The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1869-12-17
THE STATE CENSUS.
Report OF the Commissioner of Aer:,
culture.

culture.
The State Commissioner of Aor;-
culture MIR. Henry Sparnick, has
made report to Governor Scott. set.
ting forth the results of the cnumcr,.
ton of inhabitants Of the State (nro.
vided for'by act Of March 10, 1867
so far as they have been ascertaincd
from the reports made to the bureau.
up to the date of the report, Novcm-
ber 22, 1869. Tho commissioner re.
marks:
This statement embraces the rc.
turns OF seventeen counties, leaving
fourteen still to be heard from; and
is, from the nature of tho case. too
imperfect to be used either as o basis
Tor the apportionmcnt of REPRESENTA-
ton IN the General Assembly of this
State for the year 1870. and until tho
year 1873, as contemplated by tho
constitution of 1868, or for the colla-
ton OF such statistics as would enable
us to note with precision the changes
which have taken place in our popu-
'latlon, except in the particular locali-
ties indicated in the table. For the
present, however, it will serve tho
general purpose Of acquainting the
people Of the State with the progress
which has been made by this bureau
in tho exercise of this particular
branch of its functions, and can be ac-
copied, L think, as very fair criteri-
on Of what may be expected from the
completed returns.
AS the act under which we opera
ted required simply an enumeration
OF the inhabitants of the State for :.
specific purpose, and this WAS tho pre-
cursor by only one year of the very
elaborate census taken every decade
by the General Government, I deem
it unwise to burden our returns with
any other details than such as were
essentially economical and polite in
their nature, and hence the only spc-
cihcations to be found in the books,
of which the annexed table is a par
tial abstract, arc such as embrace a
roster of children within the ordinary
ages of pupilage; one of citizens coll
additionally entitled to the exercise
OF the elective franchise, and finally a
general enumeration of Inhabitants
sub-divided by color and sex. Tho
first of these specifications was made
at the request Of the State Superin-
tendent of Education, the second was
dictated by obvious policy, and the
last was the natural mode of report
ing the information required by the
act.
In connection with the results OBJ
tanned, so far as they 60, have stated
the aggregate population by counties,
according to the present census and
by that taken by the United States
Government in the year 1860, and
made comparison of increase and
decrease in the same. When the re-
turns shall have been fully completed,
L will enter more into details, and en-
deavor to present such reasons for the
fluctuations which have taken place
in our population, as may be fairly
deducible from the premises at our
command.
Accompanying the census returns I
have also received statistical reports
Of the agricultural productions of the
counties respectively designated in
tho table annexed, but defer any spe-
fc allusion to them until they have
beon subjected to thorough clerical re.
vision. 1t is proper to remark in this
connection, however, than reliance
may not be placed on the absolute
correctness of this portion of our
work, as tho officers IN charge of it
have almost unexceptionalfS COM
planned of the indisposition of the
planters Of the State to mako proper
returns, either from the fear that they
were to be used as basis for exces-
sive taxation, or from q lameptable.
misrepresentation of the true interests
of their own department of industry
al pursuit. Both misconceptions +
anticipated, and endeavoredH to dis
pei through the prints ofsthe tstate,
but official publication. failed to. re-
move the general distrust of a State
Government to which the planting
interest has been undisguisedIy antag-
onized from political prejudiess from ,
It's very inception, 9np ,i",4hJ g-' =,
As there are reasonable,g grounds for
believing that the returns from the
now unreported counties will be COM
pleted in a few ,days,, I. defsr saying
more Of the operations Of this bureau
until such time be the full possession
Of figures and facts win fortiy me in
hesuggsstions'i shall feel induced to
make to your ExeeHeney in refopenbs
to it's future administration ~ IN .
agency in the promotion of, the ma;