The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-11-15
could be derived only from its police

could be derived only from llS pollce
power there can be no question that
under that power it would have ample
authority to restrict the sale or traffic
in liquor. The State has frequently
doae 90 in the past by statutes intend
ed to regulate and restrict the tarlf IN
liquor without question rs to its right
and authority 50 to do.
This Act declares IN its title that such
is its purpose can Act to prohibit the
manufacture and SALE" etc. Except AS
herein provided" and its provisions
undertake to accomplish that very
thing by numerous limitations such as
restricting the places at which liquor
is to be sold, the hour at which Is to
be oSld, the persons to whom 1t
shall be ual. &ful to sell liquor, the
character Of the person by VINO it IS
to be sold, the not selling on credit the
prohibition IA TO drinking on the pre-
misses, the limiting the amount to be
sold to purch Asers, the written appllca-
ton signed by each purchaser aud othec
restrictions that need not be mentioned
here.
1t appears upon the face Of the Dis
pensary Act as it stands upon the stat
ute book that the purpose aud primary
object of those who passed it was to
diminish the sale aud consumption of
liuuor and to decrease the evils which
are believed to result from the liquor
traffic for the public good, and l feel
bound to say from my own observation
that the Act seems to be accomplishing
that benefcept object. On this ground
as it appears to me, it is without doubt
a proper exercise of the police power OF
the State. IL has been learnedly are
gued to-day that the purpose OF tue
Act was to raise revenue. But II Is TO
he collected from the Act itself that
theraising of revenue Is only incidental
to the main purpose of the ACT,
which, as have already held, is to re-
strict aud regulate the sale of an traffic
in liquor, and as 1 understand the
Chester cases exrel Hoover and ex rel
Groeschels, our Supreme Court has al
ready decided that the Act in question
is an Act to regulate the sale OF liqoor.
In these Chester cases our Supreme
Court IS said: "Having reached this
conclusion, that the said Act, (the Dis
pensary Act) being in effect an Act IS,
regulate the sail of spirituous liquory
the power to do which is UNIVERSAL
recognized. it is quite clear" etc. IL
E. Rep. 75s.
Most of the argument against the
coHstitutionality of the despentary
Act made before me, and I may say,
elsewhere, seems to be directed moe to
the wisdom Of the Act than to the
power of the General Assembly to pass
the Act.
The question is one of power andnot
of policy. AS to the wisdom or the un.
wisdom of Acts of the General Assem-.
bly, the Courts have nothing to do.
That is question for the people. 1t is
proverbial that ours is a Government
of the people, by the people and for the
people, and it is for the people by the
ballot-box to correct mistakes in legisla-
ton when they are satisfied that such
mistakes have been made by their rep
resentatives, andinot for the Courts. 1t
has been argued that the General AS
sembly has no constitutional right to
appropriate money to engage in busi-
ness. For all public purposes the pow er
Of the General Assembly is absolute IN
the absence of constitutional provi-
sions. The same authority holds "the
powers of the Legislature in disposing
OF the revenues Of the State and its dis.
cretiOn relating to such disposition are
complete and unlimited in the absence
of constitutional provisions" g Am
and Eug Encyc of Law, 69)
The State Is daily engaged IN the sale
of phosphate rock to individuals for
revenue. If the State can own phos-
plate territory and sell the rock it can
purchase if necessary other phosphate
territory for the purpose of traffic in
phosphate. 1t Is without question that
the State owns both real and personal
property, and can dispose of it at will.
These instances l give to illustrate the
doctrine.
Holding the views l have herein an
nounced, l cannot quash the indict
ment. Tne motion to quash is there
fore Overruled.