The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-01-20
STATE LEGISLATURE.
ANNUAL SESSION, 1ses's9.
Reported Specially for the srANDAnD.l

I s r p
Reported Specially for the Standard
HIT agIFa7fY s---QH SEk2 0d q = {
.e5sI = xsaL SENATE. ili l-slli la -iiEai
s -, e s s2h MONDAY, Jan. II, 1862
Tile Senate met according to adjourn
The PRESIDENT in the Chair.
The journal of yesterday was read and APP
provetta 4'' s'' .
Mr.. HAYES gave notice that he should in
troduec bill in favor of Reuben King, as
soon as it was announced that he had settled
his accounts with the State. 81 ~ 3l-
Mr. WHITE gave notice Of the introduction
of q bill providing for the registration OF
c0nveyances
Mr. C.,LeRovE gave notice of the intro
dlctiun. nj bill to Incorporate branch
railroad from some point on the Wilmington
and Manchester Railroad to some point on
the sWiisiamstan and Tarboro' Railroad
Mr.. BEAsLEY presented report of the Com
missioncrs of BERTHE county relative to dyis-
ion into townships. I'D .3.s bsa5
Mr.. BELLAMY introduced a bill to prevent
the obstruction of the passage OF fish up
Town Creek. Referred to the committee on
Mr.. Cook introduced bill to establish
standard weight for the sale OF flsh. he
ferred to the Committee on Fisheries.
The following bills OF Incorporation passed
their final reading: Cable Lodge, Unaka
Lodge, Beaver Dam Lodge, DAMS Rock
Lodge.
Bill making an appropriation to secure
the Insane Asylum against fire, passed Its
final reading.
Bill to prevent the obstruction of Rock
fish Creek, passed its final reading.
Resolution instructing the Public Treas
urer to pay certain fees to witnesses, sum-
moned by the committee on inye stigation OF
Fraud, came up for third reading.
MIR. SWEET offered an amendment relative
to the pay of witnesses, which WAS adopted.
Mr.. Rich offered substitute for the
amended resolution, which provided that
none but witnesses of material Importance
should he paid. 81 e(l s7-F
Mr.. SWEET was opposed to tho substitute.
Mr. Rich thought the experience the Sc
nate had recently undergone in the case OF
the Penitentiary Committee should be
warning against ever again comforting undue
and unlimited powers upon any committee.
While aIstfid not condemn the Penitentiary
committee and should vote to sustain their
action he clearly saw that the Senate had
done wrong in granting them the power
which it had done. He was opposed to
ever re enacting that folly, and was also OPP
posed to giving this, or any other commit
tee unlimited power to run the State in debt,
and this power was granted by the resolu-
tion in place of which he offered this SUBJ
stitHte. Under it witnesses might be sum-
moned from any part of the State, even if
not known to have the slightest knowledge
of the matters upon which they are called
upon to testify. He did not mean this as
an insinuation upon the integrity Of the
Committee, although the committee had
been far from backward in their charges
upon tie General Assembly of selling their
votes, fraud, &C., but simply to prevent
charge and unnecessary expense from being
saddletl on the Treasury. If these charges
were true, and fraud or bribery had been
committed by any member of the General
Assembly he wanted it Investigated as much
as any senator upon the floor, but he was
not willing TO have an unnecessary expense
of two or three hundred thousand dollars
saddled upon the people of the State, ON
the mere supposition that perhaps these men
might know something of the matter upon
which the committee was engaged. 1t would
be used by the opponents OF the General As
sembly as a proof that they were really cor
rupt.
Mr.. WELKER thought if witnesses were
summoned who were directly or indirectly
concerned in the fraud or corruption, could
under this substitute escape from testifying
by saying their testimony would not be ma
tcrial, and that the committee would then
have no power to bring them before it.
Mr.. ROBBINS would be in fovor of the
substitute if the word material" was left
out of it. He was in favor IF putting the
State to as little expense as possible He
thought that making the pay of witnesses
to depend upon the Importance of the evil
dence they gave, bad precedence to estab-
lish.
MIR. BLYTHE said it occurred to him that
the best way would be take the depOsitions
of witnesses and let the committee act upon
them.
Mr.. GRHAM favored the original resolu-
ton as amended ..a
MIR. BLYTHE said that Senator had de-
clared on this floor that he could point out
where "votes had been sold for dollars and
cents. and that he could point his finger
and locate fraud and thought if the Sena-
tor was so sure, that he should make his
words good and not keep the Senate wait
ing amonth before making report.
Mr. SWEET could prove the charges he
had made In five minutes but preferred to
wait. =, r-t .s SKI ,....a
Mr.. BLYTHE thought if the gentleman
could put his finger upon fraud in five min
utes that he had better do so at once and
not keep the whole General Assembly under
suspicion of fraud. ...s RI
Mr.. GALLOWAY would like to know
whether men who were charged with having
committed crimes in this State were brought
here rs witnesses could be indicted for their
former offences. ~ e.45..a... -s...
Mr. BARROW had always been opposed to
smelling committees and should have voted
against this one when first proposed-eyen
though he voted alone-if the investigation
had not been demanded. by responsible
parties. "a Senators had risen in his place in
the Senate and made grave charges against
members of the General Assembly and he
wanted him to have every Opportunity of
making those charges good even though it
should cost $4,000 that if he failed the
fault should rest on him who made, the
charges, He regretted that the substitute
had been offered. s
Mr.. Cook moved the previous question.
Upon motion of Mr.. DAVIS the yeas and
nays were ordered, and the substitute was
rejected by the following vote:
c YEk g Bellamy, Blythe, eolgrove,
Cook, Davis, Etheridge, Eppes, Galloway, HAYES
Lassiter, Martindale, Moore of Carteret. Purdie'
Riell, Richardson, Smith and StephensI17
. NAYs-Messrs. Barrow, Barnes, Beasey. Beall
Beeman, Eaves, Forkner, Graham, Harrington
Leg, Lindsay, Long, Love, Melchor, Osborne,