The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1866-09-13

/ They are vicious, dcpravcd non-produ-
ccrs; and the effort to punish them is re-
allv q punishment to the honest tax-pay-
or. whose labor, in part at least. is given
to support them in indolcncc. The num-
Der of convicts Will hereafter be greatly
increased and. if the present system OF
punishments be continued, the appropra-
ton to iailors, for dieting prisoners will be
greater than the expenditure for either of
the departments of tho State Govern
mcnt. To remedy all these evils, | re-
spcctfully recommend that you provide for
the establishment Of pcnitcntialy, at
Columbia and appropriate not less than
$40 900 to erect q wall around the pcni-
tentiary buildings, and to mako cells for
convcts. Much of the labor, in erecting
the necessary buildings, can be performed
bv the convicts themselves. If n favora-
bic site should be selected, convenient TO
sufficient water power TO drive all the ma
chinery that may be requisite to carry on
manufactures in wood, leather, iron, yarns
and cloth. the pcnitentaly may bo made
nearly if not quite sclf.supporting. Pun
ishmcnts may then be imposed according
to the cpormity of the offence; juries will
have no aversion to convicting the guilty,
and convcts, while undergoing purgatlon
for their crimes, will be compelled to earn
their clothing and subsistence.
The completion of the prison and the
introduction Of the requisite machinery
will. of course, be q work Of time; but, if
proper economy is practccd in building
and stocking IT, the expense will hardly
be felt; and, in the meantime, the con-
victs can be subsistcd as chcaply as in tho
District iails, whilst the labor of such as
arc not required on the buildings, can be
devoted to the various manufactures OF
Of leather, wood and iron, yicldinga fund
to the state to meet the expense Of their
subsistence.
If YOU should determine to establish Il
pcnitcutiary, it will be necessary that the
nunishmcnts now imposed by law be so
changed as TO conform to the new prison
system. Before passing from the subject
Of the criminal law, desire to invite
your attention to the necessity for more
Stringent legislation for the suppression
of vagrancy. The law should not only
provide for tho punishment Of idle and
dissoute persons, who are permanently
domiclcd, but should extend to transient
persons wandering over the State, and
who have no visible means Of support;
and the duty Of enforcing the law should
be devolved, under stringent penalties
upon the Clerks, Sheritis, Magistrates and
Constablcs Of the several Districts.
Since your adjournment in December
last, the Court Of Errors in this State
have, with u single dissenting opinion,
declared the Stay Law and all amend
ments thereto unconstitutional. This de-
cision has produced restivcncss and dis
satisfaction in many parts of the State;
Public meetings have been held in several
Districts. and the Legislature has been
appealed to, to furnish some protection to
the debtor class who anticipate general
sueing in the fall term of tho Courts.
After Il careful examination of the opin-
ion OF the able and learned Chief Justice,
as we'll as other authorities, / feel it my
duty to say that / concur fully in the
opinion of the Court and believe that
their exposition Of the constitutional ques-
ton is unanswcrablc.
The people OF South Carolina have been
provcrbially law abiding; and when an,
archy rcigncd supreme, after the fall OF
the Confcdcracy, lawlcssness was univcr-
sally discouraged by the better classes in
every community. Now, when civil law
is restored and we arc remittcd TO our
own laws and Courts to protect rights
and redress wrongs, surely no citizen OF
GOOD rcputc will advise tumult and vlo-
Icncc against the solemn judgment Of the
highest judicial tribunal in the State.
In view of the circumstances surround
inr us-when il is remembered that the
State has just emerged from q long and
disastrous war, in which not only her
sons but her resources were prodigally
bestowed; that our banks have all been
destroyed that more than three hundred
millions of property have boon annhila.
ted that all the fountains OF credit and
property have been broken up; that our
system of labor has been thoroughly dis
organized; that the refreshing and re-
vivifying showers have been withheld
from parchcd and exhausted soil, and
that want if not famine, will keep ghast-
ly vigils in mansion and in howell; when
it is remembered that nearly all of the
merchants Of the State have boon able to
compromise their indebtedness TO North
crn merchants on most liberal terms
surely, the creditor class will practice for
bcarancc and give their debtors still fur
thcr indulgence. If compelled to enforce
collections, they should, in the same fair
and liberal spirit, make compromises with
debtors, so rs not to drive them and their
families from home, kindred and friends.
The existing cmbarrassmcnts growing
out of the indebtedness Of the country
will, like other evils, produce beneficial
AaLt ...;u G,al 81 70 tLnir in !.