I cannot contemplate this stupendous outrage without horror and I am perfectly satisfied that if these men attempt to preside in these three circuits it will be a deliberate act of suicide. Mr. Alfred Aldrich offered resolutions (which were adopted) warmly commending the course of Governor Chamberlain "from his inauagural address to his last veto," particularly his action in refusing to commission Whipper and Moses, and assuring him of "cordial support in his efforts to redeem his pledges and effect reforms." A resolution was also adopted urging Wiggin to decline the judgeship in order that the Legislature might at the present session elect some person fit for the place. It was further Resolved, That we heartily endorse Governor Chamberlain in his efforts to redeem the State from plunder and degradation, and while he has been faithful to his own party he has also been faithful to ours, and we hereby pledge ourselves to stand by and support him promptly, faithfully, fearlessly and defiantly. As the beginning of the term for which Whipper claimed to have been elected approached there were rumors that he intended to enter by force upon the duties of the judgeship. On August 21 Governor Chamberlain issued his proclamation warning Whipper against such attempt, also warning all citizens against abetting his alleged design and calling upon the officers of the law in the First circuit to sustain the authority and execute the orders of Judge Reed. For any use of force to which Whipper might have resorted the white citizens of Charleston had made due preparation; and any such attempt by him, or by a mob acting in his behalf, would haye been promptly thwarted and severely punished by those citizens acting of themselves. Wiggin qualified upon the expiration of Judge Maher's term. THE EXTENT OF REPUBLICAN REFORM. The administration of Governor Chamberlain may be said to have ended with the close of the legislative session of 1875-76. His actions thereafter had little relation to the reforms which, demanded on all sides, had been promised by him and his party. The political campaign of 1876 had in a sense begun before the adjournment, and most of the issues between the Republican party and its op ponents in the struggle for supremacy had already been made up. It is proper, therefore, to judge that party's work commencing with the Governor's inauguration by what had been accomplished when the session of 1875-76 ended. Perhaps the strongest presentation ever made of Governor Chamberlain's efforts and their fruits was contained in a series of editorials in the News and Courier (July, 1876) in which that paper gave some of its reasons for its judgment that the Democratic party of South Carolina should make no nomination for Governor if he should be the Republican candidate. Summing up, the News and Courier undertook to show that despite the opposition of the extreme Radicals in the Legislature Governor Chamberlain had accomplished results creditable to him and of great advantage to all public interests the specifications being as follows: The character of the officers of the Government, appointed by the Executive, has been improved and the sureties upon the bonds of public officers have been required to make affidavit of their ability to meet the liability they assume. The settlement of the public debt has been maintained unchallenged, and faith with the public creditor, so far as dependent on executive and legislative action, has been fully kept. The effort to place the whole of the public funds in two banks of small capital was frustrated, and the State so saved from the danger of far greater loss than was sustained by the failure of the Solomon bank. The floating indebtedness of the State has been provided for in such a way that the recognized and valid claims are scaled to one half the amount, and their payment is distributed over a term of four years, resulting in a saving to the State of at least $400,000. The tax laws have been amended so as to secure substantial uniformity and equality in the assessment of property for taxation. The contingent funds of the executive department have been so reduced in amount that the savings in two years, upon the basis of the average of six previous years, is $101,260. Legislative expenses, in like manner and upon a similar basis, have been so reduced as to save the people in two years $350,810. Legislative contingent expenses in the same way have been so reduced as to save to the State $355,000. In the expenditure of contingent funds accountability and publicity have been secured. The cost of public printing has been reduced from an annual average of $306,209 to $50,000, saving in two years $512,418. The salaries of public officers have been reduced $30,000 a year. The tax levy for the current year for State purposes has been reduced from 131⁄2 mills to 11 mills, a saving to the people of $300,000. The deficiencies (including the losses by the Solomon bank) are for the year 1874-75 $308,872, which is $291,024 less than the deficiencies of 1872-73 and $233,315 less than the deficiencies of 1873-74. Under the several heads the savings that have actually been made are: The News and Courier went on to say: "To realize this amount would require a tax of nearly one and a half per cent. Had the appropriations of the past two years been so inordinate as the average of the appropriations and expenditures of the preceding years, the State taxes of the past two years would have been three-fourths per cent. per year more than the outrageous rate already levied." Attention was also called to Governor Chamberlain's careful exercise of the pardoning power-the records showing that whilst Scott had issued 579 pardons in four years and Moses 457 in two years, the incumbent had in eighteen months issued only seventythree. Against this showing, the very strongest that could be made for Governor Chamberlain, it must be noted that in several matters of gravest importance no attention had been paid to his recommendations, though seconded by the press of the State, by the Taxpayers' Convention and by several prominent citizens of moderate views on all public questions. Among these may be mentioned the proposed system of minority representation, the election of justices of the peace and constables by the people, and the registration of electors. The Legislature had been controlled, whenever control was really in question, by the worst elements in the Republican party-by the men who united to elect Whipper and Moses to the bench. The legislative sessions had been drawn out to great length and legislative expenses, though greatly reduced, continued at figures that were extravagant in the extreme. The trial justice system, though somewhat improved, was still seriously infected with the incapacity and dishonesty which were its distinctive characteristics under the Scott and Moses administrations. The school system was still grossly inefficient. There was yet due to teachers over $185,000 for services already rendered, whilst the number of fraudulent pay certificates issued by irresponsible school boards was unknown. The University was still a mixed school for whites and blacks, upon which large sums were annually spent in paying professors for giving college education which in the cases of a majority of the students was pretensive only. The Agricultural College was still suffering from the fraudulent diversion of the bonds given by Congress for its support. The funding of the State debt under the Consolidation Act had progressed but unsatisfactorily, and there was general complaint that under its operation the honest holder of an ante-bellum bond must take his chances with the holder of bonds evidently tainted with fraud. The floating debt of the State continued unpaid and largely unadjusted. The total of this debt was found in 1877 to be $1,046,929, including about $400,000 which had been funded under the "Big Bonanza" and "Little Bonanza." For the outstanding bills of the Bank of the State of South Carolina, amounting to $739,179, no provision had been made. The amount due the State by defaulting treasurers in different counties was over $500,000. Most of the counties were still seriously in debt. The efforts to punish the men who had engaged in the schemes by which the people had been robbed had come to nought. The tax levy had not been reduced-as will be seen from the following statement of the levies made for the different fiscal years since the State Government passed under the control of the negro: Year commencing November 1, 1869, 5 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1870, 9 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1871, 7 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1872, 12 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1873, 12 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1874, 10 3-8 mills. Year commencing November 1, 1875, 11 mills. The levy for the year commencing November 1, 1876, made by the Democratic Legislature in 1877, was seven mills. The domination of the negro continued-disguised though it was as the rule of the Republican party. Confidence in that party as organized and influenced had been totally destroyed-this by the manifest disinclination of the majority in the Legislature to reduce expenses and their evident purpose to set their schemes above the rights of the minority. The election of Whipper and Moses was but the outburst of a feeling that really controlled every Republican member of that body. The white race in South Carolina, their property, their liberties, their opportunities in life, lay at the mercy of an ignorant majority under the leadership of corrupt men. THE LEGISLATURE AND ITS WORK. From the accounts already given of the doings of the General Assembly of South Carolina some idea may have been gathered of the general character and the significant methods of the body. A brief account of their manner of transacting their part of the public business may be interesting. Each house met at 12, noon, and the session rarely lasted more than three hours. Any suggestion that the hour of meeting should be advanced or that the session should be prolonged was met by the statement that to do either would interfere so much with the work of the standing committees that there would be no economy of time, whilst the efficiency of the committees would be seriously impaired. The time consumed in debating this matter (which was brought up at every session for six years) tended, of course, to increase the number of days for which the legislators were paid. One device of the members was the making of various questions— of privilege, of order, of information, of every kind which these mimic parliamentarians had learned to employ. The members who thus sought to consume time and also advertise themselves really knew enough only of the rules to enable them to make these different points. In numerous instances the ayes and noes were demanded on the vote upon these non-legislative matters-this, of course, consuming time in order to prolong the session. The demand of the ayes and noes was carried to flagrant excess in both Senate and House-the facility for using this device being shown in the fact that the demand of one member needed to be seconded by one other only. The vicious and actually corrupt ex |