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

two hours discussion the bill was pass
cd, with an amendment providing thai
any contractor violating the laws 70,
the protection Of convicts shall be
deemed guilty Of misdemeanor, and
that in all such prosecutions any con.
vict who has been mis-treated shall be
considered competent witness for the
State.
The. next bill taken up was that
requiring the agricultural bureau and
the directors Of the penitentiary to pay
into the State treasury all moneys
collected by them, and to draw on
moneys without any appropriations.
There was considerable discussion,
during which it was brought out that
while no imputation was intended upon
officers in question it was an abnormal
state of affairs that so large q sum of
money, about $4,000, should be
disbursed without legislative supervision
and control. 1t was urged on the other
hand by the agriculturalists that the
bill would be death blo~ to the
bureau Of agriculture. The motion to
strike out the cnactins words was
overwhelmingly defeated, and the bill
passed to its third reading.
The rest Of the day was consumed in
discussing DIR. Pores bill to cut down
lawyers fees. One prominent lawyer
attempted to amend it, but DR.. Pope
remembering how the lawyers amended
the same bill out Of existence last wear,
refused all amendments, and triumph.
antly carried his bill through, all the
lawyers voting with him. It will be
killed in the Senate perhaps. The
House then adjourned till Z. 80. P. NJ.
There was full attendance in the
House tonight despite the opposing at
fractions of the Bar Association and the
Methodist Conference. The session was
held for the purpose Of attempting to
olcar the Calendar. The bill to provide
pensions for Confederate soldiers, which
by the way only provides for the ap-
pointmcnt ofpension agents, was killed,
the three one-armed Confederate soldiers
in the House Messrs. Haskell, Smith of
Spartanburg and Brawtey, opposing it
On motion Of Mr.. 3rawley, however, q
substitute wss passed directing the
comptoller ganeral Of the State to report
to the next Legislature the names of all
citizens who are disabled from earning a
living by reason Of wounds received in
the late war. Having passed this the
Economics" who had intended to hold a
caucus tonight, at which they promised
explode domdshell, and who we're pre-
vented from doing so by the night ses.
sion, moved an adjournment for the al
legged reason that good many lawyers
in the House wanted to attend the meet
ing Of the Bar Association, but the
House voted the motion down and pro-
ceeded to attack it's Calendar. The at
tack halted very early over bill to pay
defendants witnesses in criminal cases
one dollar day. There was long and
wearisome debate 1hich ended in the
bill being killed. The "economirs'
then made another attempt to adjourn
in order to enable them to explode their
bombshell, but this was voted down
and another attack was made on the
Calendar. This resulted in another
failure. the House coming to halt on
bill in reference to transcripts of judg-
ments Of Trial Justice Courts. The
lawyers in the House consumed half nm
hour or more in discussing this and
then Indefinitely postponed it. At this
time, 10 o'clock, the House adjourned,
having passed four public bills of no
public interest.
The economics" who had been
waiting patiently for this availed them
selves Of the opportunity. DR.. Pope
moved that Mr.. McIver take the chair.
About thirty or forty members remained
most Of them for motives of curiosity
Somebody moved that DR.. Pope DO In
vited to state the object of the meeting,
in other words to explode the bomb
shell. DR.. Pope asked somebody else
TO explode the boinbshell, but nobody
seeming willing to do this DR.. Pope ex-
ploded it himself. He said that the
meeting was called, TO reduce salaries 20
per cent. al. around. He was willing to
have his reduced. DR.. Smith, Of Spartan