The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-10-07
, THE TOWN WRIGKER.

t
= TIE TowN, ,wR1aKgR.
The action Of the Masters Of Oranges
upon this question last Monday, report Of
which appears elsewhere, was wise, discreet
and in every respect commendable. The
selection of Nj. j. C. Ksys-isa ajudicious and
excellent choice, and gives general satisfac-
ton. Their Action upon the subject Of
damage by water shows that the position
taken by the hoseasiaeneer upon this portion
of the subject is sustained by the farmers
themselves, and thsresolutions they adopted
show plainly that they approve of the action
of the Board Of Trade. -.
Now that the whole difficulty in reference
to the Town Weigher las been settled it
may not be amiss to show that the mer-
chants not only had justice and common
sense, but that they also had the law clearly
On their side This question as to the au-
thority of municipal corporations to require
all cotton sold within the corporate limits
to be weighed by Town Weigher arose
several years ago in Columbia under an Or
dinance of the city similar to the one passed
by our Council, and in a case between the
merchants and the city Judge Melton de-
cided the Ordinance to be illegal and void.
The same question also arose in Sumter in
1872, and was litigated in tho Supreme Court
under charter much more comprehensive
and explicit than ours. The charters of
Sumter and Anderson are similar i'll giving
to the Town Council the right to pass all
such Ordinances as they may deem proper
relative to the markets, police, quietudc,
peace, safety and good ORDER ofthe inhabitants
Of the Town." and the charter of Sumter
gives that town an additional power not
contained in the charter of Anderson, which
is to establish public scales for areighing cot
ton and other articles sold by freight" and to
appoint one or more public weighers, also
providing that where there is difference as
to the weights of any article the certificate
of the public weigher shall be conclusive in
any Court, and requiring all other weights
in the town to conform to the standard fixed
by the public scales. Therefore if the Town
of Sumter has no right to enforce an Orli-
lance requiring the weighing of cotton by
the Public Weigher the Town of Anderson
certainly has none. Under the explicit pro-
visions Of this charter comforting such
plenary powers upon the Town of Sumter
the Council passed the following Ordinance:
'"rhat all persons bringing cotton, lint Or
seed. (packed or unpacked) to this market
for sale shall be required to have the same
weighed by the Public Weigher before such
sale is effected, and for every violation Of
this section shall upon conviction before the
Town Council be subject to fine of not less
than $40 and not more than $50 for each
offense." w. f. Descliamps violated this
Ordinance and was fined $50 by the Council.
He refused to pay the fine, on the ground
that the Ordinance was "repugnant to law,
to common right, restrictive of trade, con-
trary to public policy, unjust, unwise and
oppressive" The Council recovered judg-
Iuent against him before Trial Justice and
he appealed to the Circuit Court, where the
Judgment was reversed. The Council. ap-,
pealed from the Circuit decision on the
ground that the charter gave them the right
to pass the Ordinance; that they had the
right under the common law, irrespective OF
any power directly conferred by statute;
and that the Ordinance was not in restric-
ton, but merely in regulation, of trade.
In rendering the decision upon this case
the Supreme Court held: "If they have the
right to pass this section why may they not
extend it 80 as to include every pound OF
sugar, coffee, tea lard or any other article
sold by weight i'll the Town Of Sumter? It
cannot be that the legislature proposed any
such power, for its exercise would then ope-
rate as a restraint, instead OF 3 regulation, Of
trade What is there in the charter to show
that it must be confined to the article of cot
ton? A power frausht with such prejudi-
cial consequences to the trade of the Town
should not depend for its existence upon i'm
plication unless it is plain and unavoidable
q We cannot see that the corpora
ton had the right to pass the said section of
the said Ordinance, and the motion to re-
verse the judgment of the Circuit Court is
dismissed"
The Supreme Court in shis decision were
unanimous, and the decision meets the case
of the Town of Anderson very fully, and rs
the decision was against the constitutional
ty of the position assumed by the Council,
the Supreme Court of this State is the very
highest possible authority upon this point,
and therefore the positions assumed by the
InteMgo.cer with regard to this matter were
entirely correct, and would havc prevailed
had the case gone into the Courts. etake
it for granted that no interference will ever
be made in this matter by our future Coun-
ellis, as they must see that they have no such
authority a. that to which they have laid
claim.