Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1854-05-25
,OR THE AQYERrISEE.
Division of Edgefed,-Mo, TX,


rate opi2ion is that the reverse of the propos
lion is true, and that small Districts diminis
litigation while large ones increase it. 1t is Il
nndoubtcd fact, that the people OF small D;
trict are more intelligent than those Of u larn
one, and that intelligence generally incncs me
TO cschew litigation. In small Districts the ir
habitants all reside sufficiently near their Cour
House, to visit it frequently and to make it tn
common center Of intercourse if not the onl
place Of general resort for amusement, instruc
ton, or for interchange of opinion The pcopl
OF small District, therefore, partake strong
OF the character Of an urban population whic
las more sources of information, rs well us NOR
advantages for instruction than an exclusivel
rural community, such as We find on the border
Of Edgciicld, Abbevillc, Barnwcll and olhe
lage Agricultural Districts. 1t is because small
Districts are analogous TO Towns in this regard
that | maintain they have more general intelli
gence than large Districts. TownS-pcople ART
always better informed than country men, for tht
reasons, that the former possess more mail fa
cilitics, hear more news, discuss more questions
listen 10 more debates, see more strangers, vis
more exhibitions and attend more lectures Ir
Town. the habilual and nrcssant action o
mind upon mind, sharrens the faculties, quick.
ems The perceptions and stores the memory with
every variety Of useful knowledge AbLevile
is noted for the superior intelligence of her pop
ulaion and she is indebted for it TO the five or
six educational Towns and Villages that dot her
territory ut various points. Yet, even the from.
ticr population Of even the Carolina Attica are
dcplorably ignorant, in consequence of their re-
mo!cncss from the Court House and education
III villages.
As but few Of our people arc engaged in man.
utaclurcS or commerce, which always produce
Towns, they are dispersed in Agricultural, i,ula-
ted solitude, and therefore, about half the in
habtants Of Edgciicld or of any other large
District are hcrmHi=uE with no companions save
IGNORANCE and six or eight neighbors each one
OF whom is familiar TO disgust, with every
thought, word and action Of thrsc around him.
On the border Of 4 large District, there is TO-
thing new, nothing TO amuse, nothing to instruct,
but the people all move in Il circle of drcary mo-
notony. Does this not readily account for the
sparse population Of large Districts. 1t is the
nature of man 10 be social. To ercc: Court
House or little Town. within twelve or fifteen
miles of every citizen in the State, would pro-
badly hc one of the best means which South
Carolina could use to educate her people. Even
the advocates ut the conversational, or oral sys-
lem OF instruction must approve this. The nu-
incrous and ilour>hing schools Of Georgia are
attributable to the small Counties of that State,
more than TO any thing else. But legal knowl-
edge is us important 10 the citizen. as general
intelligence. Obedience to the law is the founda-
ton of the State, and the proudest rulogy which
all the philosophers of philosophc Greece could |
pronounce upon Lconidas and his comrades was
that they had died in obedience to the laws of |
their country, which prohibited them from turn
ing their backs 10 IN enemy. The State could |
not exist without enforcing the rule that /" igno-
rance of law excuses no one, nevertheless large
Districts arc premium for both ignorance and
disobedience Of law, but am trcading upon The
same ground that WAS travcrsrd in numbers w
and V. South Carolina by having so many
orcrlarge Judicial Districts indirectly acts the
part OF The Roman Emperor, who had his laws
written in such fine letters and hung up 50 bigh
that the people could not read them.
assert therefore that small Districts diminish
litigation, because their people have more gen.
era and legal intelligence than those of 4 large
one. The usual effect of education is to give
It's poSSe>sor elevation of principle aud librrali-
ty OF conduct The well Informed man but
rarely sues without Just cause, rs he knows his |
rights, or can easily learn them from 4 lawyer,
i d Is V@ a S fSEsf na IL e JgoT2nRs Gln
has some srll-rc>pcct, and some care us to what
others NAV say of him for prosecuting un- q
necessary litigation. Nor is the eyampl le of !
liliyious person lost in Il small District. The \
olium and folly of his conduct are observed by i
nj, and they are'lhc themes of common remark L
The better educated citizen Of Il small District |
is likewise more disposed Ia compromise or ar q
bilrltc, and his greater familiarity with ordinary
lcmll proceedings enables him To transact in per-
son much of the business for which the inlabi- Il
tants of Il large District have TO pay lawyer. t
appreciate the force of the maxim that "who. 4
socvcr is his own lawyer has fool for his eli 4
rnt," bat if EdgeiicId were divided, much of the v
and Counsel for which the Bar P
nrc now paid would and could bo very safely "
dispensed with by the people. L
affirm that large Districts increase litigation I;
because they promote ignorance among the pco- u u
pie. Bad lawyers always make business for l,
rood ones, and many farmer aiher than endure v
Inc fatigue, undergo the expense and suffer the =
u>s of two or three days to 90 the Court House. = =
viii employ Il bad lawyer in his neighborhood b
20 DO his business, and 4 long law suit is perhaps
he result for himself, or hi, children. Ina large
District, the originals of contracts and of title 70
leeds to land on the frontier are often lost, and
IS Il general rule they are nerer recorded, which n
: Il fruitful source of litigation. In addition to =
his, the bitter feuds created BY the ferccr strug
lies for office na large District, bcgct spirit $:
hat is utterly hostile to compromise or arbitra- n
ion, and one that oltcntimcs seeks rcrengc in Il
:eyatous litigation These yindctivc contests n
nr Office likewise occasion trcspasscs against tl
he person and property for which civil actions i,
Su,.l, N
Districts also but less frequently than in large RI
mes. But it is not only ignorance and viudc- II
i've struggles for office that increase litigation -,
II large District. The moral and su5dung b
influence of enforced obedience is unseen and :,
lniclt by half the population Of large District, in
md the difficulty, delay aud expense which al
crd the obcving or enforcing Of law on the
'orders of such 4 District causc the people in NJ
many eases, to take The law into their own hands. r
If large Judicial Districts do not increase liti IL
raon, and if small ones DO not diminish il, why c;
re so many gentlemen of the Bar oppuscd TO OF
he division of Edgcticd, BaruwcIl aud other I'll
,rrc Districts! Most trades delight in their fu
aIlinr and are rcjoiced at every thing which is II
aIcualci 10 rive them tlourshing business. n.
The farmer delights in agriculture, the physician Vt
,vcs sickness The soldier loves war and the A
,wver loves Law Any othcrconclusion would ST
e inconsistent with the enlightened scltishness A
f human nature. Hence, 10 say that lawyer p;
pposes the division of :; large Judicial District,
ccause it would increase litigation is to say that
man will oppose his own best interests. am not 81
ware that there is more litigation in our small tn
Districts in proportion to their territory, popula- r
ION and property than there is in the large Dis h;
lets. The anti.divisionists complain bitterly, In