The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-01-28

anner.ssorl Syntelligsnfer,.
Judge Maekey onsthe Fence Law.
In charging the grand jury for York County
Judge Mackey made these reTasrgs On tnsasnse
law which we take from the Yorkvllie En-
EisShonor next desired to Invite the attetl-
tioD.of tie grand jury to the pportanceo their
memoriaFizing the legislature to repeal the
fence law now in force, and thus lift from - !ne
people a. great burden, which IS preventing
their adyanse-in general prosperity and which
amounts to- tax Of at lsastSe ehree per cent per
anum upon the capital invested i'm the agrlcnt,
tnral enterprise in this section me people ol
York county1 as shown By reliable statistics,
nav $40 for the necessary fencing to keep oas
of their fields cattle of theivalue OF 81: Y: /. I!
Eff an acre of land is IN the form OF perleeesG es
souare. it can be fenced more economically
than in any other shape. Let us see what \ 1t
would cost to. fence .suchgang acre to-day IN
York county..-It will require 920 rails, allow:
ing % panels to the side of the lot each panel
being three yards in length and consumingi ten
rails. IF the land-holder owns the timber and
hires laborer to split rails, he must pay fifty
cents s;per day and find the laborer in food. An
ordinary. laborer will split, 100 rails per day
would require, say, nine days TO- split the re-
onired number of rails. But the laborer must
he fed and hired laborers are celebrated Tor
their enormous appetites. SoT that the cost OF
food will be at least thirty cents per Gay, ma, "a
king S2.7O in addition, or total cost OF sf'zo
for the rails. IF the owner builds, the renee
himself,it willrequire two; days to build 1t, at
fifty cents per day for labor, making an aggre-
gate of $500 for fencing q single acre:
If, however, the owner has no timber ianes Us
s,,dasherefore; purchases the rails, be pays %
nar2hnndred. or SIS for the total number re-
an;yed for fencing an acre, e1clusiveo of the cost
IF hanlinne. which acre Of arable hand can be
purchased in this county for So. 49,.
The great hope of ameliorating the condition
of the noorer classes can best be realized by IN
creasing tne facilities of their becoming owners
of land. Yet our laws declare to the poor man,
as well as to the rich, you may buy ten acres OF
|sn5+ with your $50, yet,you cannot cultlvate~lt
to produce bread for your family until you ex-
mend from $50 to $1O0 to fence out your neigh.
boris COW, worth about SIS, and your rights OF
property i'm the soil are, subordinated to your
neighbors right to permit his cattle TO roam
over the entire country. You are not required
to lock up your smoke-house to keep your
uelghbOr out or II, DuG you Hus1 ioeA W yooA
farm to keep his COW out OF that.
This system it will be seen, is peculiarly op-
pressiye to the small capitalists, whose money
Is consumed in building fence, when it might
be applied to building q more comfortable cab
in and the purchase of agricn nltural implements.
When the fence is built, he cannot insure it
from destruction by fire, and the very next M
cmaper-out will probably burr number OF the
rails and open the farm to invasion by rowing
stock and campers out usually select the fences
of the poorest farmer in the neighborhood
Moreover. if q fence is broken through by stock
and the crop destroyed, it would be almost i'm
possible for the owner to recover Judgment IN
his favor in the courts, as there are so teW law
full fences in this county. For tpractlcai pur-
poses lawful fence may be defined as "a tence
horse high, bull-strong and g-tight," and who
has such aHence IN York;. =.
In addition, gentlemen of the grand jury, by
reason of the fencing, the public roads nave
or bitches instead of being safe avenues OF
travel. as the fences shield them from the wind
and The sun. and preyept;them from being thor
oueSly dried until a long period after rain {;
and as the earth blown from the fields collects
along the line of the fence, the water falls from
the Slopes. thus created, into the road below,
and there it remains until removed by dispen-
sation Of Providence, or by the action OF some
exceptional board of county commissioners.
The objection to repeal of the fence law IS
that poor man, owning a few head OF cattle,
and being obliged tb fence them. in will have
to part with them at any price they can get
hayingsnopasturel lands on whieh'to keeptthem
This objection is a potent one, and must De
met practically in order to secure "a repeal OF
the fence law. The only way to meet it is for
the landowners to, guarantee that they will
furnish enclosed pastures at low charge-say,
twenty-five cents per month, for each head ' Of
stock, of their laborers The pastures can I, De
easily enclosed withia small portion OF the rails
taken from the farms.
Il is certain that if we, from the rapid con-
sfinptiof Of timber in this country, for the pur,
pose of cooking, fencing, and the building: of
houses, and railways, do not dispense. with
fences. our children and Our grand children
must, as the timber will certainly be entirely
exhausted. -