The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-09-05

far as Governor Hampton or the authori-
ties of South Carolina are concerned. A
) distinguished counsel, the gentleman who
is my predecessor and whose position !
now.fll, longo interrat2o, andlhe is one OF
the first lawyers in the South, and g dis
tinguished lawyer in Washington, known
to some of these gentlemen here, Mr..
Lowndes, went before Judge Humphreys
and argued with ability, vigorand knowl-
s edge of the law, but with failure, which
cannot account for on any principle laid
! down in that decision.
81 ask you, Mr.. Attorney General, and
II ask his Excellency, the Governor of
this illustrious Commonwealth, with your
State putting itself voluntarily into the
position of private suitor in its courts,
consenting to be made party defendant,
for the simple and express purpose of
testing the validity of alleged obligations
!. of the State, with no desire but one thing,
Z and that its honest debts should be paid /;
aand with no desire, on the other hand,
bnt that its fraudulent debts should be
shown to be fraudulent-if there was one
rnan.in New York, Massachusetts,, or out
it, whose testimony could throw light
on all these dark spots, and illunine all
these caves and valleys OF fraud, and show
ito you and to your Attorney General and
your Legislature and the people of this
grand old Commonwealth. what was the
right and what was the wrong in regard
to those transactions, ] ask you if you
3 would not be justified, iby every. principle
Of law, human and divine, tby. every
known, recognized maxim of legitimate
sstatecraft, to say to that man: Come,
bring your books, bring your papers,
bring your clerks, make clean breast,
& not only, mark you, of these bonds, but
of all your knowledge of the financial
transactions of the State, and if that
knowledge is valuable and it Is ,nsed, you
shall be put back irs statn quo.s Where
is there anything dishonorable in that2
: / ask if it is not wise craftsmanship, if
Z it is not prudent management, ifit is not
conduct beftting the Chief Executive
and the law officer of an honest Common
wealth?
Suppose this man, whose testimony was
important-and it was important not only
for these bond transactions, but for the
other financial transactions of the State,
and mo human being, tI1S Cyr-+
ton thas-n ne would testify N these bond
cases he should get off-suppose he should
make representation, through able
counsel, invoking the aid of-the gentle.
man who now fills the highest post of
.thuman ambition, the Presidency of the
United States; and said that he was
fugitive and an exile from home, that his
I businssswas being ruined, that his aged
father was impoverished, that he wanted
to go back and look after his affairs and
could not stand being pursued from pillar
to post, and suppose that the President
of the United States should refer such a
communication to you, who so worthily
z fills the high Office of Governor of Mas
sachusettsY ask would it not be in the
interest of humanity, would it not be in
the interest of the State, would it not be
wise and fair and kind and merciful to
say TO this man: Come here. you talk
about being arrested under civil suits;
under the law, you cannot be arrested
under civil suits if you come as witness.
Come and make, full. disclosure of all
{ your knowledge of these bonds and finan.
! .cial transactions of the State And |
ask you if it would be an unwise exercise
sof executive clemency to say to him:
You shall have fifteen days immu-
I nity.'
This man talked about the State Of
South Carolina not keeping its obliga-
mons. The crowd that fastened upon her
yitaIs are not the State or the people of
South Carolina; but every pledge which
has been made by Hampton from the
7 moment he took the stump in the cam
paign in the summer of 1876, Is stump on
which Mr.. Chamberlain, though repeat
Gedly challenged, never dared to meet him
until to-day, there is no single official
J public pledge which he has made to
Democrat or Republican, white man or
colored, which has not been kept in the
letter and in the spirit. So fearful was I
that it might seem to Kimpton or any
body else to whom this promise had been
made that, he might be interrupted, that
I sent dispatch to Mr. Tunstall, dis
tinguished lawyer at New. York, and
asked him to see Kimpton himself, and
did not even put the limit of fifteen days
to it. Why did we not arrest him in
New York; Because Wade Hampton's
word is his bond. We did not arrest him
In New York because when the State of
South Carolina honestly administered
says to man, I do not care how great q
/ criminal he is, For such length of time
you shsll not be touched, we would per-
NIT the State to crumble into atoms and
be plnnged into so deep an abyss that the
bubbles would meyer rise to tell where it
sank, before that pledge should be broken.
8 Cannot these gentlemen understand what
+ honor means? Is it necessary in this
grand old Commonwealth, where 'prisca
fdes ct antigua veritas' still flourish in
K perennial youth, that / should be obliged
1, TO explain to counsel why the Governor
! ofaState, when he pledges his word, will
not violate it? Well, the time elapsed,
I the time was up, and he wanted another
day. I was not in Columbia, butanothef
day was granted to him. Subsequently
he was arrested, not in New York, but in
Westfeld.
/ Now, counsel said they would produce
5 The proof that Cavender was the counsel
q ffsOEcbu6 Glsllc, du1 6udI tuCy WOuio PioNO
1T under my hand. They have proved no
such thing. The Legislature Of South
Carolina was so anxious in the establish
ment and composition of this court that
fairness and justice should prevail, that
tLey did not do what is ordinarily the
! case, and what they have done in every
other suit, and that is to allow me to Sc
lect my own associates, but they elected
by joint ballot of the General Assembly
the two counsel who were to be associs-
ted with me, Mr.. Meetze and Mr.. Pope,
and and Mr.. Meetze and Mr.. Pope are
\ she only counsel for the State, and all
( statements that Cavender is counsel for
the State are without foundation and are
untrue. Cavender was employed as q
clerk-he was employed as an expert.
He was the right-hand man of Dunn
when he was Comptroller General, and