The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-06-10
CITY OF CHARLESTON.
OURSELVES as OTHERS SEE Us.
characteristics of Chsrleston-an I'm
American City-The Cotton II r a d e.
Phosphares-The City Debt-Idle Me-
gr~oes-Secinl Intolerance--A Prosper.
ous Future. :

Phosphates-The City Debt-Idle Ne
groes-Secinl lntolerance-A Prosper
ous Future.
Correspondence Of the New York Tribune.l
CHARLESTON, S. c., May 81.
I have seen no American city 30 entirely .un-
American in Its appearance as Charleston. It
is semi-Enropean and semi-tropical In the
characteristics of its streets and buildings, and
more than semi-Africah in its population. In
the older portion Of the city there are streets
whose houses with tile roofs and stucco fronts,
whose narrow sidewalks and grass-grown
cutters present the appearance OF some old
provincial town Of France. Occasionally one
sees a quaint house with gables that seem to
have come out of Holland, or a broad sombre red
brick mansion built In colonial days, and mod
elled from those gloomy dwellings that stand
around Russell Square, In London. Then there
are narrow streets with low houses, having
pia2zas that remind one of Havana. But there
Is little beside the street cars to remind an
American that he is in his own country. He
may live here for months without seeing an
American flag, unless he goes to the citadel,
where a company Of. artillery hoists the stars
and stripes every morning, to remind the pee.
pie that they are still citizens of the United
States. The city is full of picturesque hooks
and corners, and quaint old buildings. and it
has a flavor Of antiquity and decay. and an. air
of having seen better days, that gives it a half
mournful interest In the eyes OF q stranger.
In the course of four days; rides and walks, |
have not seen q single building in process OF
erection. Across the heart Of the city stretches
the burned district lett by TIE great fire OF
1861, which has been but in small part rebuilt,
und which presents q scene of ghastly ruin
that adds much to the general Impression OIL
sadness. Except in three or four OF the prin.
cipal streets, where there Is q little hustle OF
drays and carts, the passage of a vehicle Is an
%lnirequent event, and we may walk the sea-
wall for hours without seeing a single vessel
OF any kind come up the harbor or so out 10
sea.
Inquiry shows, however, that Charleston Is
not falling into decay, as the traveller coming
from bustling, growing Northern cities might
be led BY casual observation to believe. Her
business has In fact steadily increased since
the war, and, although it has not yet reached
the old time figures. 1t promises in a teT years
to do so. The Inhabitants have shown re-
markable enterprise when the great disasters
they have suffered, and The discourasements
under which they have labored in endeaVor.
ing TO restore The trade to their city, are con-
sidered. The records of the Customhouse
show that the expectation OF cotton has
steadily increased from year to year, except
in'the season OF 1858, when the crop was
small. The value Of the cotton shipment is
syll about 81, 1000, 900 less this year than In
1860. 1t is possible that Charleston will never
regain its old importance as q. cotton port.
Savannah, which was unfDjured by the wal,
and has since shown greater business energy,
and q greater disposition to welcome NORTH
ern lien than Charleston, has drawn 10 1t
much of the cotton trade that formerly
came here, and will probably keep it. Con-
oidarohla ootfop fron Dn.nouDfrt dictrinfS that
used to send all their products to this city,
now goes directly North by rail. A new en-
terprIse has, however, been lately developed,
that promises to more than compensate
Charleston tor her lost cotton trade mean
the business oil taking phosphate rock
from the shores and shallow waters OF
the rivers and manufacturing IL into a valuable
fertilizer. The phosphate rock Is found IN
great abundance, in strata Of from. SIX to
twelve inches in thickness. under old rice
fields and marshes along the banks OF the
tide-Water rivers, and usually. orerlaid Win
about four feet Of soil. III these beds the roch
exists In fragments resembling kidney-lron
ore, and is mixed with FOSSIL remains OF ani-
mails and fishes. It ia also found in more com.
pact form underlying the shallow waters OF
The rivers, from whose beds 1t Is taken IN large
sheets. The rock delivered at the factories Is
sold for 81 so per ton. There are thirteen
companies In Charleston engaged in mining
HUG NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IL, tuSiA luSloAiSo OSSuPs
ing the fiat IL ks oil the Cooper and Ashley.
Rivers, lust abo e the city limits. The process OF
manufacturing consists in first breaking the
rock Into small pieces, then grinding It into q
powder as fine as -four, and afterward mixing IL
with %sulphuric acid 10 produce soluble super
phosphate oflime. The mixture Is lett three
or four months to dry, and Is then q valuable
make a higher fertiliztng grade, a little PERU
Wan guano isadded. The manufacture of.sul-
phtric acid is an important part OF The bust
nets, and Is accomplished by burning sulphur
In retorts, and condensing The fumes IN
mense receivers or chambers OF lead. This
phosphate business Is but three years old, but
It's Importance may be gathered from the fact
that a single company has received orders from
England for 1000 tons. On all the phosphat-
ic rock taken from the river beds the state
collects a tax OF 81 per ton, aud 1t Is believed
that in lime this tax will afford q yearly Ieve-
nue. sufficient to pay the entire interest on the
State debt.
Among the chief of the obstacles to the
growth Of Charleston is.the large city debtE
amounting 10 over i've millions-centractH
mainly in aid Of railway enterprises before the
wal. The population is only. about $4,000; SO
that the yearly interest Is more than 81
lor.every inhabitant; but, as more than one-
half Jhe people pay no taxes, the, burden is
very onerous upon those who do pay. a
large propcrty-owner informed me yesterday
that the lakes on his real estate averaged one-
half OF the yearly rental, and that 1t is not
possible TO obtain high rents to compensate
for the heavy taxes; the rents are lower than
in most cities OF the same size. He knew of
houses, he said, that could not be rented for
the taxes. Property has deprecated conside,;
rable in the past three years, and l have heard
Of buildings selling for but half what they were
valued at in 1857.
Another burden upon the city is the sur.
plus colored populalion-that is, the excess of
negroes over the demand for lasorers. The
negroes come here from other places, AZ
tracted by the charms Of city life, and by the
safety from Ku.KluX outraGes. AS long as
they. get can enough to support life they pre-
fer to remain.in the city rather than TO go out
and work on the plantations. In going about
the streets one is struck by the number OF men
who appear to have no employment. My at
tention was particularly attracted by this cir
cusestance while walking, the other aay, IN a
quarter OF the town chiefly Inhabited by col
ored people, and l stopped an old and very
black man, who, unlike the others, appeared
to have some business on hand and to be in a
hurry to do it. ! asked t'm!fthere were many
colored men who did not have steady EN-
NJ Drora1 10 ha n momhpr nf thp