The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-01-14
O0ltJMl'BIA, I ] 4 q, 8. 9.
Tuesday Morning. January IA. 1873
A Nice L,.tic Job

Our curiosity has led us to look into
the report Of the Secretary OF State.
: We find il volume Of 1856 pages, con-
3aihiig great deal OF rule aud Aguie
work, which costs double the price OF
ptdicary printing. These costly isures.
eota1iarge extent, conSern matters OF the
least conceivable account. Perhaps the
several, pagesi:of; poof. tsiutns may, be
useful. ( t.bpti they are incomplete, as
eleven OF Ing, Counties make no returns
st all. The. .ireariest and most wor, bless
part OF the volume IS the election returns,
for the State officers. occupying seventy.
three pages We suppose this is part
,oi the Secretary's duty to include these
returns. but what any mortal can find in
them OF interest, is beyond our ken.
Sc sas IS TIE .neatlsss and compls.sne ess
OF the work 60, We make no doubt that
it is credi,able to The industry aud accu-
raoy OF the compiler.
The Land Commission department,
the duties of which have been deyolved
upon the Secretary Of State. occupies
ninety pages. It is q curious. record of
failures, blunders and .swindles. It con-
sists Of seven statements. the first of
which shows the total number of acres
purchased and the total cost: This foots
up $577.517. But in note, which, as
Tony Lumpkin says Of the. postscript of
. letter, contsinsthe cream OF the CORES
pondence, we have the fact brought out
that 81. 81. Kimpton, according to his
report, has paid out of the Land Com
mission fund, upon drafts, 80. drawn
on him by the State Treasurer,
8712,079.19, and the further fact that
the State Treasurer, according to his re-
ports, has paid on the same account
$50, ,058. .25. making total expenditure
OF $500. 1874. Here is difference of
1924, ,620.44. as the report says, "totally
unacconnted for, and lost to the State"
We had an Advisory Board, charged
with the management OF this business,
comprising r. x. SCOTT, Governor; D.
81. Chamberlain. Attorney General; N.
g. Parker, Treasurer; j. L. Neagle,
Comptroller General, and F. L. Oardozo,
Secretary Of State. (who says that from
dissatisfaction with its doings, he 70.
signed from the Board in October, 1869,
and would not cooperate with it again
until March l., 1900 @. P. Leslie, r. Q.
DsLarge and H. e. Hayne have been
the Land Commissioners. How are the
Advisory Board pleased with this record2
They need not try to place the wrong
exclusively upon the virtuous Leslie, or
any other OF the Commissioners. They
were the trnstsss OF this fund. and the
Commissioners was only their olerk or
agent. The purse could only open when
they pulled d~the- strings.- They were the
men to approve. if not directly to make
the puIehazes; oas of them said he
withdrew. Why did he not do more?
One OF them. was the law officer Of the
State, and bound as such to protect It's
interests A1d sighta;, apart from his
dhties as member of the Land Board.
They are all pilloried in this report. It
40 p AnoouMo0t w tuoAk u6EouCtlO0 OF
duty. to .use the mildest possible term
more lasting than brass.
To this report, under Darlington, I"
we find it stated that there are two tracts
of'land owned by the State in that
County-the Wilds and Buck Swamp
tracts. This land, embracing 1.49716
acres. was bought by the State from DR..
Jeha Lunney for $l1, COSTS, and paid
for in full. It is added. however, that
DR.. Lunney only paid q. portion of the
price for the land to the parties from
whom he bought. Why did he not, as
agent, pay all as due? The report says,
because he had assurances from several
members OF the advisory board that
they would agree to purchase other lands
besides. Upon the strength of this pro-
mise, but unauthorized by any official
action, he used Q part of the money en-
trusted to him to pay for the two tracts,
in paying part upon certain other
tracts. The result is that mortgages re-.
main on them, and on the two ren,lv