Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1877-05-17

1.
.dtwas taken UP for asecond reading
This bill provoked considerable dis
cusslon, which was kept up till thu
hour of adjournment If provide
that burglary, arson and rape shall
be- punished with death,s:as is nov
provided by law for murder, and i
makes the following subjects of ar
son, In ddition to those now embrac
ed by law Gin houses, cotton presses
OF screws, mill houses, stables, farm
4 or ont-houses within orwithout the
eurtilage, store houses, work shops
any building in which any.trad'
or employment is carried on. Itpro
vides that larcenysof any live stool
shall be punished@by Imprisonment
in the penitentiary for from one t.
: 6ve-years, and by fine at the discre
ton Of theeourttS that the shooting
! ola person detected esa44e AdnauIe to arres'
4 him shalllbe excusable homicide; that
killing upon provocation of adultery
or seduction of the wife, mother, sis
ter or ward shall be excusable homi.
eide; that obtaining money, goods OF
credit upon false pretenses, OF the
pledging as securities any goods
rights or credits afterwards to be ac-
quired, and on receiving them, the
not applying them to the payment o.
the debt shall be punishable by fine
/ in double the sum obtained, and im5
4 prisonment for as many days as there
are dollars in the fine and costs, OF
until the same is paid. s
i Mr.. Wells moved to strike5out The
enacting clause. 9
| Mr.. Orr-I. am not in favor Of
striking out the enacting clause. Some
of the provisions Of the bril- are good,
bb1t some of them are disgrace to
civilization. Look at them He
here read thesfrst section, providing
the punishment of death.for burglary,
arson 1ts-sels-repo-:1fI- -luiiiisass- that
tie two last should be,so punished,
but l am certainly opposed to tie
first. The second section is worse
Ethan that. I amin favor Of so.modi-
1fying the bill as tosnakes it.conform
to the, cirilla Of our day.
Mr. Wells-I go further than the
gentleman who has stSspoken. In
the case of rape, l have seen many
cases brought before the courts, and
Iitis one of the hardest things in5the
world to distinguish between bona
ffde and malicious prosecutions l
am opposed tor Furnishing gsany offense
with death but wilful murder. -
Mr.. Youmans said: The only things
/ am interested in are arson. and the
! theft of live stock. In my section
every morning when the people get
up they look out of their windows to
l'sss+i any of their houses have been
burned during the night. 1 think
the legislation should be SO severe as
TO break up this practice of house
burning which has become entirely
too, common. Aud as. to. live stock.
| it IS we'll known that OF: late years it
hasbesn almost impossible 70 raise
any. have letters now in my pock-
ct from people in my county saying
that beeves are killed, their hides
burned, and the thieves escape with
impunity.
MFR. Reed said: If the gentlemen
wish to have peace and harmony in
this State this bill is not, the way to
havesit.
Mr. Conner-I think this is the
wrong time to make such provisions
as are contained in this bill. We
should not make a capital punish
ment for anything bat murder. Why
sir, if this bill should pass, providing
death;as punishment for SO many
oEenses, our hands would be too full
of it.
Mr.. Simpson, am opposed to the
general features of this bill. But there
are two things in it that should pass,
think the members of this General
Assembly will be guilty CT grave
dereliction of duty if they fail to pass
them. 1 mean those provisions in
reference to the crime Of arson and
the crime Of rape. A fend in human
form may gointo your home and burn
BIT down, and destroy your family, and
i there is no law to punish him except
/ by just sending him to the peniten,
tiary. There is hardly man, in Ger.
tain sections of the State, who will
dare to let his family travel away
/ from home without protection. five
fail to make law protecting our peo,
pie, they will take the law into their
own hands, and5tha will be worse
than the passage of this bill. @
Mr.. Miller-It is our duty to pro
tect all classes alike. AS the law
now stands the criminals are punish
ed sufficiently. l think it is toe
much to ask that man should be
punished with death for committing
rape. am willing to hang mar
for rape upon virtuous woman, but
when you pass this bill you place ar
honest man in the power Of womer
who are not so. A man WHO commits
this crime upon, virtuous woman
Will not be allowed to live to come tc
trial, and think be should not live
ts5 long. As to burglary, 1 have nev
er heard of such thing as hanging
man for breaking into another!
house. AS to theft Of live stock, !.
am willing to put a man in the penn
tentiary for stealing a horse, butt d.
not think he should go there for steal
ing pig. Another portion of tn
bill gives man right to shoot an
other if he catches him stealing. Now
is not that giving him right to xii
, on mere suspicion?
Mr.. Palmer-We have got peopl
i here in Richlapd who-are hardly hu
: man beings, and they will swear tina
Z any man committed rape on them a
any time. All the cases that eve
came UP are old reprobates, thatwer
!, sfch long before many of 5uS Yer