapt- 

 ed to the means of purchasers. The following 

 table shows the extent and nature of the lands 

 of the State and their valuation : 



Arable or plough lands.... 

 Meadow and pasture lands 

 "Wood, uncultivated, and 

 marsh-lands 11,975,412 



No. of acres. 



2,490,445 

 2,019,105 



Value. 



$23,670,756 

 7,302,275 



42,389,023 



Total.., 



16,434,962 $173,362,05i 



The importance of improving the extensive 

 tracts of swamp-lands by a thorough system of 

 drainage is attracting the attention of thought- 

 ful men in the State. These lands are chiefly 

 . situated along the coast, and in their present 

 condition are not only unproductive and 

 worthless, but, by their pestilential exhala- 

 tions, render the adjacent territory uninhabit- 

 able for a considerable portion of the year. 

 Yet, on account of the great fertility of the 

 soil and the mildness of the climate, their im- 

 provement and tillage would contribute largely 

 to the agricultural products of the State, and 

 render this extensive region a favorite one for 

 habitation. The great value of this improve- 

 ment has been called to the attention of the 

 Legislature by Governor Scott in his last an- 

 nual message to that body. 



The public schools of South Carolina are 

 not so well attended as they should be. There 

 are 168,819 children in the State between the 

 ages of 5 and 18 years, of whom 68,108 are 

 white and 100,711 colored. Yet, of this aggre- 

 gate number, only 16,418 (8,255 white and 

 8,163 colored) attend the public schools. The 

 whole number of public school^ in the State 

 is 381, in which 478 white and 50 colored 

 teachers are employed. Of the white teachers, 

 405 are from the Southern States and 73 from 

 the Northern ; of the colored teachers, 44 are 

 males and 6 females. Of the whole number, 

 of teachers, 255 are males and 273 females. 



The Lunatic Asylum is reported to be in a 

 favorable condition. Additional accommoda- 

 tions are needed to meet the wants of appli- 

 cants. The establishment of a separate insti- 

 tution for idiots and imbeciles is recommended, 

 as their condition requires a different treat- 

 ment from that of lunatics. The number of 

 patients under treatment in the asylum during 

 the year was 298, of whom 64 were discharged, 

 leaving 234 in the asylum at the end of the 

 year. Of the 64 discharged, 47 had been en- 

 tirely cured. The number admitted during 

 the year was 94, of whom 48 were males and 

 46 females. Of the total number admitted, 

 67 were cases of more than one year's stand- 

 ing, and were regarded as chronic ; 13 were 

 idiots or imbeciles, and 14 were epileptic. 

 Prior to the close of the war the number of 

 colored patients did not exceed 5 in any year ; 

 while during the past year the number admit- 

 ted was 29. The receipts into the Treasury 

 during the year amounted to $48,244.65, and 

 the expenditures were $48,399.56. 



The highest number of convicts in the pen r 

 itentiary in 1869 was 506, of whom 301 were 

 received during the year. The number dis- 

 charged during the year on expiration of sen- 

 tence was 51; 8 died; 16 escaped, and 136 

 were pardoned ; leaving 295 in confinement at 

 the end of the year. The number of pardons 

 granted is unusually large ; but in most cases 

 they were granted a few days before the ex- 

 piration of the sentences, in order to preserve 

 the civil rights of those pardoned. The ex- 



