Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1877-06-21

p'''"'oS Va Soo BoVu ucoouipiioueup .uhu tne
faot that for the future tho pay has been fxod
at q reasonable compensation.
We certainly fail to SEQ the force of tho OK
PLANTATION mado by our Senator. It is true rs
he states, That under the law ns passed by tho
Republicans, the Legislature was entitled to
5000 for tho regular session, and by reason of
its short duration, they would have been entitled
to per diem Of about $26 for the special session,
hut'being reform body ought they for this
reason to claim that sum from ON impoverished
people, or any sum greater than reasonable
compensation for tloir scryiccs7 Tho tax
payers will hardly think 80. In fact, the slogan
of The, campaign was reform aud largo rcduc-
tion specially Of the legislative expenses and tho
salaries Of other officers.
The next point made by our Senator is two
fold, that the Republicans had majority in The
Senate. and nll propositions made by tho Demo.
cratic Senators o receive less sum than $500,
were rejected. 60. We do not know how the
Senate stood at the date of the seorot session,
but originally it stood 18 Radicals to l5 Domo-
| Gratis. When Walker. Of Chester, resigned "a
Democrat was elected to fill his place, giving
tho Democrats lG to II, and when the little
book was coaxed from tho possession Of Mckay
Whittemore took a trip to Massachusetts and
hds never returned, giving The vote in The Se-
nate lSto l0. This is on the basis Of Cochran
acting with the Radicals, which lie seldom did
and shows thnt in tho worst view Of tho case
tho Democrats controlled in tho Senate tho
President boing Democrat, md being the
person who, in case of q tic, gave tho casting
vote - 'N"H'g ""' % N'r 'ii""''d4i
We do not know at what dato the Democrat
from Chester took his scat. But. apart from
tho Radicals controlling tho Senate. look at
the vote on the $500 pay question. It stood
on the question of rejecting Wiherspoon's
amendment, proposing Gyo hundred for both
sessions. as follows: II to 10, tiye Democrats
voting against the amendment. Now take s
from IL md we have IL. and add these same
to 10 and we have Is. mnjority of 3, 80
that whatever might be tho Radical minority
in tho Senate. the 8 Democratic votes cnn..d
have carried the Ave hundred dollar proposis
ton. On tho adoption Of tho resolution, to
take oight hundred dollars the vote stood the
sumo and could have been, defeated by Demo-
cratic votes. Z" H"3o'-
AS to the vested rights of Senators in eight
hundred dollars, because they had certificates
for that amount, every rorson knows thcso
certificates could mover havo been paid unless
the Legislature appropriated money to pay
them. Besides, have not hundreds of people
similar vested rights in the bonanza claims and
IN many certificates duly signed by tho Presi
dent Of the Senate and Speaker of the House
in former days which have not been and will
never bo paid2 If or even Is Democratic
Senators had supported tho eight hundred
dollar pay it would not mend tho matter, tho
question then as now being, was it too much
or was it fair compensation? 1t must stand
or fall on its morits. for though compromise
md vested rights be pleaded how is it that
| fiually six hundred dollars was adopted and
! the State has not been swallowed, by, Radicals
with their vested rights2 AZ - .
There is a good deal of sophistry in the
next clause Of tho Colonel's explanation whom
hc figures out saving to the State by adopt
ing the eight hundred dollar compromise,
instead of accepting the House bill, which
limited tho pay to six hundred dollars for
both sessions, but did not specially exclude
the Mackey House. Tho Senate could have
added to tho IIouss bill the following words,
adopted il as amended and adjourned two
weeks earlier to tho saving of thousands of
dollars to the State: provided further that
| no pay certificates shall be issued to the mem
bers OF tho illegal or Mickey House," This
would have cured tho defect and tho House
would have asscntcd promptly to tho amends
ment, rs wo think, the House tried to get tho
| bill bnck to so amend it. The House mover in
tended that the Mickey IIonsc should receive
pay under The BILL Instead Of adopting this
simple and economical, not to sny just course,
tho Senate was looking tc No. ], and insisted
on having eight hundred instead Of six
hundred dollars Tho crror in the House bill
should have been amended in the Senate q nd
promptly adopted rs amended, and not taken
advantage Of to increase tho pay Of tho
Senate and House both al, j.
The last clause Of the Senator's card states
that the difference between the House and
the Senate was little moro than fraction
over one hundred dollars to each member, and
would it not have been economy to have given
this and brought tho session to n nlose."
i Would it not have been economy if Demo I.
cratic Senators had amondcd and adopted tho
House bill and brought tho session to close,
for ultimately tho six hundred dollar pay was
adopted and tho delay and prolonged discus.
sion are attributable to tho Senate and tho
Senate only. .a,lo
aWo rejoice at tho frnlnoss displayed by tho
llouse, which ultimately triumphed, for tho
ray of six hundred dollars is moro than any
Republican Legislature over received on per
diem basis, though we havo no word to say