Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1869-06-04

Tho percentage Of tho amounts
added by tho Board Of Equalization
show u wido variation. In Orange.
burg tho assessment was raised from
sl,4l4,o69 to sAss2, ,2o7, or 300 per
cent. In Kcrshaw mud Marlboro the
assessment was doubled. In thcssCi,y
of Charleston tho increase is 20 per
cent. We llavo no means of knowing
ut present whether the increased
assessment was madc by simple rule
of thumb, or whether 1t was founded
on information in. possession of the
board. Upon this branch of the sub
Ill TIC country papers can doubtless
After ! y, tiSaess important ques.
,fo9sin, tMs connection is, what will
be tiieA SGyh of tho new system in
distributing morS. equally tho burden
Of taxation Thisst7c may be able
to ascertain. For tho year ending
October I. 1867, tho aggregate taxos
were Sl74, $40, Of which amount the
City Of Charleston paid 1857, 7,197, or
33 ner cent. For tho year ending
OctobeT1, 1888, tho aggregate taxes
were si59, ~ Of which amQuRt the
City of Charleston paid sl1A@ OF
81 per cent. For the present Gear
the total tax will be 1920, 1853, of
which amount the City Of Charles
ton will pay s277,ls OF 22 per cent.
Richland, including the City of Co
lumbia, paid in the year ending Octo-
Der 1, 1868, tho sum of s11,629 for
taxes, or 2.53 per cent of the whole.
In tho present year, Richland will
pay s4s, 5O4, or 3o4 per cent. of the
whole.
Without going into any further d.
tails, we may remark that tho rate ol
taxation, thrcc-fourths of one pcr
cent, is far higher than wo bad rca.
son to expect, and far higher than it
wonlsl have been if the State had had
an honest and economical government
Tho convention which framed the
constitution under which we live cost
the State $4,000. Tho special scs
sion of the Legislature, the first held
under that constitution, cost S130, 900
The estimate of the supplies required
for tho current year, as reported BY
the Comptrollcr-Gencral, October 81
1868, was but S920,49G. But the ia,
asscssm mt amounts to S1,23O,O0
which is $4,000 moro than is au
thorized to be assessed by the Ap
preparation bill ITSELF which says
t"Provided thcrc shall not be assessed
and collected under tho provisions O
this act an amount exceeding ono mil
lion dollars.".
These arc tho things to which W
object. Wo felt that it was nccessar
:, to resume the payment of interest o.
the State debt, and are willing to b
taxed in whatever degree may be nee
cssary for that purpose. But we cor
tinuc to protest against the shameless
policy which creates Office after offic
that hungry Radicals may be ap
pcased; which keeps in session wee
after week the negroes and hybrid
who make up Observation-Disclosures {
the Legislature, for no other purpos
than that the members may live upo
the State; which treats South Care
lima as mine in which every knav
may dig, and has no other Object bu
to make rich the needy politician an
! unscrnpulous New England dem.
goguc. For the present our hand
are tied; but wo have the cunsolatio
of knowing that tho State is becon
ing stronger daily, despite the stealth
and lying of the Radical officials, an
that rs soon as the government is re
turned to the keeping of upright me
the rates Of taxation will be lowered
and there will be no barrier betwee
our people and substantial and en-
during prosperity.-CAarleston Menu