New-York tribune., 1877-05-16
uoME RULE IN MISSISSIPPI.
EVIDENCES OF PROSPERITY.


,~,o, A srAbF CORRESPONDENT or THE TRIBUNE
r,cKsov. Miss. May 3.-The effect of what peo-
here style home rule, and of what might be moTe
Iao,r,tolv called white rule. has been of manifest
alro,tape In this state. 1t has not bCoaght about
,;llcnuium of prosperity and good feeling but the
s.te is ON the whole in much better shape than at
- ,,,ne since the war, and has at last got in a way
- developing its resources and improving its social
oordi,;en Negro supremacy ovcrthrown IN
,s75 nv methods only cxcusabe BY the kind of
tics that makes the end Justify the means but the
s,lt of taking the bottom rail from the fence and
pnttng il back where t belengs has unquestionably
bcou beneficial. Taxation has been greatly reduced
o,d brought within reasonable limits. The rate
Of the State levy is only five mills on the dollar;
,,r1cr the Republican regime it was If mills, and
The valuations, then excessively high. have been
croatly reduced. County taxes have, on the
overoec been cut down fully one-hak, aud law
hos becn passed restricting the whole amount OF
ounty and State tax that be levied without
s,eciol enactment 70 10 mills the d0llar-a rate
which the taxpayers in most Northern States would
think exceedingly low. The Legislature spends less
than half as much money il formerly did. Last
,.or fine whole cost of running the State Govern
mcnt including the expenses Of the charitable insti-
tutions was only S51S 100 and for the current year
the estimate is S52 $50. After paying the interest
ON the state debt and retiring certificates OF ndebt
iness to the amount of 122, ,5O4 the Treasurer mad
q surplus at the beginning of the present year OF
Sl60944. and had about 100000 of back taxes
vet TO come in. Retrencbment in county expenses
has fully kept pace with that in State outays, and
is within bounds e say that the people have been
relieved of more than onehai of the burden OF tax
alton.
If this had been accomplished at the expense OF
cficicpt government there would be nothing IN the
change to commend, but with the new economies
q decided improvement has been made IN the CHAR
octerof the state and local administration. Intel
pen and respectable citizens have taken the places
in many public offices of ignorant, incompetent
irresponsible and rascay fellows, white aud black
who came to the surface in reconstruction on the
vr,ve of q negro majority. The laws arc admins
tered by better magistrates ana Judges and executed
1va better class of officers. The natural result is
decided Improvement in the feeling toward each
other of the two races composing, in about equal
ro.,ortops the population Of the State Since they
Lave obtained that control of affairs which they
tbipk belongs To them by reason of superior
Intelligence and the possession Of property
the whites are much more kindly disposed toward
In, negroes than formerly, and the negroes Hndlug
that no harm has come 10 them as q class DS tuc
change or to any of their race except the lew men
v,ho baye lost oIice seem readily TO acQulcece IN
tb.uew order Of things They care less tor pohucs
than formerly aud more for their crops, and leel
an uraccustomed security in the consciousness OF
the disauuearguce Of much of the old hosiihty
toward them on the part Of the whites, which grew
o,t of po]itical antaqonism. The white members
cot the upper hand in everything concerning GOV
eminent but as long as it is question whether one
race or the other shall rule the negroes are unqors-
tiorably I'm a better situation as q class than while
attempting 10 govern the whites. Their condition
viii be more satisfactory. however IN that new era
which patriotic men North and South hope is now
Gsruiue Wien the color line will disappear from
politics.
No. as much is being accomplished in the way of
conmou-school education in Mississippi as should be
done. hut il is 10y no means true. as frequently
asserted in party newspapers at the North, tnaj
the school system has been practically abandoned
since the Republicans went out of power. Inc
State sull appropuatcs as much money Tor
school purposes as il did during the latter part OF
tie Republican administration. All revenues de-
rived from the po tax and from licenses, fines and
tLer,demption of lands sold for taxes, goes INTO
fund for distribution pro rata among the counties
according to population, and the law requires that
whom this fund falls short of an amount equal
10 two mills ON the dollar Of all the taxable
pr9pertv in the state the deficiency shall be
made ND from the general fund. If the Poll
tay wefc al collected the amount would far exceed
tie tUo mil minimum, but as 10 one is Obliged to
pay tins tax To have the privilege Of voting il is
vcrylaxlv enforced. The amount Of school funds
distributed 20 the counties last year was - cents
orcycr, child of school age very small sum. but
intended only a> o nucleus for the counties 10 ada
g.. Many counties increase the amount by local
taxation sufficiently TO sustain good schools for from
four TO six months in the year Others show htte
.r.1 10 fflrr,fr ,. tYF
than 10 use The money The state sends them
In The black belt along the Mississippi River there
az reported to be more schools and better ones
than IN other sections Serious difficulties in the
way Of keeping mp an effective common school sys-
ten exist here which people living in the thick!y
settled States at the North can scarcely appreciate.
II the first place there must be two distinct schools
in districts that are scarcely able to support for
the whites will not permit their children 10 be edu-
Gated with those Of the blacks, aad the blacks DO
not themselves desire mixed schools There are ex-
teusIyc regions in the "piHey woods where the
population 50 sparse that II is impossible 70 get
children enough together at any one place TO form
school. lu 0tier Sections swampS, hayous, ana
forests separate the plantations. the cultivated land
lying in strips and spots not large enough to nave
schools fOr whites and blacks on each, ana
too far aar: to combine IN maintaining them.
When people az the North disposed lar~nly 10
crtc.se the southern States for not maintaining
more thorough system Of education they should re
member that there are obstacles and disconTag'nc
conditions iu most parts Of the South which they
are not prepared by their own experience 70 appe-
cate. There sno disposition in Mississippi, so far
can scc to put the colorcI people at a disadlan-
tace n tho matter Of education. They have their
equitable share of the school funds. Tic Lc@s'a-
tHe appropriated last year $1,000 toward the sup