Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-02-27
@4Ca. .66S ~ Sl,s9c.5I,
Total


The facts exhibit the unprecedented
spectacle of State in which the Gov
ernment is arrayed against the prop
erty of it's citizens. 1t has been openly
avowed by prominent members OF the
Legislature that the taxes should be
increased to point which will compel
the sale of the great body of land and
take 1t away from the former owners.
The fruit of this policy is shown in
the facJ stated by the Comptroller
General in his report that for default
in the taxes for the year 1872 alone,
the State, and this result proves the
fallacy of the belief that the policy
pursued is to promote the elevation of
the black people and the acquisition
by them of the lands thus virtually
contiscated. The reverse is the neces-
sary result. Lands are unavailable as
security, mortgages, or default of pay
ment. 1t cannot sell, wages have declin-
ed, the cost of living is made greater by
the addition of taxes to the prices of
commodities, the poor are made
poorer and rendered every
day more incapable of purchasing
lands and more hopeless of rising
above the condition of mere laborers.
1t would have ameliorated the condi-
tion of your petitioners, if the effect
of this policy had been to create an
active dsmand for lands on the part
of the large class of our population,
but while the owners are by Oppress-
i've taxation driven to sell others, for
the same reason, are disqualified from
buying. The abuses in the legislative
department., that have been described,
are not confined to the mere raising
and expenditures of revenues, but
they pervade the entire conduct of
that department. Schemes have been
devised for issuing State bonds and
| for contracting other loans by which
the public debt has III six years been
raised from $5, 900, 900 to SIG, 900, 600,
and that without advancing any pub
lie works adding one dollar to the
public property, or to the payment of
the public debt. Large as the sum of
the public debt is admitted to be,
there is reason to believe that it does
not reach the true amount. It is found
impossible to ascertain the actual sum
of the obligations that have been is
sued. Schemes of public plunder have
been openly advanced by corrupt
measures, of which one single ex-
ample will suffice. Two clerks
of the Legislature, in their Of
fetal capacity, made contracts with
themselves as private persons for the
public printing. The appropriations
made in one year for the work done OF
to be done by these two officials
amounted to s475, 900, exclusive OF
100000 for publishing the laws, and
in the fiscal year of 1873 there was
actually paid to them for printing
1881 900, leaving large sum then due
to them by the State, and this, not.
withstanding the avowal of the two
officials themselves that the work
done was worth no more than 800, ,OC0
and the testimony of others that its
value was only $50, 900. The stupen
dous fraud involved in this and sim
liar modes of making the Legitimate
objects of public expenditure the me
dunn of plundering the Treasury can
not be better illustrated than by the
following facts: The total appropria
tions for public printing made by th.
Legislature of South Carolina, during
a period of sixty years, from 1900 t.