The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-09-28

the United States, we think that paper would
know that we cannot make Il Constitutional
provision which will forbid the attend
ance OF any child ut any Of the public schools.
As to the school ages, that Is merely n matter
of individual opinion There can be no way
Of proving that from s TO II is u better school
ngc than 6 TO lG. For our own part, We are de-
cidcdly Of opinion that from 6 to lG Is the best
school age. Primarily the schools were Or
ganized for the benefit of the poor. and by
cutting Off the years from : TO S and from II
to &c the children OF that class OF our citizens
would be denied three years attendance at
the best school age. or the other hand, the
school age does not materially effect The chill
dren Of those who arc able TO pay tut
ton. The present distribution Of the two
mill tax We believe right, and see mo posi-
Die plan by which the Constitution could I'M
prove II. The suggestion about payment OF
the poll tax rs "a requisite for suffrage Is
without force. There are not fifty mon in Alb
beville county who DO not pay the tax. In
Abbcvillc county the statement o! facts stands
as follows:
| Whole umbe OF polls asScsSed-..... 5,G00
Attachments enormously chargcd".... GO
Nulla bona, Oncludlng men who had
left the county, died, and unable TO
To,o, mills noid $500
No man who had n dollars worth Of prop
crty has been noted Us having refused to pay.
OF the five hundrcd and forty-scvcn, q large
proportion had left the county, as everybody
knows that the negroes left that year in
droves; and out Of Il voting population OF
nearly six thousand 1t is reasonable TO sup
pose that quite n number died during the
year, so that it is not apparent that anybody
in AbbevIllc county has refused TO pay his
poll tax. But to SLIT through this large num-
Der Of voters for an occasional dcGlulter the
Irgus would compel each and every one OF
US TO carry our tax receipt to the polls. And
| to inspect and verify these receipts would nee
essarIIy require Il new lot of paid officers at
every precinct.
again, we say most emrhaticalIy, that VIC
, would be willing to dIsfrancllise Tor burglary,
larceny, perjury, forgery, and other hlgn
crimes, even for ~vaSrancy. Snch evil doeIs,
and vio!ators OF law, have no moral right 10
elect law makers and executors Of the law, or
to make the avs OF any State. Such Il DIS.
! reimbursement would disfranchisc q sufficient
! number Of the worst characters OF our STATE.
WlInOUD IcENTu w slS SoioNs w -
condition. as would leave ncar an equilibri-
/ UNI bctwren the two elements Of our society.
| We rather believe thnt our present ConStitn-
tlon allows such q diSfranchlsoment, put as
there Is a difference OF opinion an to the mean
ing, we would make 1t beyond question by
Constitutional Amendments"
The argus Is very liberal in its
ton OF o1fenscs for which IL Is willing to dis
franchise the sinner, and when that paper can
think Of no other names to add it puts
in, for "othcr high crimes, and even vagran-
cy," or course we do not know what MAY be
included under tho head Of "otter high
crimes" But we are opposed to the "dlsfran-
cliisemcnt' business rs n whole. The Consti-
citizens. The Argus seems to speak very
lightly of "disfranchiscment." but we would
remind him that to deprive q man of therights
of citizenship Is to put q mark upon him, to
brand him with infamy forever. We Will
sneak of forgery" At the last term Of Court
O negro was indicted for forgery" The paper
was not complete, and o now indictment was
made against him. This time, for obtaining
goods under false pretenses. lie was convict
cd. The amount involved was five dollars.
The sentence OF the Court was twelve months
in the pcnitcntiary. For that mans services
the State has n standing offer OF Sl25 80 q
month, or $50 for the twelve months. TO this
heavy punishment the Argus would add dis
reimbursement, or the deprivation Of citizen
ship. We cannot see the justice OF the
course, and shall therefore most strenuously
oppose this sweeping proposition for the dis.
reimbursement of 70 sufficient number OF
the worst characters OF our State Ito aggr-
gate thirty thousand, or about one-thiru oi
the colorcd voters Of the State.
Section 8 and - Of article S OF the ConSlitu-
ton certainly Imply. II they DO not absolute
Is give the right, to diSfranch1Se for certain
crimes. Sec. S. Of article S reads;
1.-THE General Assembly shall never pass any law
that will deprive any 81 The citizens OF this State. Or
the right Of suffrage, except, for treason, murder roo.
berry, or dueling, where"' the persons sliail have been
duly ttird and convicted
Sec. IL reads:
INC person shall b. disfranclliscd for felony or other
crimes committed while such O person Nas n slave"
The first Of these sections plainly says that
the right of suffrage may be abridged for Ger
tain crimes, while Section u Implies that u
person may be DISTINGUISHED for any crime,
except those while q slave.
Sections S and IL OF Article S secm clear
enough to us, and nrc certainly comprehcn-
sive enough to satisfy IL reasonable demand
COR acknowledgements. The remarks OF the
ARGUS, on Section u we admit that we do not
understand:
"WcldifIer widely from the Press and Bannrr
of larceny The difficulty of conviction Is
so great, that we do not think over three
fourths. OF the cases arc prosecuted, and doubt
IL thrre-fourtlIs OF those prosecuted IN our
trial justice and circuit courts are convictea -;
but we do not claim to be familiar with the
record Of these courts. Testimony Is too easy
anG free under our present system TO mako
conviction easy
We invite our friend to attend the next
Court. If four out Of every five negroes who
are charged with crime are not convicted, we
venture the assertion that they will be more
successful in getting clear than at former
courts.
to the tenure OF office we are strongly In
favor Of electing all State and county officers,
including members OF the General Assembly,
for four years. The DEVIATION of theintcnse
excitement, and the loss Of time to our pco-
ple, would more than compensate any evils
That would result. The only, or rather the
that our people would lose interest in our
congressional elections, which must occur eV-
cry two years"
The Argus answers itself here.
Gas to eiecting judges for life, we would pre-
fer IL [ O every four years, while we would pro-
fer making their tenure OF office 3, IL or ~
years, to either the present or lie tenure
The above is a mere matter of opinion. We
believe every four years the better plan.
This article has been extended to such n
length, that we will not refer to other consti-
t%utional change needed. We will, however,
say that some amendment Is needed TO make
our county convicts, both OF trial Justice. ana
circuit courts. more sell.sustainlnG rs we
said before, we believe q constitutional Con-
~vention would be best; hut In view Of cco1o-
my and expediency, We will be satisfied with
such constitutional amendments as may be
absolutely necessary"
"All the tracks point the same a / see
none coming out" To sum y
!. Tho Argus would make unnecessary leg
islatlon In reference TO the education Of the
races;
.. Deny the poor the bcncrts Of the public
schools for four years, viz: from 8 to 8 anu
from IA 10 l8;
3. Deprive the citizen OF his right to vote. II
he failed to pay his poll tax, and, rs n conse-
ouence, force every other voter to the incon-
veniencc and annoyance OF carrying his tax
receipt to the election. or If he did not do so,
, deny him the right to vote:
4. Arbitrarily deprive thirty thousand c!ti-
zcns Of the right OF suffrage for the avowed
purpose OF pcrpctuutIng the power Of n polit-
lcal party;
s. Favor tho most excessive and inordlnate
punishment for crime, and even deny the
right 10 vote because OF "othcr high crimes
not defined, which "othcr high crimes"
, might be that OF stealing q watermelon, or
the misrepresentation Of n pumpkin. 1t
| might even 20 IL luther and pronounce the
non-payment OF a debt TO be OF sufficient
magnitude to deprive the citizen Of his right
TO vote.
G. Facilitate and encourage enormous pen
allies for slight offences.
7. To establish q judicial system, on life
tenure, whose dangers would outweigh all
The disadvantages Of our present system, and
among other things, thus
s. Deny the State the right to the services Of
her most able and vigorous citizens In the
most impOrfnnt offices.