Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1911-01-11

/ z -. \.
After this election q bill was in
troduced in the general assembly,
session of 1907, apparently to reg
Eulate in general the formation OF
new counties, but aimed specifically
lat this new county. it was intro
duced by j. Emile Harley, then the
representative from Barnwell. The
provisions of the bill were that no
new county should be created whose
county seat should be within four
miles of the county lines, etc. North
Augusta is on the proposed line.
"a In the Legislature.
The new county people in this
territory came over in large num-
Ebers and presented their cause to
1.-THE general assembly and by de
cisive vote the house killed the bill.
The new county people then went
home and short while thereafter
aaother bill was introduced in which
only one of the provisions of the
first bill was embraced, namely, that
hereafter the governor should order
another election for the creation of
1tno new county, the boundaries of
which, as required in section l., ar
ticle I, of the constitution, shall
embrace one half of the area of a
new county in which the, election
lfor it. creation SMaspae efaated witbip
four years from the date of the fl
ing of the petition in such new
county.
These provisions passed the house
in the session of 1907, and when
the bill reached the senate late in
session Senator Smith from Hamp-
ton took the floor, and reading the
speech of George d. Tillman de-
liyered at ST. Matthews upon the
question of the formation of new
counties, began to deliver q speech
really intended as a flibuster. This
!. soon became apparent to all the
senators pro and con, and by q gen
Eesrral srl ind derstand ding the Sbilla was con-
/ |.tinued .Atsthe next session, thai
lin 1906 the bill passed the senate,
and was wa later On approved by the
/ governors and is now a law. }isss, Ssss
The Lins Changed Again. s.
Before this bill became a law, be-
tween the sessions Of s90 on and 1903
The petit B fled the third d peii-
Etti M sos, In ssh
they left out about S5a square miles
| of the Aiken territory embraced
within the Hayward new county
movement and took in about 81
square miles more from Edgefeld.
This made change of something
like cne-fourth of the population
and wealth.
1t was argued by the new county
people that this was subsequent
change of Hayward county and that
therefore the governor should go
ahead and give them an election.
Gov. Hayward, upon this petition,
appointed the commissioners after
hearing the arguments of whether
or not it was the same proposed
new county as Hayward. This was
in the closing days of Gov. Hey
wards administration.
Before Another Governor.
When Gov. Ansel came into Office
a petition was filed with him in the
same matter seeking to amend the
petition filed with Gov. Hayward.
In the meantime one of the COM
missioners had died or resigned and
Gov. Ansel had to fill this vacancy.
by consent of counsel on both sides,
it was agreed that the question of
whether or not the new county then
proposed to be formed was the same
as Hayward within the meaning of
the constitution. Gov. Ansel there
fore set the date for the hearing of
the question whether he would al
| low the amendment and whether or
not then he would order the election
or refuse to do 40 OH the ground
that the proposed new county was
the same as Hammond. After hear
| ing the argument he decided that
the proposed new county was sub
stansially the same as Hayward
county and that as four years had
not elapsed since the Hayward coun-
I ty election he would not order the
election.
Had to Wait Four Years.
This decision necessarily post
poned another election upon the
proposition of the formation of this
new county for four years. In the
spring of this year petition was
filed with the governor in which he
was asked to appoint the commits
sioners and let them begin the per
formance of their duties by gather
4 ing all the data required by the act
of 1905, and have the same ready
for him SO that when the four, years
had expired, to wit: On December
A, 1910, he would be in position to