Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-02-10
The Aurkrille Gnqnirer,
YORKVILLE, S. c.:
THURSDAY MORNING, FEB. 10. 1881.
THE CODE COMMISSION.

In view of the recent appointment OF
commission to codfy the laws of the State
under an act of the last Legislature, brief
review of the statute laws Of South Carolina
will not be inappropriate at the present time.
The statute law Of South Carolina begins
with the year 1852. From that time until
1886, the laws appeared in pamphlets, as
they we're promulgated by the Governor and
council or by the General Assembly. In the
latter year, Chief Justice Trott collected
and published small edition of the laws
then of force. About the year 1890, Judge
Grimke collected and published such of the
laws as were then of force, with the titles OF
all obsolete or repealed acts. In 1914 Judge
Brevard collected and digested new edition
of the statute laws then of force, known as
Brevard's Digest. 1t was rather manual
or index, than compilation proper.
The first authorized and systematic compila-
tion of the laws of the State was commenced
by Thomas Cooper, IL. D., under joint
resolution of the General Assembly, in De-
cember, 1884, directing the Governor (Hon.
George McDufie) "to employ some fit and
competent person to compile under his direc'
tion the statute law of this State" This
work was ably and intelligently performed,
and with the index. was embraced in ten vol
umes designated as the statutes at Large"
Up to>1S72, this col lection was accepted as
authority, and was in general use by the
bench and bar. In 1858 the Assembly pro.
vided for the selection by the Court of Errors,
Of three Commissioners to revise and Codify
the statute law then of force in this State.
At the next session, in December, 1859, the
Assembly adopted a substitute for the former
act, providing for the annual election by
Joint ballot, of commissioner to prepare
"such a code of statute law, as if enacted,
might, in connection with the portions of the
common law that would be left unaltered,
constitute the whole body of law in this State. ="
That distinguished jurist, Hon. James L. Pet
tigru, was selected as the Commissioner,
under this act, and up to the time of his death,
about 1862, had made some progress with the
work. Only parts Of it were completed un-
der his supervision, and these, although pub
l:shed, as his report, had hardly come into
general use by the Lar.
The Constitution of 1868, Art. V, Sec. 3,
required the General Assembly at its first ses-
sion, and every ten years thereafter, to "make
provision to revise, digest and arrange, under
proper heads, the body of our laws, civil and
criminal, and form a penal code founded on
principles of reformation" D. T.. Corbn.
w. j. Whipper and c. w. Montgomery were
elected by the Assembly in 1869, in compli-
ance with an act, to carry out the above pro
vision. In 1870, they reported the Code of
Civil Procedure, which was adopted, and in
February, 1872, the Assembly adopted their
report on the revision Of the statute law, EN-
braced in one volume, and designated as the
Revised Statutes of South Carolina" Mr..
Corbin did most if not all the work for this
commission, and it was creditably performed
1t embraces the statute law as it existed up
to the close of the session of 1901. Since
that time great changes have been made at
each session of the Assembly-so great that
the volume prepared under the Corbin Com
mission is very uncertain authority.
The present Commissioners are required to
take up the work where the Corbin Commits
sion left it, and to presents code of statute
law as it now exists, together with penal
code, as required by the Constitution.