The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-12-19
GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO
MEET ON JANUARY 8

Columbia, Dec. 17.-The general
assembly of 1918 will begin on the
earliest possible date under the con-
stitution, which fixes the second Tues
day in January as the day upon which
the session shall convene. The new
year comes in on Tuesday, therefore,
the legislative session will start on
January 8, which is only three weeks
off.
There are several vacancies in the
house. which can not be filled until
elections are ordered by a speaker to
be elected. When Speaker James A..
Hoyt moved out of the state to ac-
cept position in Des Moines, the
position of speaker became vacant,
and, as the speaker must order cleo
tions to fill vacancies in the house,
and there being no provision of law
for anyone to succeed to the office of
speaker except by vote of the house,
the several counties in whose cleo
tions vacancies have arisen will be
short of representation until the cleo
tions can be held under the order of
the new speaker The law is silent
as to notice which must be given by
the speaker of an election. In reply
to an inquiry from the chairman of
the county Democratic executive COM
mittee of Richland upon this ,pont, the
attorney generals office has advised
that there is no time prescribed by
our constitution or status for the ad-
vertising and publication of notices
of election to fill vacancy. 1t has
been customary, however, in this
state to give two or three weeks no.
tice by advertisement of such, cleo
tions. This, however, is matter of
discretion for the authorities order
ing the election to exercise" If two
or three weeks notice of the election
of members of the house should be
given, the session would be half over
before the new members could be
sworn in; so that, under the peculiar
circumstances, it is altogether prob
able that the new speaker will order
the elections to be very shortly after
ne himself is chosen. The vacancies,
in addition to those resulting from
the removal of Speaker Hoyt to an
other state, and the election of Mr..
A. K. Sanders, of Sumter county, to
the Office of superintendent of the
state penitentiary, have been caused
by members of the house going into
the army. Several of them are Off
cers in the new national army. The
names of several gentlemen are
prominently mentioned in connection
with the race for speaker, including
Messrs. Thos. p. Cothran, of Green
vile; Speaker Pro TEN, j. A. Berry,
of Orangeburg; Representative j.
Howard Moore, of Abbeville, and Rep
resentative N. George Evans, of
Edgefeld. The joint assembly will
have a number of important Offices
to fill. A successor must be chosen
to State Insurance Commissioner f.
H. McMaster, who will not seek re-
election. The term of State Ware
1AoooS w. ". olllltI Will
also expire before another session and
his successor must be chosen. An as
sociate justice of the supreme court
and several circuit judges are to be
elected. 1t is not probable, however,
that the elections will consume a
great deal of time.
No South Carolina legislature since
1876 has met under such serious and
momentus conditions as will surround
the session of 1918, and the people
are'looking to the legislature to take
up the real business before it, dis
patch it with all possible expedition