The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1872-04-10
THE CONDITION OF THE SOUTH.

TIE CONDITION OF THE SOUTH.
The Nation, one of the ablest as
we'll as most conservative, of the
Republican Journals, in q recent
article holds the G eneral Govern.
ment to its true responsibility TOT
all the consequences of Radical
misru.e at the South. lite course
has been as impolitie as unjust
If it, were its design to punlsn !s
criminals, shers was no reason 1or
delivering them up into the hands
of the ls't 'ctarpet-bagger. It would be
much better TO levy tribute money
and get national advantage, from
these merciless exactions. 1t took
four years Of war to retain the
Sotth in the Union and now IT is
hardly deemed worth !, an an AFT OF Of
Congress to,pseserye it.. ~ : II.
Says the Nation: >s.-. - ,.'
awe must acknowledge that the
condition Of: the South from al
most, every very point IF view is ex-
tremel; ,wretchsd, The property
Of the eleven States in 1860, exelu-
81 sive m of slaves, was valued at s.
72s.s25. .O06.a At the end of the
war.their increased liabilities and
loss, exclusive Of slaves, was w.
t ssae0O .s90. neatly one half the
assessed Value Of their property, at
the. beginning of7the war. This.
however. was 6fly the State loss;
Secretary Belknap fxes the rebel
debt. On. the 1st' Of April, 1865: at
s2,s45,sS, ,s2& - This estimate
would make the total loss of the
rebelIous States by the. war $5,-
6s,s0s, ,5!f4. This sum, it will be
seen. is about twice: the assessed
value of all Southern property in
1885, exclusive aof slaves. Five
eiehts Of Southern q property is
cone, @ ana the taxes upon the re-
hainder. are four. times that upon
the original property before the e
war. How much Of the money.
wrung from this, Impoverished
county Is. expended. upon public
imnroYemehta it ia useless to tell;
but it is likely that most Of it, and
certain that :much of it, goes to
feed the vulgar and rapacious
rogues who rob and rule a people
helpless asnd utterly exhausted - I, :
With the exception of Virginia
and Tennessee the debts of al! the h
States lave been increase" since &c
the sty tIYyaarS-that E Of Alabama M from m
5000, 900. to- $4,000, ,ooo-that of
North Carolina from 14,ooo,o o,oooato
$s4,0OO,0o0,-South Carolina from .tn
$6,QQq,ooo TO- 80, 100000, ~. !, I,:Is
Again ON the subject Of taxation
theNation remarks;;a.. .. >s..'.. r. .':at = =,
..Au ACCOUNTS agree as to the
widespread misery and penpry:, In
Mississippi, q large planter testified
thatitatook all his cotton for the
yeaf187 I TO. pay his 6 taxes. 1t is
South 5Carelina, however, that en-
Joys tie nenviable eminence, of
being tie worst-robbed State Of
the Whole eleven, In the single
county Of. KershaY, possessing a
population Of l,QOQ, there was
3,6Q0 tax-exeeutions issued The
The.taxation during 1870, $780,
l57, WAS more thanthe whole tax,
alton on double the property for
tiveigears before the war. In. Or
der 10 eiehange the fiscal year, they
probSsed to double this and, in
l87I7to levy q tax of $4,730, ,094 !;
whether tie law was executed we
do not know, but the fact remains
thatait was enacted. Peculatior
and corruption are as unive sal as
poverty and distress. Ia. 1850,
southl Carolina paid for Offices and
salaries, 1920, 800; oin 1871, in
l37EthaiState expended on. these
$5S1,649.f4n two years, $1,20s,-
57F6P fiaves been paid out; for
which 'nov0uchers are'to be found
in the Trearuryy..i i According to
the minority report Of the Ku'Ktulx Z:
Com nittee, TIE disbursements :ex;; ex;
eeed the oapp5o opEriatio'n'sa It ms by: $ll7la9,-
$685., &s:,d04 o. .n,iiora0 hjnn: 49,
The cause Of all this oppression
is thus Huthhlly given: ~, .'4 ....l. :.
"The negroes, By, themselves
would he but little to be feared !;
yet in the hapds of the. .carpet.bag-
gera,4they ksXelbeenrthe pnwitting
Instruments Of most of the. harm
that'has been done. The swindles
could not have, got the control of
things without the help Of negroes.
They have made numerically the
largest part of the conventions and
Legislatures in South Carolina.
TIE Convention of 1853, which
drew up a State constitution, was
eomposed of II pegIoss and ~
white men. This Convention
made provision for a1levy Of S.:
$50. $50 upon the State, which