Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-05-04
New Counties.

In connection With call Of the Legislature
to redistrict the State some Of our exchanges
object to the call for the reason that 1t is pro.
posed in redistrioting to Gut DIP our counties.
We'objecs to the reassembling Of tho Legis.
lature as dnnecessary and believe we can and
will carry the State as q Whole aud by dis
hitts for tho Democratic party, aud that
smother session of the Legislature would open
out anew the Questions which have SO agi-
teted the people and might revive the bitter
feelings which are daily passing away. As
to the creation of new counties by reducing q
the present constitutional area of counties We
are opposed to any and all sohemes looking
to such an end. If, however. the people de-
sire smaller counties they will have them,
whether the Legislature be reasscmbled or
tho State be redistrioted at this time or not.
We cannot see that this has anything to do
with the matter.
yo Should our counties 30 reduced below 625
sanare miiesf We think not with our present
Sspars6 population, even if they should under
any circumstances. In tho fret place the
creation Of new counties increases taxation
fnasmuoh as eaoh county must have the same
expensiye uaaohihefy in the way Of courts,
public buildings, public officers, Auditors,
Treasurera aid School Commissioners. The
great cry Of the age Is the henvy county taxa.
tion. Our tag this year is 81 mills for all
phrposes as followo: 42 mills for State pur-
poses, for schools and three for county pur.
poses. Of the tax for State purposes hSarly
$40O, 900 or 2a mills are required to pay the
interest on the public deb:. leaving bai two
a evp &c ,ho n
one tnilloless than The county EXPENSES In
fact the counties Of this State have averaged
four mills annually for ten years, though our
county has not perhaps exceeded an average
Of 81 mills.
Do our people desire to increase taxation
BY increasing the number of counties2 1t
may be said the county expenses will be re-
duccd by shottor courts and fewe criminals
to feed in jail by lessening their area. If
true at all, which We doubt, this reduction
would be small: Our opinion, as formed from
both observation and experience is, that q.
you increase the facilities for litigation you
increase litigation, and we Believe If court
were held here every month in the year it
would always have business. You may no.
TIDE az tourts draw near cases arise for them.
AID since Trial Justices have beeh INVESTED
With Jurisdiction to try shall offences. they
hear as many cases in one year, oogni4ant In
The Court Of General Sessions before the war,
40 the old Court of Sessions, hold but twice
year. would try in Eve years. If the court
OF sessions had sole Jurisdiction of these
cases, as it did in 1860, it would hold from
January to January in a great many
counties. Iii true another element hos
been added to eur population In the negro.
bot apart from him, the court would be
pressed to hear the business of soihe countias
As our counties are arranged persons can
come from the remotest points. attend to their
butnesd and return the same day. They
seldom have to COMB and ~e would oppose
any ihtteased expenses for 80 ittlS inconven-
fence.
Again, large counties have large business
centres, whore people find better market
both to buy and sell, and the cutting UP of
counties wou'' either cripple or destroy the
value Of the taxable property of such places.
Sotde say our State Senate should be enlarged
bot the enlargement, If any be needed, should
rather be in the quality than in the quantity
Of the material sent there. Our State has
thrifty four Senators and Will have thirty
Ave III the future, enough to agree or disa-
gree, to 5;ae.es and rediscuss any subject
The fact 10 the House ought to be re,
duced one.half and the Senate certainly not
increased.
The little counties of Georgia have inferior
central towns, inferior public buildings, in
fsrior roads and of u necessity not as conn
potent public officers as our counties have,
for the reason that the fees and emolumeuts
are smaller. Their lands have generally
rated lower than similar lands in this State.
Some few of our counties may be incon-
veniently large, but we think the constitu-
tiohal limit Of 625 square miles sufficiently
small.
The Colombia Register has the following
on tho subject OF large and small counties;
BY the census Of 1880 Georgia had 1877
Counties to an area Of 59.475 square miles
aud population Of 1.542.ls0.
North Carolina had 96 counties to 5226o
square miles and a population Of |. .399750
Soatb Carollfa had 33 Countea to 3O,-
610 square miles and population of 905,-
This would give to the average Georgia couu
sy 434 square miles with an average county
popoulation Of II 257; to the average North
Caroffna County 5a3sqaare miles nnd l4,477
population; to the average South Carolina
coonnty 926 square miles aud 80 l69 popula4
tion. Our counties then are over twice as
large as the Georgia counties and IL times
tho size of North Carolina Counties, and cor-
tain 2.68 times the population of the Georgia
counties and 2.O9 times that Of the North Caro-