Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-01-29
WALHALLA, SOUTH CAROLINA, THyRSDAY JANUARY 1850

criticisms upon my objections to tho bill,
based upon the unconstitutonality Of some
of its provisions, will now proceed to
answer your questions, whether the prop
erty is of any value. Does the Stste lose
anything by tho bill? end if the taxes will
90 incrcascd7 If the opiuious of Major
Thos. B. Lee, Col. Mahou, Prof LeConto
and other experienced and skilful engineers
be worth enythiug, this property is not only
valuable, but it would be difficult to csti-
mate Us value. 1t is truo that our Lcgis-
itturey BY hasty Legislation in the past,
made it q source of no little vcxation and
trouble, but actual expense to our State
Some eight or ten yeare since the Reputli-
cans passed an act appointing commission
to sell tho property, and this commission
did sell it to MIR. Sprague, Of Rhode Island,
the very State, os l am informed, from
whence Mcssrs. Thompson and Nagle, the
present contractors, come. Tho Trustee of
Spraguc came down hero with his pictures
OF magnificent factory and proposed to
bring on untold mine Of wealth iuto our
State, just as Mcssrs Thompson aud Maggie
do.i The property was conveyed to him,
upon certain conditions, for the trifiDg
sum Of two hundred dollars, notwithstand
ing the fact that company, of which Col.
Chllds, OF Columbia, wos the representa-.
tive, had put in bid Offering to pay tho
sum of fifty thousand dollars for it. | pre-
sumo tic bid of Sprsgue was accepted iu
preference, with the hope Of bringing cupi-
tai into our State The "boom" was us
| high then as it is now, but Mr.. Spraguc
suddenly failed and you can recollect how
muny committees have been appointed by
our different Legislatures to make investi-
gation aud how much trouble aud expense
the State has incurred in recovering the
property. Our people have been 30 fre-
quently swindled by these cnterprsing mon
from the North it is time we should exercise
more oaution in our dealings with them.
First after the war came Chadwick, the
lottery fellow, who was to nuke Charleston,
the State Agricultural Society and the
people generally rich by on Investment in
his schemes; then Spraguc, and then Harris,
tho Pennsylvania capitalists, who was to
Introduce new ere of prosperity in Andcr
son aud the up country by the development
of our manufacturing power. Let our
people profit by experience. Let them
VIE ajcolhe strangers With or without capital,
whether they come from the North, East
or West, and sell them water power, or
any other property, on reasonable terms;
but don't hire them to come by giving to
them moro favors than wo ore willing to
give to our o@n c;,iSons The Bill which
passed our Legislature does give more to
Messrs. Thompson and Magic than has
been granted to other parties in our State,
who are anxious to get these convicts to
work upon railroads, which, in my opinion,
will do more to contribute to tho prosperity
of the State then the canal will, if ever
completed. 1t not only gives them two
hundred aud fifty consicts for three years
to construct tho canal and buildings, but
clothes aud guards the convicts during
that time. The bill originally asked for
the fecdiug of the couvicts, but this was
stricken out. The guarding Of the convicts
outside of the penitenliary will Of itself be
no inconsdcrablc expense. During the
discussion of the bill the Senator from
Newborry, after stating that according to
tho information he could get it would cost
the State not less than $4,000 to carry
out her part of the contract, tried very hard
to get tho friends Of the measure TO say
how much appropriation or how little Of
the peoples money they would be willing
to accept. The Appropriation Bill was
increased, and | will ask you do you think
it right to tax tho people for any such pur-
pose?
These convicts are becoming a source Of
no inccnsderablc revenue to other Suites
and COT Id bo nude such in ours. 1t was
suthorltatively suited in the Senate, while
this matter was under discussion, that
noy Of tol
these ESQ convicts, and more if the State
could furnish them, and pay her SIS per
head monthly for them, guard, feed and
clothe them; that another company would
take the canal and property and pay to the
Stute $4,000 annually for five years and
then $4,000 annually thereafter, provided,
the State would lease it to them for long
term of years | can safely say that every
able bodied convict, should the number have
reached one thousand during tl.s year,
could be hired ut from $3.50 to SIS per
month, free Of oil expense to tho State.
The able, energetic and competcut Super
iptendent Of tho Pcnitcntiary could havc
taken the $50 convicts and 10 two or three
months, next spring or summer, could have
secured for the use of that institution the
l,5O0 horse power, which ia really all that
she can expect from Messrs. Thompson and
Naple curryiDg out their contract.
La reply to my question, where are
the millions Of capital and Tho immigrants
which were to follow tho pussage of the act
cxempting the property of manufactures
from taxation, you tell me that moro spin
dies have been put in operation in South
Carolina in the six years since the passage
of that act than in one hundred years prior
TO its passape Nuw If this bc n conso