The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-03-21
COLUMBIA.
.state Board of Observation-Disclosures to
Congress-Petition to sell the Hilton
Head Abandoned Lands-Mode of get
ting Text Books-nIiss McCuioeh.
COLUMBIA. March 10.

COLUMBIA, march III.
The State Board Of Education adjourned Fri
day evening, alter session of three days. The
work was, In the main, harmonious. being at-
most entirely routine business, or business
looking to the operation Of the new system OF
common or public schools In this State. The
work probably could have been done in half the
time, had the superintendent nOtfound serious
difficulty in adapting his New England scheme
to Southern population. Here, as in the ap-
pllcation of the township law, the differ
ence between the population Of South Caro-
lima and that Of Massachusetts, pre-
scnted considerable difficulties. The town.
ship law had, after years trial. TO sbe
laid aside as failure and one of these
school commissioners told me yesterday
that this school law will rcunire million
year to keep 1t In successful operation. Pursu-
ant to this manifest deslderatum, something
was doneto raise money, as all parties realized
the fact that no appropriation which South
Carolina Legislature could ever make would
suffice to carry on the scheme. The leading
item accordingly in the proceedings of this
convention was q memorial to the Congress OF
the United States praying that large portion
of public lands he set aside for the use OF this
State as an education fund. 1t will be remem-
bered that some three or four years ago ma
tional convention OF teachers. held at Trenton,
N. j., set In motion this idea OF asking the Uni
ted States Government to appropriate certain
public lands in the West as the source OF an edu-
cation fund for the States Of Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
This meeting Of the State Board the other day
revived that idea, and made 1t point In
the memorial they voted to be made to Con-
gress. A second item in this memorial was
the advice to Congress to sell the Hilton Head
abandoned lands and apply the proceeds OF
sale to the common school uses. This item
provoked an excited political debate. The
anirnus OF the Radicals seemed to be to punish
the former owners Of those lands, although
they argued that the present sale of the lands
would lead to restoration of them on easy
terms to their former owners; but the reply to
this was that that process would not yield much
money for the schools. Upon the whole. it
sceBlS LlitI LiSSC ieduiSAt oehtoi HASiSiJ "''Ao
to stir up points of bitterness for use as polit-
cal capital in the coming campaign. The
vote on this matter was strictly party vote,
and stood thirteen against ten. Another
point of detail may be of public interest. 1t is
the mode of getting school books. 1t was de-
cided to require each county commissioner to
forward to the State superintendent list oI
the books needed by him; the superintendent
is to forward these lists, under his endorse
ment, to the publishers, and the publishers are
to send the books to the county commits
sloners This all seems fair enough,
until we remember that it puts it in the power
of Mr.. Jlllsou to forbid the use Of any books
not acceptable to him personally-and Mr.. JILL
son is known to be unfavorable to all Southern
books. He being Massachusetts, man, this
feeling is natural to him, but hardly just on
that account.
The proceedings are to be published in few
days; and the minority report on the land me-
mortal will Qf allowed to appear) show the
party style Of reasoning pursued BY the ma
jority.
MISS McuLIocH.
The announcement that this prima donna is
to appear here on the 2Gth has produced de-
cided sensstion. The rush to hear her will be
unprecedented in that line. CoRsAIR.
The following clause of law in regard to