The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-02-17
For the Aaasrsos Ia.elaqence,.


tance to all elasses-to the farmers 6rst and
through them to all ethers Of the State-and
which demands more speedy and radical remedy
than the fence law. At present fence, to be
lawful must be Eve feet high. and no remedy can
be had, though the fence may be high enough ior
all ordinary purposes, for trespasses committed oy
mischievous stock upon growing crops, no'~i'n-
standing the habits of the stock are sucn tnat no'
even q lawful fence would turn them, unless the
fence is lawful. The owners of mischlevous STOCK
are not responsible for them nor are they answer
able for damages they commit. Now, venture to
say 10 say there is scarcely a lawful fence sur
rounding farm in any portion of the State, not
even in the more thickly timbered counties of the
upper portion of the State and what is more, it
is almost an utter impossibiity to make them
such Ttt lidl i1.aaa ~ -: }eolt
During the war o grent portion Of the farmers
were called of, and their farms were left under
the management of their wives and negroes, who
were ignorant in the first place, and anxious to
supply the demand of pressing and immediate
wants. Consequently little fencing was done
Since the war the uncertain tenure landowners
held upon their lands, the unrelability of labor,
together with the pressure of debt upon oil, with
few exceptions have forced farmers to increase to
the utmost extent possible the productive qualities
of their lands, in order to meet the pressing de-
mands against them. The ravages of the half
fsmished stock during the past summer taught
them the unrcliability of their fences and their
dilspidated condition.
The demand is universal for remedy, and
there is but ore remedy and that is for the Legis-
lature to enact law compelling all owners Of
stock and cattle to keep them inclosed, and to
make it an ndctable offence for any one to tress.
pass upon lands of others by cutting roads OF
riding over them.
Considered morally there certainly is an inccn-
sstency in the law, as it now stands, to that old
and long established maxim, that no one has the
right to SO use his property as to injure another.
Now, what right has one man to turn his stock at
large to depredate upon the growing crops Of 9TH
ers? Orwhat shadow of justice is there in COM
pellirg one mal to incur the burdensome tax of
fencing up his whole plantation in order that an
other mans cattle can pasture the old and worn
out lands which, in all probability, belong to o
third person? Consider for one moment the ben-
eft derived by cattle from this outside pasturage.
which, generally speaking, is just about sufficient
to sustain life, and compare to it the tax forced
upon the producer Of keepingup the fences around
his farm, and where viii you find man who is
| not ready to see and admit tho injustice and bad
policy Of the law? $50
| The circumstances which induced the enact
ment Of the present law were such as rendered it
conducive to the interest of all classes. Then
our forests were covered with rich and desirable
pasturage, while the number of acres in cultiva-
ton were comparatively small, and timber at the
same time no object. Now these circumstances
are materially changed this outside forest pas
turage has disappeared; the number Of acres in
cultivation or under fence has greatly increased,
while the timber has almost entirely been swept
| away - .-r-s, q. ~ .,.f,.,.
There scarcely can be u doubt that it is the duty
Of ell good governments, by proper legislation, to
encourage agriculture and to cheaper, as far as
possible, the annual products Of the farm. When
taxation is high, agriculture as we'll as all other
business, languishes. Not that the farmer is un-
able to meet this direct tax but it is this tax add
ed to the other expenses of the farm which makes
the yoke grievous to be borne. Chief among the
other expenses of the farm is the fencing, which
can be lessened four-hfths by inclosing the stock
1 and not the form. And when we consider the
extra labor in repairing fences lying along water
courses and across low lands, where they are
liable to be washed away by every succeeding
freshet, this four-ffths might be further increased.
The minds Of the people have been 80 little
turned upon the cost of fencing, that few indeed
are aware of the enormous burden entailed upon
us all, but upon the producers more especially.
On this subject the late Mr.. Calhoun once said
that il cost more to build the fences in the United
States than did to build al the cities, towns and
villages Consider the cost In fencing one mile
square, or $40 acres. Say rails I'D feet long, the
crook feet, and II rails to pannel-twenty-
four rails will reach four yards-l0 1853 will fence
one side Of the square, or Al, Az will fence the
entire square mile. Now let each one estimate
for himself the cost Of cutting splitting, hauling
and building according to their peculiar circum-
stances, as we'll as consider the cost Of repairing
| through long series of years. Then estimate
the cost of the entire fencing within the State,
and the result will be truly astonishing. All of
which is forced upon the farmers in order that the
hogs may have the benefit of few acorns, lwhere
there ore any,) and in order that our scrub cattle
may CLEAN the meagre groupings Of broamsedge
from our worn out lands
The majority of farms within the State have
upon them . large proportion Of worn-out
lands, and In order to cultivate the productive
portions the whole farm has 10 be kept under
fence, and many hundred acres have to be fenced
on some farms to incose so or 100 acres of good
land.