The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-02-26

dress, &C., &c.
IrRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
~ COLUMBIA, S. c., February %.
The main event of to-days legislation has
been the passage through the Senate ION the
cash principle) of the Blue Ridge Swindle.
The credit system, or G. o. D. principle, was
tried In the Senate when the former bill was
perdIpe. but didn't work. Senators were
,ayerse to bribery, of course, on general prin-
ciples. but they were particularly and emphat-
ically averse to contingent subornatlon, and so
when they were told that If the Blue Ridge
hill should become law they would each re-
ceiye $1,000 cash they perslstenlly refused to see
II. In fact, they disrespeetfully attached their
thumbs 10 their noses and playfully waggled
Ihelr fingers, and lndivers ingenious ways dis
closed to the B. r. Ring that the scheme was
sstoo thin" and wouldn't work. The Ring
then refused to offer any better terms, and the
consequence was they were beaten, as OF
course they deserved to be. But though
routed they were not conquered. The King
have shrewd and able lobbyists IN their
number, and one of these is the president OF
the roadLsshonest John" Patterson. At this
crisis shrewd and able lobbyist suggested
new device, and one which, In Assembly
slang, would be called ''good scheme" and
as such deserves description. The original
proposition was to pay each member OF the
Assembly who should vote for the swlndle
$1,000 cash as soon as the bill became law.
This is known as the G. O.. D. principle, and
this Is the. scheme that did not work. The
new and ingenious proposition was tnat
as many thousand dollars as there were
members of both houses-vlz, l54-should
be set aside 10 secure the passage OF
the bill, that every member VINO
voted for the swindle should receive his thou
sand dollars as originally proposed, and that
the remainder of the $l24, 900 to be spent IN
the House and the $4,000 to be spent IN the
Senate should be divided pro rata among tne
members of each House respectively VINO
should 30 vote for the swindle. These sums
moreover were to be paid as SOON as the vote
was taken in each house, and without wall
ing. as was before proposed, for the concur
renee of the other house or the approval oi
the Governor. This was at once recognized
ps the Intelligence and virtue of both houses
as ssgood scheme, !" and the digltal gyradons
were promptly suspended. the sarcastic
thumbs were removed from the senatorlai
noses, and the little device went
through the Assembly like q particularly
lively streak of well-greased lightning.
The votes upon the swindle were as
follows: In the House, 80 to l9; In the Senate,
22toe. very simple calculation will show
that every member of the House VINO Voteo
for The swIndle should have got sl55O, and every
complaisant member of the Senate $685. This
Is, doubtless, Just what they made. MOI toa'
YOUR correspondent means to accuse any lnal-
vidual member of the Assembly of accepting a
bribe-far from 1t. AS individuals they are
doubtless men of honor, and incapable OF any
such transactions, but as lot they are a curl
.ous study for ethnologlst or naturalist NOW
having explained the secret springs OF lne
show. It is time to raise the curtain and relate
how the puppets performed their parts.
The Senate this morning after considera-
bile amount OF local legislation, for the oenens
of Frog Level, Salkehatchie, Little Misery and
other euphonious and important piaGes, ,rpph1a ptTo
renort Of the committee on finance on "Blli 10
reiIeve the state of South Carolina OF all laoll:
jtr fi,r Its guarantee of The bonds OF tne Blue
Ridge Railroad Company, BY providing ios tne
securing and destruction OF the same.
Mr.. COrbin; protested against tne pssssee "
seshng M forth the objections aggainst II, stating
that bS the passage of the bill the State Wonld
rsnt only release the road from the $2200o0
borrowed from the State, but would pay the
men who were engineering this prO)ecCCtne
Blue Ridge Rsilrcsd Company as II IN now w lsm tSs
the sum Of 81, ,s00, ,00O pesloes Io ee' ouS VI 'no
Arrangement.
Mr. Leslie followed, and made the points IN
fayorinp the passage OF the bill, that the State
was liable for its endorsement, ana Cne quick.
er st got cout of it the better, because next
wear the debt would be larger from the ac;u-
fore the present ones of the Blue Ridge Kall-
road Company had been guilty Of shortcom-
ines In Office, and as matter OF course sucn
things were not unusual; that other Stales 90
lust the same thing; and that by falling 10 give
this project what It asks ior, VIZ, 1 aScoIalag 70
f22D (O0 borrowed-the State would be the
loser on account of its guarantee OF bonds.
The debate was continued al nduSedttfn.
and almost ad infnitum, by Arnim, White
more and others, who certainly showed 9
.pralseworlby determination, II they received
aQV DecuQl8ry EcWulu lOl ehSh NS~SJ "
the measure, to faithfully earn their money,
and the bill was finally carried by the decisive
vote of twenty-five to six.
The yeas and nays were taken, and resulted
as follows: nj.
Yeas-Messrs. Allen, Arnim, Barber, Bic
man. Beckman. Clinton, Duncan. Gaillard,
Hayes, Hayne, Holiushead, Johnston, Leslie,
Maxwell, Montgomery, McIntgre, Nash, owens,
Rose, Smalls, Swals, Whittemore, VIM
bush-22.
-. Nays-Messrs. Cardozo, Corbin Holconbe,
Montgomery, Wilson, YouDg-6.
So the bill was agreed to, and ordered 10 De
engrossed for third reading.
Now IL is rumored that the Governor pro-
noses to veto this little swndle, and 1t Is also
stated that his Excellency has had suggested
to him little device 10 relation to the veto
power which might also be called a good
Scheme, and which he proposes to adopt. II
ia we'll known that the Governor mas, for nls
bosom friend aId adviser. certain ingenious
and prolific gentleman, who has been called
Mr. T. J. Machiavelli. The latest happy
Thought of this friend in need was, that there
were q number of Rindles, more or less giar.
ing, ebout coming to q head In the General
Assembly, and that 1t would wonderfully add
to the Governors reputation as an honest man
II he should veto all of these as fast as they
came along. ,Ha communicated this brilliant
idea to the Governor, and colloquy some
thing like the following is said to have re-
.aultpd