The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-05-05
STATE AND NATIONAL
POLITY,

! SIAIE AN - NAI1ONIAL IL
POLITY.
BLUE RIDGE, S. C., May 1st, 1886.
To my good friends of Clarendon
County.
GESrLEMEN: Locke tells US, that
''the great concernment of men is with
men Justice demands that gov
ernment be made as perfect as it is
possible for man to make it. The
whims of hurtful party spirit should
not be consulted at all, by free and
an enlightened people. The rule OF
right has been adopted by all civiliz-
ed nations, as the only true guide to
what is really law. Constitutions,
we are told, give shape to all other
laws, and are quite ahead of mere leg
islative enactments. 1t is of the first
importance, then, that all constitut-
ions be SO framed that they harmon
ize in every particular with this great
rule of nations, in order that justice
may be meted out to all alike. Or as
Lord Mansfield, has it: "Yes, justice
should be the common property OF
both the rich and poor" Ii rich
man be allowed to sell cotton by the
bale, why should not poor man be
permitted to sell it in smaller quanti
ties, OF even in the seed, if he wishes?
A law forbidding him to do so, would
seem to repose just enough confidence
in the honesty of the rich man, and
not enough in that of the poor man.
II will not do to say that The rich man
is not allowed to sell it in smaller
quantities OF in the seed either, when
we all know, that it is against his in
terest to do so, whilst it may be to the
advantage Of the poor man, to sell it
according to his own inclinations.
The "rule of right would scorn such
an unjust law, as it would the mort
gage of perishable property. The
partiality of the first, and want of Sc
curity in the latter, are too plainly OBJ
jectionable. There should be no such
crime as petty larceny recognized by
the laws of South Carolina, as the loss
of five dollars may be decidedly a
greater injury done to a poor man,
than perhaps the loss of five hundred
would be to rich man. To punish
one man less than another who COM
lnits the same offence, is, to my un-
derstauding, not only monstrous in
deed, but also a most fragrant violat-
ion of "tbe rule ofright." To append
the word petty to crime, cannot
make the william who has committed
such an ofense, a whit better than he
who has stolen horse or five hun
dred dollars. Our laws should be so
framed, as that those who violated
them, would just as soon (as far as
punishment is concerned) injure the
rich as the poor. AS matters now
stand in this State, petty crimes will
continue to be on the increase (they
are frightfully so now until they are
made by law to assume the proper
tions and magnitude Of those which
are known as compound crimes. Laws
concoriing with the "rule of right
know no man. They protect the
property of the rich and the poor with
the same kind of punishments and
preventives. What do the present
class of born thieves in South Carroll
ma care for punishment, except it be
of the most severe character magma
BILE? Precedents should be regarded
as utterly worthless in every land and
country, except they harmonic per
fectly with ''the rule Of right" 1t
makes no difference with justice at all
how much our laws conflict with le-
gal learning, if they but follow the
"rule Of right One trial justice for
each county, the re-establishnent of
our old equity court, and few more
law judges, if necessary, would, me-
thinks, be a much more economical
and just application of public money,
than our present trial justice system.
No man ought to be allowed to serve
as trial justice except he be lawyer,
and no one permitted to administer
medicine but doctor. Every man to
his calling. I am more than surpris-
ed, that our old equity court has not
been re-established. I can conceive
of no court of more importance to the
State-that can really administer so
well equity justice. 1 hold, that the
proper administration of justice to the
people, should be meted out at all
hazards, and at any cost. The noble
minded people of South Carolina
would not hesitate to foot any bill
which would secure all their rights IN
full. Though many of them are
wrapped in the coils of the serpent,
and imposed upon by the fox, 1.-TWO
beautiful pets indeed yet they would
dare to DO in the future what they
have done in the past, for South Car
DINA, our common mother" It
would rejoice my heart, if our Gov
ernor had the appointment of every
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