Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-04-02
EDITORIAL INKLINGS.
Railroad transportation.


- For several weeks the House of Rep,
resentatives has had under consideration a
bill, known familiarly as the transportation
bill. It is entitled "a bill to regulate COM
merce by railroad among the several States. D
1t is species of legislation which has not,
until recently, engaged the attention of legis'
lative assemblies in this country, and was
never before subject of Congressional de-
liberation. The bill which passed the House
last Friday, has yet to stand the ordeal Of the
Senate, and it is not probable that it will pass
that body without thorough discussion on
both the questions of its constitutionality and
expediency.
The bill, as it passed the House, is very
lengthy, and provides, in substance, that no
owner of railroad extending into two or
more States shall charge more than fair and
reasonable rate of toll or compensation for
freight of any kind or for passengers, or for
transporting cars, the said rates to be fixed by
a board of nine commissioners to be appoint.
ed by the President of the United States and
a violation of which rates will incur penal
ty of from $500 to $4,000 for each oaense.
This is the gist of the bill, the remaining Sec
tions being the machinery of the act.
The Doings Of the Legislature.
- The Charleston Ne,as and Courier thus
summarizes the doings Of the late Legisla-
ture:
"In the FIVE months occupied by hespecial
and regular sessions just closed, the General
Assembly numbered the Statute books of the
State with two hundred and seventy-one acts
and Joint resolutions. Of this number over
two hundred are either private acts or char
ters the majority of the latter being charters
to cross.road country churches, or social, lite:
rary and military clubs. The only matters
of Importance to the State at large are. en-
braced in about fifteen laws. The really
meritorious work of the session may be briefly
summed up It consists of the passage Of six
laws. These are: The act to reduce all the
laws relating to the assessment and taxation
of property into one act, and to amend the
same, the most important feature of which is
a section creating boards of equalization in
each county, to be appointed by the circuit
Judges, from the tax. payers, who are made the
arbitrators of all appeals for reduction Of as
sessments. The act to repeal the Blue Ridge
scrip law. The act to provide for the redemp-
ton of forfeited lands. The joint resolution
providing for a lreassessment of the real prop
erty of the State. Two joint resolutions pro-
posing amendments to the constitution of the
State, one to limit the term of the Offices of
the comptroller-general, secretary of State,
State treasurer, acknowledgement, adjutant and
inspector-general and superintendent of edu-
cation to two years, and the other to insert a
clause in the constitution prohibiting the in
crease of the debt of counties, cities and towns.
These Joint resolutions will be voted on by
the people at the next general election"
"Odious Laws"
In his irst inaugural, President Grant
asseverated that the most certain method Of
procuring the repeal Of odious laws was to
rigidly enforce them. Whether the internal
revenue laws have been "rigidly enforced"
we are unable to say; nor is it very clear, in
fact, what, according to the construction Of
deputy marshals, spies, informers and the