Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1855-12-05
COVER MeR,s MEssAeE.
TSshe, Gentlsmsneeaas ,Senate ,,:.,
-.e'aad1 1Houseof Representatives =, :

sFoi hsss' fes6aeed the discharge of your con.
sssHsiu6ai duties Under ttie'n1ost encouraging
circumstances !Phe pecuniary pressure which,
nj ths beginning of ~the year, bore NO heavily
ufoa.aaF esssses ofaseiety, has, happily passed
off Sithputi It's anticipated .disasiers:s Commerce
cohtinues ,torproslier andtwideh her domain; az.
rieulsure Iejoiees oser fntl .harvests: aad labor
description feels The: stimulus Of remu,
negating prices. The year has been one of
unexampRsd health, and our people, in quiet and
security, haze successfully. devoted themselves
10 the vatioGs yocations Representing Com
.rnonWealth thus 6lessed, you viii uuite viii me
ii ofisring ta lhe Giver Of ai Good the homage
of grateful hearts, and. deyeutfy "suppiEa,ihS a.
Continuance 20f His farorx ~ so '-'S'r -! g .
7iri atie discharge Of the 'datysimposedS on NE
by the Consiiiutiob, f stali recommend to godr
considerations various measures (which ltthink
Important 70 the public veal. Your Intelligence
will euable.y you to- select, andeyoHr pattiotisTR
will prompt you adopt, such of then, as will
advance sthe iniereats and promote the general
prosperity OF, our common commitments. The,
public Yeyd especially committed to your keep.
ing, cannot, in my Judgment, be:more certainly
attained than by A. steady adherence to the l0ng
:sstlled policy of tho State. New enactments,
and. notifications .cfi exisiing laws, are some.
tines required 10 suit tho varying circumstances
of our condition: but Iegisation which seeks TO
break down the forms nnd dsaees to which q
people have long been accustomed, should not
be resorted TO except under the exhcting pressure
>of necessity. Tie people Of South Carolina
have great reason To rest content with their
Constitutions il standaa..I 1t 10 far better that
It's irnmateriai defects should be borne, than
that we should begin the. hazardous work Of
constitutional reform: All of the, old States Of
the Confederacy, except our own, have at differ
cnt times made Fundamental changes in their
ns.i,u,ions- These, change. may have served
for the e-moment5to;cnptisatst the, pupnince; bat
have not been able 10 discover that thoxe for
whose especial benefit they were introduced
have been distinguished by a higher elevation OF
sentiment, or been rewarded with greater pros
periy than our own people, who still cling with
confidence to their old :forma and gather hope
for the future from tho encouraging recolections
of the past. Continue, then, BY your example and
policy, 10 teach your consti uents not to lean on
government, but to rely :on their own energies
TO work out theirrdeStiny. Afpeople thus train
ed will be- more jealous of their rights, and when
assailcd will stand up more maptu'ly in their
defence, than If their miHds are bewildered and
their time wasted in fruilless efforts to better
their condition by periodical changes in their
organic law. Tho proclivities of the age are, 70
my mind ominous of anything but good to
the cause of true progress. In certain sections
of the country doctrines have been sayowed and
scenes enacted Which IN the better days Of the
Republic would have consigned their authors to
lasting infamy and execraton. The advocates
of "higher law" sit in high places; fanalcisrn
rules. triumphant in the land Of Hancock and
Otis; and mnbs are so common that the mis-
guided masses are fast acquiring taste for
blood. In view of the hideous phases which
Radicalism has elsewhere assumed, and the
bitter fruits of his lriumphs, Conservation may |
confidently appeal TO- the patriotism of the re-
formers OF a,milder latitude to postpone sheir
iabors to more auspicious period. There is
wisdom and safety in the injunction OF Holy |
Writ: "Prove all things; hold fast that which |
is good" commend to you the preservation
OF our Constitution in all its integrity. 1t has
served us, and We owe 1t to ourselves 10 trans. |
nit it intsct TO our postcrity.
First in order, and highest in Importance,
invite your especial attention to the financial
condition of The Safe. The right to tax your
most responsible and delicate
of all your ffusts-cannot be wisely exercised
without constantly keeping in view the amount
Of our obligations, and properly estimating the
resources With which they are TO be met: How
far il may be prudent to increase our indebted
ness, and in 80 doing create, ut no distant day.
all necessity for increased taxation, it will be for
you 10 determine. Our people are patriotic, and
am satisfied would make as heavy sacrifices as
any people to preserve inviola'e 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 coun,rymen, if, with the
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 haryests on which the contribution would
be1eried. - "
The following statement exhibits the public
debt Of the State, as itappears on the books OF
the Loan Office, on the 30th day of September,
1855: