The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-10-26
Shall We Vote for Biennial Sessions?
Editor The Manning Times:

| Editor The Manning Times;
In the recent campaign those
of us who were aspirants for tn
House of Representatives were
supposed to discuss all public
matters which would come be-
fore the people, but were usual:
lily limited in our speeches tc
twenty minutes, and there were
isome matters which we could
barely allude to, one of them be.
ing the question of biennial ses.
sions Of the legislature. Thought
then that I wanted to have some
thing more to say to the people
of the county on this subject be,
fore the general election, which
is now only about two weeks of,
And now since I am out Of poll,
tics, and have no desire or inten,
ton of entering it again, | can
be acquitted of having any de-
signs for personal political bet
terment if l venture a few views
on the question. I am fully
aware that for one to be oppos,
ed to this supposed reform, he is
by no means on the popular side.
| believe that a majority OF the
voters in this county are going to
vote for biennial sessions, but
this does not by any means prove
that the change will be either
safe or wise, or economical in its
practical effects.
The cry of economy has been
raised, and this is going to catch
a great many voters who have
never given the matter any Sc
rious thought. If you tell the
average voter that somebody
way up yonder is swindling him
out Of his money, he is ready to
believe you every time; and he
will catch just as quickly at any
proposition which has the label
of economy, whether there be
any real economy in it or not.
Now, I do not believe in biennial
sessions of the general assembly
at all, and [ could write many
columns giving my reasons for
my opinions. The constitution,
| in it's declaration Of rights, says
that "the General Assembly
ought frequently to assemble for
the redress of grievances and
for making laws, as the common
good may require" There is
perhaps no creature on the face
of the globe who loves Npolitlcs
any better than the average
lSouth Carolinian, and he has al
ways been so, since the states
earliest history. He simply loves
politics, that's all there is to it,
and if the legislature does moth
| ing else, it affords a safety value
for the ventilation Of the many
political ideas which accumulate
annually and must have ventll-
lation, and which if kept pent up
future years might eliminate IN
drastic and unsafe theoretical
laws.
But to be serious again, I pro-
pose to pass briefly over the
general subjectof the advantages
or disadvantages of the main
question of annual or biennial
sessions, throwing out only a
few ideas, and discuss more
particularly the specific propos-
ed constitutional amendment
now before the people. And let
US see if it will carry out what it
is supposed to be intended to &C
complish; a great many people
regard the constitution of a state
pretty much in the same light
that they do the charters of a
small village, or the ordinances
of some town. something which
can bechanged, altered or amend
ed, every whim and fancy;where-
as a constitution is the chart by
which the whole government
must be run. It embodles the
rights of the people, the princi-
pies of the whole government,
and when we strike it a lick we
hit our whole government. A
constitution must harmonic with
itself. No statutes can be in
conflict with it, and all laws
must be in conformity to it. 1t
embodies the governmental COM
pact, allowing the people the
right to levy and collect taxes,
to bear arms, to maintain chari-
table and educational institu-
tions, to exercise freedom OF re-
ligion and the pursuit Of pleas.
ure and happiness. The State
of Massachusetts, never has had
but one constitution, and that
was framed in 1850, one hundred
and twenty-four years ago. New
York State is now working un-
der the constitution which was
framed in 1916, hfty-eight years
ago. Vermont is working under
the old constitution of 1898, and
Ohio has not had a new constitu-
ton since: 1851. An examination
by comparison of the constitu-
tions of the different states shows
that nowhere in the union has
the disposition been to change
the fundamental charts Of the
state government, once they be-
came fixed and established.