The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1874-09-03
persuaded by the shrwd and intelligent
rascals among them tht they can have as
much money as they yant by Just order


much money as they yant by just order
ing u printing press tourn it out as fast as
possible, then the beginning of the end, if
not the end itself, wi indeed have come.
There was also anoher important qucs-
ton involved in this Csc, which we regret
very much to sec tina the court has not
decided upon. It is;his The respec-
tive powers and fuhtions Of the three
departments Of our gvernmeHt@the exI-
ecutiye, Legislative anl judicial. The l0-
gisIative department. ms hitherto assumed
unchallenged certain kind Of supremacy
of the other two. tbs feeling was in
spired and encouragedduring the last two
years by some unscruplous demagogues,
who found that department more conve-
nient for their purposes.
We take the grount that each of these
departments is suprcnE within their own
jurisdiction. The legislature has no right
to require the Treasure to perform an un.
constitutional act, andif they do, it is his
duty to refuse to do it. 1t is the duty Of
the court to decide upon the constitution,
ality of legislative emctments, and set
them aside when they violate the Consti.
tuition. With this vhw entertained by
him, the Treasurer refused to issue the
Certificates" for thefdlowing reasons, in
addition to those already stated: That the
legislative certificates of 1S70-'71 and
1s71-'72, authorized TO be paid in seer
ti6cates of indebtediess," were clear
frauds, haring been Issued IN ercess Of the
amount authorized by law, as will be seen
by reference to the appropriation acts Of
tbe respective years, and also haring been
paid in erccss of the amount authorized
by law. as will be seen by reference to the
records of the treasury. When such q
plain statement was made that was so sus
ceptiblc of proof, it seems to us that il
ought to have been referred to jury.
The court, however, decided that the
simple fact that the certificates were emu
merated so that they could be identified
was sufficient to make them valid, and
afford grounds why they should be singled
out from the others of precisely the same
character. We can understand this only
on the presumption thSs the court though
that was one way in which they wOult
stop the issue of Legislative certificates nov
for these back years, for we cannot see il
what other respects they differ from thos'
that were enumerated. This was certain
ly no compliment to the officers who is
sued legislative certificates.
We would like to know in what respects
fraudulent legislative certificates diffel
from fraudulent conversion bonds. Some
of our democratic contemporaries are yer!
earnest in advocating the payment o
these certificates, which are in the hand
of those who they are pleased to call in
noccnt third parties. But when it come
to the payment of conversion bonds in th'
bands of innocent third parties, they ART
decidedly opposed. We do not admir-
their inconsistency; we pronounce then
Notwithstanding legislative certificate
and conversion bonds-cqually fraudulent
We express no opinion on the limo
cency of tho third parties; they may o.
may not be, so far as we know-we speal
only of the legal character Of the paper
themselves.
We would say, in conclusion, that vi
regret that the court could not ecc its wa,
clear to assist these executive officers, VIII,
are striving by every constitutional method
to stem the corruption in this State.