SOUTH CAROLINA. 



737 



purchased a small steamer, and entered upon 

 the commerce, which succeeded beyond their 

 hopes. The natives were found at the ap- 

 pointed times and places, supplied witli their 

 products. The steamer would anchor off the 

 coast, trading-boats were sent ashore, and a 

 lively market was opened. They brought 

 ivory, hides, palm-oil, etc., and were found to 

 prefer in exchange Venetian glassware and 

 American cotton-shirtings. They conducted 

 their trade on very fair principles, and it was 

 soon found that their taste improved, and in 

 place of the cheap and flimsy stuffs with which 

 they were at first satisfied, they demanded a 

 better quality of goods. 



SOUTH CAROLINA. State Government. The 

 following were the State officers during the 

 year: Governor, John P. Richardson, Demo- 

 crat; Lieutenant-Governor, William L. Maul- 

 din; Secretary of State, William Z. Leitner; 

 Treasurer, Isaac S. Bamberg; Comptroller- 

 General, William E. Stoney ; Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, Joseph H. Earle ; Superintendent of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, James H. Rice ; Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, A. P. Butler ; Chief- Justice of 

 the Supreme Court, W T . D. Simpson ; Associ- 

 ates, Henry Mclver and Samuel McGowan. 



Finances. The following is a statement of the 

 State debt on Oct. 31, 1887, the close of the 

 fiscal year: Brown consuls, all valid, $5,304,- 

 936.83 ; valid green consuls, $205,953.26 ; de- 

 ficiency bonds and stocks, $420,237.91 ; Agri- 

 cultural College scrip, $191, 8<0; ante-bellum 

 and post-bellum bonds, not exchanged, esti- 

 mated, $276,814.54; total, $6,399,742.54. 

 During the year the commissioners of the sink- 

 ing fund canceled $32,517.50 of deficiency 

 bonds. The remaining deficiency bonds and 

 stocks become payable in July, 1888. The 

 apparent reduction of the debt during the 

 year is over $124,000 instead of $32,517.50, 

 owing to the fact that interest on consols, due 

 and unpaid, to and including 1878, and 

 amounting to (estimated) $91,698.65, has here- 

 tofore been exchangeable for consol bonds, and 

 was included in the debt statement. By act 

 of 1886 this interest was made payable in 

 cash. Only $24,822.58 of old ante-bellum and 

 post-bellum bonds have been exchanged for con- 

 sols at 50 per cent, during the year. Nearly 

 all the debt bears interest at 6 per cent. The 

 report of the Treasurer shows receipts during 

 the year of $995,551.18; cash on hand Oct. 

 81, 1886, $96,808.70; total, $1,092,359.88. 

 The expenditures amount to $987,974.83, leav- 

 ing a cash balance Oct. 31, 1887, of $104,385,- 

 05. The total value of taxable property, as 

 assessed for the year, is $141,074,347, a loss of 

 $5,444,623 as compared with the valuation of 

 1886. The State tax of 4 mills upon this 

 sum yields a revenue of $599,566.11. 



Education. The following statistics represent 

 the condition of the public schools for the 

 school year 1886-'87 : Number of districts, 568 ; 

 number of public schools, 3,760 ; number of 

 school-houses, 3,531 ; valuation of property, 

 VOL. xxvu. 47 A 



$360,504.63; white pupils enrolled, 82,416; 

 colored pupils enrolled, 92,601 ; average at- 

 tendance ( white) 59,824; (colored) 65,697. 

 The number of schools shows an increase of 

 100 over 1886. At the State University 183 

 pupils were enrolled during 1886-'87. The 

 appropriation for support of the institution for 

 this year was $23,000. There were 113 pupils 

 at the Military Academy. The usual appro- 

 priation for this school is $20,000. 



Charities. At the State Lunatic Asylum 

 there were 647 patients at the beginning of 

 the fiscal year, of whom 304 were males and 

 343 females. There were under treatment 

 during the year 894 people, and at its close, 

 October 31, there remained 649. The cost of 

 maintenance during the year was $94,142.24, 

 and $4,251.71 was expended for repairs. The 

 Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, at 

 Cedar Springs, enrolled 96 pupils during the 

 year, and supported them at an average cost 

 of $152 per capita. 



Penitentiary. The prison officials report that 

 the total number of convicts has increased 

 from 985 at the beginning to 1,006 at the 

 close of the fiscal year. Of these 78 are white 

 males, 2 white females, 876 colored males, and 

 50 colored females. Some of these are leased 

 to individuals outside the prison, some work 

 under contract within the prison, and others 

 are employed on the State farms. The in- 

 come from their labor during the year has 

 made the prison more than self-sustaining. 



State Capitol. Various appropriations for the 

 completion of this building have been made to 

 the amount of $211,600, of which $196,578.97 

 has already been expended. The stone work 

 and roofing of the two wings is finished ac- 

 cording to the original design, and the two 

 halls of legislation are ready for use. 



State Canal. No progress was made upon 

 this enterprise during the year, owing to the 

 failure of the Legislature of 1886 to provide an 

 appropriation. The sum of $130,705.68 has 

 already been expended, $53,130.71 in cash 

 and $77,574.97 in the labor of convicts. 

 More than $160,000 additional will be needed. 

 The work tlius far has been paid for in cash 

 out of the surplus earnings of the Penitentiary 

 or is the result of the labor of the prisoners. 



Forfeited Lands. On this subject the Governor 

 says in his message : " There were on the for- 

 feited land list, at the end of the fiscal year 

 1886, 954,237 acres. During the present fiscal 

 year new forfeitures have been incurred, which 

 amount to 100,045 acres, the whole amounting 

 to 1,054,282 acres. During the present fiscal 

 year 45,298 acres of land have been sold or re- 

 deemed, and 94,131 acres have been stricken 

 from the forfeited list as erroneous entries, and 

 still there remains on this list a net acreage of 

 914,853 acres." 



Legislative Session. The Legislature met on 

 November 22, and adjourned December 23, 

 having passed 236 acts and 32 joint resolutions. 

 More than two thirds of these are private 



