The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-12-15
LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS.

There are committees here tonight
from Barnwell, Chester, Anderson,
Sumter and Greenyille. In the first
three counties the petitioners ask the
repeal of the prohibition law. In
Greenville they ask that the Legislature
refuse to pass a prohibition law. "A
concurrent resolution has been intro
duced in the Senate, and will probably
pass that body tomorrow, referring all
these bills to joint committee of the
two houses with view of seeing
whether something can't be done to
make uniform law which will be ac-
ceptable to both parties. If all these bills
are to be passed upon separately there
will not he much chance for any other
legislation.
The House spent the whole day dis
cussing the bill to repeal the law regu-
lating the hiring out Of convicts and the
bill requiring the agricultural bureau
and the penitentiary to pay all the mon
eys collected by them into the treasury.
Both bills were passed.
The Senate cleared it's Calendar Of
third-reading, bills, but made little 9TH
er progress. The bill to abolish the de-
partment of agriculture was killed by
common consent. The Jail and munic-
ipal convict labor bill was. after amend
ment, postponed, and the forfeited land
bill passed with premonitions Of defeat
on its final reading.
The Senate resolved to stop the in
PRODUCTION of bills. except from standing
committees, after Friday.
COLUMBIA, S. c., December, 8. 1885.
The Senate to-day did good deal Of
work. a large number Of bills passed
their final reading. Among these meas
ures was the joint resolution providing
for constitutional amendment enabling
the Legislature to adopt the Federal
census for the apportionmcnt OF repre-
sention. The vote was-yeas 26. nays.
3. The bill to incorporate the town of
Cainhoy was the only one defeated on
a third reading. Senators Buists and
Smythe united in saying that they
found that the bill would give the con-
troll Of the town to the negroes and
leave the liquor question in their hands.
OF second-reading bills none were
passed. The following were defeated
on unfnvoroLle reports; Bills in regard
20 peremptory challenges; to prohibit
the standing aside Of jurors; to abolish
the agricultural department. AS to the
latter, Senator Moody, it's author, NOV
ed the adoption Of the uniavoraLle re-
port. He said that the House bill to
regulate the disbursement Of funds by
the department answered his purpose.
There was opposition to the bill to
refuno to Daniel Hayward, surety for
w. +. 'Colcock, nte-bellum collector of
the Port Of Charleston, the amount of
customs collections paid by him to the
State after its secession in 1860, and af-
ter the war recoyed from him by the
United States Government. Senator
Leitncr attacked it on the ground main
ly that all of us had gone into the war
and lost, and TINT an exception should
not be made. Senator'S Smythe, Earle,
Youmans and Moore, of Hampton, made
strong speeches i'll favor of passing the
bill, as the circumstances were pecul.
iar, and as the action Of Mr.. Colcock
had been performed in obedience to the
behest Of the State through it's Seces-
sion Convention. 1t passed by a vote
f:l8 to IL.
The first special order was the House
bill to utilize the labor of Jail and muni-
cipal convicts. The bill had previously
been freely debated. Senator Earle,s
amendment providing for guards for the
was adopted by a vote of 10 to
IL. Senator Woodward moved to kill
the bill. A debate followed in which
Senator Buist opposed the bill. He
feared it's effect in Charleston and
thought that in that city convicts should
not be brought into competition with the
poor laboring men. He predicted that
the bill would break the State unless iu-
diciously carried. If the bill prevailed
he would ask that Charleston be ex-
empted from its provisions. Senator
Earle fought bard for the bill. Finally,