The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-03
CH HARLE Es T ON.
MONDAY MORNING, MAY 8, 1869.
The State Agricultural Convention.

>SS~'
The State Agricultural Convention.
In the State Agricultural Convention,
which met in Columbia on Wednesday last
and adjourned on Thursday, there were one
hundred and forty-seven delegates repre-
senting twenty-five counties Of the State;
and, if we may judge Of the disposition and
temper Of the people by the character and
conduct of their representatives, the new
Agricultural Society will be the means Of
stimulating and encouraging the develop
ment of every branch Of industry: The
delegates, as q body, were shrewd and ear
nest men; not dswdlers and visionaries, but
men Of thought and experience, who are
resolved to walk themselves in the broad
path which they are marking out for others.
They carefully avoided political debate and
rhetorical flights Of fancy, confning them
selves to those practical subjects upon whose
proper treatment SO much Of our prosperity
depends.
The fact that politics were excluded from
the deliberations of the convention was not
due, however, to any Misrepresentation of
the grave uncertainties Of the times. There
were in the body veterans who had grown
gray in public life, and whom no trick or
subterfuge could mislesd. But each delegate,
Al Il s~L
industrial status, felt that convention as
sembled for the purpose Of breathing new
life into the operations Of the planter and
mechanic, was not the place in which to
denounce Radioalism or exalt the horns Of
Democracy. This rule governed the con-
vention from the first to the hast hour Of it's
existence. E.
4. The thoroughly practical frame Of mind
Of the convention is best shown by the pub.
lished reports Of its proceedings. All the
information in possession Of the delegates
was laid before the body for its guidance,
and committees were appointed to consider
at their leisure those subjects with which
. thorough and familiar acquaintance was
necessary. We may, therefore, hope that
by November next, when the first annual
meeting Of the Agricultural and Mechanical
Society Of South Carolina will be held, the
committees will be prepared to present all
the information that can be obtained in re-
gard to manufactures, emigration and labor,
fenclng, commercial fertilizers, the best
method Of cultiyating cotton, rice and corn,
the manufacture Of sugar, fish culture and
bee culture, and the use Of agricultural and
labor saving implements. Each of these
subjects will be closely examined, the en-
deavor being to find out what are the
surest and speediest ways Of building up the
State and restoring the prosperity Of the
people.
And there is no doubt that the convention
will do much good beyond the organization
Of the permanent society and the devising
of means for obtaining agricultural and
mechanical statistics. The particulars given
Of the success Of the Newberry Immigra-
tion Society, and the accounts given By
Colonel Palmer in the article which we re-
print this morning touching the cost of spin
ming yarns, will at once be spread through
out the State. They will not depend on
newspaper circulation, but will be made
known by the delegates themselves, who
will tell their friends and neighbors, and
explain to them, what they heard and saw
in Columbia. In this way the news will
be spread over all South Carolina:
But it is not enough to hold convention
and organize societies. The society must be
supported. Itmust have place for holding
the annual fair, it must have prize list, it
must be able to pay its current expenses.
To be able to do good, the society must be
on ssfo footing, and it can be firmly es-
tablished by the fall if the farmers and
planters ct once enroll their names and be-
come members Of the society. The sub
scription is but small, and we hope that the
State press will urge their readers to send
in their applications at once to Colonel D.
Wyatt Aiken, the Secretary Of the Society,
al Cokesbury, so that by the lime Of the
annual meeting there may be two or three
members. This can be done, and
if the delegates to the Columbia Conven-
tion bestir themselves, even more may be
accomplished.