The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1869-06-26
even on these terms" BY reference to


pamphlet supplement No. u of the
Commissioner nm Of Emigration for 1867
ono may getssome idea Of the valuation
of lands in oraugeburg county at that
time. No. so from the Commissioner
Register is Mr. L. w. Dash. who offers
"twelve hundred acres, sixteen miles
from Orapgeburg @. H., for five dollars
per acre in cash, or five dollars and fifty
cents half cash, remainder in one year"
No. 80, Mrs. Susan Keitt, of Orange
burg, offers "to lease for term of five
or eight years, plantation of $500
acres, l,SO0 acres. of which are cleared,
rcscrving one hundred acres for a home-
stead, at ten thousand dollars per year in
gold" No. "a, Mr.. S. G. Jamison offers
500 acres, 300 cleared, three miles from
Orangeburg c. H., at FIVE thousand dol
lars" No. rs, l.. A. Wright, of Bam-
berg, offers ga lot of land in Orangeburg
county, at ten dollars per acre, cut up to
suit purchasers, or at six dollars per acre
cash for the whole, or eight dollars per
acre on time of one or two years well
secured" We might quote further, but
this suffice to show that if lands in
Orangcburg county have appreciated
33! per cent since 1867, and no one
doubts that they have done so, then even
with the addition of 300 per cent by the
State Board, they are still much below
their full value.
| Now let us sec how it is with Marion
County, which is suffering terribly at the
hands of the tools OF the degraded and
disgraceful Ring Mt Columbia, which
! calls itself the Government Of South
Carolina" The best lands of M;rion
county, as returned by the County Audi
Tor and the County Board of Equalza-
thion, averaged s3.27-1O0 per acre; its
meadow lands S19S, and its wood lands
Sl.G1 per acre.
From the pamphlet cited above We
take the following: No, 81, Mr.. Il. B.
Brady, Of Little Rock, Marion. offers
$50 acres, including buildings, at So 900;
also 600 acres Of uImprovcd land at
50 per acre" These lands, of course
comprise improved and unimprovcd
good and bad lands 4 still better WAY
of getting at the valuation of Marion
county will be to compare it with the
adjoining county of Darlington
The arabic lands Of Darlington county
were returned at an average OF S6.S3-1 100
per acre; meadow lands sc, and wood
lands $4.3S 100 per acre Surely NO
other statement is needed to show that
the State Board did Marion no Injustice
as compared with its nei.hbor. The
charge is made that the Stutc Board act
ed without authority in raising the assess
mcnt, TAosc who make this charge, il
they believe what they say, arc entirely
ignorant of the law The State Board
has ust as grave and responsible duty
to perform in the assessment OF property
as the District ASSESSORS have If the
latter neglect or fail from whatever cause
to perform their duty. it is the duty of
the County Board to correct their errors.
II the County Boa'd fails. then the
State board must act and its action is
Legitimate part of the assessment. and
cannot be set aside or disubcycd. 1t
d"es not follow by any means that there
hts been in Marion or in any other
county wholesale system of perjury;
but there certainly has been GREAT in
competency on the part of Assessors
Nor does it follow that the tax payer is
without remedy; if there is in Marion
or orangcburg counties tax payer whose
property has been put above its true
value, let him send his statement to that
effect to the State Auditor, and we have
no doubt that the remedy will be ap-
piled But dcnunciation, coarse abuse
absurd threats of non-paymcnt of taxes
&c arc equally certain will accomplish
nothing.
Another consideration we would urge
upon the people of South Carolina. The
State has a debt now orover six millions
If her taxable property is allowed to
remain at S115,ooO 900, what will be
the fate of her bonds? What security
will the boudholdcr fcr1 that with sucb
a basis for taxation she will be able to
meet her interest? If there has been
extravaganza on the part of the present
State government We have no defence to