The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-10-04
AUDITORS RETURN.

AUDITORS RETURN.
State of South Carolina, County of Clar-
endon Court of General Sessions.
To.the Honorable r. c. Watts, Judge
Presiding at the September (l90o)
Term of Court.
Edgar c. Dickson, County Auditor
OF the said County, answering the rule
issued out of this court by the Honor
able r. Q. Purday. Presiding Judge,
requiring him to show cause why he
should not be indicted for and on ac-
count of the matters presented against
him by the grand jury, in their last
regular presentment to the court,
would most respectfully show to the
court:
I. Answering so much of the pre-
sentiment of the grand jury as says,
'sWe fud the auditors Office behind
for 1905, the penalty abstracts for jan
uary, February and March having not
as yet been forwarded to Comptroller
General" [ beg to state to the court:
that just prior to, and at the time that
the grand jury's presentment was made,
had been for several weeks, and was
then. very unwell, and was not at that
time as thoroughly up with. the work
in the Office as would have liked to
have been. I beg to state, however,
that all abstracts and records which
are required to be transmitted to the
Comptroller Generals Office have been
made up and forwarded to that depart
ment. Whenever the Comptroller Cen
erals Office desires any information
from County Auditors, or any County
Auditor is behind in giving informa-
tion desired or required, that depart
ment usually writes and requests that
the information be forwarded to Co
lumbia. No complaints have been
made from the Comptroller's depart
ment for records or abstracts not sent
in, and no harm or injustice TO the
public or any one, was caused by my
work being slightly behind, tempor-
rarily. In fact. the auditors work
during the spring and summer gener-
ally consists in seeing that all the tax
able property of the county is properly
listed, and the tax books made up and
duplicate turned over to the County
Treasurer so that he may begin the
collection of taxes by the 10th OF Octo-
Der. I desire to state that I am rea-
sonably well up with all the work OF
the office, as much so as have usually
been during my incumbancy OF the
Office for the past five years, at this
stage of the work, and / am as well up
as it is reasonably possible for audi
tors to be at this time of the year. ex-
pect to be able to turn over to the
County Treasurer his duplicate for the
year 1905, on or before the 18th Of Oc-
tober, so that he may go on with the
collection of taxes commencing at the
time required by law.
desire also to state that during the
past several months, since the present.
ment was made by the grand jury. the
Office of Comptroller General has sent
representatives here who have gone
through the Offices of the tax depart
ment of the county, checking up mat
tiers in general. They have made no
complaints to me in regard to the work
of my Office being behind. I desire
further to state for the information OF
the court that the settlement OF the
county with the Comptroller Generals
Office, which is usually made sometime
during the fall months for the previ-
Gus wear, has been comp pleted and made
with that department for the year 1904;
II. Answering so much OF the grand
iury's presenJment as presents the
County Auditor ''for failure to present
the county dispenser for non-delivery
of request books by the tenth of each,
month as required by law" desire to
make this explanation for the benefit
of this Honorable Court and the grand
jury:
It has been the custom for the past
several years for the county dispenser
when he desired request books for ap-
plications to purchase liquor. to call on
| the county auditor for these books,
which are furnished to the auditor in
each comfy by the Comptroller Cen
eral and kept IN the Auditors Office to
be supplied to dispensers. These books
have always been gotten as the dis
penser needed them, and he would
| usually return the books containing
the filed in application. which were
simply filed among the records OF my
Office for the inspection OF anybody
who desired to see them, but they
seemed to concern nobody, and rarely
if ever, did anybody examine or in
spect them. Within the past two years:
the Offices in the court house have un-
dergone repairs, and for a time were
very much torn up, and many of the
records which were not regularly nsed
had to be removed and placed up stairs
and elsewhere, among them the files
| OF the reqnest books returned by the
dispenser. The dispenser continued
to get request books from this office,
and when he returned the same, the
employee of the dispersary who brought
them, was instructed to carry them up
stairs and file these books along with
the old ones, which as I thought was
regularly done. 1t is possible, and l
do not deny, that perhaps these re-
quest books we're not regularly re-
turned on Or by the tenth OF each
month as the law requires. While |
know that ignorance of the law is no
excuse, yet am free TO say that l was
not aware that the law required me to
be constantly following after the dis
pensary affairs. and seeing that all OF
these application books, which appear
to be of so little interest to the public,
were fled among the county's records,
and was perhaps somewhat lax in this
particular for not requiring these re-
quest books to be returned promptly
on the tenth of each month, it has been
an error of unintentional omission, and
I shall endeavor hereafter to carry
out all the demands upon me as requir-
ed by law in seeing that these request
books are properly returned and filed
on or before the tenth of each month.
Wherefore your petitioner prays that
he be discharged from further present
,nent, and that the rule herein be dis
missed.
J. II. LESESNE.
Attorney for Edgar C. Dickson,
County Auditor.
State of South Carolina, Clarendon
County.
Edgar C. Dickson, County Auditor,
being duly sworn. saws that the fore