The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-03-08

three hundred and twenty-five dollars worth
offarniture purchased by Attorney. Gen eral
Melton, and paid for by him out Of his con-
tingent fund, aud at this time is in the at.
torney. generals Office.
Mr.. Berry saysshefurnished large mum.
Der OF Committee rooms outside of the
State House, as we'll as bedrooms. He re-
members furnishing the rooms occupied by
WI. Whipper, 7. Hurley, L. B. Johnston,
j. +. Green aud others, and some of the
rooms he furnished as often as three times |!
He also furnished rooms at Mrs. Randalrs,
for Speaker Moses, traded furniture to men,
bers tor pay certificates, and furnished al
most all the offices in the State House,
- EVERY SESSION
In continuation, no states that 4e. fur
nished at least forty bedrooms, but docs not
-knsw who sooeppied them. all, .or what be-
came of the ~
in Legislative pay certificates: ~
We eek reference to the evidence of Scr
geant-at.arms Williams on the subject of
furniture. He says he purchased a lot OF
furniture from Mr.. Berry, Consisting of
chairs, tables, washstands hid bed room sets.
Some of the room&. thus. furnished were
occupied by Gen. w. j. Whipper, w. II.
Jones and James A. Bowley. He does not
know what became of the furniture. but en-
deavored to collect it, and was told by j.
B. Dennis, James A. Bowley, Benjamin
Byas aud Charles Minort that he had moth.
ing to do with it; Consequently he troubled
himself no moro about it. :. He says the
rooms over the South Carolina Bank and
Trust Company were furnished also, and
werc occupied by Senator Y. j. p. Ovens,
L. Hurley and w. III. Gardiner, and that
he also furnished Speaker Lees rooms ard
OTHER PRIVATE ROOMS,
ut the boarding houses of members, with
fine carpets, stoves and other furniture, and
that they wcro claimed as committee rooms.
He says: 81 cannot undertake to explain
the accounts of Mr.. Berry. 1 know that
large quantities of furniture were furnished
by him every session, and that as soon as
the General Assembly adjourned it disap-
pcared, and was compelled, under the
order of the Speaker or some committee
chairman, to refurnish all the rooms as soon
as the Legislature met" These rooms, he
adds, "were
OUTSIDE OF TIE CAPITOL
building, and he believes the furniture was
stolen by those who had charge of it,"
w. X. Greenfield testified that the rooms
he rented were newly, thoroughly and, in
some instances, most extravagantiy fur
nished every fall, about the time the G General
Assembly convened, and that the furniture
was removed by different persons, and not
by regular dealers, and looked as if it was
being divided up among them that he rcn.
ted the rooms with the understanding that
they were for public business, but they NAV
have been used otherwise, and that he was
generally paid for them with legislative pay
certificates.
JOHN b. DENNIS
testiGes that he purchased furniture for
forty rooms, including the Offices of the
governor, attorney general, comptroller. gen.
eral, and the hall of the House of Repre-
sentatives. His evidence proves most con-
clusively that majority of the members of
tho House combined against the persons
who furnished these goods and demanded
t, be paid for voting for the claim The
bills were more than doubled and certificates
issued for them. The New York firms and
Mr.. Berry received only the amounts que
on their accounts. Benz. Byas, chairman
of the committee, who reported favorably
,en the raised claim, received a pay ccrtii-
cate to the amount of S12,319 5O-the re.
,mainder was divided between.
FIgTY OTHER MEMBERS,
as follows: w. r. Jervey had S2,1OO,
(which he was to divide between himself, Il.
A. Davis, w. G. Glover, j. j. Hardy, p.
P. Hedges, Abram Smith, j. w. Lloyd, j.
A. Bowley and Orlando Levy, all members
from Charleston County, except Bowley,
who represented Georgetown County.
Huuibert, Of Darlington, received cor.
tiicate of an oven
ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS,
which he was to divide between himself,
Alfred Hart, s. j. Keith, s. Sanders, J.
Long, Frank Adamson, John f. Henderson,
Hastings CAN'T, II. Tarle.on and Fortune
Giles.
Asbury L. Singleton, Of Sumter, received
q certificate for S1,150, to divide between
himself, K. Cain, H. G. Corwiu, f. Fergu-
son, r. Gather, s. Carey, A. s. Holmes,
Barney Humphries, s. Melton, VIM, Little.
field, J. p. Singleton, Alfred Mere, Il. M.
Sumpter and Jared Marley.