University of South Carolina Libraries
MIALsE 86.NWEIY, S. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER5 8,108 'IPW1rm Ar-1] 5 A1n ILLDAn TRIAL AT LXINGTON, Contention that Judge Townsend is not Eligible to Preside-Good Deal of a Legal Tangle. Owing to the sickness of Judge Gage, who according to regular ap \pointment was to be the presiding jQdge at the fall term of the Lexing ton court, Chief Justice Pope some time since issued an order appoint, 'k ing Judge D. A. Townsend' to hold the term of court for Lexington county which convenes on Monday, Pieptember 21st. On account of the fact that the case of the State vs. James H. Tillman, charged with murdering N. G. Gonzales, will be tried at this term of court, unless postponed, the appointment of Judge Townsend created a great deal of in. terest throughout the State. Judge Townsend's regular appoint. ment for tbe year would have carried him to Winnsboro on September 21st, to hold the regular term of court for Fairfield county, which convenes on the same day as the court for Lexington. Counsel for the State in Tillman's case thought that t he status was quepliinable. They, therefore, brought a motion before Chief Jus tice Pope, in Spartanburg, on Mon. day, submitted by Solicitor Thur mond, objecting on a technical ground, and for no personal reasons, he said, to the appointment of Judge Town send as judge for the Lexington court. Mr. Thurond stated that the court at Winnsboro convenes on Sept. 21st, the sam 3ato as the court at Lexington, and it appears that Judge Townsend is assigned to hold the Winnboro conrt. In addi tion at the Lexington court there will be sonie six or seven homicide cases to be disposed of, he said. In the opinion of Solicitor Thurmwnd, it would require about two weoks to try the Tillman case and this lengthy period of sessions, with Judge Towns.end prestiding, when it was lin irregularity of the schedule of courts and judges, would possibly render questionable any verdict reached in the case. There was no personal objection to Judge Townsend, but a mere technical point as to whether he should sit at the Lexington court, when the regular appointment of his circuit would place him at Winnsboro tat the timo. The Cherokee court, Mr. Thurmond stated, would also be affected by this irregnlarity; it con venes on Oct. 5th. The chief justice atated that he had received telegraphic and other notifi. cation to the effect that the Winns. boro court requested a postpone. '>men., and that a special term be given; he said that the entire bar had joined in this petition. This re muoved the possibility of the Lexing .ton court and Winnaboro ccurt com. 7ing at the same time. Solicitor Thur mnond said that the Cherokee county 7court would be affected, convening on Oct. 5th, while the Lexington -ourt must dispose of five or six horn L iide cases, not including the T1ill '~Aan trial. This obj. etion Chief t<'isti ce Pope insisted, might b)e over Come. The chief justice said that the attorneys for the defense had fstated that they wished to make no expression of opinion in the matter, when notified that it would come up today for hearing; and he added that t ~story was a different one last wek when they had requested to be p~et at any hevAin' in order that ~ ides he represeuted, At the 6nlasion of Mr. Tlhurmond1's re * arks, the chief just.ice stated that ;e would act later in the matter, 'jWter fully investigating the state of aif,rs. Theie was no intimation as to when he would announce his de 'ision. TiuioUiIHT IT MICIlIT nIII nENET. In the meantime thief .Justice1 *Pope had wiredl from Spartanburg to Governor HIy waird asking thait ~~:Jud(ge liet be appjoinIted( to hold( th ~e court inI Ketrshaw counity,whc Sbegan on last Monday. Ke*rshmaw is in the same circuit as Lexington, and it was thought possibly that .Judge Benet would be allowed to contmnue 'throughout the circuit, thus holding the Lexington court. Bunt it seems now that such was not the intentioi WLNN810OO DOE NOT WANT PONTPONI MENT. Special to The State. Winnsboro, Sept. 15.-The men bers of the Winusboro bar whom saw this morning-and, I saw a me jority of the active members of th bar---were all surprised at the state ment published from Spartanburl that the Winnsboro bar had petitionei Justice Pope for the postponemen of the regular term, and the appoint ment of a special term. They wer all unanimous in the statement ths no such petition- had been sent, an on the contrary were emphatic ii their staterpent that the majority, i not all of the members of the bar o Winnsboro not only did not want th regular term postponed, but the wished it held, and wished it hel< by Judge Townsend and no one else The real status of the situatiot given as nearly as possible in th4 composite language of several mem bers of the bar, is that the bar wat put into a state of uncertainty by th( announcement last week that Judg( Townsend had been appointed t< hold court in Lexington instead ol Judge Gage. They knew that Judg( Townsend was scheduled in accord, ance with the provisions of the con. stitution and statute law to hold couri in Winnsboro, at the same time that court was to be held in Lexington, They were aware of the constitutional objections to any other than the pres ent judge of their circuit holding court in Winnsboro, 1hen the judge of that circuit, Judge Townsend, wa able to act. They were aware that neither Justice Pope nor any other authority could postpone, or call off a regular term of court, that the court would have to be opened each day by the clerk and adjourned from day to day for two weeks even in the absence of the judge of the circuit, or that the judge of the cironit would have to open court himself and ad journ sine die. Hence at a meeting of the bar held some days ago, with this knowledge and with the matter of Judge Townsend's appointment to Lexington not yet absolutely set tied, the bar simply decided to await developments, and took no action. But as stated above by Senator Rags dale, and by others to me personally, there was the evident desire on the part of the majority of the members of the bar that the regular term be held, and that it be held by no one else than Judge Townsend to make it legal and proper. The members of the bar. with whom I talked were at a loss to under stand how the impression had been oonveyed to Justice Pope that they desired a- postponement of the regu lar term, as the only communication any of them had with him was a per. sonal letter of inquiry from Mr. J. E~. McDonald. Mr. McDonald did act have a copy of his letter, which bie said, however, he would be glad to have published. He had inquired >f Justice Pope as to the assignment f Judge Tfownsend to Lexington, md had stated that if Judge Town iend was not to come to Winnsboro !or the regular term, that no one aise be sent, but a special term be 1eld the third Monday in October. McMaster. Baby Carriages as Baggage. Solicitor J. M. Johnsotyhuadwritten .0 Attorney General Guiatersin refer. 'nee to a bill that was-introdnced in ~he General Assembly at its,lasb. 808 iion requiring raigaoads to carry baby sarriages as bagpge.- Mr Johnston itates that he has receivedi several omplaints from lbarties asking why he law was not othforced. Attorney Geneygil:Gunter has looked ip the bill referred to and found that t passed the House of' Representa ives, but was continnd,by the r ie untt it s next sossioni. Tlhi Aitor icy (General somec ti mu. ago, ruled(, mnover, that baby carringes should >e regarded as baggage whomi they ire carriedl by a passonger, for the se0 or comfort of a ninber iof his amily on their journey. In--such amnos the railroadsf are. required to ~heck them. THE FLORIDA HURRICANE. Much Damage to Crops and. Fruits Wrecks Along theCoast-A Num ber of Lives Lost. Jacksonville, Fla., September 16, A terrific hurricane swept over mid e die and south-west Florida the latter . part of last week, its greatest strength 9 being felt on Friday and Saturday. I Owing to the fact that it was for several days impossible to get trains through on account of wash outs and all the telegraph and telepohne wires t were blown dow;n, news from the storm-swept district came in very slowly. Probably half of the orange crop was out off around Tampa and one fourth on the east coast. Great damage was done to growing cotton and the turpentine industry was seriously injured. Two lives were lost in Tampa. Louis Baron, a cigar-maker, was struck by falling timber, and T. Y. Hunnicut, a motorman, was fatally shocked by a live wire. Buildings were blown down, the total property loss at Tampa being estimated at sr,000. At Palm Beaol serious property loss was suffered, the opera house and a nun ber of other buildings being blown down. Three negroes were killed by fall ing timber at Gainesville. The phosphate plants at Mulberry were greatly damaged; Bartow and Phosphoria suffered serious property loss. " The loss to the orange crop around Zolfa is between 25 and 40 per cent.; the property loss about $10,000; one life wav lost. Great numbers of vessels were wrecked along the coast, with little loss of life. THE IUIICANE IN ALABIAMA. Specials from Opeleika, Eufaula, Ozark, and other points, tell of great damage in Alabama. Houses were unroofed, trees uprooted, and great damage done the cotton cIop. A TORNADO IN GEORGIA. A dispatch from Moultrie, Ga., says a cyclone from the south-we struck the northern part of the town at 2 o'clock Tuesday morning, and caused damage t o the amount of about $30,000. No loss of life. SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS. Items of More or Less Interest Condensed In the State. The body of Private John ZR. Keith, with three hundred and two other dead soldiers from the Philippines, was brought to New York and shipped to his horne in Oconee county this week. The sheriff of Saluda county who was placed in jail charged with mur dering a negro on the streets of his town recently, has ben granted baill in the sumi of $1,000 by Judge Town send. A negro. at North, near C->lumbia, has invented a gate which can be used to prevent stock from getting out of pastures when Open, and which permits them to go from one pasture to another across the road when the gate is shut. Charleston's latest dispensary muss is due to the election of W. H. WVho lers to be beer dispenser. It is charged that he has been convicted of violating the dispensary law, and the law forbids any one convicted of its violation ever after to serve as dis penser. A young negro named Stence Wise was killed on the Mt. Willing roadl in Saluda county on Saturdlay night. No clue has been0 found to the man who committed the deedl. It appears to have beenf a b)rutaul riind unprovoked shiootinIg of ani inoiren sive negro boy3. Actinig P~oatisiaster' (Genai. ii ris 'ow hass promised Senattor Clay of Georgia t hat none of the free rural mail dlelivery rou tes [no v inl operatLion in the South shall be dliscontilnued. There has been a feeling of alarm iln some sections owing to the threatened curtailment of the service. GBEBRAL IEWS NOTBS. Items of More or Less Interest Condensed Outside the State. Two Alabama farmers convicted Of peonage and sentenced to terms of imprisonment have been pardoned by President Roosevelt. Mrs. Louise Tideman, at Gull Point, near Pensacola, Fla., on Wed. nesday, while shooting at a hog, shot and killed the little daughter of her neighbor. C. H. Wegner, a Prussian piano tuner 76 years old, committed suicide in his apartments at Richmond on Tuesday by hanging himself. He was in bad health on account of in digestion. Secretary of the Treasury this week designated about fifty national banks in various parts of the country as depositories of public funds and ordered about $4,000,000 deposited with them. Two men were killed and many others injured by an explosion of dynamite in a freight car at Bay City, Mich., on Sunday. The ex plosion was caused by the engine backing against the car to couple. There was a pretty exhibition of mimic warfare off Newport, It. I., on Tuesday, which demonstrated the importance and the effectiveness of the navy's submarine boats. The submarine torpedo boat succeeded in torpedoing the torpedo boat Craven. William Williams, a negro labor leader, was lynched on Main street, in Centreville, Miss., on Tuesday, for killing a white man who hand remonstrated with him about his con(kict in employing negroes for contractors in other parts of the State and enticing employes to leave. The dead body of a young white man was found this week in a freight car in 0harleston, W. Va., loaded with watermelons. The car bad been shipped from Richmond. The young man had evidently been dead several days. His skull was frac tured and the pockets of his clothing were turned inside out. A number of scandals have been unearthed in the management of the Eastern State penitentiary at Phila delphia. The latest disclosure is that the prisoners have been illegally coining many minor silver pieces of money. The molds, it is said, were made of plaster of paris, scraped from the walls of the cells. The report of the engineer oflicers of the army concerning the proposi tion for an inland water route be tween Norfolk, Va., and Beaufort Inlet, N. 0., recommends that the route be constructedl, the cost being estimated at about $10,000,000. The proposed construction of this route is a matter of vital concern to all At lantic Coast States. It is reported from St. Paul, Minn., that there have been heavy storms in the North-west this week. The losses amounted to $250,000 a (lay for several days, and there were sov eral fatal railroad wrecks, numerous derailments, wash-outs, telegraph wires oroken down, a soaking rain in progress over several States, and snow-plows working on the western railways. It has been years since there was a situation so serious. The steamer New Orleans, Balti more to Savannah, was dlisabled ofT Hunting Island, S. (., Sunday night during the great F'lorida storm with 25 passengers on board. The Dutch steamship Voorberg, passing, was hailed, but refused to stop. When the New Orleans finally reached Sa vannah the Voorberg was passed in the harbor anid was his~sed by I he passengers of the Newv Orleansp. T1h ree mnen--thle t.h eril andiI( his dleputy uand a mian kiown asM McVagle, who had jusHt boo arretd out a kilIled at the jail at I'fui , Tex. TIhe uflice.rs w. r.' jst abou,It to search the prisoiner before incarcerating him when he opened fire, mortally wound ing both oflicer.i. The sheriff, while falling, drew his pistol and shiot at the prisoner p)oint blank, killing him instantl.lv H R%ICE -HAS G( THE PRICE IN OUR R E MAINS -WE KEEP E *1EXCEPT AND THE BEST One of the Fullest Lines c DISE Ever Brought 1 Rcalizing the Fact that t this Fall was going to We have put in an Ext and we take a Just P it is the Best and FulIest and that is Sayi WET! Our Friends a To Come We Will Be Glad To See. The They Want $50,0 Clothing, Dry Goods, S[ Groceries, Candies. GOOD GOODS,+::>H TIHAT IS O I I LITTLE MOUI J. V PIJ 4 j, VJ& Y j jjf I MI OF COTTON 3NE UP OF GOODS STORE T HE SAME. VERYTFIING COFFINS.&> OF EVERYTHING. )f GENERAL MERCHAN :o Newberry County. he High Price of Cotton make Business Hum raordinarily Large Stock ride in the Fact that Stock we have ever had, ng a Good Deal. n ITE - ad Cus tomers and See. mU Whether To Make A Purchase Or Not. NL MENCrIPDSE oes, Hardware, Cutlery In Fact Everything. + L01 PPI~IOLS. UIR MOTTO. ITAIN. S. C.