Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-01-08
THE LAST LEGISLATURE.
IN INTERESTING LETTER FROM SENATOR
BLACK.


BLACKS S. c., January =, 1SS5-In giving
you, agreeably to your request "a resume OF the
proceedings Of the Legislature, and short syn
opss of the leading provisions of Acts OF gener-
al or local interest,"" do not claim perfect accu-
| racy, as am compelled to trust to memory 1or
| the details of some of the Acts passed. The fol,
lowing are the most important of the Acts passed
at the late session:
"An Act to amend Section l749 Of the General
Statutes, in relation to the sale of Intoxicating
| liquors in incorporated towns
| This Act was simply to remedy the defects IN
| the General Statutes as applied TO the lncorpo-
rated towns of the State in which the sale OF
| liquors was prohibited by special enactment.
! IAN Act to authorize the levy and COLLECTION
of local tax for school purposes i'll School DIS.
trict No. l3 (McConnellsville) in York county,
| This Act authorizes the voters of the said
school district who return real or personal prop,
erty for taxation to levy and collect an annual
tax, not exceeding two mills, to supplement the
Constitutional two mill tax for free school pur-
poses in said school district. The levy to be
made by public meeting to be held by the tax
payers for that purpose, before the first day OF
| March next.
"An Act to regulate the admission and dis
charge of patients in the State Lunatic Asylum
This Act requires that all physicians eNamln-
| ing persons alleged to be insane, shall certify,
under oath, that they are registered physicians,
and not related, by blood or marriage, to the per-
son to be examined that the persons they re-
commend for admission are epileptics, idiots or
lunatics, incurable at home and violent or dam
gerous. Physicians giving certificate to per-
son who is simply epileptic, or physically or
mentally imbecie, unless such person is violent
or dangerous, shall be deemed guilty of misde-
meanor and upon conviction, shall be tined IN
the discretion of the Court. Any Probate Judge
or Board Of County Commissioners committing
to the Asylum any person without IL certificate,
in accordance with the above requirements are
also subject to fine upon conviction county
Commissioners failing to remove from the Lu-
natic Asylum any person belonging to their
| nptx oft notice from SuDor
intendent Of the Asylum that such person Is not
entitled, under the laws, to be an inmate OF the
Asylum, are also made subject to fine.
! The Charter of the town of Black s Station was
amended so as to change the name OF the town
from "Black's Station" to "Black's," and to en-
power the Town Council to work persons viola
ting the town ordinances upon the public streets
upon failure to pay fines imposed.
! "An Act to confer certain powers upon the
Clerks of the Courts of Common Pleas, in coun-
ties which have no Master
This Act applies among others to York county,
and empowers Clerks of the Court to grant orders
for the sale Of lands in partition, in cases not
contested 1t is required that Clerks of the
Court shall submit their action in such cases 10
the Presiding Judge at the next sitting OF the
Circuit Court in his county for revision and con-
firmation.
"An Act to provide for the completion of the
main building of the State House."
This Act appropriates seventy-tive thousand
dollars for continuing the construction OF the
State House for the year 1885. The Governor,
Secretary of State, and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, are
appointed commission, and authorized to en-
| ploy an architect and let out the work by con-
tract, and requires the superintendent or the
Penitentiary to furnish such building material
and convict labor as may be necessary. Ihls
appropriation met with no opposition In either
branch OF the General Assembly, as it was gen.
orally conceded that if the building was allowed
to stand in its present unfinished ana unProtect-
ed condition, it would soon be irreparably dam
aged. The building will be completed upon a
modification of the original plan, which will cost
much less money, but having due regard to its
architectural appearance. There are over one
hundred thousand dollars worth OF dressed
granite and marble work now on the grounds,
and the architect estimates that an annual appro-
priaion Of seventy-five thousand dollars for sew
en- years, will complete the building. The State
House was planned Oh magnificent scale IN
ante -bellum days, when the State was rich; but
it would be poor economy to abandon IL ana sac
rifice what the State has invested In 1t.
"An Act to provide for seal of office for each
County School Commissioner in this State and
to require the County Commissioners to furnish
the same"
The title of this act explains ITSELF
San Act requiring all convicts hired from
the penitentiary to be and remain under sworn
S na on the
The object of this act is to make it impossl-
BILE for those hiring convicts from the State
to overwork or otherwise mistreat them, and
that such corporeal punishment as may be neces-
sarv to enforce discipline, shall be inflicted only
by n sworn officer of the State, responsible for
"An Act to empower Probate Judges to admin
lister oahs as fully and effectively as other oft-
GERS.
This Act empowers Probate Judges, while in Of
fee to administer Oaths take dispositions, afflda-
Wits, and probate of deeds and other instruments,
as is now done by Clerks Of Court and Notarles
Public, and allows them the same fees as are
now allowed by law to other officers performing
similar duties.
"An Act to amend Section 1743 Of the General
Statutes relating to the sale of spirtuous liquors
by druggists upon prescription ,....
The amendment provides that no druggist or
apothecary shall sell more than one time upon
the same prescription, whether such prescrlp,
ton shall direct more than one sale or not; ana
if q sale be made a second time upon the same
prescripton the druggist shall be deemed 10
have sold without any prescription. 1t further
provides that no druggist, although he may De
a graduate Of a medical college, shal. give pre-
scription unless he is also regular practlclng
physician and in actual attendance upon the
patient for whom such prescription is made.
IAN Act to extend the powers OF masters rs
to the sale of real estate.
This Act authorizes Masters to sell real estate,
living in another county other than that for which
| he is Master, at the Court House OF the county
in W hich such real estate is situated.
"An Act to provide mode OF procedure by
which lands may be taken by cities and towns
for streets, roads and highways for public USE
of the lands proposed to be taken by board OF
twelve free holders, to be chosen by the town or
| city authorities, and the owner OF the land. In
caes of a town, petition signed by a majority or
the voters of the town, setting forth the necessity
of such street must be presented to the town
authorities before such lands can be taken. IN
the case Of q city no such petition IS required.
"An Act to change the time of listing property
for taxation
Heretofore we have been paying taxes on an
assessment made nearly eighteen months prior
to the collection TO make the Importance OF this
| Act palmer to those who have not studied the
subject, the collection Of taxes made in the fall
of 1854 was upon the assessment made by the
Auditor in June 1888 while another assessment
was made in June, 1884, upon which the collec-
ton Of taxes will be made in 1888, and the aver
age tax. payer is bewildered to find that the
amount of his tax does not correspond to his
last return upon which he supposes he is paying.
Another trouble connected with the old system
was in the case of transfers of real estate from one
person to another. There was always lien Tor
one years taxes hanging over the land and a la
biity of the purchaser for the personal tax OF the
former owner of the land, if he had removed
from the county after the assessment, and before
| the collection of the tax and also gave much in
! convenience to parties interested IN setting up
estates of deceased persons. 1t resulted annual
ly in loss to the State OF, perhaps, thirty thou-
sand dollars Of taxes in this way. The assess
ment being made eighteen months prior to the
| collection, some white people and many negroes,
who are peculiarly anOmadic people, would leave
their township or county and be lost slSnt OF by
the county Treasurer, and thus their poll tax, ana
| in many cases, their personal property tax, DE
lost to the State besides giving much trouble to
the county Treasurer. The Act simply provides
that no assessment of property whatever shall
| be made during the year 1885, and that the next
assessment shall be made during the months of
January and February, 1886, and the collections
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