Orangeburg news and times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1875-1877, 1877-03-24

=. II Wallace against ii. e. Haync,
secretary of State, and L. w. AI.
Mackcy. On the next day, 9th De.
ccnber, decree was rendered and
published by that tribunal, deciding
that the body over which w. II. Wal
lace had been elected to preside rs
81 eakcr was the legal House of
Representatives of the State OF South
Carolina, and that e. w. NJ. NIackcy,
claiming to DO Speaker, was private
individual, not amenablc to the man
datory process of the Court. Here
again, without reference 10 what had
gone before, it would seem the contro-
versy should bavc been regarded as
ended. That d cision, from the nom
cnt il was made public, was the su-
prcmc law, which all pcrsons were
bound to respect and yield obedience
lo. And yet on tic following day,
7th December, 1876, with II full know
ledge, as must be presumed, ofall
these facts, Mr. Chamberlain, in pur-
suancc Of the declaration Of bis cleo
Ton by g. w. NJ, Mackcy, who had
been adjuCged to be mere private
citizen, appeared before the body Of
citizens over whom lie was presiding,
the Senate being present, took the
oath Of Office rs Governor was intall-
cd i'll The usual form, and entered up
on the duties of Il ncc term, MS was
manifested by his acts, and in sub
stance announced, in the opening sent
cncc Of his inaugural address.
by suffering himsc to be thus in
stalled for new term, not withstand
ing it was rs his own successor and
without regard to the illegality Of
the body he appeared before, I am Of
opinion, from the analogies of the
law, that he abandoned the constitu
tional right to hold over until his
successor had qualified; and, in the
Language Of Lord Somers, in King
Jamcs's case, "disowned and abdica-
ted" his former Office, to all intcnts
aud purposes, and was thereby estop-
ped forever after from questioning
his own deliberate act. Bigelow on
1Istoppcl, SOP; Bank U. S. VS.. Lee,
13 Peters, 11S; 9th Cranch, Cir. Ct,
p. $50; Vermont VS.. Socie1y for Pro
pagation Of Gospel. Paine. 80.
If this be true, Wade Hampton,
who had been elected by majority
Of the votes cat, would from that
moment, upon taking the oath Of
office. have been Governor dc /uclo ir
not q" j"rc without rcgar, to any
formal dec claration or installation.
But has Hampton ut any time, been
lawfully inductcd into Office and is he
now Governor dc .jn'c Of the State of
South Carolina? On the 18th Decem
bcr' 1916, the body which had al
Judged by the Supreme Court to be
the Constitutional House Of Repre-
sentatlvcs as is Ill proof before me.
sent Il formal notice to the Senate,
which was placed in the hands Of the
presiding officer who for some uneN-
piancd reason failed to publish it.
that they would on the next day, 14th
December, ut 9 =. NJ, proceed to open
and publish the returns Of the election
for Governor. The Senate did not
attend us body OH that occasiou,
but Il number of the members we're
present, and rs the notice was pub
lishcd in the journal oc the House for
that day, it is fair to presume they
all had actual notice, rs they certain
ly had Of the illcgaity Of The Hous c
they had before been acting with
At the hour appointed the returns,
which we're sworn transcripts from
duplicates ofthc originals which were
withheld from them, obtained from
the Offices Of clerks Of tho court
where til y are filed by constitutional
direction, and also certificate and
statement OF the votes cast from the
Office Of the secretary Of State, os
taken from the originals, were ope ned
and examined, when it was asccr-
tnincd thnt Wade Homnton b,,)