Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-12-06

confined to the city of Charleston alone
everything that facilitates commerce and
cheapens merchandise will benefit alike
all parts of the State, and should meet
with general encouragement. If it is
feared that these steamers may be continued
in the service after all hope of profit has
ceased, and perpetual tax thus entailed
upon the State, provision may be made for
discontinuing them in given time, or some
other safeguards may in the wisdom of the
Legislature be thrown around the enter
prise, so as to prevent any unnecessary and
useless expenditure of public money.
X
THE LAws.-Tn looking forward to the
separate nationality of South Carolina, many
changes will have to be made in existing
laws, part of which, you no doubt will
be directed TO do, by an ordinance of the
Convention of the people soon to assemble !;
but it may not be improper to bring to your
notice the Importance Of speedy postal
arrangement, to supply the one under the
control of the Federal Government. | am
authorized to say, that the Postmaster at
Charleston, Hon. Alfred Huger, than whom
a purer patriot never lived, will, as soon as
the State resumes her sovereignty by an
ordinance of her Convention, sever his con-
uection with the Federal Government, and
obey any call the State may make upon him
for his services. This movement, together
with the resignation of all the other post
masters, will enable the State to act with
out embarrassment, in establishing for her
self postal arrangements. As temporary
expedient, an arrangement might be made
with the Adams Express Company, to car
ry the mails, until postal arrangement of
permanent character could be established,
the details of which, must, to some extent,
depend upon the action of other Southern
States.
The duties of the Governor in future,
will necessarily be arduous and responsible,
and he should at all times be accessible to
the people who may have official business
to transact with him. My experience sat-
isles me, that it will require all the time
of the Executive, with such help as may
be given him by secretary aud clerk, to
discharge the responsible duties that will
devolve on him in the new position, as
Chief of an independent State and /,
therefore, recommend that the salary of the
Governor be increased that he be furnish
ed with house and furniture, and be re-
quired to reside in the town of Columbia !;
also, that the salary of his private Secreta-
ry be increased, to enable him to command
the services, not only of a mere scribe, but
of an intelligent, active, and educated geu-
tleman, who will be capable of conducting
any correspondence, with the mere revision
of his Chief H should also have clerk
or copyst to do the copying that may be
necessary, and such other duties as may be
required of him
There seems to be no longer any reason
why the State should have two Treasures.
1t requires two sets of officers to DO what
one could readily and easily perform and
Columbia is now so accessible from all
parts of the State, no inconvenience could
possibly arise from uniting the Treasures
there The Treasurer should also be re-
quired to reside in Columbia, and not de-
pend upon Deputy to discharge the du,
ties of the Office. The practice now is, to
elect Treasurer with salary sufficient to
enable him to employ competent deputy,
and still save money for himself. The
responsible duties of the Office are not per-
formed by the one chosen by the Legisla-
ture on account of his fitness and qualifica-
tton, but by man chosen by the Treasu.
rer, and responsible to him alone; and al.
though the Treasurer is himself responsi.
; Bile to the Legislature for the faithful per.
formance of the duties of his Office, yet the
mischief done by the deputy may be irrem.
ediable, the State suffer, and the officer be
ruined.
The law prohibiting masters from per.
mitting negroes to hire tteir own time, and
make contracts, should be so amended, and
such penalties attached to its violation,
that no one would venture to disregard it.
Without suggesting the particular penalty,
| would recommend that both the owner
of the slave and the party that hires him
or her, should be punished by fine or i'm
prisonment, according to the mitigating or
aggravating circumstances that attend the
case Some inconvenience will no doubt
arise from such an enactment, and it may
be necessary to make some exceptional
cases for instance, the express or implied
contract with black porter to carry your
trunk or carpet bag, or 60 on an errand !;
but this may be done, and yet much good
result from the seneral law on the subject.
1t not unfrequeutly happens that slave
: mechanics hire white men to work under
their direction, and for their benefit, and
: thus instead of exercising a control over
that class of population, some are placed
under obligations to them. This state of
things should not be permitted; there must
= be distinction between the races, as mark
: ed as their different colors, and it must be
; distinctly and universally understood that
: the white is the governing race, without
an exception, and without regard to dis
} parity of intellect, merit or requirements.
The general recognition by the citizens
: of South Carolina of their allegiance 10
the State, and that obedience to the Fede-
, raj Government ceases as soon as the State
, withdraws from the Union and asserts her
sovereignty, satisfies me that she will have