Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-12-04

cept the South Carolina railroad. This com.
pany being in the hands of receiver, ap.
pointed by the United States Court, has de-
clined, as + am informed, up to this time, to
pay its apportionment, awaiting the judgment
of that Court as to its liability. The proper.
tion due by this road constitutes very con-
siderable part of the Commissioners salary
and other expenses, and, remaining unpaid, is
calculated to impede this officer in the dis
charge of his duty, and seriously to affect his
efficiency. In most of the States in which
railroad commissioners have been appointed,
all expenses incident to the Office, as | under.
stand, are paid directly from the treasury, and
in some, subsequently recouped from the roads.
Some legislation is necessary to meet the diff
Guilty above mentioned, and to have paid to
the Commissioner that portion of the expenses
and salary which the South Carolina railroad
has failed E He'd 70 pay; and in taking action on
this subject, would recommend such filrrtshkee1;
action be taken as will prevent, IN future, the
recurrence Of a similar difficulty, and fur
ther recommend that the salary Of this officer
be paid monthly, as other salaries are paid.
PHOSPHATE COMMISSIONER AND AGENT.
By virtue of an Act of the General Assem-.
bly, entitled "An Act to establish system of
general rights" &C., &c, approved December
"a, 1878, appointed Messrs. John Bratton,
]. D. Pope and Zimmerman Davis as Com
missioners authorized by Section IL Of said
Act, charged with the duty of inquiring into
the rights and interest of the State in the
phosphate rocks, &C., &C., phosphate depos.
its in the navigable rivers, &C., &C., of the
State, and also of devising the best system of
protecting the rights of the State therein. By
the Act, this Commission is required to re.
port directly to the General Assembly, and
for information upon this subject l respect
fully refer you to this report.
1 also appointed General r. 81. Anderson
as Special Agent under Section 10 Of said
Act. This distinguished citizen, who during
his life had reflected so much honor upon
himself and his State by his brilliant career
in the late war between the sections, and by
his ever faithful and uncomplaining perform
ance of duty in whatever position he was
placed, died at Beaufort, on the 26th day Of
June last, while in Office, universally lament
ed. The vacancy created by his death was
filled Ly the appointment ofMr. p. L. Roche,
OF Charleston.
FISH COMMISSIONER.
It will be seen by the report of the Fish
Commissioner, Hon. A. P. Butler, made to
me under Section of the Act authorizing his
and which report is herewith
transmitted, that this officer has been very
active in the discharge of bis duty. It has
indeed been labor Of love with him, as he
receives no salary. Yet he has been jealous
and diligent, and has accomplished much
with the small sum appropriated to his use.
The Importance of this enterprise I do not
think is fully appreciated. The time was in
the history Of the past when our waters all
over the State were full of valuable fishes,
furnishing abundantly at certain seasons of
the year cheap and most healthful food to
numbers of our people. The supply, howev.
er, has been exhausted for some years, and
you rarely meet now, above tide water, fishes
of any value.
1t has been demonstrated by actual exper-
iment elsewhere, that rivers and streams thus
exhausted may be restocked and in few
years made to abound with new and more
extensive supply than formerly. This is no
speculative opinion, but the teaching of actu.
al experiment, and in several of the States
the people are now reaping the rich fruits of
their efforts in this direction by constant
and never-failing supply of this most invigo.
rating food, which they find free to their
hands, crowding all their streams and rivers.
recommend careful consideration of the
Fish Commissioners report and the estab-
lishment of this enterprise upon wider and
frmer foundation.
PENITENTIARY.
1t will seen from the report of the Super
intendent of the Penitentiary, that the convicts
number $40; of these $50 have been hired
out to private individuals and to railroads and
other corporations, leaving about 29O CON
stantly confined in the Penitentiary. With
these convicts not hired out, under the super.
vision of the Superintendent, whose zeal and
faithfulness in the discharge Of his various
duties cannot be too highly commended, the
Penitentiary grounds and property have been
greatly improved wall extended 78O feet
and several large necessary and commodious
buildings erected, large amount Of brick
manufactured and other industries inaugu-
rated.
The money value of these improvements
and buildings cannot be less than $4,000,
besides other work done on the State House
grounds and elsewhere. The discipline Of the
Institution is without objection, and the health
of the convicts better than it has been for
years, and is now as good as any other por-
tion of the people in the community.
The practice of hiring out the convicts to
any and all parties for any and all purposes,
as authorized under recent legislation, has
not been in operation long enough to enable
us to form correct opinion as to the wisdom
of this policy.
Elsewhere this practice has given great dis
and / understand that in some
of our sister States the laws permitting it, at.
ter trial, have been repealed. In some of
the counties in which the convicts have been
hired in this State, complaints have been made,
and the grand juries in one or more Of these
counties have presented the practice as an evil.
It has been objected to on the ground that
the convicts have not been sufficiently guard
ed and their labor comes in competition
with the labor O., the country. In my last
Message recommended that this labor or
portion of it should be utilized outside of the
Penitentiary walls in works of a quasi-public
nature and in the development Of: our resour-
ces; and while due consideration should be
given to the opinion of the grand juries refer
red to, I must say that I have seen as yet no
sufficient reason to change my opinion on
that subject, and before this policy is aban.
doned, think it should be given thorough
trial.
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