The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-12-27
A Specific Charge Against the Ring.

we DTluL lO-udl IuC lASS ASeA -
the report Of the Joint Investigating Com
mittee, a brief summary OF The contents Oh
which report was given in our issue OF Mon
day. It exposes an extravaganza and
fraud so monstrous and so brazen as to
cause the robberies OF the New York Ring 10
sink into insignifcance. And this, it must be
borne in mind, is the work OF the Radical
officials of this radicalized State. No Demo-
crat can be charged with being partner in
the crime. The Radical officials have done
the wrong-have divided, and now enjoy, the
plunder-yet they are exonerated by Radi-
cal Legislature which, in defiance OF conclu-
siye proofs furnished by its own members,
refuses to impeach them.
The Joint Committee show that the whole
amount received by the State Treasurer
from September, 1868, to October 81, 1870,
was 81, lS4, 7S3, OF which amount sum OF
S2,O55, ,553 represents the receipts from taxes.
Now in this single statement we have an in-
stance 1s the huge burden which the Radical
government has put upon this people Ac-
cording to the Columbia Union, which IN
these matters should be unimpeachable au-
tbority, the State taxes, from 1852 TO 1860,
averaged s474, 531 a year. The Scott gov
ernment collected from taxes, for State pur-
poses, over one million dollars year, and
the assessment for the two years was more
than two and half millisns. This is the
increase in taxation, while the value OF the
taxable property in the State is reduced
from s4s9, 900, 900 to slsS, ,oOc, 900. Nor is
this all. The Columbia Union, the official
organ, charges that during the'past three
years appropriations have invariably ex-
sceeded the receipts from taxes by several
"hundred thousand dollars" In 1870 alone,
the appropriations were more than hay a
nation aboce the receipts
Upon the subject Of appropriations the
Joint Committee say that these have been
diverted from their '.intended and specified
purpose" and they urge the General AS
sembly to give immediate consideration TO
the subject. The people do desire to iock
tha stable door, but they insist that the
thieves be punished.
With regard to the deposit of the State
funds in specified bank, the committee are
both clear and emphatic. They show that
the Act OF August, 1868, requires that all
money received by the Treasurer shall be de-
posted in bank or banks designated by
.rhe Governor, Comptroller-General and
Treasurer, or any two of them, and as, in
saheir opinion, shall be secure and pay
sslhe highest rate of interest for Sach deposit. "
The South Carolina Bank and Trust Compa-
nv OF South Carolina has had the lions
share OF the deposits, but there is no record
of the receipt Of any interest money from that
institution. Iftne bank has paid interest on
the State deposits, the money has been stolen
by the Ring; if tae bank has not paid inter-
est on the State deposits, Governor Scott,
Comptroller Neagle and Treasurer Parker
have knowingly and deliberately violated the
Act OF August %, 1868. In connection with
the statements OF the committee about the
South Carolina Bank and Trust Company,
the public may read with profit an article
from the Union Times, printed in another
column.
The first specific charge against Scott,
Parker and Neage is, that they have de!ibe-
rately aud Systematically violated the provi-
sions OF the Act Of August %, 1868. Let
them disprove it in the Courts if they car.