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

intolerable, the load became so tremen-
dous, that the anxiety among white peo-
pie and black people, Democrats and
Republicans, to get rid of this burden
that had hung like an incubus for years
upon the fair neck of the Southern States
became so intense that the people came
together, and, though in the election Of
1876 the Republican party prevailed in
the electoral vote and it was cast for Mr..
Hayes, the negroes and the Republicans
Joined with the Democrats, and, while
they voted for Hayes, voted for Hampton
and made him Governor, and that is the
reason of the change. Months, long,
weary, troublesome months, intervened
before we got possession of the govern
ment, but since We have got possession of
the government we justify its every act,
and every act that Governor Hampton
has done in this matter, not only as
matter of professional duty, but as a
matter of personal honor; and every
step he has taken in regard to Kimpton
1 applaud, justify and approve"
Regarding the six millions of repudia-
ted bonds, about which Mr.. Chamberlain
"glibly talked" the Attorney General
recalled the fact that they were repudia-
ted by Republican Legislature, and "no
human being has applauded the act more
strongly" than Mr.. Chamberlain. He
then gave sketch of the origin of the
Bond Commission chosen in June, 1877,
and gave their reasons for rejecting par
ticular lots or classes of consolidation
bonds, and said:
"Now, did the State of South Carolina
repudiate its just debts? Not bit oft.
1t did no such thing. On the contrary,
it did an act of fairness and justness to
its public creditors which should chal-
lenge any State, any Commonwealth or
any community of the Union to surpass.
1t passed joint resolution by which it
consented to shear itself of its sovereign
capacity which prevented it being sued,
and it authorized me, the Attorney Gen
eral, and two associate counsel whom it
selected, not I, to appear for the State in
the courts, and to invite the public cred
itors to bring their suits, and to make
the old, honest, Anglo-Saxon, English
way of settling difficulties by going to
law. 1t provided for an appeal up to its
Supreme Court, and then made every
fscility for its going to the Supreme
Court of the United States. / ask where,
in the history of American finances,
where, in all the devious and tortuous
chapters of money transactions in which
States and Commonwealth have been
involved, is there an instance which
speaks stronger for the faith of State,
foE the honor of people, for the integ-
rity of community, than when that
State shears itself of its sovereign powers
and says: Though under the law you
cannot sue me, I consent to be sued?"
Know you, Mr.. Attorney General, of any
possible scheme by which the suits could
be brought? None, sir, under the con-
stitution of the United States of America;
none under the constitution of South
Carolina, and certainly none under its
laws. Further, as in some of these bonds
there is contract by the State, as there
is that these coupons are to be receivable
in payment of taxes, of course the extra
ordinary remedy of mandamuS would lie
to enforce the treasurer to receive them.
But that only determines one single cou-
pom. But the State at one sweep pub
fishes to the world the objection to these
bonds, and requires its Attorney General,
with the consent of the creditors, if prac-
ticable, to make up the cases, in order
that this question may 60 out of politics
once and forever, and like every honest
people where they differ as to the amount
of their debts 60 to court and fix it, and
fix it forever. And yet the gentleman
who has addressed you said the whole
object of this requisition was to torture
Kimpton, to make him give evidence in
order that the State of South Carolina
might repudiate its legal obligations.
Now, sir, that is the history, and that is
the fact. That is full and fair, and it is
matter of public record"
Mr.. Youmans then took up the re-
marks made touching what had taken
place in the Court of Claims in Colum-
bia, and said:
sIt was stated that this case was ad-
iourned because the Attorney General
said he was exerting all the energies of
the government, or something of that
sort, in order to get Kimpton there. Now
if you will get the paper I have seen and
look at the records of that proceeding,
you will see that that statements utterly
untrue. Mr.. Simonton and Mr.. Brawley,
two of the counsel for the bondholders,
insisted that should be required to dis
close the names of the witnesses, and /
fatty and emphatically refused to do 80.
I stated that If disclosed the names of
the witnesses, it might furnish means to
parties interested, and who did not wish
them to testify, to get him away, and in
the papers of that date and in the subse-
quent papers on the same thing, there
were great inquiries as to who were the
mysterious witnesses; and if you will see
the paper from which this garbled ex-
tract was read to you, it is headed, The
mysterious Witness the substance of the
article being that the name of the Attor-
ney Generals mysterious witness is Hiram
| b. Kimpton. l made no call apf Kimp-
toms name or of any other name. Istated
that there were witnesses whose presence
it was very important to secure; the tes-
timony had Just come to our information,
which was impossible to be secured in
time; and Notwithstanding the repeated
and persistent demand Of counsel, l per-
sisted in refusing to disclose the names Of
any witness whatever. In case called
for the first time it is not the ordinary
habit of counsel to disclose his witnesses.
When the case is called o second time he
may be called upon to disclose their
names, with statement of what he is
looking to prove by them"
Mr.. Youmans said that besides the
Bond Commission, another Commission
(the Joint Committee on Frauds) was
appointed to investigate what corrupt use
had been made of the public funds.
'The commission sat, and in order to
get anything like the truth it was neces-
sary that some people who had been en-
gagged in these frauds should be promised
immunity if they should disclose. And
they did disclose, and a number indict-
ments were then found-some against
/ D.4S