The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-05-27
Court Which. for whatever purpose, in
defiance of justice, and in breach OF
their faith. have preiudiced nv case.

In view or all these circumstances
however anxious l may be to vlndicate
myself from the unjust and untruthfu
ceasureS they have denounced against
me. l am not willing to engage IN suct
tritling procedure before such trlbun
al, and it is LETT to me to submit to the
consequences which your letter in ad
vance threatens against me to invite
you in your own phrase ito perform
your duty" whatever it may be. That
as you intimate, this may be dlsa
greeable duty is to me the subject o1
profound regret.
l have the honor to be very respt ct,
fully your obedient servant.
Pc. Griffin, Superintendent.
COLUMBIA, May 9, 1891.
DR.. 7. Z. Griffin, Columbia, S. C.-Slr
I find your letter Of yesterday awaiting
me on my return from Pendleton.
beg once more to impress on your mlno
the following facts:
l. The committee appointed by the
General Assembly were charged with
the duty not of investigating the SUI
perintendent of the Asylum but Of the
institution as a whole.
2. Their preliminary report called te
nv attention certain facts in reference
to the management of the INSTITUTION
upon which I alone as Governor have
the power to act, for 1 alone under the
Constitution am given the power to ap,
point its officers and employees, and
even the Legislature cannot remove
such persons as are thus appointed.
3. This being 50, l alone am the judge
to decide whether the charges contained
in the report of the investigating com
mjttee are true and, it so, what is my
duty. There is no need to bring the IN
vesticating committee back here tc
hear vouc defence, it you desire to make
any. for can hear the testimony OF
vour witnesses and have offered to &C
cord you the privilege Of crosS-examl.
nation Of those witnesses who testlheo
before the committee, and this can be
had in public and with counsel If you
wish it. The witnesses are all either IN
the asylum or in the city, and the teStl'
mony already given by them can be
read in their and your presence.
4. The examination by the commit
tee was made in secret to prevent col
lusion among witnesses and to guard
against intimidation. All OF the EN-.
ployees OF the asylum had been ap'
pointed by yourself or the regents with
out color of law. and many witnesses
testified unwiliingly, seeming TO leaI
the less OF place.
5. ALI your fine WI ting about "the
Spanish Inquisition" and the "Star
Chamber of England" may appeal to
the sympathy of certain people, but you
are misiak when you say 1.-The llVeS-
tisation under your (my) guidance has
heretofore proceeded only IN the spirit
of fault-fndlDg before Court which,
for whatever purpose in defiance OF JUS
tice and in breach of their faith, have
prejudged my case in Court" In JUS
tice to investigating committee anu to
myself it must be stated that we tried
to arrive at the exact truth and nothing
more. There has not been and is not
now the least animuS or personal feel
ing. The committee acting as a grand
jury, have framed an Indictment and
sent in the testimony. Both were furn-
ished you and l naturally expected you
would ask an opportunity to dlsproTe
the charges, but instead you wrote
labored defence addressed to the re-
gents, but intended solely to influence
pubic opinion. The regents had moth
ing to do with the matter, and their
tlattering endorsement of your official
conduct cannot disprove facts and may
prove a boomerang for themselves.
6. Without touching on other mat
tiers brought out in the testimony
witnesses testify that the
man, Milne, whom you characterize as
a .scrank" and who DR.. Corbett says is
morally insane" by which understand
he has a depraved nature which would
not hesitate to crafty any passion or
appetite, this man, for months, has been
permitted to have key which would
open the doors Of any of the femalo
wards or any room in those wards. He
had such a key before he was allowed
to go to North Carolina last year, how
long is not known, and he obtained
another which he says you gave him,
when he returned last fall. 1t was so
notorious that he had these keys, While
he had a similar key to the male wards
and thus 60 in and out Of any ward IN
the building at any time, but none OF
the old employees seemed to think il
worth while to tell you: as they all
thought you knew it and permitted it.
If these witnesses have testified the
truth, to say nothing of the testimony
about the infrequency of your visits to
other wards. it shows your knowledge
of what was going on in the lnstltu-
ton to be very Slight. 1t proved that
you have been grossly negligent and
culpably careless in watching over the
unfortunate female patients entrusted
to your care. There is nothing to show
that Milne ever used or abused his op'
portunities, but the mind revolts at
and the imagination is sicSened by the
thought Of what could have happened
and what may have hap sened.
Without taking these things fol
granted and removing you promptly,
the testimony to the regents
and to Yourself You did not ask me
to redeem my promise, but addressed
your reply to the regents; and when
offered again 10 give you hearing you
accused me Of "fault-fnding' and un'
fairreSS; charged the committee with
having prejudIced your case, and add
is only left for me to submit to the
consequences which your letter in adj
vance threa' ened against me-. This Is
mere tritling, and you know it.
l promised you a fair trial and am
ready to give it to you, when, how and
where you will, provided it is speedy
The law, as l have already said, allows
me no option in judging your case my,
self, and. while you may feel a con-
temp. for such tribunal" the people
whose servant l am, must judge be-
tween Us.
leg to remjud you in conclusion
that | was Informed bva mutual friend
last Drcemurr that 1t was your put.
pose to resign in the spring, but If you
were to be hustled out yon would DO sc
then" My reply was I knew no rea
son why you should be removed at al.
aud certainly no discourtesy would be