The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-02-02

vote ON the question We voted on that
louestion to make this record. We had
little or no hope of carrying the election
but we wanted the people to express
their will for the guidance of this Leg
Iislature.
you people that live on the upper
lend of the county have little idea Of the
Inconvenience and expense it costs ouI
people to attend court at Rockingham
Could we save this we would nav.
plenty to build court houses and jails fol
all time.
"They talk about pauper counties
We leave Richmond with over $4,000
600; we have $1.500,000. There are
members in this Legislature represent
ing counties of less area and less prop
erty than either of these counties. There
are in North Carolina just ninety-six
communities that have just the court
facilities that we are here asking, and
twenty-eight of them are smaller than
we are"
Replying to this, Mr.. Wall, mem
Der of the committee, said Mr.. Quack-
enbush had argued from the promises
that the people of the proposed county
were in favor of the county.
"How is it, then, that there are pc
titions with over 200 names on them
here before this committee.
"Then they talk about the sand hills
They call it great Sahara Desert
1t is poor land, but the roads are fairly
good. Most of it is trotting ground.
| Now and then you strike a big sand
bed, but it is the exception and not the
rule. Some of you Eastern people
would think the roads mighty fine.
| "As to the question of convenience,
| there are many counties much worse
| off and they are not clamoring TO be
| cut up. Carteret county is ninety-fve
miles long and some of the citizens live
| fifty miles from the court house. Bruins
wick county is in much the same con-
dition. Some of it's citizens live forty
miles from the court house. How is
this in the way of convenience to court
houses?
"Then consider the condition in which
you leave old Richmond. You throw
upon them two-thirds of the pauper
element; you throw upon them three
| fourths of the building; you
leave it about 100000 acres of saudi
| hill land and you increase our taxes
| fifty or sixty per cent"
Mr. Walter HI. Neil: Taking the
taxable value of the property left IN
| Richmond county, would not the tax
able value of Richmond exceed, per
square mile, that of Scotland?''
Mr. Wall: II don't think it Guild.
even with all the cotton mills in Rich
mond."
| With this the third corner of the fight
! +n ,i,,bT Nv
son, of Robson. And in this connection
| it might be well to state again, for a
| proper understanding of the contest.
that two other Representatives are in
charge of the other two sides of the
contest-Mr. Mclean for Scotland, and
Mr.. Wall against it. All of them are
old-fashioned hard-headed Scotch fight
ers.
In presenting his side of the question
Mr.. Patterson had one or two pretty
tits with the Scotlandites, who seemed
to regard his bill as a sort of rider
to kill theirs. Always, however, he
showed an ability to take care If him
SELF
He began by declaring that DR.. Shay
was right when he said the question D,
new county had been discussed for
the past twenty years; and that the frsi
time the Scotland movement was
brought before the Legislature was in
1879. That proposition was to take in
lower Richmond and upper Robson, ind
not until 1893 was a bill introduced to
form a county of only lower Richmond.
Mr.. Mclean: Didn't you tell me you
wouldn't have introduced your bill if
hadn't introduced mine?"
Mr.. Patterson: 81 did not. / s1id
the matter had not been discussed n the
campaign and / was opposed 70 divid-
ing the people up on local issues this
year if it could be helped"
| Mr. Mclean: isn't your bill prac-
tically the same as mine, except as to
| territory?"
Mr.. Patterson: at is not You
establish a county. / leave It to the
| people to say whether they want it
established or not. You fix the place
| for the county seat. | leave it for che
people to fix.
Every word that has been said about
the Inconvenience of attending court in
Richmond county is true of Robson
county. They complain of going thirty
five miles to court. My people have to
go forty-fve miles. To lay that my
| bill is a move to defeat Scotland coun-
| ty. The charge is not borne out by
facts. | hold in my hand the first bill
ever introduced in the General ASSEM-
| bly, of North Carolina for the creation
of Scotland county. 1t was introduced
in 1879 and the boundaries proposed
are about the same as those proposed
in my bill. Talk about pauDar counties.
| If you will create the county as my
bill proposes, you'll have no pauper
counties. I'll not keep anythi g back.
The milk in the cocoanut is the court
| house. That's what these Scotland
county people want--a court aouse for
Laurinburg."
Mr.. McLane: "And that's what you
want, isn't it?"
| Mr.. Patterson: 81 propose to let the
people decide that. I'm willing to trust
the people and you are scared.
whats more; Pm willing to take out
of the territory asked for in my bill ev-
cry man who wants to be taken oui
and left i'll Robson"
| Maj. Hall: PUT that in your BILL
and I'll go home"
Mr.. Patterson: Il ask the committee
| to do that"