The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-05-06
Hi.rIf

The meeting last Wednesday night adopted
new conditions to the petition for the election
rs to whether We should vote $500 to the
proposed road to Aiken. The petitions thus
amended, 1t was thought. would be more nc.
crptab!c 10 our citizens. who are now being
afforded nm opportunity TO sign the ann
VIC do not know what success has been had
up to this time In securing 81 .natures, but we
arc inclined to the opinion that the present
petition has not received more signatures
than the petition which nearer cunformcd to
the expressed conditions of the act of the
Legislature under which II Is proposed 10 or
der tn" election.
One condition. which has been added, Is q
limitation Is TO time, coupled with II
resolution that the Legislature should
be requested to ritify the provision rs
to time for completion OF the road, or for
making the issue Of the bonds null and void.
The difficulty that presents itself Is, In the
fact that there is no warrant OF law for insert.
ing any conditions whatever, except those
laid down in the law. The friends of the levy
of The tax for the Carolina, Cumberland Gap
and Chicago Railroad contend tllut tho pro
visions or conditions, althou III inserted with
oul slutipIiS VI liN, UIc u plHuiHs ItfCt.
while the opponents of tho measure assert
with equal CarncstncsS that they arc utterly
without force, in which latter opinion the
Press ond Bhnncr roncurs, and, from the fact
that the friends OF the movement felt called
IL ask the Legislature TO ratify the conditions.
IL wOuld seem 10 us that the advocates OF the
measure had ut least doubts on the question.
As far as we arc able to see. tho additional
conditions which have been inserted arc OF
no safeguard Whatcvcr to the tax payer, and
ii would seem to be tho part OF wisdom. even
il the requisite number of signatures can DO
secured, to vote it down unhcsiiatingly.
1t Is cOntrnd2d that the bonds will not be
wanted until tho road gets to .Abbcville. That
being true tho stockholders of the road can
proceed ut once to the building of tho road
from Aiken. The Legislature will be in scs-
sion long before the road will be finished to
Edgctic:d and certainly before it is finished to
Troy. After the election the Legislature
may refuse or neglect to raiiiy the 'condi-
tions' on which II Is proposed to issue the
bonds. 1t is proposed for other towns or
townships 10 issue bonds and after our bonds
are voted. the representatives f,oIn those
counties which contribute bonds uncondi.
~!ionnliy may refuse to give special advantages
TO .Abhcville.
We need not be in n hurry TO vote the bonds,
even If VIC should think 1t well to do so. The
company has given Schof!cld some two or
three years to ncsotin'c their bonds, and II
docs seem that our own rcoplc should he al
lowed some time in which to make up their
minds on so important q question as that OF
voting away bonds to the amount of five per
cent. of the property OF the w In our
opinion the new form Of petition should not
br signed. unless the citizen Is willing to sign
4 petition without any conditions whatever.
The conditions are without authority Of law
and are therefore worthless.
II IS said that the friends Of the road arc
contemplating holding an election, indepen.
dent OF tic law. after adopting such condi-
tons rs will be acceptable to tie people. Ar.
ter this election has Lren hell, 1t is proposed
TO 20 to the Legislature to have it made legal,
and the conditions binding. In our own
opinion, If such q movement was made In q
fair spirit, ana the proposition should be
madctolcvy n fdr instead Of the issue bonds, the
election might meet more favor. But the
proposition to issue bonds under the existing
law will be resisted to the LIST extremity.