MESSAGE
OP
HIS EXCELLENCY JAMES H. ADAMS
TO THE
LEGrlSLATUBE OE SOUTH CAROLINA,
AT ITS SESSION IN 1855.
COLUMBIA, S. C.:
R. W. GIBBES, PRINTER TO THE SENATE.
1855.
MESSAGE
or
HIS EXCELLENCY JAIES H. ADAIS
TO T HH
LEGISLATURE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
AT ITS SESSION IN 1855.
COLUMBIA, S. C.:
R. W. GIBBES, PRINTER TO THE SENATE.
1855.
MESSAGE NO. 1.
Executive Department, November 27, 1855.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
You have resumed the discharge of your constitutional duties under the
most encouraging circumstances. The pecuniary pressure which, at the
beginning of the year, bore so heavily upon all classes of society, has hap-
pily passed off without its anticipated disasters. Commerce continues to
prosper and widen her domain ; Agriculture rejoices over full harvests; and
Labor of every description feels the stimulus of remunerating prices. The
year has been one of unexampled health, and our people, in quiet and secu-
rity, have successfully devoted themselves to their various vocations. Repre-
senting a Commonwealth thus blessed, you will unite with me in offering to
the Giver of all Good the homage of grateful hearts, and devoutly suppli-
eating a continuance of His favors. '
In the discharge of the duty imposed on me by the Constitution, I shall
recommend to your consideration various measures which I think important
to the public weal. Your intelligence will enable you to select, and your
patriotism will prompt you to adopt, such of them as will advance the in-
terests and promote the general prosperity of our common constituents. The
public good, especially committed to your keeping, cannot, in my judgment,
be more certainly attained than by a steady adherence to the long-settled
policy of the State. New enactments, and modifications of existing laws,
are sometimes required to suit the varying circumstances of our condition ;
but legislation which seeks to break down the forms and usages to which a
people have long been accustomed, should not be resorted to except under
the exacting pressure of necessity. The people of South Carolina have great
reason to rest content with their Constitution as it stands. It is far better
that its immaterial defects should be borne, than that we should begin the
hazardous work of constitutional reform. All of the old States of the Con-
federacy, except our own, have at different times made fundamental changes
in their Constitutions. These changes may have served for the moment to
captivate the populace ; but I have not been able to discover that those for
whose especial benefit they were introduced have been distinguished by a
higher elevation of sentiment, or been rewarded with greater prosperity than
our own people, who still cling with confidence to their old forms, and gather
hope for the future from the encouraging recollections of the past. Continue,
4
then, by your example and policy, to teach your constituents not to lean on
government, but to rely on their own energies to work out their destiny. A
people thus trained will be more jealous of their rights, and when assailed,
will stand up more manfully in their defence, than if their minds are be-
wildered and their time wasted in fruitless efforts to better their condition
by periodical changes in their organic law. The proclivities of the age are,
to my mind, ominous of any thing but good to the cause of true progress.
In certain sections of the country, doctrines have been avowed and scenes
enacted which, in the better days of the Republic, would have consigned
their authors to lasting infamy and execration. The advocates of a " higher
law " Sit in high places; fanaticism rules triumphant in the land of Hancock
and Otis; and mobs and riots are so common that the misguided masses are
fast acquiring a taste for blood. In view of the hideous phases which
Radicalism has elsewhere assumed, and the bitter fruits of its triumphs,
Conservatism may confidently appeal to the patriotism of the reformers of a
milder latitude to postpone their labors to a more auspicious period. There
is wisdom and safety in the injunction of Holy Writ: " Prove all things;
hold fast that which is good." I commend to you the preservation of our
Constitution in all its integrity. It has served us, and we owe it to our-
selves to transmit it intact to our posterity.
First in order, and highest in importance, I invite your especial attention
to the financial condition of the State. The right to tax your constituents—
the most responsible and delicate of all your trust—cannot be wisely exer-
cised without constantly keeping in view the amount of our obligations, and
properly estimating the resources with which they are to be met. How far
it may be prudent to increase our indebtedness, and in so doing create, at
no distant day, a necessity for increased taxation, it will be for you to de-
termine. Our people are patriotic, and, I am satisfied, would make as heavy
sacrifices as any people to preserve inviolate the public faith; but it must be
borne in mind that they cultivate exhausted lands, and they will form an
exception to the rest of their countrymen, if, with the prospect of onerous
taxation before them, they do not emigrate to more favored regions, where,
if they have high taxes to pay, they will have rich harvests on which the
contribution would be levied.
The following statement exhibits the public debt of the State, as it appears
on the books of the Loan Office, on the 30th day of September, 1855 :
5
When contracted.
December, 1794,
1838.
1839,
June, 1838,
1838,
December, 1853,
1854,
Amount out-
standing.
$103,674 34
36,473 43
1,011 11
768,219 56
927,777 79
250,000 00
200,000 00
2,287,156 23
When due.
Rate of inter-
est.
Amount of an-
nual interest.
At will of State
January, 1859
January, 1852.....,.,
Half in 1860 and 1870..
1858 and 1868
January, 1871
1875
3 per cent,
5 per cent
6 per cent
6 per cent
5 per cent
6 per cent
$3,110 23
1,823 67
60 66
46,083 17
46,388 88
15,000 00
12,000 00
124,476 61
To the above sum of $2,287,156.23 must be added $800,000, the amount
of State subscription yet to be called for to the Blue Ridge Railroad Com-
pany. This will give us, in principal, $3,087,156.23, and an annual interest
of $172,476.61. If to this is added the sum of $1,000,000, the amount of
bonds of said Company to be endorsed by the State, bearing seven per cent,
interest, the entire debt of the State may be set down at $4,087,156.23,
with an annual interest of $242,476.61. "When this sum is increased, as it
most probably will be, by another million for the completion of the State
Capitol, the whole debt will be $5,087,156.23, with an annual interest of
$302,476.61.
As the gross profits of the Bank for the last year were only $273,050.92,
it is apparent that unless these are largely increased for the future, a large
portion of this interest must fall on the State Treasury, and be met by an
increase of our annual taxes. In view of this exhibit, I think it must be
admitted that we have made sufficient progress in the way of getting into
debt to justify at least a temporary pause. You will certainly not offend the
tax-paying portion of your constituents by declining to embark in any new
projects requiring new loans to any considerable amount.
In enumerating the items of the public debt, I have omitted $1,051,420.09,
the amount of surplus fund deposited by act of Congress, because I have no
apprehension that the State will ever be called upon to pay it. The public
debt, so far as it respects the payment of the interest, is divided into three
classes:
1. That, the interest of which is chargeable upon the Bank. This consists
of the 5 and 6 per cents, of 1838.
2. That portion of the debt the interest of which is chargeable on the
sinking fund. It consists of the 3 per cents of 1794, and the 5 per cents of
1838, redeemable in 1859.
3. The new debt, the interest on which is payable out of the current fund
of the Treasury, viz : the bonds issued to provide for the erection of the new
State Capitol. The amount issued is $250,000; interest $15,000. The
bonds issued to provide for the payment of the State subscription to the Blue
e
Ridge Railroad Company. Bonds to the amount of $200,000 have already
"been issued, the interest on which will be $12,000. There must he during
the ensuing year a further issue of bonds to provide the means for carrying
on both these works.
The resources of the State to meet the public debt consist of stock in her
various railroads, and the surplus assets of the Bank. The nominal value of
those stocks is $1,542,300; their present value in market is $771,150.
The surplus means of the State in the Bank over its liabilities, is
$3,912,322.64.
On reference to the report of the Comptroller General it appears that the
payments for the year 1855 Were $651,692.93, and the receipts at the Trea-
sury were $440,142.89.
My predecessor called your attention to the claim of Mr. Anthony Hyde
for commissions as agent of the State for claims on account of losses in the
Florida war; but on reference to your journals I find that no action was had
on the subject. Shortly after your adjournment, Mr. Hyde urged on me the
payment of his claim. Upon examining the papers in my department, I
found that the late Governor Seabrook had appointed Mr. Hyde agent of the
State, with a stipulation on the face of the power of attorney that Mr. Hyde
was to receive as his compensation five per cent, on all sums collected. Out
of the $1,583 to the credit of the State at the United States Treasury, I
have paid him his compensation at the rate of five per cent., and a small
charge for copying, in all $978.45. Mr. Hyde thinks he is entitled to five
per cent, more for his services. How much equity there is in his claim you
will be enabled to determine by an examination of the papers and corres-
pondence which are herewith transmitted. The balance after deducting brok-
erage, amounting to $600.59, together with $17,786.05 previously received,
I have deposited with the Treasurer of the Upper Division.
A Report from the Commissioners of the New State Capitol will be found
among the documents accompanying this message. In accordance with
your instructions they have changed the site of the building, and modified
their plans so as to remedy the defects in their former structure. The walls
for the foundation have risen above the surface of the ground, and as more
than one hundred and forty laborers are employed on the work, its further
progress will be rapid and gratifying. It appears to me, though pretending
to no skill in such matters, that the new masonry is very much superior to
the old. The large regular hammered stone, arranged in horizontal layers
of equal thickness, gives it a solid and substantial appearance, which forbids
any fear of a catastrophe such as befel the former structure. The bonds of
the State issued for this building have all been disposed of, and of their
proceeds only enough remains on hand to meet the wants of the present
year. Although the finances of the State demand the strictest eebnomy and
7
the most careful husbandry of our resources, as the Capitol has been begun
by your authority, and is much needed by the State, I would suggest liberal
appropriations for its progress and completion. There is no propriety in
protracting the work for six or eight years, when it may be finished in three
or four. The longer the time of building this structure, the greater will be
the expense to the State, so that true economy will recommend its speedy
completion.
The South Carolina College is in a more flourishing condition than it has
ever been since its establishment. Its administration is able and faithful,
and I am assured that the spirit of study has never been more general, nor
the bearing of the students more manly. It is objected by some to the insti-
tution that its advantages are confined to a particular class, and calculations
have been made to show at what cost to the State these advantages have
been enjoyed. I respectfully submit that its benefits are not to be estimated
by the standard of dollars and cents. If its founders had made it a question
of arithmetic, it would never have been established. And if it is to be
judged by that standard, then perhaps it may be said to have failed. But if
the spread of knowledge and a thirst for its acquisition—if the development
and expansion of intellect—if pure morality, manly sentiment, refined taste,
and elevated thought—if these are riches to a people, then has the Institu-
tion been a mine of wealth to the State—thus fully justifying the liberal
policy which has always sustained it.
It is greatly to be regretted that President Thornwell's determination to
withdraw from its government remains unchanged. I regard his retirement
a public loss. He has discharged the arduous trust with unequalled ability
and success, and in thus officially noticing his resignation, I feel that 1 pay
but a merited tribute to uncommon worth and rare endowment.
On the 26th of January, that portion of the College buildings known as
the East Wing and Centre Building of Rutledge College was totally destroyed
by fire. The West Wing was saved, but in such a damaged condition as to
render its continued occupancy extremely uncomfortable, if not positively
dangerous. The inconveniences to which the College was subjected by this
disaster were so great, and the demand for the reconstruction of the buildings
so urgent, that a special meeting of the Board of Trustees was called, in the
hope that some scheme might be suggested, by which the buildings could be
replaced without waiting for a special appropriation from the Legislature.
The evils to be apprehended from delay were numerous aqd grave. It would
have kept the College for two full sessions in a condition altogether unfit for
the accommodation of students ; applicants would have been deterred from
entering, or if they had been disposed to come, could not have been received.
The students now in attendance would have been crowded together for a
year longer, exposed to the temptations to idleness and dissipation, which
8
such a state of things naturally engenders. The College at the time of the fire
was in a condition of growing prosperity, and if it had been allowed to receive
a shock, which would have been the case had no interest been manifested in
its reparation, the consequences might have been permanently disastrous.
The Board was so sensible of these evils, that it resolved to rebuild at once,
and to pledge, as far as it was competent to do so, the faith of the Legislature.
The case seemed too plain to admit of doubt. The Legislature could not
suffer the College to lie in ruins. Besides, there was some apparent claim
upon the State. By an Act of 1819, the Comptroller General was required
annually to insure the College Buildings against fire. With the exception of
two or three years, this Act' was regularly executed until 1841, when the
Legislature declined making the usual appropriation, on the ground, it was
understood, that the State ought to be its own insurer. As then the Legis-
lature had assumed, in some sort, the responsibility of an insurer, it was
hoped that this would be an additional inducement for repairing the losses
occasioned by an accidental fire. Confidently anticipating the friendly in-
terposition of the State, the Board appointed a committee to make a contract
upon the faith of an appropriation from the present Legislature. But the
Committee found it impossible to execute their trust. No mechanic would
undertake the work. With the deliberate opinion of such a body as the
Board of Trustees before me, I did not scruple to regard this as an emer-
gency in which the public interest demanded whatever appropriation could
be made from the contingent fund, without prejudice to the customary drafts
upon it. The assistance which I was able to render, enabled the Committee
to make a contract upon very favorable terms, and the work has been com-
pleted within a shorter period than was thought possible. The College ap-
pears in renovated beauty, and the tide of its prosperity has had no ebb.
The entire cost of the new building is 22,802 00. Of this sum I have
advanced out of the contingent fund 815,000. An appropriation of 87,802
will be necessary to fulfil the obligation of the Board with the contractor, Mr.
Cownover. I have paid for ordinary drafts on the contingent fund,
84,020 54. There are certain rewards offered for the apprehension of fugi-
tives from justice, by myself and predecessors, which may hereafter consti-
tute a claim on this fund.
The Military Academies are most successfully conducted, and continue
steadily to grow in public estimation. Though but of a few years' standing,
their fruits are already felt in every district of the State, and under your
fostering care, the harvest in time will be rich and abundant. They will be
found to be stronger safeguards than forts and fortifications. The indigent
young man, who finds himself thus generously trained by his State for the
duties of life, can never forget that he has a State to live for—he will always
feel that she has a claim upon him, and, in the hour of her trial, will regard
9
no sacrifice too dear in defence of her institutions. Wise policy dictates
that their capacity for good should be enlarged to the extent of our means.
Too mttch praise cannot be awarded to General James Jones, Chairman of
the Board of Visitors, for the unselfish devotion with which he watches over
and guards their interests. He has just reason to be proud of the success
which has crowned his efforts, and the State may congratulate herself that
the experiment was intrusted to the guidance of one so highly qualified for
the task.
With but few exceptions, I have reviewed the regiments of the first and
fifth military divisions of the State, and the regiments of Charleston and
Laurens Districts. I was gratified with the military spirit evinced, and the
knowledge of tactics which has been generally acquired. The Adjutant and
Inspector General I found always at his post, and it affords me much plea-
sure to testify to his zeal and efficiency in the discharge of his duty. It is
not necessary that I should urge upon you the importance of keeping up our
present militia system. Our peculiar condition, and the dangers to which
we are exposed both from within and without, should preclude the thought
of abandoning it. It is not desirable, nor is it practicable, to make regular
soldiers of our citizens, but it is important to teach them at least the rudi-
ments of that science upon which every people must rely for security and
defence. The muster-field, like the school-house, has its lessons. It incul-
cates the duty of obedience, the virtue of courage, and the sentiment of
patriotism; and without these elements, the standard of character can never
be high.
The Free School system will receive at your hands that consideration which
its importance demands. Its results have fallen so far short of its object,
that it may be pronounced a failure. Its defects have been long felt, and yet
nothing has been done except to double the sum of money to be wasted under
a bad ssystem. It requires thorough and entire reformation. It is unfortu-
nate that the end which was evidently contemplated by the act of 1811 has
been abandoned, and that what was intended to introduce gradually a general
system of common schools has been perverted to the exclusive education of
paupers. In my judgment, we should return to the policy of 1811, and
seek to inaugurate a system which, in its ultimate development, should bring
the means of education within the reach of every family in the State. A
perfect scheme cannot be matured at once. It is easy to devise a beautiful
and consistent plan, as a thing of speculation; but it could not so readily be
put into operation—partly from want of means, partly from lack of interest
in the benefits of instruction, and especially from the impossibility of procu-
ring competent teachers. Our incipient measures should look to the double
end of creating a popular demand for education, and of furnishing instructors
able to supply it. Normal schools, as being too exclusively professional, are
10
unsuited to the former purpose, and until that is accomplished, nothing is
gained by the preparation of teachers. It seems to me that in conformity
with the principle that knowledge descends, and that the supply creates the
demand, the first step should be to establish a high school in each district in
the State, in which pupils could be prepared for business or the university,
and from which a certain number of indigent young men of industry and
promise should be sent to college at the expense of the State, upon the con-
dition of devoting themselves to the office of teaching for a specified period
after their graduation. The next step should be to institute, as teachers and
pupils could be obtained, inferior schools in every portion of the land, until
the means of instruction are made accessible to all. The high schools, as a
preliminary measure, would be a real and efficient provision for popular in-
struction. Light cannot be confined. " A city set on an hill cannot be hid."
Intelligence is essentially diffusive, and whatever increases learning in one
portion of the community, elevates the standard of thought in all. The
high schools would at once create a demand for the inferior, and furnish the
means of providing them with teachers.
If the State, however, should decline to embark in a general system, and
should continue to restrict its appropriation to the indigent, the principle
which at present regulates the distribution of the fund should certainly be
changed. By our public policy, education is denied to one-half of our popu-
lation. The other half, who constitute our political vitality, are unequally
distributed over the State; and it is this portion of our population whom it
is our duty and our policy to educate. The distribution should be in pro-
portion to white population. If the State undertakes to raise a fund to
educate the poor, it should be spent where it is most needed. Under the
present method, no more money is allowed in one section for the education
of five or six hundred children, than in another for ten or a dozen. In a
matter of such vital importance to the State, district and parish lines should
be disregarded. Whether we live in the mountains or on the sea-board, in
the midst of light or surrounded by ignorance, we are all equally interested
in the noble work) and into whatever benighted part of the State the rays
of knowledge can be made to penetrate, we should feel as citizens of the
same State, enjoying one renown, and linked to one destiny, that the partial
blessing is the general good. If the rich do pay largely to the support of
government, they enjoy large protection, and they will consult true policy
by contributing liberally to the cause of education, where suffrage is universal
and government rests directly on the public will. Superficial knowledge is
better than no knowledge, for, after all, the truths that regulate the relations
of life are plain, and lie near the surface. An ignorant people may pas-
sively enjoy liberty, but they cannot feel its inspiration, and will bring no
sacrifice to its altar.
11
I will not on such an occasion enlarge on the necessity and Importance of
public instruction. All civilized governments recognise the duty, and labor
to meet its requirements. The subject addresses itself with peculiar force to
a slaveholding community. The world owes its civilization to slavery. It
exists with us in its most desirable and enduring form. "It is the corner
stone of our republican edifice," and its strongest defence will be found in
the education of those entrusted with its preservation.
It is, however, impossible that the present system, or any other, can be
made to work well without a responsible head. There must be unity and
energy. Allow me to urge upon you, as has often been done, the necessity
of appointing a Superintendent of Public Instruction. Select a man suitable
for the work. Pay him liberally. Cheap officers usually render cheap ser-
vice. Make it his first duty to visit every neighborhood in the State, and
ascertain where schools are needed—where school houses may be conve-
niently located—where, owing to sparseness of population, they cannot—
where those who are able to educate will unite with the State in the estab-
lishment of Academies. In a word, do as has been done elsewhere—have a
survey of the field of ignorance, and with the map before you, decide on
your system. Make at least this effort, and if it results in nothing—if in
consequence of insurmountable difficulties in our condition, no improvement
can be made on the present system, and the poor of the land are hopelessly
doomed to ignorance, poverty, and crime, you will at least feel conscious of
having done your duty, and the public anxiety on the subject will be quieted.
The Lunatic Asylum is well managed, and successfully performs its mission
of mercy and humanity. I feel relieved from the necessity of making any
special recommendation in relation to it, as committees were appointed at
your last session to examine its condition and report "on its necessities. After
a comparison of its results with other institutions, and a careful inspection of
its interior condition, I cannot withhold the expression of my belief that it
is an institution "more sinned against than sinning."
Not less humane in its object, than the care and treatment of lunatics, is
the instruction of the deaf, dumb, and blind. The State recognises her
obligation to provide for this unfortunate class of her citizens, and has
always generously responded to the appeals which have been made in their
behalf. For many years a sum was annually appropriated for the mainte-
nance and education of her poor mutes in Northern Institutions. Parents
generally were averse to sending their children abroad, and few availed them-
selves of the opportunity thus afforded. In 1849, Mr. N. P. Walker was
induced by various considerations to establish a school for their education at
Cedar Springs, within our own State. The motive that prompted the effort
was praiseworthy in the highest degree. His success, considering the diffi-
culties he had to encounter, has been remarkable, but his means arfe limited
12
and wholly inadequate to meet the increasing demands of the institution. I
recommend to you the propriety of authorizing the commissioners of the deaf,
dumb, and blind, to purchase the establishment, and to place upon it such
additional conveniences and buildings as will make it efficient for the number
of inmates who are likely to occupy the same, and to lease it to Mr. Walker
or some other suitable teacher, or to make some other arrangement which
they may deem the best, for the support and education of the inmates.
In this way the State may gradually and economically build up an estab-
ishment of her own, equal to the wants of these objects of her sympathy.
As part of the same scheme, I also recommend that the same commis-
sioners be authorized to provide for the reception and education of idiots.
Until recent years, no effort has been made to relieve this most miserable and
pitiable class of human sufferers, because their condition has always been
regarded as utterly beyond the reach of human benevolence. Modern philan-
thropy, which has achieved such wonderful triumphs in the case of the mute,
has at last conquered the misery of the poor, neglected, loathed idiot. It
has been demonstrated by actual result that the idiot has "some latent germ
of intellect," and is capable, under patient culture, of being rendered com-
paratively useful, comfortable and happy. Of the deplorable condition of
these unfortunate creatures, it would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that
they are little better cared for, " than the beasts which perish." What joy
will it not impart to parents, whose homes are afflicted with the presence of
the idiot child, to learn that a place has been provided to which he might be
removed, and as light is gradually let in upon his dark soul, what blessings
will they not invoke on the State that thus mercifully dispenses its charity.
An interchange of opinion with several of our Judges and distinguished
lawyers, has induced me, though not a member of the legal profession, to
bring to your consideration the propriety of making a systematic revision of
the statutes of the State. I rely with great confidence on the judgment of
those who have made the law the study of their lives, and I trust I shall
not be regarded as travelling beyond the sphere of my duty in urging upon
you a matter that so deeply concerns every member of the commonwealth.
I will not go into a statement of the many considerations which to my mind
render such a work desirable, and I might add necessary, in the opinion both
of the Bench and Bar of the State.
During the short sessions of our Legislature, and in the ordinary course of
our legislative proceedings, it is vain to expect that any thorough amendment
of the law upon even a few subjects, can be effected. If the subject shall
appear to your honorable bodies worthy of attention, I beg leave to recom-
mend, that commissioners of diligence and ability shall be charged with the
duty of reporting to the Legislature for its consideration the general elemen-
tary provisions for a revised code of statute law, and some or all of the parts
13
of such a code. A mere compilation of statute law, as it exists, would
necessarily be insufficient and unworthy of great effort; but, if commission-
ers, entrusted with the necessary powers, should be required to report the
nature and reasons of all the changes they might suggest, they would be
able to devise a general scheme, to which all the parts could be conformed;
and their remembrance of the legislative sanction, which must precede the
validity of their suggestions, would restrain sufficiently any disposition on
their part to extravagant innovation.
I concur ^in the recommendation of my predecessor as to the propriety of
repealing opr usury laws. These laws originated in ignorance and prejudice,
and, like all government restrictions on trade, are inconsistent with the
enlightened policy of the age. They check honest industry, and evaded, as
they constantly are, afford inadequate protection to those for whom they were
enacted. Unprincipled men occasionally set up the plea to avoid their obli-
gations, but the unfortunate, or the unwary, rarely have the fortitude to face
the public disapprobation with which such efforts are most generally visited.
Bestriction on the use of money often deprives industrious men of the means
of extricating themselves from embarrassment, and precipitates the ruin
which timely aid might have arrested. It hastens, never keeps off, the levy
of the sheriff, when hoarded capital, true to its instincts, reaps profits which
legalized usury would never exact. The trade in money should be as free as
the trade in any other commodity. The metal dug out of the earth does
not lose its original character by the stamp of government. To the miner it
is as much the product of his labor as cotton is to the planter. There is as
good reason for government to undertake to fix the value of the one as of
the other. Both are exchangeable commodities, and their price should be
left to be regulated by the law of supply and demand. By virtue of char-
ters, associated capital is permitted to realize eight, ten, and even a larger
per centage. Why should individual capital be restricted, under a penalty,
to seven per cent ? If it be a question of morals, it is difficult to compre-
hend the code which in the one case stigmatizes the individual who seeks
ten per cent, for the use of his capital, as an usurer, and in the other at-
tempts to dignify the same practice by calling it dealing in exchanges. Com-
petition in money, as in everything else, must operate beneficially to the
public at large. These laws have been abolished in the country from which
we borrowed them, and I think the example worthy of imitation.
I recommend an alteration of our enclosure laws, as a measure demanded
by our interest and necessities as an agricultural people. When timber was
abundant, and but little of our soil brought into cultivation, these laws may
have been proper, but the total change which has taken place in our eondi-
tion, brings along with it a necessity for a corresponding change of our policy.
The system should now be reversed, and instead of compelling the cultivator
14
ef the soil to fence in his crop, the owner should be required to enclose his
stock. Tillage is our great interest, and should no longer be subjected to a
tax so onerous and unnecessary. It is vastly cheaper to fence our stock than
our crops. The time and timber annually consumed in building and repair-
ing fences, (which fairly estimated would amount to an enormous sum,) is so
much capital literally sunk, with no return whatever. The products of the
soil will mature as well without as with fences, and the law should protect
them from the depredation of the stock of the country. We are not a stock
raising people, and if we were, our present method is the worst possible plan
that could be pursued, to accomplish the object. A change of our policy is
desirable, considered simply in reference to its effects upon stock. Their
value would be greatly enhanced, for animals, like human beings, thrive in
proportion to the care bestowed upon them. I hazard little in saying that in
five years, under the better treatment they would receive, the entire stock of
the State would bring more money in market than they would at this
moment, while in the meantime their value as a means of enriching our
impoverished lands would be increased to an extent almost inconceivable.
On the other hand, it is difficult to estimate the advantages that would result
from the proposed change. A stop would be put to the annual custom of
burning our forests for pasturage—-a practice dangerous in itself and injuri-
ous both to soil and timber. Liability to accidents on our railroads would
be lessened, and our courts would be rid of the petty, and, I fear, demoral-
izing litigation growing out of the killing of stock by these roads. The
land now taken up by fences,—and it is rich, and embraces thousands of
acres over the State, would be at once brought into cultivation. The time
now wasted in the construction and repair of fences would be devoted to the
improvement of our farms. The timber that is left in our forests would
become money to our people. Such a law would infringe upon no man's
right, nor deprive him of a single privilege to which he is properly entitled.
It would impart new life to agriculture, give a new direction to its efforts,
and add largely to the aggregate wealth of the State. I know that there are
portions of the State that do not, and perhaps may never feel the necessity
for this change of our policy, but is it wise or just that the great permanent
interest of the State should be sacrificed in mere deference to the mistaken
and erroneous notions of our people on the subject of stock raising and its
supposed privileges ?
An application will be made to you for aid, by the State Agricultural So-
ciety. The Legislature has wisely contributed to the Medical Association and
the Mechanics' Institute. The basis of the organization of this society affords
reasonable ground to hope that it will be permanent; and I am sure you
cannot hesitate to give substantial encouragement to an interest which is the
great souree of wealth, and which, without murmuring pays two-thirds of our
IS
annual taxes. I recommend that the sum of five thousand dollars he annu-
ally contributed to this society so long as it continues to exist.
The administration of our laws in relation to our colored population by our
courts of magistrates and free holders, as these courts are at present consti-
tuted, calls loudly for reform. Their decisions are rarely in conformity with
justice or humanity. I have felt constrained, in a majority of the cases
brought to my notice, either to modify the sentence, or to set it aside alto-
gether. I recommend, in all cases involving life, that the trial of slaves and
free persons of color be held at the court house of the district in which the
offence is committed—that the clerk, ordinary, and sheriff of the district
constitute a court to try such cases, and that while thus employed they be
allowed the usual per diem. These officers enjoy the confidence of the com-
munity, and would be free from neighborhood prejudice, which too often
stands in the way of impartial justice. The decisions of such a tribunal
would give satisfaction to the public, and afford ample protection to the
master. It would be a court always at hand, and would possess the requisite
intelligence and humanity, qualities indispensible in those armed with the
power to pass upon the life and death of a human being, whatever be his
condition or complexion. Should you deem it proper to associate free
holders, then it might be the duty of these officers to name six, from whom
the defendant should have the right to select three. Unanimity should be
required in the verdict. However you may regard these suggestions, I bring
the matter to your notice, under the strong conviction that reform is
necessary.
The legislation of the State in relation to colored seamen has long been a
matter of complaint and remonstrance on the part of foreign nations. So
strong, indeed, has been the opposition to our laws on the subject, that , at
one time formal proceedings were instituted by the British Government to
test their validity. That attempt to coerce the State into a relaxation of a
policy deemed to be unauthorized and unnecessarily stringent, was soon
found to be an ill-advised movement, and the proceedings were abnadoned as
formally as they were instituted. The right of the State to enforce, within
her limits, such police laws as she may deem essential to the public safety,
is a right which South Carolina will never submit to the arbitrament of any
tribunal on earth. She does not hold the right by virtue of written parch-
ments, and she recognises no restraint in its exercise but such as is im-
posed by her own sense of justice and propriety. So long as this right was
questioned, and any disposition manifested to interfere with its exercise,
South Carolina resolutely maintained her ground; and both the principle
and the law stand fully vindicated in the public estimation. Now that the
subject is free from the embarrassment which the proceedings referred to
threw around it, and our right to pass the law is no longer disputed, I trust
16
that the public mind is prepared to consider the question calmly and dis-
passionately. It is not necessary that I should recur to the circumstances
out of which this law originated, nor remind you of the very great change
which has taken place both in our ability and facility to meet the very emer-
gency against which the law was intended to guard. However much it may
have been demanded by prudence, or justified by necessity, I do not think
that our safety requires a law of such unrelenting and indiscriminate se-
verity, and I have no idea that our cherished institution would be endan-
gered by its modification. If the object of the law is to prevent the intro-
duction of an incendiary element among us, then it would not be difficult to
show that in its practical operation it furnishes an easy means for its creation
and development.
As the law now stands, colored seamen who may visit our ports, either in
the pursuit of their lawful vocations, or to be driven into them by stress of
weather, are seized by the sheriff, conveyed as felons through the public
streets, and finally incarcerated in the common jail, to await the departure of
their vessel, whether it be immediate or deferred. While in prison they are
brought into contact with our own refuse population. It would be strange
indeed, if men thus summarily deprived of liberty and comfort, without the
pretence of a fault committed, did not inveigh against a state of society
which thus degrades them, and endeavor to excite the refractory spirits
among whom they are thrown. Viewed in this light, the law certainly fails
of its end. The remedy is worse than the disease it seeks to cure.
I recommend that the law be so modified as to permit colored seamen, the
subjects of foreign nations, to remain on board their vessels, to be allowed
to land whenever the duties of the vessel may require it, upon their receiv-
ing a written permit to that effect from the Mayor of the port; and that
while on land they be subjected to the ordinary restrictions applied to the-
native colored population. Such a modification would relieve the law of all
its harshness, without compromising our right, or endangering our domestic
quiet. Should our confidence, which concedes thus much to those who seek
to cultivate friendly relations with us, be abused, and the modified law be
found to work badly, it will always be under the control of the Legislature,
and can be as easily repealed as passed. Slavery has fiercer assaults to guard
against than any likely to arise from allowing a few colored cooks and
stewards to land on our shores; and we weaken rather than strengthen the
institution by attempting to hedge it around with any such feeble props.
While white abolitionists are permitted to come and go among us with impu-
nity, we may tolerate the occasional or accidental presence of' a few free
negroes from foreign countries, who have neither the intelligence, nor the
disposition to harm or disturb us. The efforts which fanaticism has made to
overthrow the institution, have thus far served but to strengthen it in the
17
confidence and affections of our people. While we continue to discharge
our true obligations to our slaves, their loyalty and fidelity will remain un-
shaken. The colored hireling who may visit us will see much in their con-
dition to envy. He may realize the important truth, that liberty, shorn of
all its rights, is but a miserable boon compared with their substantial comforts
and happy existence.
I herewith transmit resolutions from the States of Khode Island and Con-
necticut. I received certain resolutions from the State of Massachusetts,
which I returned to the Governor of that State. Had Massachusetts con-
fined herself to resolutions expressive of her feelings and purposes in relation
to slavery, impertinent as I may have regarded them, I would have received
them with indifference, and transmitted them without comment; but I con-
sider the acts of her late Legislature as an insult and an outrage upon every
member of the Confederacy, who has a right to demand the enforcement of
the Fugitive Slave Act. A State whose Legislature deliberately, unblush-
ingly, impiously, violates her constitutional obligations, and whose people
resist the execution of law, even to the shedding of blood, is not entitled to
comity from us; and I feel that I would have betrayed the dignity of my
trust had I hesitated to affix on such conduct the seal of official condemna-
tion. The interchange of civilities with a people who feel it to be no dis-
honor to prevent the recovery of stolen property, will hardly reclaim the
faithless, and is incompatible with the respect which honesty owes to itself.
The agitation in relation to slavery' continues to increase, and is rapidly
tending to its bloody termination. Measures which it was hoped by some
would give quiet to the country, and dignity to its deliberations, have served
but to redouble the efforts and augment the power of abolition. Civil war
is a direful calamity, but its scourges are to be endured in preference to de-
gradation and ruin. The people of South Carolina are alive to the issue,
and are mindful of their obligations. They are calm because they are pre-
pared and self-reliant. They have not forgotten their history, and they will
not fail to vindicate its teachings. The right " to provide new guards for
their future security" has been sealed by the blood of their ancestors, and it
will never be surrendered. Come what may, " they will do their duty and
leave the consequences to God."
J. H. ADAMS.