The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-06-06
From Columbia.
LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS,

The Penitcntiary Convicts-Thc Sal
ary-Thc Election Of Judgcs-The
Impeachment Of Wright Good
Work.
COrrMHIA. Juncj
Etit0r Press AMI H::.'-.
promised YOU l." hat 7 would
not inlet another letter upon your read
.ers, but at your request | drop you a few
lines and YOU must "aSSlIme the respon-
sibility' of publishing. But little Of
general Legislation has been done during
the past week. The bill to reduce and
fix the price Of dieting prisoners in conn
ty iails passed its second reading. The
price finally agreed upon was thirty cents
per day. The bill to utilize convict labor
also passed its second reading. This /
think will be great saving to the TAN
payers. 1 visited the pcnitentiary on
Thursday, and was surprised to see its
utter failure as a penal institution. !. is
a place TO i0dge mt prOr'dc for lazy thlcV-
ing negroes, who are unwilling to make
a living by honest labor. They work but
little and seem to be allowed to take
their own time about it, moving ut Il
sluggish gait. The only work that ] saw
that could he called work wlS in the
blacksmith shop where they were ma
king some good rail- road picks, horse
shoes. plOws, DC. But I venture the as
scrti0n that it costs the State more to
make these articles than it realizes for
them. Hand labor cannot compete with
machinery, and the sooner such work IS
abandoned the better. 1t seems to a cas-
ual observer, that the whole force would
be better employed ruarryiny granite, Of
which there is All abundance at hand, or
making bricks. II the canal had not
been tOolishlv disposed of to shrcwd
yankees the labor of the colvicts could
be well employed in deepening and wi
dening the canal and building a dam
across the river. The contract of sale l
trust will be set aside on the ground Of
failure to comply with the terms of sale
by the purchasers. This matter is in the
bands of the Attornty General II will
he thoroughly siftcd. 1t is undcrstc. I'd
that the phosphate companies will hire
all the convicts if they can get them, and
no doubt they can as soon as the bill be-
comes a law. There is an absolute neccs-
sity for the law at the present time.
There arc four hundred and tifty-two
conricts in the penitcntiary, and they are
being recruited every week, and it is
thought there will be eight hundred be-
fore the end of the year. The people
must no relieved Of this burden of taxa
ton and this bill provides for it, and l
hope it will be passed by the Senate.
The House passed Il joint resolution to go
into the election OF Judge of the fifth
circuit (Carpcnter), but it was defeated
i'll the Senate on Saturday in consequence
of the absence Of President Simpson,
the vote beingl6 to lG and Swails being
in the chair gaze the casting vote against
it. 1t is very unfortunate that my OF
our Democratic friends should feel call
ed upon, by matters Of private interest
to be away from their post, especially in
the Senate where the vote is Il tie. /
think the matter will he started again in
the House, in some shape, and if all our
Senators are on hand it will go through
certainly.
i word now on the unpleasant subject
Of pay of members of the General As
Sclnbly. I know Il people must he tir-
ed of this, and Disguised. as they have Il
right to be, with the action of the Senate,
secured as it was by Democratic votes.
They voted six hundred dollars for the
regular session and two hundred for this
extra session. The regular session was
only twenty-four days, and almost moth
ing done, and by what sort Of arithmetic
they can vote themselves six hundred
dollars for it, and two hundred dollars
for this session when we have already
been here forty-one days, J am at Il loss to
know. 1t is simply absurd, and l am
satisfied the House will promptly vote ii
down. cannot say what the House will
agree upon. l Judge it will he more than
some of us think it should be, and it will
be so because Of the ObStinacy OF the
S~enatc-the concurrence of both Houses
being necessary to settle the matter. L
really think it should NOT under any cir
cunstanccs exceed four hundred dollars
for both sessions, but l have little hope
of bringing it down TO that figure. Some
of our Senators voted for eight hundred
dollars, and on he same day they voted
to receive no pay at dH. h people
must put their own construction on this
kind Of political tergiversation, but l
confess to my disguest at such childs
play on the part of grave Senators.
The committee Of conference on the APP
preparation have had three meetings
since Saturday and have failed to agree.
They meet again this morning with little
prospect of agreeing however, and if they
do not, another committee may he APP
pointed OF the bill will be killed and We
will have have to start ode novo.'
The question of providing for the in
tcrcst on the debt, and 1 really think it
unfortunate that the committee Of ways
and means touched that question
at this session. Nobody thought
about proriding for the dent, but
merely investigate it at this session; and
l am satisfied that the bondlloldcrS did
not expect it.. But when it came up upon
tbn rnport pf fbn com ittrp nlnNiHinr
for an appropriation of $27o, 900 to pay i'll
tcrcst before we knew what we owed
then came. the ''t1g of war" 1t was,
however, passed by a large majority in
the House, but it was defeated in the
Senate; and now the effort is to conf
promise through committees OF confer
cncc, two of which have been appointed,
but from the composition of the commit
tee it is like trying to mix oil and water.
The resolution to impeach Judge
Wright omc up tonight. and, if our
Democratic members get back from their
homes, it will pass, and that suspends
him until he is tried, which will not be
until next winter. In the mean time we
hope he will have sense enough to resign.
Well, Mr.. Editor, we nave the consola-
ton to know that we have gotten rid Of
many Objectionable officials since We
lltNc DttIl IcIt, anu tllc cIlu Is lpt Sct.
Mr.. Samuel Dibble was seated last week
as n member from ~Orangeburg, in the
place of Straker, the Bermuda negro,
whom we struck out carly in the session.
Orangeburg is happy. Newbcrry might
have been if she had held an election.
Vale. T.. \. c.
Murder Will Out.
\ few years ago august Flower was
discover to be Il certain cure for Dyspep-
STA and Liver Complaint, Il few thin Dys-
Drptics made known TO their friends how