The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-01-29

State, which form, in tho main, .
huge bundle of legal incongruities
and conflict with the plainest pro
visions Of our State Constitution.
instance, as an illustration Of !:
palpable violation of a constitutional
provision, which is an essential safe
guard for the rights of a citizen accu
scd of any offcnse before the law, tho
following from chapter 427, Genera
Statutes;
'Sec. 3. IF person is on trial ac
quilted upon the ground of vari
ance between the Indictment and the
proof, or upon an exception to the
form or substance of the indictment
he may be arraigned again on q new
Indictment and tried and convicted
for the same offense, Notwithstanding
such former acQuittal.'
This is in direct conflict with the
State Constitution, which declares, il
article 1st, section 18, "No person
after having been once acquitted by {
jury, shall again, for the same offens<
be put in jeopardy of his life or liber
ty."
These statutes contain much thai
is redundant, and long since properly
obsolete. and much that is generally
acknowledged as obnoxious to oul
present advanced stage of civiliza
ton:
For example, according to Chapter
90, marriage in a public church be-
tween persons Of lawful age freely
conscnting thereto, a'.d celebrated in
due religious form, is not to be con.
sidered lawful unless followed by an
act which is usually impossible ol
judicial proof.
l deem it proper, also. to call your
attention TO the fact that the Gcner.
al Assembly of l87l-T2 exceeded its
constitutional powers in the adoption
Of Section 19 and 33, Chapter 18, OF
the General Statutes, as revised, by
tho provision Of which Sections
changes have been made in the legal
boundaries Of certain Counties in the
State. The General Assembly have
no power to change tho boundary OF
these Counties. Their boundary lines
must remain as they were when the
Constitution Of the State was adopt
cd, all changes in them being express
ly prohibited by the said Constitution,
viii III declares, in Section 8, Article
2, as follows:
"The Judicial Districts shall here
after be designated as Counties, and
the boundaries Of the several Coun-
ties sEall remain as they are now es-
tablished, except the County Of Pick
ems" t';" 'l7'.' - '.'"
A proviso in the same Section au-
thorizcs the General Assembly to
organize new Counties by changing
the boundaries of any Of the old
ones; but tho proposed changes do
not full within that provision, not
being incident TO the organization of
any new County.
In accordance with the wishes of
the people on this important subject
of which I am reminded by the daily
receipt Of letters from all parts Of the
State, I recommend that tho General
Assembly provide by law for the ap-
pointment Of three persons "lcarned
in the law" whose duty it shall be to
revise and simplify the Code Of Pro-
cedure and the General Statutes, and
to render them more in accord with
tho peculiar needs of our people than
they are at present. l recommend
that for the payment Of the salaries
Of these Commissioners, and for the
of the contingent expen-
scs attendant upon the performance
Of their work, the sum of fifteen
thousand dollars be appropriated;
That their labors be fully completed,
md q report thereof made to tho
General Assembly within one year
from the date Of their appointment.
The costs attendant upon the ad-
of justice, as between
man and man, are simply enormous
under our present fee bill, and are
rapidly conveying the erroneous i'm
preston that under our boasted form
If republican government, the power
~ Of our people has been entirely
From report on this subject made
10 me, at my request, by Mr.. James
A. Dunbar, the efficient assistant in
The office of the Attorney-General, 1
luote the following:
"Undcr the old system, in all ordf
nary actions where the amount sued
or exceeded S85.71, the taxed costs
Up TO tojudgment and execution were
s11; when the cases were litigated
hcsc costs amounted to not less than
SIG. and seldom more than $40.
"Whcn the amounts was under
,S5.7l, the taxed cost did not ordina-
lily exceed S..
"Under the Code, in ordinary ac-
ions, when the amount sued for is
800, or more, the taxed costs amount
o between S35 and $40, up to trial,
md after trial from $50 to $40, as the
,ase may be. To say That the costs
indian thn Coda ore from threo Tn
hree and q half times rs great as
hey were under the old system, is to
express the ratio Of increase In mod
,rate terms.
"Upon the subject of appeal, the
code requires the appellant to give an
Undertaking in double the amount of
he decree, or judgment appealed
rom. This seems TO be a harsh pro-
,ision of the Code, for this reason:
while the appellant, in nearly every
'ase, could readily obtain an under