The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1869-06-26

pahphlct Complement NO. ID OF the
Commissioner of Emigration for 1867
one may getSsome idea Of the valuation
of lands in Orangeburg county at that
time. No. SO from the Commissioner
Register is Mr.. l.. w. Dash, who offers
''twelve hundred acres, sixteen miles
from Orangeburg G. H., for five dollars
per acre in cash, or five dollars and fifty
cents half cash, remainder in one year"
No. SO, Mrs. Susan Keitt, of Orange
bmg, offers ''to lease for term of five
or eight years, a plantation of $500
acres, 1900 acres of which are cleared.
rcscrving Que hundred acres for home
stead, at ten housand dollars per year in
gold" No. "a, Mr. S. G. Jamison offers
| 800 acres, 300 cleared, three miles from
Orangeburg G. H., at FIVE thousand dol
lars" No. rs, l.. A. Wright, of Bam-
berg, offers ga lot of land in Orangcburg
county, at ten dollars per acre, cut up to
suit purchasers, or at six dollars ner acre
cash for the whole, or eight dollars per
acre on time of one or two years well
secured" We might quote further, but
tl:is suffice to show that if lands in
Orangcbnrg 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 see how it is with Marion
County, which is suffering terribly at the
hands of the tools OF the degraded and
disgraccful Ring at Columbia, which
calls itself the Government Of South
Carolina" The best lands of M;rion
county, as returned by the County Audi
ter and the County Board Of Eqnaliza-
thion, averaged S3.21-lO0 per acre; it's
meadow lands S19S, and its wood lands
sl.G1 per acre.
From the pamphlet cited above We
take the following: No. 81, Mr.. II. B.
Brady, of Little Rock, Marion. offers
$50 acres, including buildings. at So 900;
also 600 acres Of u,lmprovcd land at
So per acre" These lands, of course.
comprise improved and unimprovcd
good and bad lands. a still better way
of getting ut the valuation of Marion
county will be to compare it with the
adjoining county Of Oar 'ii,2ton
The arabic lands Of Darlington county
were returned at an average OF S6S3-1 90
per acre; meadow lands sc, and wood
lands S4.3S 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 State Board act
ed without authority in raising the assess
mcnt. T.!osc 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 Il 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 nc, and its action is
Il Legitimate part of the assessment. and
cannot be set aside or disubcycd. 1t
d"cs not follow by any means that there
his been in Marion or in any other
county Il Wholesale system Of perjury +;
but there certainly has been .rcrt in
competency on the part of Assessors
Nor does it follow that the tax payer is
without n remedy; if there is in Marion
or orangchurg counties Il 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 payment of taxes.
c are equally certain will accomplish
nothing
Another consideration we would URGE
upon the people of South Carolina The
State has debt now of over six millions.
II her taxable property is allowed to
remain at Sll5,000, 900, what will be
the fate of hcr bonds? What security
will thp boul nldrr fool tb,t u,;tl, e,oL