The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1869-09-01
The Land Commission.

= AA~ AdUAkN |N\~AAAAAAASOASAAs
>ass3 = IN t & 8%E4 tt5' j .--.-- is s,,fy t,a s..
Mr. Leslie, tho irrcpresssible Senator
tor RarnWeli, has seated himself amid tho
perquisites Of ono Of the now offices,
and advertiaes tho sherlffs to advlao him
ofall lands purchased by tho State at
tax sales, 80 that no may ontor therein.
Ho is tho Land Commissioner, tho agent
appointed for the business Of a disguised
oontlscation. The State, manipulated by
spsoulators, has gone regularly into tho
real estate business. It dovs business on
"Ohange, but the change inevitably
obeys the laws, and finds It's way into
the pockets Of tho choRen few.
- Now what Is tho object OF this Land
Commission and Of this notice to the
ehorIffsl Why does tho State, occupied
with a thousand Ills, look after othors
Havc n,attors como to such a pass, that
tho Radical fortunes can 10 retrieved by
suth an eccentric enterprise, or It is aono
Hchomo Of deep laid villainy, to mako
monoyi Wo suggest no hypothesis,
, but merely examine tho facts.
.. Tho State has long beon owned BY a
Tow mon In largo tracts much Of which
@as un'mprovcd and uncultivatod.
There was a natural pride in these broad
paternai acres, that concentrated the
man. and individualizod his ambition.
Ito was rather disposed to add to the
ancestral barony, than soil IN small
parcels to strangers. This spirit still cx.
lists III much Of It's native vigor; but tho
tmos have changed, and however safo
IN the past, such spirit is fatal to our
present hopus. 1t now concerns the
very life OF tho State to invite population,
and divide these largo tracts into AZ
many homestcnds as possible. This is
the very drift Of this Land Commission,
and We do not so much complain Of the
division, as Of those To whom tho d.
vision is made, aud the tranner and form
in which 1t is done.
Tho voting majority m tho State il
with the colored mnn. and ir tho white
Radical wishes to retain power, hc must
provide for him in some way They
only wish to make decent fortune for a
rainy day, and then they will go back
mud care very Iittlo about The ruins they
plundercd. They therefore, mike this
arrangement with Cufec: "Gvc us all
Tho !at Offices, and we will give YOU all
the uncnltvnted lands ut mn indefinite
credit. You arc pcnniless tu buy, but
we arc equal 10 tho occasion. The own.
ers wont sell, we will legisiate them into
it,
a board cQnnlizcs the pro.rn,a taxa.
ton. For instance tho State, or no.
groea rAther, want Il certain piece of
property, that il worth about $500, 90,
aud belonging 10 ,nRn who has no mo.
ney To pay laXeR. lilo offers II for sale
at my price a; hut the marke, is dead
and he cannot iino a purchaser. The
bnard "cqualizes" its vnlue at say, $4,000,
~ taxes me due in propnr lion; Of
c"nrSu tho owner cannot pay, and the
Shorif takes tho land in Tho name OF the
State, and turns il over to this Land Com.
mission. This is one turn Of tho patent
screw. Then some landleSs voters are to
to bought aud secur oil, and tlc voters are
located upon this tInclss on credit o(
twenty yeats. 1t is morc than likely,
that they will vote one way for those
twenty years at any rate. as each vote
rcnows the notu without interest
This is fact. no fancy picture, aud Mr..
l.cslies notice is the voice of contiSca,lon,
"crying IN tho Wilderness" Wo hear
the hammer falling every where, and 10.
licvo that our sheet nnchor is parting.
We advise all those who have more land
than they plant, or for which they have
no immediate use, to sell at any price Ia
whito emgrants, and il they cannot sell,
thon we recommend tho free gift to set
tiers. 1t is the only way to secure em,
grafton and meet the tn,ure
as soon as tho colored man of Sir.
ginia, Georgs and North Carolina, snd
other States understand that they tan
get land for the asking in South Csrc
lima, they will crowd every avenue II the
State. The Board Of Equalizs ,irn, Tax
Bill and Land Commission. are the coss
in the big wheel tha. mors< the ma
chinery Of this Irresponsible legislation.
IL not met at once, il must crnsh tn, last
hopo Of tho State.
But "here is life in the old lan,! vet"
There is horo in the generous patriotism
Of tho people. There is hope iu ;he
great soul Of the past The lanI owners
Of tho Stsle have Inherited with their
acres tho devotion Of their ancestors
They only need to he convinced ,ha, the
safety OF tho State demands the sacrifice,
aud they will stand in the zap Of
Thormopylm. They will meet in con.
ventinn they viii divide up their surplus
lands. and Say tn the white emisran,
come, and wc will give YOU and your
children homo on the soil forever"
It. shall not cost cent, and it will Weld
you more than tho fields ofthe West,
under bettcr climate. They w i'll antici.
patio tho colored possession. and settle
tho social and political questions in the
1nferoS,s Of peaco and civilization.
Charleston Gazette.