For ninety-nine years after the colonization of South Carolina, no court., were held beyond the limits of Charleston, and no officer but the provost-marshal could serve a process hi any part of the province. For two thirds of that time the courts of common pleas, and of kin„'s were held by the same judge, from whose decision tie-re lay no appeal. but to himself on a new trial.
There are now twehty-five districts, in each of w.:ich th, ce is a circuit court, invested with complete powers, both of original and final jurisdiction. These districts are, 1. Abbeville. 2. Edgefie,d. 3. Newbury. 4. Lau rem. 5. Pendleton. 6. Greenville. 7. Spartanburg. 8. Union. 9. York. 10. Chester. 11. Lancaster. 12. Fairfield. 13. Kershaw. 14. Chesterfield. 15. Marl borough. 16. Darlington. 17. Sumpter. 18. Marion. 19. Horry. 20. Georgetown. 21. Charleston. 22. Colletown. 23. Beaufort. 24. Barnwell. 25. Orange burgh. For these twenty-five districts, six judges are appointed, to each of whom is granted an annual salary of 6001. sterling, to enable them to devote themselves to the unties of their office. In addition to the courts of common pleas and of sessions, South Carolina has always had its courts of ordinary, of admiralty, and of chancery. The two first of these courts have been held by governors or judges appointed by the proprietors, the sovereign, or the state ; but since the establishment of the national government in 1789, causes in the court of admiralty, and the appointment of judges for that court, have been transferred to the United States, as appertaining to the general government. The court of chancery was like wise held by the council of the proprietors, the king, and the state, in succession, till the year 1784., when it was new-modelled, and three judges were appointed to preside over it. Since the year 1791, when it received some new modificalons !Or the more speedy •advance ment of justice, it has been called the court of equity. Before the revolution, there was but one ordinary for the whole state ; hut since the peace of 1783, an ordinary has been appointed to each of the districts.
Under all the governments to which South Carolina has been successively subject, it was a received princi ple, that every subject or citizen should also be a soldier. Till lately, bowel er, their military regulations were ex tremely incomplete. By some new arrangements which
took place in the year 1794, the whole state is now divided into two parts, one of which comprehends five brigades, and the other four. Each brigade is divided by the commanding- officer into as regiments as the population will admit. The two majors-general who connnand the two divisions, the nine brigadiers under wholll are placed the different brigades, and the adjutant-•eneral, are all appointed by the legislature. Tuc other officers are nominated by the regiments, bat talions, and companies, to which they belong ; but they arc promoted in the order of their service.
Since the termination of the revolutionary war, annual taxes have been imposed on the inhabitants to defray the current expellees of the. state. Till the year 1790, the state had the income of the impost duty, and from that fund paid its civil list ; but the general government of the United States has now the command of that fruitful source of revenue. The state now depends for the support of its government on taxes imposed on lands, negroes, money at interest, stock in trade, factorage, employments, faculties, and professions ; and a few incidental sources of revenue, such as duties upon sales at public auction, on licenses granted to hawkers, ped lars, and theatrical pet formers, the interest of the paper medium loan, the interest and instalments of tne debt due to the state from the United States, the dividends from its shares in the state bank, fines, forfeitures, Sze. The average amount of taxes annually collected, is about 135.000 dollars; and the state receives from other sources about 175,000 dollars. The appropriations of revenue are, first, for paying the expences or the civil list, and other incidental expences of government, both of which amount, in common, to-a sum between 70,000 and 80,000 dollars ; and, secondly, for pay extraordinary, expences, and contingent accounts. These are so variable, that they cannot be stated with precision : on an average, they amount to about 145,000 dollars per annum. Flom the last report of Mr Hamilton, the comptroller of re venue, made in 1804, it appeared, that there is a balance due to the state of 754,755 dollars.