The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-12-24
G H A r T. E sTON,
MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER % 1855
THE so UTH CAROLINA LEG1sLA7URE

! The adjournment Of this body on FRIDAY
last, and the publication Of the ssActs' pa sscd
at the late session, afford US an opportunity Of
making few remarks upon the Legislature.
and upon some Of these Acts.
The work of this session was unusually
heavy; and, although great part of it only
has restricted local interest. It was ncverthe-
less necessary to be done Towns and vii
ages churches, schools, railroads, bridges, in
surance and planting companies, etc, all either
petltloned for new charters or for q modifca-
ton Of the old ones. The machinery Of socic
ty and government, together with all the an
purtenances incident to a high state Of civil
zat1on, were ours up to the time Of the VAR
70 large extent, up to the close Of the war.
But then came chaos; and for nearly two
years our citizens, both public and private,
have been engaged in endeavoring to work
order out Of this chaos Society is still IN .
| nascent condition, and the plastic hand Of the
Legislature is called in to assist in giving it
shape and form
| me discerning reader will readily see that
under such circumstances, and at times like
these, the State stood il need Of strong. wise.
far-seeing men, Of tried virtue, statesmen in
the most comprehensive sense Of the term.
When we consider the delicate relations, more
over, now subsisting between the State and the
Government Of the United States, the necessi-
ty becomes still more apparent The ship of
state Is IN dangerous seas, and requires wise
head, strong hand and a steady, to bring her
safely into port.
whether or not the mate71ez Of our Legisla-
ture is quite up to these requirements, It Der
haps does not become us to say Some of their
Legislation we approve, and even commend:
some again is opposed to our views Of policy.
On this subject, however, we cannot *
press ourselves explicitly, as but few Of the
Acts have been published as yet and we only
know Of them by their titles
Reputation, we understand, again threw
out her antennm, feeling for standpoint:
but, we are glad to say, was prompt
ly discountenanced, and made to shrink back
to her hiding place Of darkness. The JEFF
DAVIS resolutions, offered at an early part of
the session, and creating considerable discus
sion few weeks after, very properly were in
definitely postponed, not from want of re-
sPect for, or sympathy with, Mr. DAVIS, but
because their agitation by the South Carolina
Legislature, at this time, could lead to no rood
result q CITY paper enormously stated that
the resolutions passed both Houses; this intel
lgence was at once telegraphed North, and
has been the occasion Of very many long lee
| lures and editorial leaders. It is considered y
| good text upon which to hang sermon on the
continued rebelliousness Of South Carolina.
But what will excite most attention are
| the Appropriation and Tax Acts, published
IN our issue this morning. The latter, com
ing as it does, Immediately after year when
our people were almost exempt from State tax-
alton, will be severely felt, and, we have no
doubt, heavily complained Of. In some Of its
features, it is not as explicit as could be wished:
especially where the question arises Of a. con
fict Of this State tax and municipal tax.
We regret that we cannot speak 50 well as re-
CARDS the policy pursued by the Legislature in
regards to the railroads. That which has been
very quietly, but nevertheless most persistentlv
sought after for several years past has been
| accomplished The State, in an unonarded
moment has given not only the right Of way
through the very centre of her territory to 3
railroad IN the interest of North Carolina (as
we have shown in previous remarks on this
subject), but, to hasten it's completion, $3l2,-
OOO Of public funds are granted, which puts
the result beyond doubt.
1t IS useless to shut our eyes to the fact that
Charleston is seriously damaged by this exten-
sion Of the Charlotte Railroad to HAMBURG
and the extent Of the mischief may as well be
canvassed.
We have before mentioned that this Char
lotte road has been for months using every
means in its power to draw business to
Portsmouth, Va, over it's entire line Of road.
even as far as Columbia, and working all the
freight from its local depots, Ridgeway, Winns
boro, Chester, &C., back over the same roiite
It has thus sought to build up Portsmouth at
the expense Of Charleston. In the face Of
this glaring fact, the Legislature has subscribed
considerable amount to press on to compile
ton this proposed extension to the western
limits Of the State, the Savannah River.
But this is not all; bad as the prospect Is
with this Charlotte road from Hamburg, through
Edgefeld, Lexington, Richland, Fairfield, Ches-
ter, York and Lancaster, in the hands Of nar-
ties who WELD this influence against the sea-
port Of the state,-there is another Act Of the
General Assembly which will be as fatal to our
city as the scheme just mentioned