The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1869-05-13

| y
thus used to defeat a struggling public
enterprise, and to prevent the develop
ment and promotion of public interests in
other directions, where so much of pros
tration remains. The public may not be
equally content to- know that powers and
privileges conferred for the public well
fare, have been thus perverted to the sus-
tanning of monopoly of that class,
against Which the framors of many of
our earlier Constitutions thought it prop
er to guard by the declaration that tex
elusive rights and monopolies were anti,
republican, contrary to public policy and
not to be tolcrated"-a principle, the
wisdom of which is, to-day, more thor
oughly impressed upon the public mind
than at any former period of our coun,
try's history. Nor can this plea avail
that this litigation has been thus urged
for the vindcstion of rights With one
who earnestly and ii good falbls asserts
and seeks to vindicatc his rights, there
is sympathy which will always sustain
him. But chs differs much from the as
sertion of merely preten.ious claim OF
right, for purposes of wanten vexaton,
and to annoy, embarrass and cripple
new and useful enterprise. Such has
been the character of their claims. Thc
Courts of the State warrant me in say
ing that it rested upon the assumption
of exclusive rights and privileges which,
were not granted by their charter. And
from the first inception of the litigation,
the movers of re- should have known that
such was the groundIcss character OF
this pretence of right. l have authority
for saying that in the year 1857 or
1858, after the preject Of a railroad from
| Columbia to Hamburg had assumed form
and shape, the then President of the
South Carolina Railroad Company, after
consultation with his Board, referred
the subject OF the rights of bis company
to able counsel. ard after a deliberate
examination of the subject, the President
was advised that his company had not
the legal right to resist the construction
of the projected Railroad. This advice
the Court OF Errors has since unanimous
ly sustained Mr.. Trenholm was then
member of the Board, and must have for
gotten this part ofthc history of the South
Carolina Railroad which comes to me
from its former President. Doubtless he
remembered it when he subscribed to
e.fourth of the capital stock Of the Co.
umbia and Augusta Railroad to make
good investment OF his Confederate mon
cy.
In reply to the remarks of Col Sicbcls
in the Convention, Mr.. Trenholm earnest
ly denounccs popular cIamor," and con'
tends that the public have no right to
complain Of The policy and. management
of the South Carolina Railroad, in view
of the fact that stockholders had not re-
cciyed one dollar of dividends since the
close of the war; A stockhoIdcr, as we'll
rs the public may fail to find in this fact
an argument to sustain the adminiStra-
ton Of the road. But this is Il family
quarrel ir which may not properly par
ticpatc, nor need TO make defence OF
spopular clamor," the dcnuncatons of
Which furnished 80 much Of the matter Of
his speech and that of Mr.. Conrtnay.
Public opinion is generally right and is
able to defend itself, and | need only to
add, that, in this instance, has been vim
dicatcd i'm the courts of law and equity.
in every form and variety of suits and
motions. injunctions and prohibitions.
But Mr.. Trenholm more particularly
seeks to arraign me for my illiberal spirit
in negotiation. II have always been will.
inr to meet him." says he, son f;tfr and
liberal terms Bat lie never came" lie
Fthercupon undertakes to repeat PROPOSE
lion as coming from INC, and giving vt IN
quotation marks, as though I'm my very
words. l certainly made no such propo-
sition, and used no such language. MY
friend is authorized to publish any and
all nv letters | ever wrote to him in re-
lation to railroads. And in that eonncc-
ton. he can also publish his letter to me,
wherein he proposed to break connection
with the Wilmington and Manchester
Railroad at kisguille, and give that
through business 20 ukc Charlotte and
South Carolina Railroad. provided the
latter would direct its frcights TO Charles
ton instead OF to Portsmouth: with my
reply thereto. To this correspondence
he has thought it proper to refer IN or
der to reflect upon my i!iberal spirit.
Further says Mr.. Trenholm:
"We wcrc willing to make money out
of Mr.. Johnston, but could not make a
bargain with him. We had paid the city
of Augusta 10000 for the privilege of
building our bridge across the Savannah
River. We had built that bridge at a
great expense, and it was incumbent upon
MIR. Johnston to pay US something cores.
ponding to the expense VIC had incurred" J"
It is difficult to determine how to re-
ply to such specious reasoning. 1t is diff
ficut to believe that it fails from one
whose judgment on business matters is
ordinarily 80 accurate. Let us look at it.
The estimated cost OF the Columbia and
Augusta Railroad from Granitevihfe to
Augusta, including the bridge over the
Snrannnh rarer IL short OF 5000 600. At