The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-08

IOF tlls cnalIenSe L0e
record-I have served the Republi.
can party no less than the State;
and in all Of it, having fully dis
charged my trusts, I have nothing
to regret save the crimes which
created the occasion and imposed
upon me the trust.
ROUTINE OF LEGISLATION.
To one not familiar with the pro-
cess of legislation it would appear
to be an easy, simple and speedy
thing to obtain the enactment Of any
ordinary law. The preparation and
introduction Of the Bill is only the
first step. Its reference to the ap.
propriate Committee follows, and
then the report from thai Commit
tee, if one can be obtained. If the
report is favorable, the Bill comes
up on its merits on the second read
ing; whatever discussion is had on
the Bill is usually had then. IF the
Bill passes its second reading it is
ordered engrossed, and then awaits
the report of the Engrossing Com
mittee, and then the third reading.
This being obtained, it is sent to the
other house and goes through the
same routine there. If it passes,
without amendments, then it is or
dered enrolled. If amended at all
it must go back to the first house for
concurrence, and, after that, is enroll
ed, ratified and presented to the Gov
ernor for approval. Under the most
favorable circumstances it is mat
ter requiring great care and watch
fuIness in tue midst of the business
of the two houses; but if it invokes
opposition of any character, honest
or otherwise, then its passage re-
quires degree of care and watch
fulness which can hardly be appre.
ciated by any one who has not been
q member Of the General Assembly.
There are nameless chances, from
first to last, of the most meritorious
Bill failing of passage through the
management Of unscrupulous per-
sons opposed to it.
My object in referring to this
matter is that you may in some de-
gree apprehend and appreciate the
amount Of labor, care and attention
bestowed by me on various measures
during my six years of public SER
vice. Take up, if you have the
patience and curiosity, the numerous
Acts and resolutions introduced by
me. How many are now on the
statute books as laws? Consider
the condition Of the State, and the
character and intelligence of the
Legislature; the prejudices then ex.
isting; the amount of labor and
perseverance actually performed by
me, to say nothing Of the anxiety
endured, and I am more than will
ing to abide your judgment. The
Democratic members, although in q
minority up to 1876, always unani.
nously supported my attempts al
reform, as well as many of the
members Of my own party. After
1875 my measures were more favor.
ably considered by my own party,
and received almost the unanimous
support of the opposition; hence my
success, and the laws and their ac'
tual results are living witnesses for
me.
CONCLUSION.
As set out in this address to give
a full, unvarnished and candid &C.
count of my action in the General
Assembly, and nothing extenuate, I
shall proceed to notice several mat
ters for which I have been criticised.
That I made mistakes do not wish
to deny; but I can safely and con.
scientiously aver that in all and
whatsoever did I acted in the sin.
cere belief that good, and not evil,
would result to the people of the
State. Among other things, 1 was
censured for insisting upon the ap.
pointment of Samuel johnson as
Jury Commissioner for Anderson
County. My reasons for this course
were:
1. Because I believed him COM
petent to fill the position.
2. Because he was the only
colored man in the County asking
for position at the time I asked for
his appointment.
5. Because 1 thought the colored
vosers were entitled to at least that
small recognition from the Repub-
lican administration.
4. Because he had supported me
in more than one election, and Ifelt
that he was entitled to this return
from me.
His competency was evidenced in
the character of the juries drawn
from his list, being intelligent citi.
zens and representing all classes and
races, (and in striking contrast with
some drawn since in the latter re.
spect.) tits we'll known that no COM
plant was ever made Of the juries