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 SOUTH CAROLINA 197 The receipts from all sources during the year ending Oct. 31, 1874, amounted to $1,712,268, and the expenditures to $1,599,232. The as- sessed valuation of taxable property in 1874 was $141,624,952, viz.: real estate, $87,794,- 305; personal property, $43,944,070; railroad property, $9,886,577. The total valuation in 1873 was $176,956,502. The rate of the tax levy for state purposes in 1874 was 10|f mills. The constitution of 1868 provides for a uni- form system of free common schools to be sup- ported by a tax on property and polls, and for the establishment of a state normal school, a state reform school, a state university, and ed- ucational institutions for the deaf and dumb and the blind. It also declares that all public schools, colleges, and universities, supported wholly or partly by the public funds, shall be free to all the children of the state without regard to color ; but separate schools are gener- ally provided. Provision was made for the compulsory attendance upon public or private schools of all children between the ages of 6 and 16 years, but no law for this purpose has yet (1876) been passed by the legislature. The state superintendent, who is elected by the people for four years, has general supervision of the public schools. The state board of edu- cation consists of the superintendent and the several county school commissioners. There are 32 of the latter officers (one in each county), elected for two years by the people, at an an- nual salary of $1,000, except in Charleston county, where the salary is $1,200. Each county has a board of school examiners, com- posed of the commissioner and two members appointed by him ; their chief duties are the examination of teachers and the appointment of district trustees. There are no graded schools except in Charleston. The sources of school revenue are : 1, state school tax ; 2, poll tax ; 3, district taxes. The common school statis- tics for 1873-'4 were as follows: School population, 6 to 16 years of age, inclusive. . 230,102 White males 43,4T4 " females 41,501 Colored males 73,442 " females 71,685 Number of school districts 429 " of schools 2,353 School attendance 104,738 White 45,774 Colored 58,964 Number of teachers 2,627 Males 1,625 Females 1002 White 1,772 Colored 855 Average monthly wages, males $32 73 " females $30 48 Average length of schools 5 months Number of school houses * 2,228 Value of " " .... . $274,803 Expenditures for schools $443,251 Total school revenue $512,924 From state tax $300 000 ' poll " $59,514 ' local " $110,785 '' other sources $42,675 Netschool revenue $483,145 The state normal school was opened in Colum- bia in September, 1874, with two instructors and 32 students. The course of study oc- cupies two years. In 1874 there were ten teachers' institutes held in eight counties. The university of South Carolina, in Columbia, has preparatory, academical, law, and medical de- partments, which are open to white and col- ored pupils. In 1874-'5 there were 166 stu- dents, viz. : 17 in the law, 4 in the medical, and 79 in the preparatory school, 64 in the academical department, and 2 in a special course. State scholarships were established in the university in 1874, and $6,400 appro- priated for that purpose. In 1874-'5 57 stu- dents were holding state scholarships. The state appropriations for the university during the year ending Oct. 31, 1874, amounted to $41,750. The library of the university in 1875 had 30,000 volumes. Claflin university, at Orangeburg, was opened in 1870 for the education of colored persons of both sexes. In 1872 the state college of agriculture and the mechanic arts was established in connection with this institution, which was then named " Claflin University and South Carolina Agri- cultural College and Mechanical Institute." The departments which have been organized are : 1, common English; 2, classical preparatory and higher English ; 3, agricultural and scien- tific. In 1874-' 5 there were 5 instructors and 188 students, including 65 pursuing scientific, agricultural, and military studies. Furman university (Baptist), opened in 1851 at Green- ville, in 1874-'5 had 5 professors and 55 stu- dents in the collegiate department. The in- stitution has an endowment of $200,000, con- tributed by the Baptists of South Carolina; and for ten years from Jan. 1, 1876, tuition is to be free. Newberry college (Lutheran), at Walhalla, Oconee co., opened in 1858, in 1874 -'5 had 6 instructors and 101 pupils, including 70 in the preparatory department. Wofford college (Methodist Episcopal church, South), opened in 1853, is at Spartanburg Court House; it has collegiate and preparatory de- partments, and in 1874-' 5 there were 7 in- structors. The principal institutions for the higher instruction of women are Columbia female college in Columbia, which in 1874-'5 had 7 teachers and 97 students; Due West female college, at Due West, Abbeville co., with 9 teachers and 113 pupils; the Greenville Baptist female college, at Greenville, with 10 teachers and 117 pupils; and the Williamston female college, at Williamston, with 8 instruc- tors and 119 pupils. The Southern Baptist theological seminary at Greenville, established in 1859, in 1874-'5 had 5 professors and 66 students. The theological seminary of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States was opened at Lexington, Ga., in 1829, and was removed to Columbia, its present seat, in 1830. It has a library of about 19,000 volumes, and endowments, not including buildings and library, amounting to $164,000. In 1873-'4 there were 5 instructors and 57 students. The medical college of the state of South Carolina, in Charleston, was