The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-02-09

49, DsnosHTAx.
|a k1Va1 Nm ~ ! ~ that 1otwish.
sllsrs u Robertson aud
e. lSstts the burning Of their
No. tAsir fellow citizens Of the
: Il Sghter thstapdipg
41 Himself on the trial that
x abd dollsrs would cover his en-.
-ncts sishstandiug other truth
lsspartisl and disinterssted citi-
s t,shat i,is entire stock could not
TT 70 r six hundred dollsrs, and
ilhS eshdiug il 10 mosovioasly kaorm
3txkSM q house was not his, bat
E. bsss eitassn's, and notwithstanding
ktowD universally, and has been
1 njtssd by DuBose, chat he had reno
sysd most Of his elects, and did not
ss6oea oser ono huadrsd aud City dol.
worth ef property BY the burning
Iss6s his store, still our "wise Legislators
3sAppear to be determined to nuke the
.stSxpsyers Of Sumter County present
ss0se Of the pattics with ten thousand aud
the other with fve thousand dollars.
I'VE mite with you, Mr. Editor, iu ask
ssirg oni what principle Of Justice, right
Sprslaw eau such ,l'ing be doue2
Sss,i ST. Are our people to DO condemned be-
4 fore they are tried, for this burning /?
ss1,Ars they to be punished before they
3 ARE convicted 7. Are those who have been
sStrted by the Courts for this offence to be
sput on trial second time before tho Leg.
ssislaturs 2 Are they to be condemned by
athe Legislature, without a hearing, J.. or
the right to isco their accuscrs, and
have witnesses accorded them under
the constitution? {? Ii condemned by the
Legislature, after thoir acqui,tul by the
Jurors Of the county, docs tie Leyisla
iare propose to punish the innocent
cle"3 :Si:a Me yuii.y If not, why this
wholesale robbcry-this foul crime and
wrong against the constitutional rights
Vt tho citizens?
EQUAL RIGHTS.
THE MOST ONksROUS TAX or ALL.
MIR. EDlron THE proposed tax to
raise SIS, 700 10 for Robertson and Du
Bose, out Of the citizens of Sumter
County. unjust aud tyraunical as it is,
dwindles into insigui6cancc. when COM
parod to one already on ou, statute-book
That is but as drop iu the bucket
When once collected, the wrong is COM
'mitted and ovcr-it is done with. But
there is IN Act which, unless altered,
and smeudcd, will, before many years,
sweep all OF our property FROM Us, aud
IL, as now trained, an uuending burden.
We aliude to tho operation aud working
Of two laws passed by our "wise lcgisIa-
tors
First, the law which requires each
county to pay the costs Of its own ad-
miaislration Of justice in our courts.
So far, it is we'll enough, and as it
should DO. But when taken iu conpex.
ion with another Law recently passed,
1t works IN intolerablo burden and
hardship, aud gross and foul wrong
We aliudo to that law-without q linn
it or restriction--which requires that
the County Commissioners "shall pay
Witnesses III State cases." tho fec nnd
mileage allowed witnesses in civil cases.
What is. tho consequence In every
case in which negro is engaged, he has
host OF witnesses-all OF his friends
aud their wives and children arc his
witnesses, all are invited to attend
court. They all get, for citing in the
Court House or idling in. the street, his
or her mileage aud dollar day. No
wonder they all attend-no wonder our
Court House is crowded FROM Court
beginning to Court ending and when
tho bill is footed up, the most trivial
m'sdcmeanor costs our county from one
HUNDRED and iity to two hundred and !
hfty doliars each, and even upwards.
with the number Of cases with which
the Court of Sessions for Sumter County
has been blessed for years past, and the
time required to dispose of that docket,
CASUALLY the full two wecks) and the
uumbcr Of witnesses in attendance, any
Que can see what an enormous amount
OF mou y must be raised to meet this
expense.
Who pays it all The lax payers, of
course. Who gets it alll We were
going TO say that the idle (not the in.
dustrious and we'll behavcd) negro, gets
It oil but even TINT 10 not 80, lie
getsa great deal Of it-rerhaps the most
OF il, but there is always hole left for
the Rodical officials to get portion OF
the plumber from. II would not work, {
it that was MT tho case. Of course the .
negro gets his paper, calling Tor so ,
much money, according to the number
Of days he has served as a witness, but ,
The Treasury is never full just ut the
right time for him. lIc presents his .
paper for payment. There are no funds
in the Treasury, and he must wait until
the taxes are paid. But if he will take