The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-09-21
Work for the Legislature.

To the Editor of The Herald and
News: The most important business to
be trarsacted at every session of the
Legislature is, OF course, the regular
routine business. such as the making of
the nec'asary appropriations and levy
ing taxes to pay the same.
The cause of cjucation must not be
negl- cted. The College, the Citadel
Academy, Clemson College, the COM
mon schools, and all other Site Insti-
tutors of whatever character must
re2e Give their due share of the public
funds or they cannot live and breathe.
But there are always other matters,
(outside of these which are abs olutely
essential to the life of the State which
ought also to be att ended to. Chief
among these other matters which ought
not to be passed over without notice,
is the repeal of certain laws which have
been on the Statute book for some years
and to which no attention is ever, or
has ever been or is very seldom paid.
If laws were self-operating, or could
be made so, then, indeed, men would
be very careful how they offended the
majesty of the law, but as this cannot
ta, it is certainly denoralizing to have
laws, no matter how good they are, to
which no attention is paid: There is a
law in force, and has been for more than
hirty years, against betting on cleo
tions. That law, however, has one
very vicious feature, which should
never be made a part Of a ny law, and
that is that one half the fine on convic-
ton of the offcnder is to go to the in
former.
Better to have a State informer, as
there is State prosecutor, whose duty
it would be to watch COR offenders and
bring them to trial. The law aga inst
betting en- elections should be repealed
at the next sesoion of the Legislature.
That would be decidedly more honor
able than t. have law which is in fact
already repealed and set aside by COM
mon consent. Let men bet-bet their
lest dollar if they want to, and then kill
themselves if they lose it, as a poor fel-
low did short time ago. What is the
use to have laws which are laws only in
name?
There is another law which ought to
be repealed as soon as possible. That
is the law against carrying concealed
deadly weapons. Every free man he's
d natural and absolute right to 60 armed
if he wants to, in private and in public.
This law does not touch that right, nor
Is it intended to interfere with it. It's
not against carrying deadly weapons,
but againt carrying deadly weapons
coneea' cd. AS no attention is paid to
the law, as no regard wha-. ver,o very
little = had to it, let it be repealed. it
would be more decent and honorable,
and show a healthier state of public
opinion to have 90 such law. let it
be under 5tocd that all men are armed
whenever thev want to be. Whether
so understood or not, many of them
are.
The Act of 1s~2 adopting and regu-
lating the primary elections should also
be re- called. That Act should never
have oeen passed, as the. primary is
mere piece of party machinery with
which the Les 5.slature hss no business
to ne idle. 1t would be just as well to
pass laws telling the party in what man
nner they should hold their conventions
and caucuses. Have not the caucuses
rendered the primaries almost unneces-
sary anyhow?
Another thing, the Legislature should
by all means DO at the next session.
and that is reduce the pay of the mem
hers from five - three dollars per day,
In former times, when money was
fully IS plentiful es it is now three dol
lars per day was considered amply suf-
fcient to pay the expenses of member
during the session, and no member
wantcd more. It was then al office of
honor and no man wanted it for the
money that was in it. 1t would not be
lawful nor proper for members to IN
crease their pay, but it is altogether
lawful and proper for them to reduce
it.
It is early, perhaps, to make sugges-
tions to the Legislature, but members
elect cannot begin too soon to think
about their work. x.
P. S.-Ministers of the Gospel should
be made ineligible to Eat in the Leg
isIature and in Congress, and circuit:
equity and appeal Court Judges should
hold their offices for life or good behav-
ior-subject to impeachment X.