The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-11-14
COnV VENTION
PROCEEDINGS.
LYNCHiEG DISCUSSED.
The Convention Puts Drastic Anti
Lynching Provision in the Consti-
tuition.

tuition.
The constitutional convention on
Saturday, the 43d session, spent the
whole of its time considering two Sec
tions of the article on Jurisprudence.
It took the convention several hours to
provide for the preparation of code Of
the statute laws of the State every ten
years. Then it jumped on the measure
to prevent lynchings, which, when the
adjournment was reached, read as
amended rs follows:
''In the case ofany prisoner lawfully
in the charge, custody or control OF
any officer, State, county or munich
pal, being seized and taken from said
officer, through his negligence, per-
mission or conuivancc, by mob or
other unlawful assc,nblage OF persons,
and at their hands suffering bodily
violence or death, the said officer shall
be deemed guilty Of misdcmcanor,
and upon q true bill found shall be
deposed from his Office, and shall, I'M
less pardoncl by the Governor, hence
forth be Ineligible to hold any Office OF
trust or profit within this State. It
shall be the duty OF the prosecuting
attorney within whose circuit or county
the oftense may bc committed to forth
with institute prosecution against
sai'i officer, who shall be indicted and
tiled in such county, other than the
one in which the otIense WAS commit
ted, as the Attorney General may
elect, in the same circuit. The fees
and mileage Of ali material witnesses,
both for the State and for the defense,
shall be raii by the State Treasurer
in such manner as may be provided
by law
4 motion to strike the section out
was voted down. Mr.. Rogers, who
moved to strike it ont, said they were
all anxious to stop lynching. "The
State had long been laboring under
the odium OF it. This section actually
proposed to hold q man responsible
for crime which be was absolutely
powerless to prevent The bald facts
make him guilty OF G. misdcmeanor
md forever disqualified him from
holding Office. 1t says he must be con-
1icted of crime which he cannot
prevent end YOU propose to fix it in
the fundamental Law. We have abun-
dance of law to punish any dcreliction
of duty. We have abundance of low
to prevent lynchinS. You are punish
ing the sheriff who is not able to pre-
vent the crime It is stripping him Of
the fundamental right Of liberty, and
then you provide that he can be taken
to any county in the State to be tried
not the lvnchers. bnt the sheriff
This is u wrong more fragrant than the
crime that it is intended to prevent. l.
do insist that this convention will con-
slider it fully before it is accepted
Senator Tillman and others made
strong speeches in favor of the section,
fully answering al of Mr.. Rogers
arguments.
The article on jurisprudence was
taken up for its third reading. Gov.
Sheppard offered the following SUBJ
stitute for section 5.
Sec. ). The general assembly shall
make provision 10 codify, adjust and
arrange. under proper heads. the body
of our laws, civil and criminal. aud
form q penal code, and have ths same
promulgated in such manner us they
may direct, a like coditication shall be
made every ten years. \ lengthy de-
bate followed, and finally after num-
Der OF amendments were disposed of,
the whole section was adopted in the
following shape:
Sec. ). The general assembly, at
its first session after the adoption OF
this Constitution, shall provide for the
or election Of a commits !
sioncr whose rlrtv Y it shall be to col |
loc: and revise ;;.l The general statute
laws @; this State then of force, a. we'll .
as that which shall he passed from !
time to tine, and to properly index !
and arrange the said statutes when !
so passed. And the said commits
sioner shall reduce into systematic .
code the general statutes, including ;
the code OF civil procedure. with al!
the amendments thereto. and shall on
the first day OF the session for the
wear 1000, and ct the end o: every
subsequent period, ret more thsH -
veers, report the result Of his labors to
the general assembly, with such re-
and suggestions as to
the abriG cement and amendments rs
may be deemed necessary or proper.
Said reports. when ready to be made,
shall be printed, and a ccly thereof
aid UPON lie desk OF each meHber ot