The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-08-05
RcmnrLs OF MIR. J. II. NJ. EppIIg, ut tho
Union Republican Convention, held I'm
Columbia July 23, 1867.


| Columbia July a3, 1867.
Az thoro has boon somo difference Of opinion re-
| gartliug tho construction Of Mr.. ErPlNos spooch
on tho division Of lands, wo appond his remarks in
full-thc question being tho 4th resolution, ro-
ported by tho Committee on tho Platform, which
reads ns follows
mako tho rich rioher and tho poor pnorcr, md aro
| runous to tho agricultural, commercial and social
ovcry practicable inlncomcnt for tho division and
sale OF unoccupicd lands among tho poorer classes,
and rs IN encouragement to immigrants to sottlo
III our Statc.
MIR. ErFrNa having proposed tho following
amendment:
RCsOsocd, That wo lcsro no mans land or pro-
porty without adequate compensation. md will
not inHor nny systom Of couhscatiOn, but tbero
snouIl sn DO 1uat Nd we'll ns nm eqnal and whole
THO advantage or any ono to hold in idonoss and
mnproduction largo tracts Of uncultiIatod lands.
lands now yiolding nothing to their proprietors,
would coon bo disposed OF, in 49, al quantities. to
actual scttiers who would ma"u them productive,
Stnto.
Said ho introduced This with view
OF calling attention to tho largo quantity OF land
now l.ng idle in this State. Wo oil know what a
vast area OF land, 1T for cultivation, md which has
boon heretofore cultivated, is now barron waste,
and We also know that great bodies Of such lnnds
arc in tho hands Of persons who other cannot or
will not mako thom productive
Wo can haro plenty Of industrious laborcrs,
plenty OF mon to cultivate them, but nobody is
ablo to soil under such conditions as will enable
til, freedman tho omigrant to purchnso thom.
No Industrious anl saving freedman, no ncwly mr.
rived omgrant can buy those lnnds, Locause of tho
systom OF land titles prevalent throughout This
nj mi IN only that ,r;l
this is change in our syatcm Of taxation. Unless
tho poor man, tho man of small mcans, can buy
forty or fifty acres OF land now hold by tho largo
landowner, uncncumborcd and without having to
pay moro luwyers fees and wasting moro timo than
the land il WORTH this State cannot regain its pros
pcrity.
The largo proprietor with oil his lands may DC q
poor man. His lands nro too often oncumberod by
mortgages, trusts, intcrosts in rcmainlor or other
incumbrancos, and tho poor man who buys small
section Of such q person's land, may afterwards
find himself involved III cndoss Inv suit vast
ing oil his hard earnings. lie mny find that nfer
Improving and building up his place al his labor
may hnro boon in vain, and his lands DO taken
from him for want of good little.
Tho present system OF law in this State ia such
that oven titles given by Court of Equity nro,
i'll many cases, not valid A widow has, ten years
ttlo TO nll tho lands and property soM by him.
Each child coming OF ngo has also ten years in
which II may dispute sales made by parents, guar
dians anu executors.
This is what makes titles 10 prccarious, mud We
can mother mako on independent Ycomanry OF our
freedmen nor havo cmigrants to como as settlers
In this State, unless somo system ia adopted wo
Must SEQ that the State get repossossei of thoso
lands, by just nnd wholesome systcm Of taxation,
30 that it shall not be to tho advantage OF any one
to hold in idlcncss md unproductyencss lnrgo
tracts which others could cultivate.
BY our present systom VI Slate taxation tho lnnl
owner is too much favored; for whilo tho improve
nients on town lot aro tu1cl almost to their full
value, tho improvements OH q farm or plantation
nrc not taxed ut all. A man who owns n small
town lot md Inns improvements thereon valued Mt
$40 co., pays at the rate Of co cents per 100 dollars
GO dolars State taxes; but tho man who owns
10, 600 acres Of land; which vas ratod some fifty
Ycars ngo nj ono dollar aero, pay only $G0 taxes
although ho may hayo houses nnd improvements
thereon to tho value of $4,000. Consequently ho
can afford to hold this vast quantity Of land in
idoness TO the dctriment OF the prosperity OF tho
State
Tho unjust discrimination in State taxation ex-
tends nLio to tho industry Of tho Inhabitants OF
not taxed in tho least, tho tradesman, mechanic
mud professional man pays taxes. on overy thing ho
does and earns.
Ny object in Offering this amendment was, MS
havo already said 10 call attention TO this abnor-
nifty md to propose remedy. We must tax tho
lnnds OF tho State in proportion 10 their valuo FOR
agricultural purposes, whether cultivated or
not-divido tho Same perhaps into four or
five classes, and thon put Tax upon
the samo, Bay at from 10 to so conts per acre,
in order to mako tho lnrgo lnndholder, who ia
unable to cultivate all his lanils, and cannot soil
thcm, for reason TINT ho cannot mako valid title,
rclinqush portion Of them to tho State, to satis-
fy her demand for taIos, and who, having tho
right of eminent domain, may either sell them or
gvo them to our own laboring people, or TO cmi-
grants, and furnish them with cheap and valid
titlo. Wo must abolish, also, tho present barba-
rous systcm Of selling mans whole estate and
driving him ont OF his house and home for fow
dollars taxes duo, by solling tho samo entro for
taxes, but instead, enable every ono who from
somo cause or othor fails to pay his taIes to ro-
lnquish portion Of tho Same to tho Slate az mn
equivalent.
Tho probable recognized debt Of tho State
amounts to four and q half millionB Of dollars re-
qniring tho amount Of $3.50 600 annual interest to
DO palu ine Statc needs further tho sum OF five
hundred thousand dollars annually FOR tho mnin-
tenanco OF tho State government, for common
schools, for charitable institutions, &c.-in alI
about $3.50, 900 annually, and which must bc raised
by taxation in Hono shape other, and ns all in
dustrial pursuits are already overta1cd tho only
resource loft is Tho taxation OF tho lands In proper
manner as above indicated.
Tho area Of thiB State Contains nineloon and q
half millions Of acres ofland. Out OF this only one
and qnartor Of q million wcro cultivated in 1926 |;
from that timo to 1860 tho quantity put under cul
tyation WAS not quito doublcd, but the number OF
acres cultivated at present s hardly moro than il
WAS in 1926, in consequence OF the fearful struggle
through which We have just passed.. II was com.
putcd by hIr. MILLS that there aoro, besides tho
quantity undor cultivation in 1925, somo two and
half millions Of acrcs OF land capable Of being cu-
tivated TO advantage. This would giro us about
thrco and threo-quarter millions Of acres out Of
ninctecn and half millions for agricultural prr-
poses. In this, suppose, ho docs notincludo tho
vast bodies OF swamp, river bottom md marsh
lands, which aro rich as any lands in the world,
and only noed clearing, dtohing, draining and
dyking TO make thom eminontiy productive; but
this cannot DO done by their present impoverished
ownors. II can only lie dono by tho Slate, and in
compact bodies, after sho las obtained her soy-
oreignty again and ro established her credit upon
Il r.. IL