Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1865-09-28
the people. Il is eminently wise and prom

| the people. 1t IS emlnently wise and prop
! er that the Governor of State should de
rive his authoritysand election immediatel,
from the sovereign power. Of the State.--
The people should elect their Chief Magis
trates, members of Congress and member
of the Legislature. Having done this
the minor Offices might be filled by appoint
ment and the people relieved Of the trou
BILE, loss of time, and demoralization il
making these petty elections. When th'
Governor has been elected by the people
he might safely be entrusted with NOR,
power than he has ever exercised in Souti
Carolina. BE should be made re-eligible
or elected fora longer term than two years
he should be required to live at the seat o.
Government, and should receive salary
sufficient to defray all his. necessary ex
penses.
The General Assembly of South Carolina
is an Electoral College for the State as vel
as Legislative body. They have the cleo
ton of Governor, Electors of President and
Vice President, Lieutenant. Governor, Uni
ted States Senators, judges and Chancellors
all State officers, Magistrates, Commission,
ers Of Roads and Bridges, Poor and Free
Schools, Commissioners and Masters in
Equity, andVarious other officers. This
embarrasses legislation, occupies great
deal of the time of members, and is pro,
ductive of evil consequences. The most Of
these elections and appointments should be
taken from the Legislature.
The election of Presidential Electors by
the Legislature is clearly a usurpation on
the part of that body, and which no other
State in the Union tolerates at the present
time. The. Federal Constitution declares
that Geach State shall appoint in such man.
ner as the Legislature thereof may direct,
Electors of President and Vice-President.
The State and not the Legislature is to
"appoinf' Electors. The Legislature is to
"direct" the ssnaanmer" of appointing only.
The people are the State and should Dap.
point" No one will contend that the Leg
islature, which represents the State, is the
State itself. This gross error will, nodoubt,
be corrected BY the first Legislature which
assemblies under your new Constitution,
and it may be we'll for you to express a
wish for its correction.
The appointment Of the State officers
might be given TO the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the. Senate. BE
might with great propriety be empowered
to make the appointment of many of the
District officers, and thereby relieve the
people Of q fruitfalsource of decentralization
in making these petty elections. The ques-
tion is suggested for your consideration:
- In all elections made BY the Legislature,
the voting should be UiOa goce, 80 that each
members constituents might know how he
voted. The ballot is secret, and conceals
the Representative vote from his constitu.
ency. The people have a right to know
how their Representatives voted in elections
as we'll as in legislation. In all elections
by the people, the ballot is certainly the
proper mode, for it enables every man to
vote independently, according to his OWL
convictions. No one has any right to know
or question his vote. He votes as sover.
eign. But the Representative votes for
others, and they have right to know his
vote.
It would be we'll to consolidate the Treas.
ury Department. The State of South Car
olina is neither so large nor so wealthy as
to require two Treasurers. The Secretary
of State and the Surveyor General should
be required to keep their Offices only at the
seat of Government. The facilities of trav.
cling between Charleston and Columbia are
now such that there is no necessity for a
division of these Offices at the expense Of
the State. The Court of Appeals ought
also to be required to sit altogether in Co.
lumbia, where one law library and one set
of officers would be sufficient for the court
In order to give additional Importance
and consideration to the Office of Lieuten-
AMI. Governor, he ought to be made er-c6icsc
President of the Senate oD which would
be as well, let the President of the SeEate
act as Governor in case of vacancy, till
another election can be made by the people
You should provide for the election Of
members Of the Legislature at an early day
the second Monday in October-so that
the General Assembly may be convened in
time to order the election of members. o.
Congress and United States Senators, before
the first Monday in December next. 1t ii
important that all of the Southern States
should be fully represented when Congress
assemblies.
In your new Constitution, you should
provide for and declare valid all Legislative
Executive and judicial acts of the State
since her secession, on the twentieth of De
cember, eighteen hundred and sixty, which
are not in conflict with the Constitution O.
the United States. Likewise all civil off
GERS elected since that period should be au
thorized to continue to discharge the duties
of their respective Offices until the expira
ton of the term for which they were elected
or appointed.
In organizing Provisional Government
thought it wisest and best to re-appoin
all civil officers who we're in Office at the sus
pension of civil government in s. Carolina
I told the President that we had no partie
or political divisions in the State. All hat
.acquiesced in her secession frem the Fede
raj Union. I had no friends to reward; N
enemies IN nnnish at the sacrifice of th,