The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1875-11-10

RnE CouRrs.. s..~-The regular N
term Of the Faifhold Court OF
g@eral Sessions opened on Mondag
first Instant, at half past twelve
@J}'ck. Judge Mackoy appeared in
nd working trim, apparently re-
bred from his sickness Of last
mer. Court having boon Called,
II D. r. Feaster was appointed
Sman OF the Grand Jury, and the
M2rt then delivered tho openin
Srge. The court stated that it
unnecessary to charge them rs
heir regular duties. But there was
y, matter to which he Desired par
Ill gilarly to coll their attention. This
&aE Etter was the buying Of seod cot
NJ, at night by owners Of country
ri Hroa. Complaint has reechel tho
,,s Hs Of the court from all quarters
kt cotton is stolen, tho property of
Emers Of both races, for thieves
u class mike no distinction on
sgcount of race color or previous
Endition Of sor vitude.
The court has beon potitioned to
bdless this great wrong. It is the
bast of the court that. it il able to
hrnish to every citizen the rrotec-
fon guaranteed to him by law.
The cotton crop is the basis of MI
ho prosperity of tho people of the
South, especially to the labol'ing
Iclasscs, as anything tending to
diminish tho crop diminishds the
wages, and it is to the interest of
every poor man to have wGsos'high
nd provisions cheap. When taxes
are high wages must diminish: Now
this wholesale stealing of cotton il
an enormous tax, md for this n
remedy must be found While it is
the belief OF the court, founded on
observation and research that the
labcring classes of the South stoal
less th.n the laboring classes of any
othor nationality still it is nlso q
fact, that the whito property holders
OF this region can stand less Stealing
than property hol lcrs anywhere else
can. f or aftcr paying expenses Of
cultivation, enhanced bya lien system
the net profits to farmers are three
per cent, and this allows no margin
for stenlagc. ...
1t is apparent that behind every
body of cotton thieves there is an
force,-the white man who
buys the cotton. The buyer gets
by far tho greatest proportion of the
proceeds of this crime, because his
race always achieves in any pursuit
a greater success than any others,
and when white man becomes a
thicf he is able to Fsellll". $sas much.
Ms three colorcd men'can.n: - .u., :.
These country storea are great
evil because they are protected by
law. But men may prosecute q law
full business in such d d manner Mo to
make it n nuisance. And these
stores shall be considered az nui
Rances and troatcd as such. It is
almost to discriminate
between those store owners who
carry on lawful business and those
who do not. It shall therefore DO
deemed nuisance hereafter whore
any cotton is purchased Mt night,
whether from tho lawful owner or
otherwise. BY this present system
of purchasing stolen cotton, thieves
realize 80 little from their i'll gotten
gains that they repeat the offence,
md occasion still greater loss to the
farmer. The court hero alluded to
Anderson Whitner tho champion cot
ton thief of Chester, who is now in
tho penitcntiary, who on one oc-
cssion carried large and heavy bas-
ket of cotton to store, md having
been compelled to run under the
bed by the arrival of visitor, found
upon emerging from his hiding
place that his hundred md fifty
pounds of cotton had dwindled
down to twenty-five pounds, and for
this he received two cents q pound.
Even thieves cannot keep up this
traffic at such ruinous rates. In
order to break up this traffic, the
grand jury are hereby charged to
find true bill as for nuisance
against any person proven to have
bought cotton ut night. The only
exception will be in those cases in
which the sellers havo no time during
the day in which to traffic, and this
fact must appear in a regular entry
made on the books of the store.
AID u&Srakooparo oo, Io ;rJ;otn Il