Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1906-01-17
GOVERNORS MESSAGE.
5A(continuod from Page ~

Wnat amendments TO tne CQDStltutiOn
and statutes of the State will be
necessary and proper to provide for
such sessions. j trust you will act
upon the report of this committee,
in order that the amendment may
become effective as soon as possible.
believe that biennial sessions will
afford all the necessary legislation,
and the people of the State have ex.
pressed themselves in favor of the
change. In this connection I renew
Experimentation of last year that
Se2te officers be elected for term
of four years, not allowing them to
succeed themselves. Upon further
reflection / would not include the
Offices of Comptroller General and
State Treasurer in this recommends
tion with reference to reelection to
their respective Offices.
SPECIAL, COURTS.
In increasing. the number of judi
cial circuits in the State l understood
it to be your intention to abolish the
holding of special courts for the
transaction of civil business. The
law, however, providing for these
courts was not repealed at your last
session, and, in addition to this, you
renewed your former appropriation
for the purpose of holding special
courts. A number of these courts
have been held during the past year !;
sthe appropriation has been entirely
exhausted, and an unpaid balance,
amounting to several hundred dol,
lars, will be presented to your com
mittee on claims for payment.
Without discussing the serious
objections to special courts, my ex-
perience has convinced me that it is
unwise to maintain them as part of
our judicial system, and l further be-
lieve that this is against the spirit of
the law, which established two addi-
tional circuits. Our tax problem is a
serious one, and it should be relieved
whenever the interests of the State
do not suffer. For this reason and
for other considerations which | have
referred to, / recommend that you
make no appropriation for special
courts, and, in addition to this, that
the law creating them be repealed.
LAwLEssNEss.
IN my last two messages / thought
it my duty to call your attention to
the absolute necessity of adopting
more stringent measures for the pro-
per enforcement of law, and particu-
larly for the prevention of lynchings.
In response to my request you ap-
propriated a special fund for this
purpose. This fund has been practi-
cally exhausted in the prosecution of
cases which occurred prior to your
last session. Although cannot re-
port single conviction of the parties
supposed to be implicated, 1 am sat
isfied that the appropriation has not
been used in vain. Investigations
and prosecutions were possible only
by means of this fund, and the re-
sulS have strongly contributed to
the yapholding of law and order
throughout the State.
You are only too familiar with the
record of past years. You know
how South Carolina, together with
other of our sister States, has had
reproach heaped upon her on account
of the dastardly deeds of reckless,
lawless and irresponsible men. /
have Just stated that no convictions
have been secured, yet, in spite OF
'thGNNct, the realization that the arm
ofW Flaw would be invoked that a
determined attempt at least would
Ioe made to prevent its ruthless and
3barbaric desecration that criminals
s would be prosecuted for their crimes
hat the coroner's inquest and the
Usual verdict would not be the end,
but only the beginning-these have
produced their effect, and, as a re-