The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1876-01-06
,aqal From the News and Courier.
asSoS Governor Chamberlain.
VIEWS ON THE wHIPPER-MosEs IN.
FANNY.

an interview with Governor Cham
berlain, and now give you an exact
report of what passed.
Question-Of course you are aware,
Governor, of tho result of the Judi
cial election. Did you expect that
election to take place on Thursday
last?
Answcr--I did not, and l had the
best reasons for not expecting it. On
Tuesday, when tho Senate passed tho
concurrent resolution to hold the
election on Thursday, l spoke to both
my Republican and Conservative
friends, telling them that had very
important engagement in Greenvillo
on the evening of Thursday, which L
was the more anxious to keep be.
cause it involved tho convenience and
interest of 80 many Others stated
that, if the election was to take place
on Thursday [ must and should re-
main here; but earnestly appealed to
them not to allow the election then to
occur and thus disappoint my friends
ii SGreenville. I also addressed q
personal note to Mr.. Speaker Elliott,
in which i requested him, Oil personal!
as we'll as public grounds, to use his
Influence to stay the election, not only
from occurring on Thursday, but to
stay it until next week or after the
holidays. In answer to this note,
Speaker Elliott camo to my Office on
Wednesday morning, and said he re-,
grcttcd that ho had not thought of
my engagement in Grcenville before
Re was asked to favor concurrence in
tho Senate resolution. However, he
said, whiIo ho might vote for concur
rcnce, owing to his previous commit
tai, yet he would speak to his friends,
and he thought there would be no dit
ficulty in postpouinS tho election until
alter my return from Grcenvillc at
the earliest. L accepted this assur-
ance Of the Speaker and tho vote of
the House, which was 72 to 81 on the
motion to lay the Senate resolution
on the table, as a sufficient guarantee,
and left for Greenville on the morn
ing of Thursday, without the slightest
suspicion that the election would be
brought on. 1t is true that was told
Just before the train left that there
was a bare possibility that the elec-
tion might come off that day; but it
was doomed certain that the resolu,,
GOHs could at least be fought off until
Friday, and | contentod myself with
making arrangements for a special
train to bring me back ito Columbia
by Friday morning if necessary. If 1
had really suspected the conspiracy
which was developed on Thursday,
nothing in the world could have in
duccd, me to loave Columbia.
Qdestion-Had you beon present
when tho election took place, could
you havo changed the result?
Answer-I sec no reason to think
could. Tho conspiracy appears to
have been carefully concocted. Tho
color line, the party line, and the line
of antagonism to my administration,
all were sharply drawn; and the tone
of tho speeches made by tho leading
supporters Of Wbipper and Moses and
Wiggins shows that it required a
degree of boldness not possessed by
many of our Legislators to Voto in ops
position to the combination. Still 1T
would have been a great satisfaction
TO mo to have boon on tho spot and
gone down fighting, if must go
down.
"Question-Wa it not as o oombi.
nation of tho supporters Of different
candidates that the conspiracy of
which you havc spoken was 80 pow
crful2
Answcr-Yes. Tho peculiar siren
9Th of tho combination lay in uniting
the interests of q large number of the
candidates. This alone, 1 think,
caused tho defoat of Judge Maher.
Tho opponents of this Judge had q