The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-02-12

the opportunity OF doing SO, and the power has
passed away from them forever
recognize in the Greenville and Columbia Rail
road useful and important ageuain tito development
of the resources Of what is rapidly becoming the
most popuous and pr rosperous portion OF the State.
Valuable assistance might be safely rendered to the
COMPANY by new act, giving the state endorse
bonded debt. and embodying such conditions as
would make the company eel its responsibility Hit
is understood by corporations individuals that all
that is necessary to SECURE the success of their
schemes is to present hill to the Legislature en-
bracing whatever provisions thcy may deem most
conducive to their interests, and by assiduous lob
bying and other questionable means force il
thu ough, the state capitol will be constantly Infested
with the paid agents and advocates Of every concey-
able project by which speculators MY hope to OBJ
tain control OF the peoples money.
The present managers Of the Greenville and Co.
lumbia Railroad, by their course heretofore. have
given an indication of what may be expected from
them hereafter. Periodical applications to the Gen
eral Assembly will be made as their debts become
due, until they will have accumulated to such sn
the company will be forced into bankruptcy and
liquidation. leaving to the State the responsibility
of its heavy debt, and out railroad, not worth
one-half the sum for which it is mortgaged. While
tho debt OF the road is regularly and rapidly ncreas-
nS It's value n T. stess es G ainissng ad In
very heavy expenditure, and we have every reason
to expect hat the state VIII again be applied to for
Every augmentation Of the debt of the State in.
juriousy affects its credit and parayzss its energies
while il increases the burden OF the taxpayer 1t is
therefore incumbent upon those havir the custody
OF the public treasure to guard it with jealous viRi
lance; and as the Ch1cf Executive OF the STATE Ia
made my duty to that the constitution is main
tanned and tho laws faithfully executed. Tho act un
der consideration processes to be an amendment to
an act based upon what purports to be an act Of o
legislative body not recognized by this governments
Both on the grounds of unconsttutionarty and in
eypediency, feel compelled to withhold my assent
and therefore respectfully return it to the Senate
without my signature
ROBERT K. SCOTT, Governor.
The Senate, then, on motion Of Mr.. Corbin,
resumed the consideration Of the Charleston
Election bill.
Mr. Corbin requested the reading Of q COM
| munlcation which appeared in the Charleston
| Courier, over the signature of Verax. HIS
| object, he said, in having that communication
read was to show that the party who wrote it,
| as well as large number of citizens OF
Charleston, seemed to be persistent Ill making
| statements which he and they ought to kho N
are not true. He believed the citizens Of
| Charleston who had signed the memorial, sta
| ting that the case was now in the courts, had
| been misled III making the statement, from
the simple reason they had not Consulted the
records of the Supreme Court to know how the
| case stands.
The quo aod,ra,ato, he said, had been discon-
| tinueG during the session OF the Supreme
Court. According to the laws OF South Caro-
lima discontinuance Of cause in the nature
| OF the case is an end OF it. 1t cannot be taken
up again. He woulu leave it to the Senate and
| to the people 10 decide whether, uuder these
| circumstances, they have not been misled.
The press of Charleston have not scrupled to
| say anything that common decency would al
| low them to say with respect to his course iu
| the Senate. He only referred to it, however,
! because it had reference to the memorial be-
| fore the Senate, and also because it had refer
| ence to his own veracity. tSS I&
] Rainey. Did not the senator, as solicitor,
refuse to take out writ Of quo ,o013.dnto
either in chambers or before the courtp
| Mr.. Corbin. We might have taken out writ
OF 4nc e5t;i7tt7tto before the Supreme Court
but refrained from courtesy to that tribunal
They intimated to us very pleasantly that we
| should go first to the court below. Sss
Having said this much in explanation, Mr.
Corbin proceeded with the discussion OF the
Ebsliassd itS and to Il force
| people Of Charleston. Those rights and priv-
| leges are. that they shall have the right to
elect their own Mayor and Aldermen; that
| their determination at the ballot-box was to be
| respected; that the parties they shall select
and elect to office shall go into office. This is
a question that lies at the foundation of our
civil government namely, that the people shall
rule. The constitution says, in all elections
| by the people, the parties who receive the
highest number Of votes shall be elected. But
we went further and said. these parties shall
| be inducted into Office on the Monday follow
ing the election. The election was had; GER
tain parties received majority OF the votes cast.
| That evidence was returned, and the Mayor
and Aldermen by law were required to record
| and declare the result and induct the parties
into office. Did the Mayor do it as provided
| in the seventh section Of the act2 No; he just
shut himself up and said there is protest
against this election, and am not going to do
people OF Charleston who had gone through
an election, 81 am in Office and have the keys
Of this office" Somsbody handed him pro-
test, and he would not declare the election.
What right had he to consider protest at all
There Is no authority in the act for HIM to
consider a protest. There lis no such word as
| protest" in the act. That man knows better
| than anybody else why he held on to that
l office. Wa Ind h,1,oi in,
| the street, up at Mr.. Pillsbury's house, IN the
presence Of two thousand people, saying to
them, "You have elected Mr.. Pillsbury Mayor.
shall be your Mayor until Monday next when
| your Mayor into oficel" That IS what he said
to that large concourse OF people on the day Of
| election. Well, what happens? H
| He saw o great light, or else his mind was
clouded with darkness, because the very next
| day he said to the public: I'VE will not de-
Glare the elections" Why? Because there had
gathered around him aud said: Such q thing
sci 6 we a@ said ea he ess nsssee ae
clare 1T, for somebody disputes that there has
election. He would not declare the cleo
tion." He gathered the Board OF Alder
| men and placed before them some general
| charges, and twas conceived by that set Of
gentlemen that case had arisen such as way
not provided for in section z Of the act. Note,
| the act says: when the seats Of o amajolity
Of the persons voted for are contested" Now,
the Mayor, in his report, says it was protest
and not o contest The Board of Aldermen
| started out with wilful mscontruction of the
law. No such case as o contest had arisen.
| But Mr. Clark and his Board OF Aldermen
met and he says to them: sGentlemen, this
thing is protested. Here is a very grave and
and solemn matter. Fifteen hundred citizens
Of Charleston tai! Of the defeated party) have
come forward and protested against the eie, ~
| tion." They had an examination, and then said
| they would call it contest. They wanted to
| call it something like the last sentence in this
section tsection seyen). They then concluded
| to call it o contest and examine the matter.
What did they find? After two weeks exami-
nation they established the fact that the mana