The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-06-16
Grand Jury
Presentment
The State of South Carolina,
COUNTY OF ABBEVlLLE.

TO his Honor Presiding Judge }. w.
Devore:
The Grand July at this, the June
term of Court, would respectfully
make the following presentment
We have disposed of all bills given
to US by the Solicitor, as in our judg-
ment the circumstances in each case
warranted.
Having at the last term of this Court
visited the Jail and the Poor Farm and
made certain suggestion in reference
thereto, which W. understand, have
been carried out, and NJ complaints
having been lodged with us, in refer
ence to these institutions, we did not
deem it necessary to visit the same at
this time.
At the February term, His Honor,
Judge Prince, in his charge to the
Grand Jury, laid considerable stress
upon the fact that it was the special
duty of the Grand Jury to examine
carefully into the official conduct Of
the several County officers to see
whether they were performing the du-
ties required of them by law.
1t not being expedient for US as a
body, to make such examination at
that term, we appointed a committee
of our number, composed of the Fore.
man, w. r. Ellis and j. M. Wilkin-
son to make such examination, and to
file their report so that the same might
be incorporated in u presentment al
the present term. This they have
done to the best of their ability.
AS the result of such investigation,
we would state that in the main, the
present county officials are discharg-
ing the duties of their respective Of
fees, in a satisfactory manner.
We are of opinion that the annual
settlement with the County Treasurer
should be made more promptly than
has been the practice, and that such
settle ment should be final and conclu-
sive up to date.
To subject a County Treasurer to an
investigation of his official conduct,
extending back for a period of eight
or ten years, as is frequently done. we
regard as outrageous.
The time for collecting taxes with
the penalty, expires on the 18th of
March at that time the Treasurer is
directed by law to issue executions
against all parties who have failed to
pay their taxes.
There is no reason why all the exc
cutions which he has to issue in any
one year, might not be prepared in Is
days, say by the 1st of April. These
executions he is required to turn over
to the Sheriff for collection. The
Sheriff is given by law, 80 days in
which to make the money in such
cases az he is able to find sufficient
property out of which to make it. and
all such money and the Nulla Bona
executions, he is required to turn over
to the County Treasurer at the expira-
ton of said 80 days. This would bring
the time up to July the lst, at which
time we think the settlement should
be had for that collection and as we
have before stated, it should be final
and conclusive up to that date.
Instead of this being done, these set.
Elements are frequently not made un.
til September or October, and then, it
is often the case, that not one-half Of
the executions turned over to the Sher-
if are accounted for, the others being
carried over until the next annual set
Element.
AS the period for which these an
nual settlements are made, ends on
the 30th Of June of each year, there is
no valid reason why they should not
he made Immediately thereafter, and
we are satisfied that if the Comptroller
General, who has full authority in
such matters, would instruct County
Auditors and County Treasures that
they must be prepared to make their
settlements Immediately after the 3Oth
of June, it would be done.
Matters in the Supervisors office we
found to be in rather an unsatisfactory
condition.
The party responsible for a large
part of this however is not the present
incumbent, but rather his predecessor,
Capt. G. N. Nickels.
We found that hundreds of claims
against the County, for which he had
drawn his warrants are missing from
the office.
His excuse for this, when his atten-
ton was called to it, was that these
claims were misplaced or lost in trans
ferring them to and from the tempo.
rary quarters occupied pending the
erection Of the new Court House.
This we can hardly consider as a sat-
isfactory explanation as all the other
records were subjected to the same
conditions and they were not lost.
In the further investigation of the
conduct of this ex-official, we discov-
" erred that in the early period of his Of
fetal term he bought a horse and bug
gy and later on another buggy. which