Citizens of Charleston Neck complain in an unsigned petition that their proximity to Charleston makes them a magnet for disorderly houses, unruly people of color, and "wicked and depraved persons of every class." Dissolute people of color loiter in crowds about these shops, the petition states, and they purchase liquor, drink, and are loud and boisterous on the Sabbath "when duty to God and man requires that peace and quiet should pervade our streets." In addition, the taxes on free people of color in Charleston are so severe that many of them have moved to Charleston Neck. The petition notes that "wherever congregated, they have depreciated the value of all property around them, and have in many instances rendered themselves a complete nuisance to the neighborhood." To remedy this situation, the petitioners propose a bill for new taxes in the Neck on land inhabited by a majority of slaves or free persons of color, a capitation tax on free people of color, and a tax on all persons of color who keep a store or shop. They also propose to organize six hundred patrollers, currently under a single captain, more effectively by a revision in the patrol laws.
Result: Referred to judicial committee.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
