The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-06-29
with the water works, which they hone
can soon be added

for which it was erected. express the
hope that 1t may ever bo in fact MS we'll
as In name, tomplc of Justice that
none but able, learned and conscientious
Judges may ever sit OH the bench now so
well adorned by yourself; that tho adyo-
Gates who shall plead tho cause of their
clients hero may be actuated by the high.
es. motive OF securing none but Just and
right decrees and verdicts, and that none
may over attempt by their cloquencc to
make the wrong appear the better rca-
son, to perplex and dash maturest conn.
sell" that the witnesses who shall give
testimony on the stand may always tes
tify to the truth, and that tho Jurors
shall be men controlled by IL sense of
right and with desire to enforce tho
right and to punish tho wrong, and NAV
all who have business within these walls
know that hero law is enforced. that
those who are in the right always pre-
vail and that evil doors are always con.
demned.
May the different county officers who
shall occupy the various court Offices
be competent and honest and reflect hon
or upon themselves and the county.
With these expressions for the future
take pleasure, sir, in turning over to
your Honor the keys of this building.
In accepting the keys. Judge Benet de-
liversd the following address,:
Ny Learned Brother As mem ber OF
the judiciary OF South Carolina. Z accent
from you the keys of this new Court
House, and place them in the hands OF
the ERIK of tho Court with the hope. nav
the assurance, that In him and his sLC.
cessors in Office this beautiful buildin.x :
will always find careful and watchful
custodian.
"a ~ ~
tDy good fortune this year to be assigned
to hold the Summer Term OF the Court
in the Eighth Circuit, and I am truly
grateful that thus 1t has felien TO NV lot
to preside on this suspicious occasion,
AID to aid in the dedication or this ne ~
temple 0f justice.
congratulate the town of Anderson
"n having In the middle OF its handsome
puhIic square this noble pile, perpetual
delight t., the eye aud a daily object les
s''ii III II chlf+cture.
congratulate the County Of Anderson
an p"s>eHe,nE Court House worthy Of
the County, County 30 long and SO
,ute.l,g-nce aud political power
! congratulate the County Supervisor
and the ounty Board OF Com III missionors
'n he successful completion OF their
enlightened efforts To provide for their
.unty Court House not only adequate
tn tue growing ueeds or this fiourishinR
COUNTY, bC; in keeping with the spirit Of
the cultivated people Of this town, whose
hotels aud sLOres and banks and pu bile
buildings and private residences are fast
'rannfprminK the town Of Anderson into
.uieof the most beautiful cities of tbs State.
a too unitarian spirit with mistaken
views Of economy might have contented
itself with erecting bare brick barn, its
tour square walls devoid OF beauty and
! various rooms unadOrned aud unlove
~, yet affording ample room and space
t,r The transaction OF all the work proper
tn IL Court House, and for the preserv -tion
ot public records Such Court House
buildings are not far to seek In this state,
things OF uglinesa, and eye-sores forever.
IL seems sometimes TO be forgotten that
utility is not the be-all and the end-all Of
life; that there is room also for beauty.
He who makes the cotton boil, in His
wisdom makes also the cotton bloom,
and cotton fields bloom bonnily before
cntton bales are marketed Wise it was,
therefore. and we'll done in the County
Board OF Commissioners to determine
that the new Court House should not
simply be commOdious and convenient
and suited to the usea for which !s wss
intendod; but that it should also be
pleasant 70 the eye, an OrnameEt 60 the
town, "a thing OF beauty" and 80 joy for
ever.''
Here now 1t stands, a stately structure,
beautiful exceedingly, with graceful tur-
ret and lofty tower. quaint gable and
antique pOrob, q building to be proud Of;
u building that doea honor 20 It's architect
and builder; TO tho brain which conceived
and the hand which constructed II.
But while we stand and look aud ad-
mire, memory cannot refrain from look
ing back ward and thinking OF che old
structure that stood where this now
stands. UnlOvely 1t must have been in
its youth. unsightly 1t became In It's age.
The outside view revealed no line OF
beauty; the inside view was destitute Of
grace. Small, mean and squelid, its day
was done; 1t was time that 1t should be
demolished. And yet It's demolition
wAa not without regret. see before me
within the bar OF this spacious and beauti
I'll; Cs,urt Room gray haired counsellors
who must think Of that old Court Room
with sadness and regret. For them how
many hallowed associations cluster
around that building whose place knows
1t no more forever. Shabby were its pre-
cincts and dusty we're its purlieus, but
they cannot forget that it was the scene
o9 their professional triumphs, the arena
of many hard-fought contest.
And for them the dingy old Court
Room is thronged with the shadowy
ghosts Of the departed. dimly seen in tho
miats Of the past. And as figure after
figure appears within that old bar, they
seem TO hear once more the sound of
voices that have long been still. Again
the hare disoolored walls seem TO- rever-
berate with the eloqrenoe which held the
listening throng In thrall.
In that ghostly company they see sew
eral venerable men who were elevated
from the Anderson Bar to the Judicial
Bench; men whose learning aud upright
ness shed lustre on their profession and
did honor To their position. They see
one who graced the Speakers chair In
Washington aud represented his country
abroad as minister at an imperial court
they see others who for their country's
sake left che mimic strifes Of the Bar for
the bloody battles Of the Civil War, some
OF them never 70 return. Others they
see who filled uD the measure Of law
yes : busy lilo and then rested from their
labora
"All all are gone. the old familiar
faces" but the memory Of them haunts
the old Court Room, itself now only a
memory.
"rhere were giants on the earth In
those days, men of great learning, men
OF high charaoter. men of great ability.