The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-02-19
OBSERVATIONS ON THE LEGISLATURE.

OBSERVATIONS ON The LEGISLATURE.
By the time this reaches the
most of our readers the 1902 ses-
sion of the legislature will be a
thing Of the past, as both houses
will adjourn this week. The
present session has marked the
enactment of no very startling
measures. Most of the work
has been of a routine nature, but
such work as was necessary to
be done once every year in pro,
viding ways and revenue and
mapping out plans for running
the State government another
year. :.
The number of bills passed IS
scarcely up to that Of the aver,
age session, and this speaks we'll
for the State and the law MAX
ers. Perhaps the most impor-
tant bill was the one regulating
the Jury law and making that
law uniform in all the counties
and putting it beyond all ques-
ton of puncture by the supreme
court. The passage of that law
alone was sufficient to necessltate
the meeting of the general as
sembly. and who knows but that
the same emergency may arise
next year or some subsequent
year and upon some other sub
iect, thus making it necessary
for the people to meet IN leglsla
fure assembled at the earliest
Dossible moment. The State
has been divided into new Con-
sressional districts, which are
more compact and nearer even
in territory and population than
the old districts were.
Some important weak points
have also been remedied in the
general road law, Judge Gage
setting it aside as unconstltutlon-
al in one county, and legislation
has been necessary to make the
law uniform and constitutional.
The report of the Code commits
sioner has been adopted, thus
validating and making lawful an
epitomized codifcation of all the
statutes of the State since 1893, a
work which is necessary to be
done every ten years. The child
labor question, the biennial ses.
sions question. the question OF
restricting the powers of trusts,
have also been discussed and the
members given an opportunity
to ventilate their views thorough
ly, largely for home consump-
tion, but nothing definite upon
these subjects has b e n
done. These measures have al
forded a safety valve for the
escapelnent of q great deal OF
political buncomb, especially in
the house, and in doing this
alone they have served q good
purpose, for the people. many OF
them, strange to say, are fond
of hearing such things and will
enjoy hearing these matters re-
hashed in the campaign the COM
ing summer by political aspirants.
While a few members have felt
that their dignity was offended
occasionally and have arisen to
questions of personal prlvi-
lege," yet the session in general
has been rather marked by good
feeling.
Taken all in all the session has
been up to the average, and IN
some respects, better-better in
the fact that it not only has done
some good things, but has done
nothing radically wrong that we
recall just now. 1t has at least
served one great purpose, and
that is to afford the people of
South Carolina an opportunity
to meet in convention assembled
and to discuss measures and pols,
itics. We doubt if there is an
other people in the United States
endowed with more patriotism or
who are just like the average
South Carolinians, and like they
have always been. They must
meet in representative bodies
and must discuss public ques-
tions and politics. If they do
not meet in the legislature they
will meet some other way. The
inflated store of politics and
craftsmanship has been ventilat-
ed and the people ought now to
get along until the campaign
opens the coming summer. The
people of South Carolina love to
have frequent meetings and they
seem willing to pay for them,
and in fact we cannot see how
they can get along without an
nual sessions of the legislature.
cSnn po-,,,-5 cInn