Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-01-03
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

TT6VlOuS 10 Gut auJouIuiuOu1 VI tn0 AoS's
lature for the Christmas holidays, the House
passed the Constitutional amendment in re-
gard to public schools, by vote Of SO yeas
to % nays. The Senate having adopted the
amendment at the extra session, it is now, to
all intents and purposes, part of the organ
ic law of the State.
The provisions of the amendment require
the County Commissioners of the several
counties of the State, to levy an annual tax
of two mills on the dollar upon all the taxa,
BILE property in their respective counties, for
the support of public schools. The poll tax,
as heretofore, is to be applied solely to edu'
cational purposes in the school district in
which it is collected, and all moneys collect
ted for school purposes are to remain in the
respective counties, and be disbursed by the
county treasurers.
The School Commissioner Of this county
informs US that the school fund in York coun.
ty, to be derived from the school tax, will
amount to about nine thousand dollars for
the present year, which will be increased
by the poll tax to about twelve thousand
dollars. He is now engaged in making ar
rangements to open the public schools with
out delay. This is manifestly carrying out
the pledges made during the last campaign,
and is matter in which the people of the
county should feel a deep interest. Twelve
thousand dollars is considerable sum, and
should be watched over and made to produce
good results Too great care cannot be exer-
cised by the school officers of the county in
directing the judicious expenditure OF this
sum. The people of the several neighbor'
hoods should 90 to work at once and make
all necessary arrangements for the opening Of
the schools. New school houses should be
built where required, old ones repaired, and
good teachers selected The selection of
competent teachers should be carefully at
tended to, as it is impossible to have good
schools with inefficient teachers. In this con-
nection, we take occasion to state that the
State Superintendent of Education has en-
joined it upon School Commissioners, to be
strict in their examinations of those who pro-
pose to engage as teachers in public schools.
This is proper. Every individual who can
read and write is not necessarily a competent
teacher.
The School Commissioner of this county
speaks cheerfully and hopefully of the pros
poets of the public schools. He represents
the trustees as being men who take much in.
terest in the success of the schools, and who
have, during the past year, judiciously manag-
ed the small amount of money appropriated
by the legislature for school purposes. he
thinks the schools can be opened as early as
the first of February, and that they will be
kept open for six months, or perhaps longer.
The prospect now is, that the matter of edu-
cation in South Carolina will soon be reduced
to system, and one from which much good
will follow.
COMPTROLLER GENERALS REPORT.
We are indebted to J. A. Deal, Esq, men,
Der of the House of Representatives from
York county, for number of legislative doc
uments including a copy Of the Report of
the Comptroller General to the present ses.
sion of the General Assembly. This report
constitutes volume of over 300 pages, en-
bracing the reports of the various officers re-
quired by law to report annually to the
Comptroller General, aud therefore makes a
thorough exhibit of the financial operations of
the State Government. As regards the COL
lection of taxes for the first fiscal year under
Governor Hampton's administration, it would
appear that the following sums have been
paid into the State Treasury:
Ten per cent. contribution, Sl35, ,s05 93
Second 5 ] Collection, to Nov. 26, ,.... 4o7 ,O93 90
Total, ,SS5 96
Cash on hand, November 26,...".... $40, 1856 so
An estimate is made for the current ex-
penses of the State Government for the en-
suing year, amounting to s425,155, exclusive
of the amount required to pay the interest on
the public debt, which is not included in the
estimate, the forthcoming report of the Bond
Commission being relied upon to furnish the
information accurately.
Eight of the counties, viz. Anderson,
Colleton, Edgefeld, Greenville, Pickens Rich
land, Sumter and Williamsburg, have, as yet,
failed to furnish an abstract of the assessment
of the real property in these several coun-
ties. The abstract from the remaining twen-
ty-four counties, shows an aggregate of $685.
494,794. Greenville county furnishes an ab-
stract of personally, which, with the other
twenty-four counties reporting, shows an ag-
gregate of $34,734,296. Estimating for the
counties which have failed to report, the en-
tire taxable property of the State is estima-
ted as follows: Real, sS6,796,00z personal,
s42,16231l, to which may be added the val
ue of all railroad property, as fixed by the
State Board of Equalization, S6,677, $50, ma
king total of s135, ,735,S63.
The assessment for this year shows an in
crease, in the counties reporting, of 3S,975
polls over the assessment of the previous year.
This increase may be accounted for from three
causes, viz. {: that more attention than hereto
fore has been given to listing the names Of
those liable to poll tax the increase by
large number of young men just attaining
their majority and the fact that by recent
act of the Legislature, the provisions OF the