Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1854-11-29
VOL. xIX.---046 46
COST OF FENCES IN THE UNITED sTATEa

quiry whether Legislatures ought not to bc
called upon to compel every man to keep his
stock to himself Then no man, who did not
choose to do it, would be forced to enclose his
lands against the rayagcs ofhis neighbor's stock.
Mr.. Bidde, few years since, in m address
before the Philadelphia Agricultural Society,
stated that the cost of the fences in Psnnsytva-
MIA amounted to Sl00,e0O,GOO. A distinguish
ed writer on National Wealth, says: Strange as
it may seem, the greatest investment in this
country, the most costly production of human
industry, is the common fence which encloses
and divides the fields. No man dreams that
when compared to the outlay of these unpre..
tending monuments of human art, our cities and
our towns, with all their wealth, are left far be-
hind. In many places the fences have cost
more than the fences and farmes are worth. It
is this enormous burden which keeps down the
agricultural interests of this country, causing
an untold expenditure, besides the lands the
fences occupy"
Estimating chesnut post rail fence to last
eighteen years, and including inside fencing and
repairs, the annual tax to farmer holding one
hundred and fifty acres vii, be $3.50 to $l4o,
and judging from the present appearance, the
tax is perpetual, and there seems bnt little hope
of escape from it.
Did the intelligent farmer reflect n moment,
and estimate the annual tax which his fences
impose upon him, he would not rest till the sys-
tenn was abolished, or until the live hedge took
the place of the present expensive fence Of tim
ber.
The system of compelling every landholder
to enclose his property, is peculiar to the Uni
ted States, with only the exception of England,
where the fence nuisance appears again under
tho form of hedges, although these hawthorn
hedges, where they are we'll tended, and not
more than half of them are so, are beautiful OBJ
jects, and answer all the purposes of protection
against the inroads of cattle, still the public
voice is beginning to cry out against them, be-
cause Of the enormous amount Of land required
to support them. Each hedge is FIVE or six feet
at its base, and taking into account the amount
of land they exhaust on either side, the whole
space cannot be less than twelve or fourteen
feet wide. When it is recolectcd that the d.
visions of land in England are very numerous,
the amount Of available land abstracted from
the purposes of agriculture, is very great. 1t
has been established at several million bushels
Of grain-Plough, Loom and Anvil.
SouLE REvELATIoSs-THE DUEL-The New
York Express makes the following statement:
What we are abont to say now, we say OIL
the very highest authority, short of that Of the
Emperor and Empress of France, themselves.
Dir. Soule, when in Madrid, as minister of tho
United States, and holding that official capacity
spoke disrespeetly of Engenia, the. Empress3pf.
France-of her personal. Social and moral char
acter, and in u way and manner which no hus-
band who loves his wife--no sister-no relative
could or would endure. These remarks affected
,t,,
and in the severcst manner-and if what Mr.
Soule is reported to have said be true, the EN-
press was unfit not only for respectable Court,
but for wife.
The Duke d'Alba, who married sister of tho
Empress, heard Of this conversation, and became
acquainted with it, and, to revenge his wfcs and
his own honor, he determined to insult Mr.. Soue
in similar manner. Hence his disparaging re-
marks at 4 ball in Madrid, not of Madame Soule's
personal character, which he was TOO honorable
to assal, Lut of her dress, her robe, and her
manner of arranging it over her neck and bosom.
which is well known to the public.
--%s<--
WOULD RATHER BE IN SLAvERY-In the Pn-
lice Court yesterday, colorcd man named John
Stewart was arraigned on charge Of stealing
quantity Of clothing from an elderly colored wo-
man. Stewart plead guilty, and offered in mil-
Cation that he WAS out Of funds and food, and
had taken this course to provide himself with
the nccessarirs OF lie. He stated to the Court
that short time since he was slave in Raleigh,
North Carolina, and upon being informed OF the
kind treatment he would receive from the abo-
li;ionists in the North if he could become a free
man, he concluded to purchase himself, and did
so ut cost Of 5000. He left his master and
CAME to Ohio. "Since came here" continued
Stewart, 81 have been kicked about and abused
by all classes uf white men. Can't get work
from no one, and to borrow money to get bread
with, that is out of the question. | wish were
slave again. | did great deal better there
than ever did here" Here the defendant took
his seat to await the sentence of the Court,
which was to be sent to the chain gang at hard
labor for one month and pay the cost of prose-
crtun. Stewart said he did not mind the hard
labor, and was thankful for the prospect of ge;-
ting something to eat in Jail. He declared that
as soon as he got out, he would go South and
become i slave agan.-Cineirnati Gazette.
j. WAR CLOAK OF THE KING OF SANDWICH Is.
LANDs.-Befure this cloak came into possession
of Kamehameha l.. its fabrication had been 90
ing on through The reign of eight preceding
monarchs. Its length is four feet at the bottom.
Its groundwork is coarse netlng and to this
the deicate feathers are attached, with q skill
and grace worthy Of The most civilized art. The
feathers forming the border reverted; the wholo
presenting bright yellow color, resemb!inga
mantle of gold. The birds from which these
splendid feathers were taken had but two feath-
ers of the kind, and they were located one under
each wing 1t is n very rare species (Ne1ilrep-
es Pacifca,) peculiar only 10 the higher regions
of Hawaii, and is caught with much care and
toll. Five of these feathers were valued at ons
dollar and half. 1t is compatcd that at least 3
million of dollars have been expended in the
manufacture of this gorgeous fabric. The gar
ment itself would be q fitting portion of tho
regaIia OF any European monarch Viewing it
in HE scarcity of the article which it is compos-
ed, and the immense amount of time and trou-
bic employed in procuring it, it would be impos-
sible .or Gespotisin to f;lbrcate more magnI-
cent or costly garment for its proudest votaries.
ADVERTISEMENT EXTRAoRDINARY-The fol-
lowing curious advertisement appears in Wes-
tern paper: Whereas, al particular times NAV
imporiune my friends, and others, to let Mo
have liquor which is huriful to me, and de,ri-
mental to society-this is. therefore, 10 forbid
any persons selling me- liquor, or letting me
have any OIL any account or pretence; for if
they do will positively prosecute them, not
withstanding any promise may make 10 the
contrary at the time they may let me have il"
TNE American gold seekers, who went oat
from Para, Brazil, 10 seek for gold, have returned,
swearing vengeance against those who deceived
them into going. These fictitious repofts it ia