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The Press and Banner BY HUGH WILSON. ABBETlLIiK. N. CHART) AT WORK. PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSTITU TIONAL CONVENTION. <r - Preliminaries Are Over ami Actual Wor Coinin?iices?The Articles on tlie Kxecu tlve Department. Columbia. Sept. 25.?Special: Th Constitutional Convention may .iu\ he said to have passed through the pre liminary stage, and come to the con sidt ration of actual measures. Thi is not saying that the body has beei i?lI*-. A most important, responsibl ami. in s >oie respects, difficult part o ihr .vork has been quietly going on Every m ?isure introduced has bee: referred to its appropriate committee and (he number of these hasfctea sucl as t<? entail much labor in their prope consi leratiou. It seems to be the pui pos? of the committees to compose an< digest all the measures submitted and o it or the whole, to frame provision whir>i shall embody the best feature of all the manv and diverse scheme ilinc- hi-v-nifrhf forward The com mittees?certainly the m?re importan of them?have been very hard worked MORE NEW PROPOSITIONS. Monday was the last day on whiel new measures could be introduced Notwithstanding the number of thes already brought forward, ther6 wa rather a rush of them at the last mo ment. Among them The followinj l only are of public interest: By Mr. Austin of Green villus: T< require a license for carrying conceal ed deadly weapons; also to impose i poll tax of one dollar on all ablebod led male citizens between the ages o 21 and 50. By Mr. George Johnstone of New berry: That it shall be deemed a par of the charter of every corporatioi created under the provisions of an] 1Am AfTAnir nVioi^aT* nrrijnt ^cuerniian, auuCIUJ yum ed, renewed or amended by Act o joint resolution of the General Assem bly, that such charter and ever; amendment and renewal thereof shal always remain subject to amendment alteration or repeal by the Genera Assemblv. That all citizens of the United State who are residents of this State shall b citizens of this State, andnopersoi who is not a citizen of the Unite( States and of this State shall beenti tied to vote or to hold office. That the boundaries of the severa counties of this State shall remain a they now are established: Provide* that the General Assembly shall havi the power at any time to organize nev counties by changing the boundariei of any of the old ones, but no ner county shall be hereafter formed o less extent than four hundred and fif r ty square miles, nor shall any existing counties be reduced to a less exten than five hundred and fiftv SQuar* miles. Each county shall constitute an election district. By Mr. McMahan of Richland: T< empower the Legislature to regulati the cutting of forests, to forbid the taxing of mortgages; to authoriz* criminal prosecution for the publica tion of the names of persons connecte< with indecent crimes. By Mr. Otts of Union: To substitut* salaries for fees in paying all publu officers. By Mr. W. C. McGowan, of Abbe ville: That no woman shall legally consent to marriage or sexual inter course who shall not attain the age o 16 years. By Mr. W. J. Montgomery of "^ar ion: To sompel the children betweei the ages of 6 and 16 years to attenc school for not less than 24 months ii all; to levy a tax of three mills an nually for the support of the fre< schools; and to increase the poll tax t< $1.50, the proceeds thereof to beap plied to the support of the commoi schools By Mr. McWhite of Florence: Tha no portion or any iuna or iax nov existing or that may hereafter be rais ed or levied for educational purposes shall be appropriated to, or used by or in aid of any church, sectarian o denominational school. By Mr. Kennedy of Chesterfield: T< make the school tax two mills, to pu the poll tax of one dollar on all able bodied male persons between the age of 21 and 60 years; and to apply to th school* all moneys derived from tinea forfeitures, escheats, licenses and lease or sales of public lands. By Mr. Patterson of Barnwell: Ti fix the school tax at three mills, an< the poll tax (on all ablebodied mal persons from 18 to 60) at one dollar. By Mr. McMahan of Richland: Ti make each county liable in damage for the murder of any person wlthii its bounds. j.vj auLuun^e IUC jucgiamvurc iv cc: tablish boards of physicians and pre viding that no man shall be compt tent to marry within this State unles after a critical examination by one o said board; he shall receive acertif eate therefrom to the effect that he i free from all diseases that would ren der him unfit to be a husband or father. A memorial was received from se\ eral citizens of Aiken county, urgin the Convention to making provisioi for a pension of at least $50 per annur to every disabled Confederate soldie or to the widow of such soldier. A memorial was received from number of colored citizens of the cit of Sumter, asking that so much of th regulation as to voting in municips elections as contains the provision ths any person may vote, who, thoug unable to read, may give a "reasom ble construction" of any section of th State Constitution. THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. The first work bearing directly upo tVto onfiiol fwiminff of tnp TlPw Prtnct VUV av/buai. liamiug VA kmv MVII tution came up on Monday in th consideration of the report of th committee on the executive depar inent. Mr. Robt. Aid rich of Barn we moved to amend by making the ten of the State officers four years instea of iwo, as proposed by the committe< He made a strong speech in favor c his amendment. He argued thath: amendment only followed the ui written law of two terms of two yeai each for governor and saved the pe< pie the expense and disturbance of s many elections. He said the cost of canvass to the people in lost time an entertainment of candidates, etc , w? more than the State and county taxes and cited the case of a farmer in Barr well who, while buying corn on crei vs' .?rt - . it, had kept six candidates and their horses day and night. - The chairman, Mr. Efird, of the committee which reported the section opposed the amendment and argued - that the people should have frequent opportunities to puss on the record of A I ? * lli 1 An T* lueir omuers, uuu rctcivc icjiuiio wn the conduct of their atFairs. Mr. Lowman of Orangeburg thought that we would have better and more - business like administrations with longer terms. Mr. Johnstone of Newberry said if Aldrich's amendment was adopted he k would supplement it with another making the governor ineligible for re-election. He believed that the gov- j ernor with four years iu office and no e re eltction to scheme for would give v better, fairer and more conscientious administration. Mr. McWhito said that th? people s desired frequent elections as they are a compelled to elect members of cone gresj every two years anyhow, and ,f nothing would be saved by the proposed amendment, rj Ex-Governor^Sheppard opposed the , amendment on the ground that it ^ would put office holders too far be r yond the reach of the people. It .. would be easier to re elect a good gov j ernor for two years than to be rid of an incompetent one elected for a four 3 year's term, in replying to AJdrich, s who bad said that the great reforms s bee-un by Tillman would fail if be had been turned out at first after two t years, Sheppard was momentarily em barrassed, but got over the point neatly by saying that the people "bad hoon ma/taln hwlipve" the second term was necessary, for the accomplishe ment of reforms and had given it to s B-. R Tillman. ''I aru opposed to the h amendment." Continuing, he said, r that the dissatisfaction among the 5 people which led to the revolution of , 1890, had been caused by political . stagnation resulting from the convenj tion system. He believed that a four . years terms wnuld bring stagnation f agaiu. Agitation of thought and enlightened public discussion of affairs . of State were the best educators of the I people. Long terms would bring leth1 argy, stagnation, ignorance and mdifj ference and first thing we knew every . one would be so sound asleep that, r "Those fellows might steal the whole r business before we knew il.H j The people liked to see their ofR2 cials. and hear them talk and djscuss issues and affairs. Long terms would } bring about another revolution. He knew by experience th^t it was good g for a governor that he should be 3 watched and criticized and followed i up, and should know he would'have j to give an account at the end of two . years. It kept him active ^irid on the alert. The legislative committee had 1 reported for a four yearsJ.ei m for the s legislature. The ^-governor could do { nothing unless he had the legislature 3 in sympathy with him. It would be 7 better to elect a governor in accord 3 with the legislature thaft to elect a 7 governor and a legislature notinacf cord with him. Senator Tillman hoped everyone X who had thought of tbe matter would t express himself. It was conceded, he 3 urged, that prior to 1890, politics were 3 stagnant in South Carolina. The convention system had brought about ) stagnation, and that, say what you 3 would, was the cause of the unrest and s consequent revolution. He said that i nothing could be healthier than pub lie agitation and that the people want1 ed it, were going to have it and that they did not want to return to the 5 lethargic condition that existed prior 2 to the revolution which brought about the political stagnation of that time. - The people wanted light and discusr sion of public issues, and he did not, - for one, think that there was any obf jection on the part of the people to entertain or to hear candidates. He said that if the people wanted to l restrict their liberties and their rights 1 that they might adopt this four year l term, and that it would not be long - before the people would a^ain be so i dead asleep "that those fellows might > steal the whole thing and we not know - anything about it," and it would take i another revolution to overthrow things. He said that he was bitterly J J. 11 ..1 J A 1 t opposed iu auy acuuu tuut wuuiu kuu 7 to beget indifference on the part of the - people and that to make the terms of , the members of the Legislature or of , the Governor four years would be a r great mistake. He said that if a Governor were cussed and discussed and 3 damned it would put him on the alert t to pleas and do his duty, but if he - knew that all he had to do was to hold s his job without any hope of re election e it would be very different. He then i, took up the question of Legislative s and Executive co-operation, and with a good deal of force argued that a 0 -Governor who had a legislature that 1 was not in sympathy with him was in e a very bad fix, and virtually had his hands bound. o Mr. Henderson called for the yea and s nay vote upon this question, which ren suited as follows: Yea3, for Four Years?Aldricn, Al J A A A T> >- exuuuer, asuc, au&uii, Dar> ton, Bates, BelliDger, Bowen, Bows' man, Buist, Byrd, Connor, Derham, is Doyle, Dudley, Estridge, W. D. Evans, >f Farrow, Field, Fitch, Floyd, Gage, J. i- L. Glenn, Gunter, Hamel, D S. Henis derson, Houser, George Johnstone, i- McDermotte, McGowan, Patterson, a Patton, Peiritte, Prince, J. H Read, Rogers, Shuler, Jeremiah Smith, r- Smoak, Sprott, Stackhouse, Sullivan, g Taylor, G. D. Tillman, A. H. White, a Wood ward ?47. n Nays, for Two Years?Anderson, ip Barry, Behre, Bryan, Burn, Cantey, Carver, Clayton, DeHay, Dennis, a Dent, Douglass, Efird, J. G. Evans, V Fraser, Garris, Gary, Gooding, .e Graham, Harrison, Haynsworth, Wfl.il liam Henderson, Henry, Hodges, it T. E. Johnstone, Wilie Jones, E J. h Kennedy, J. W. Kennedy, Lee, Lowi man, McCaslan. McKanen, McMahan, e Me White, Mattuews, Miller, Mitchell, J. D. Montgomery, Moore, Mower, Nathans, Oliver, Otts, Parler, Redn fearn, J. R. Reed, Rosborough, Rowi land. Sheppard, Singletary, Sloan, e Smalls, A. J. Smith, W. C. Smith, ie Talbert, B. R. Tillman, Von Kolnitz, t- Waters, Whipper, Stanyarne Wilson, Winkler?(54. 11 After the speech of Senator Tillman, n coupled "with the recommendation of d tVift MimmitfpA fnr n t.wo-vpar term, the i. result was expected. It will be noted )f that most of the Charleston and llichis land delegates voted for the two-year l- terms for the Governor. "S THE EXECUTIVE POWER. > Several sections were then adopted ? without debate. a Mr. George Johnstone asked if the d words used in Section 9 made the mere is impeachment of a State officer a cause s, of permanent removal from cffice, i- that a conviction under the impeach1 ment was necessary for permanent re' ' .'V,' S3 fci'/iiO5 moval. Mr. Eiird claimed that ihe word 'impeachment"as u?.ed in that s-ciion meant judgment under impeachment and that it was not necessary to change the phraseolojj v Mr. Ragsdale agreed with Mr. Etird. Mr C. J. C. Hutson off* r- d arLarnendment to Mr. Johnstone's amendment, so as to clarify the meaning of the section. Mr. Johnstone asked that the section | be passed over for a time. The re quest was granted. I Section 10 was passed without comment. Mr. Roilgers propost d to amend Sec tion 11 so as to require the Governor to have a r< connnendaiion from a majority of the members of the board of pardons 1 ew)ru lr could grant a par I don. Mr. Efird opyust-d the motion and took the position that the Governor should lw ub!o t-> act independently of the recommendation of tne board of pardons. Tlmt the hoard of pardons was only intended to relieve tne Governor of ou-rous duties in ordinary cases, but in extraordinary cases the I Governor should be allowed toa3tas he saw lit I Mr. Rairsda.lt* supported Mr. Efird in a vigorous speech. Mr. Jolinst me offered the correspAnditjg clause ia the present Constitution as a substitute for ihe whole section. He said that if the Governor was responsible for all pardons he should not be cumbered with a board of pardons, on whose recommendations he ould actor not as he chose. Mr. Efird opposed Mr. Johnstone's motion. lie called especial attention to the fact that the section required the Legislature to provide for proceedings under which the board of nardons should act and he had in mind a specie? of trial could be had. That the present Constitution provided for no such proceeding and that, as pardons were now issued, more men were pardoned because the Governor did not have sufficient information. Mr. B. R. Tillman, speaking from experiences rj?W that the matter of granting pardons had given him more trouble than any other matter during his Gubernatorial administrations, and that he had no hesitation in saying that the board of pardons would be of great relief to t e Governor, and he hoped the section would be'adopted unchanged. Mr. Sheppard agreed fully with Mr. Tillman, and said, that the power to pardon should be taken away entirely or he should be given some assistance in getting correct information upon every petition for pardon presented to him. He moved to indefinitely postpone the whole amendment. Mr. Johnstone in support of his molion said that he did not desire the Governor to be relieved of any responsibility in the matter of executing the laws in mercy. That he did not favor the formation of a system which would give those who opposed the granting of a pardon an opportunity to become seekers after vengeance. (Jpon the question of the indefinite postponement of Mr. Johnstone's motion being put the motion was indefinifol v nnefnmnvT Mr. Rndows' mo tion was laid 011 the table. The question was then on the adoption of the section. Mr. Sheppard moved to amend by making the Attorney General a member of the board of pardons, instead of the Comptroller General. The motion was lost. Mr. Smith, of Horry, sent up a substitute, leaving the matter of the formation of the ooard of pardons to the General Assembly. At this point the discussion was adjourned for the day. When the Convention, yesterday, resumed the consideration of the article on the executive department, the pending question was on the amendment offered by Mr. Derham, as follows, the purport of which was to leave the make-up of the proposed board of pardons, and its powers to the action of the General Assembly. Mr. Derham, in supporting his amend mentt said there seemed to be an assumption that the Governor is worked to death while the other State officers had nothing to do, and should therefore be required to Help mm in his work. As a matter of fact, the State officers are harrassed to death by their membership on boards. Members should remember that the action taken here would be final. If the General Assembly made a mistake in composing the board it could be easily corrected. If experiments were to be tried they should not be put in the Constitution. Mr. W. J. Montgomery offered a substitute that the board of directors of the State penitentiary constitute the board of pardons, and proceeded to speak in its favor. Mr. B. R. Tillman said the matter of pardons affected men whose lives are at stake and whose cases the board would frequently be unable to consider in time without special meetings. Mr. Montgomery withdrew his substitute. Mr. Derham's amendment was then adopted, without debate, leaving the section as follows: "Sec. 11. He shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after convictions (except in cases of impeachment) in such manner, on such terms and under such restrictions as he shall think proper; and he shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, unless otherwise directed by law. It shall be his duty to report to tne general Assemoiy, at me next regular session thereafter, all pardons granted by him with the report of the board of pardons. Every petition for pardon or commutation of sentence shall be first referred by him to a board of pardons, to be provided by the General Assembly, which board shall hear all petitions, under such rules and regulations as the General Assembly may provide. The governor may adopt ihe recommendation of said board, but in cases he'does not he shall submit his reasons therefor to the General Assembly." Mr. Derham moved to strike out the last sentence of the section, the effect of which would be, he said, to make the action of the board of pardons unal. Mr. Meares offered the following as a substitute: "He shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after conviction (except in cases of imprisonment) in such manner, on such terms and under such restrictions as the General Assembly shall prescribe and he shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures unless otherwise directed by law. It shall be his duty to report to the General Assembly, at the next regular session thereafter, all pardons granted, with a full statement ! of each case atul the reasons moving thereunder." This proposition was defeated by a , large majority. i Mr. Durham's proposition to make tlx; action of tbe board of pardons finwl was then killed. Sec. J2 ' He shall take care that the laws bp fully tx cuted in mercy," was 'adopted. | To Section 13, providing that the governor and lieutenant governor . shall have :i compensation for their services, Mr T. L. Rogers proposed an amendment fixing the governor's salI ary at $3,000 and the lieutenant gov, nor's at $500 a year. He said person1 ally he favored a salary of $4,000 a year for the governor. Others he knew thought tne pay should be less and he had tried to strike a happy medium. The amendment was summarily 1 killed and tbe salaries are left to be j fixed by the General Assembly. ( Sec. 14, requiring officers to submit \ information to the governor was ^ adopted with a typographical amend- t ment suggested by Mr. B. It. Tillman. . Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 1 were adopted withouta hitch. x Mr. B. R Tillman moved to amend section 21, which provides that the ] governor shall reside at the capital except during sittings of the General t Assembly when he shall reside where <j it sits, "except in case of contagion." a Mr. B. R. Tillman moved to strike out r this last clause, saying that if the General Assembly could face contagion the governor ought to be required to do it. Mr. Efird explained that the sent- 8 ence was not intended to allow the governor to run away and leave the ^ General Assembly to face contagion. J Mr. Tillman angrily replied that it did mean that very thing if he under- c stood the English language. At his ? suggestion the sentence was shoved * up into the first line to make sense. governor's power of removal. a When Section 22 was reached Mr. Efird moved to take up the minority . report, which was as follows: J "We fully concur in the report of 1 the committee so far as it goes, but V?ftc o/i4a/i nrtmioa. I LUlilJEk. tUU UUUJUiibbCO UOO OVl/^u ci AJ. tt . ly in declining to report the following 1 section and recommend that it be in- ? Corpora ted in the report as section 22. * '"Sec. 22. The governor shall have the right to investigate, or to order an investigation of all embezzlements or appropriations of public funds to private use by any county officer entrusted with tne care and disbursement thereof; and in case of a prima facie showing of emhezzlement, or appropriation of funds to private use, he may suspend such officer pending a judicial investigation, and appoint some suitable person to perform the duties of such officer during such judicial investigation, and in case of conviction such appointment shall continue for the unexpired term. Respectfully submitted, "C. M. Efird, L. S. Connor, J. N. Estridge, - J. T. Douglass." Mr. Gary moved to lay the minority report on the table: This matter occasioned a prolonged debate. The chief point of difference among the members who spoke was as to the grounds?the information?on e which the governor should have the ? power to remove an official alleged to 1 be a defaulter. It was thought by I some that such a power should be lim- 1 ited and guarded?that care should be 8 taken against anything like hasty or ^ oppressive action on the governor's c part. ? Mr. Hayns worth offered the follow- j. ing amendment to the section as ^ above given: r "And in case of his being held by a the committing officer to answer the charge before a court authorized to try the same, the governor may, upon the r recommendation of the judge of the j. circuit where the officer resides, sus- f sur>h nffip.er np.ndinpr a itldicial ; investigation, and appoint some snita- r ble person to perform the duties of such officer during such judicial inves- j tigation, and in case of conviction such ^ appointment shall continue for the c unexpired term." c Senator Tillman offered the follow- c ing amendments: ^ "Amend by addingat the end: "All papers in the case upon which action was based shall be sent immediately 1 to the solicitor of the circuit, who shall at the next term of court for said 8 county prosecute the offender." Amend by inserting on line 8, after J 'funds,' the words, or 'money held in J trust." I Senator Tillman said the last amend - r ment was necessary because judges of / probate and masters often had in their nands private funds?the little alls, j. sometimes, of widows and orphans. ^ 'TTnlpaq -uou arft ko biased bv nartisan - rancor that you can see nothing but *" opportunities for political advantages" ^ he said passionately, "I do not see how ^ you can object to the section with ^ these amendments." t To this time the president had held that the minority report could not be z amended until after it had been adopted, but Mr. Sheppard argued that as s the report was not offered as a substitute for a majority report, but was ] simply an additional section proposed, i] it was capable of amendment. The ( chair concurred in this view, and Mr. ^ Johnstone immediately submitted the j following amendment to Mr. Hayns- j worth's amendment: "Whenever a bill of indictment by j a grand jury shall have been found ] 1 against any county officer entrusted ? 1 with the care and disbursement of ? public funds, charging him with the , embezzlement of said funds or appro- j priation of them to private use, the ^ governor may suspend the said officer and shall appoint some suitable per- , son to perform the duties of such of- c fice." ^ Both Mr. Johnstone's and Mr. Haynsworth's amendments were kill- < ed. _ j Mr. Glaze offered the following as a ; substitute for section 22 as reported by { 1 the minority of the committee: "Whenever it shall be brought to j > the notice of the governor, by affidavit, f that any county officer or any other ^ ' officer who has the custody of public i or trust funds is probably guilty of ( embezzlement or the appropriation of , i public or trust funds to private use, \ then the governor shall direct the im- , rr><wl iofA nrpspntnf inn rtf siir?.li officer bv 1 the proper officer of the circuit in which he resides and upon true bill ^ being found the governor shall susi pend such officer and appoint one in t i his stead until he shall have been ac- c ! quitted by a verdict of the jury." As soon as this was read heads nod> ded all over the hall and there was a general expression of concurrence, s The substitute was put to the house c . and adopted like a flash after having c I jeen read half a dozen times for the mlightenment of members who were nattentive or who were prevented by fi he prevalent confusion from hearing, b It being then tbree o'clock, Senator o rillman, who had expressed his satis- I 'action with the substitute, moved that b ,he section be passed over until it n ;ould be printed. ? Mr. Talbert moved to lay this on the 1 able, complaining of waste of time e tnd slow progress and Senator Till- n nan withdrew his motion, remarking v hat he didn't want to have any row v ibout it. a Mr. Efird renewed tbe motion to pass ? he section over until today, when it * jould be seen in print and members ;ould understand it better than they " lould by hearing it read. He warned 11 ;he convention that the sections it 81 ;vas passing would have to undergo the ?st of the courts and that thare would >e found rock affer rock in the way J1 )f the enforcement of the laws unless t( he utmost pains were taken. The conmention voted to continue the section 11 mtil today. 11 Mr. Talbert moved to take a recess e< jut was voted down almost unani- 8( nously. ' ' q The Convention then adjourned till ? .0 o'clock this morning. ! Upon reassembling the Convention ^ ookup the article on" the executive lepartment, and with the amendments fl J ready noted, passed it to a third ^ eadingr. l * RESOLUTIONS OF SYMPATHY. ij, Just before adjournment yesterday, 0j llr. Breazeale sent to the clerk's desk C( ind had read a series of resolutions tc (xpressing the sympathy of the con- a] mention with Vice President Ira B. bj rones at the death of his daughter; f, : iUrv ltA )ApTC331Llg IUC carucab ULULTC 1UX bUU IC" sovery of his wife, and aeclaring the h; onvention's deep regret at the loss of lis wise counsel and earnest labor. These resolutions were unanimously idopted by a unanimous vole. ai DEADLOCK IN COMMITTEE. u On Tuesday morning Mr. Otts, ris- vj ng to a question of high privilege, of- _ eredthe following: -J* "Whereas, the committee on coun- rj ies and county government has been ncreased from 11 to 12 members?an iven number by order of this conven ion, which ha? frequently caused a leadlock and now a permanent deadock; therefore, be it resolved, that the Ion. J. W. Floyd of Kershaw be add- . d to the committee on counties and ounty government." ^ Mr. Austin of Greenville offered the ollowing substitute: ' "Whereas, the committee on coun ies and county government is com- , josed of twelve members, and whereas nth this number the committee is untble to agree; therefore, be it resolved, hat the president of this convention ? >e authorize^ to add one additional nember to said committee." Mr. Austin said he was entirely will- ? ng to leave the seleotion of the odd * pan to the chairman of the conven- ^ ion. He thought it preposterous and >resumptuous for a member of one of he two sides in the committee to try o name the odd man. George D. Tillman moved to table ilr. Austin's substitute and gravely ind pathetically gave an account of he situation in his committeej which ilicited roars of laughter. He suggested that thirteen is an unlucky ? lumber. The committee had been joing on smoothly with six, members or new counties and five for the old ystem of monopoly in court houses rhen this newcomer, Who favors the >ld county system, came in and creat- P' d a deadlock in which the committee ^ lad continued ever since. If the de- . law Uii iue icpvi u ntu iuui w E&viuug, ierce and bitter as it had been in com- ? nittee he could promise that it will be H i very interesting occasion. . ij The chair asked leave to make a 5 tatement. The name of the gentle- m nan who was made the twelfth mem>er of the committee had been omitted ^ rom the newspaper roll used in mak- ** ng up the committees. When the r. nistake was discovered, as a matter of J* :ourtesy to the gentleman he was al- ? owed to select his own committee. J9 !ls he chose that on counties it was ne- y sessary to obtain pemission from the ionvention to add one to the number f that committee, which had been ? lone. g Mr. Prince of Anderson favored Mr. Austin's substitute. Mr. Breazeale offered a substitute intruding the two halves of the com- g nittee to make two reports and allow C( he question to be fought out on the ^ loor'of the convention. ^ Mr. George D. Tillman said the com- Q nittee could not agree on anything, & lot even on its points of disagreement. w Laughter.) a] Mr. Otts proposed that each half of ^ he committee put up a man and let g he convention elect one of them to fill ^ >ut the committee. a Mr. Stanyarne Wilson objected to his on the ground that it would force ? he convention to a test vote before it q vas informed of the merits of the ques- Q, ion. iji Mr. Otts moved to table Mr. Brea- ^ leale's substitute. Lost. Mr. Breazeale's substitute was then idopted. At the night session the article on legislative Department was taken up. q Che re was no debate until the motion ^ >f Mr. Sligh of Newberry to make the p, erm of Senators and Representatives S( wo years instead of four. The amend- ^ nent was adopted by a large majority. ^ The committee had reported a sec- s( ion giving each county one Senator. j.( Slajor Barker of Charleston moved to g imend by giving Charleston two Sen- jj. itors. Motion to table was rapidly a] massed, but, on a remonstrance from ^ Major Barker, Senator Tillman moved Sl o reconsider. D, - T* 1 4V?a nfinn " major canter nuvutatcu wo juumwu, whilst Senator Tillman and Mr. Sligh opposed it. It was defeated by a ii rote of 106 to 24. v) When the 6th Section was reached, ir Dol. Aldrich moved to amend by in- K serting a provision that none but cl vhite persons should be membsrs of Y he Legislature. v; Col. Aldrich supported his motion ir n a strong argument, going to show cl hat his proposition would not violate 0 he Federal Constitution. D Senator Tillman replied, taking the U >pposite position, and urging the dan- st jers that would attend any such ordi- fi """""" * ? i VI - iL. _ j lance. Jrie moved 10 tauie me ameuu- c< nent. This was adopted by a vote of M .02 to 25. The Convention then adjourned till omorrow morning. The committee on corporations, hrough its chairman, Mr. Beliinger, ^ >f Barnwell, reported an article on ^ hat subject. ~ o If every dog hasn't had his day this m iummer it is his own fault. There tr :ertainly has been no lack of dog tt lays. ^ Ig1 Course of Cotton. New York, Sept. 26.?This was b ar the wildest day the cotton mark* ias seen for a long time. The cours f the trading was full of surprise! averpool sent us a handsome advanc ut was completely ignored by ou larket, which opened lower, the firs ales of January being at 8.58. Heav iquidation of long cotton for Soutt rn acount depressed prices in the fore oon, January receding to 8.53, fcu rhen the pressure of selling order ras lifted tne market quickly ralliei bout 8 points from the lowest, am ar a long time about midday Januar; ept fluctuating quietlv between 8.5 nd .8.61, without any decided indica on either of strength or of weakness n the early afternoon, however, price iddenly ljegan to harden. Nobod; ;emed able to gyre an entirely satis ictory explanation of the course o le buying, but there was a wild rus] ) buy cotton, and prices for a whil ?med to be a matter of secondar nporiance. mere were occasions alts in the rise when a reaction seem 1 imminent, but the advance wa x>n resumed and was not finall; tiecked until January had sold a .81, just 28 points above the lowest o le day. Realizing sales on a larg sale by a prominent local trader caus 1 January to recede to 8.73 in the las fteen minutes. The close was steady ith January at 8.74 and 8.75. Thi ade is at least filled, with genuim [arm at the prospect of a short crop he market is altogether in the hand f the outside public. As long as the] jntinue to buy prices will continu< > advance; but after such rise a quid ad sharp reaction is among the possi ilities, and we would now advise oui lends to keep close to t hore and no isdain to turn thei& paper profits int( ard cash. "Riordan & Co. Courtesy to Children. Harper's Bazaar very truly says tha .1 the training and disciplining ii le wqrld, if given in the form of ar itrary directions and commands, wil ot. make children well-bred ant jreeable. Mothers sometimes think r act as if they thought that courtesy i the home must be entirely a on< ded affair. The small boy must no iterrupt conversation, he must stej )ftly, jpeak gently, remove bis ha a coming in, spring to restore wha >me older person drops, run his littl< set olf on errands, always say thanl ou, and never indulge himself in thi aat expression of irritation, but no ?dy is obliged to be equally polite t> im. Ordered as if he was not as sen tive to wounds, and as easily hurt a! is elders, his pursuits regarded as ofn< nportance, his convenience overrule* r set aside at the caprice of his tutor ad governors, the little fellow oftei as a hard time of it while he is grow ig up. Parents who are intense!; roud of their children often refrain om a mistaken idea that praise is in idicious, from commending them fo hat they do well, while blame i vif t to leap out and scorch the mem ry on any slight obcasion. The chil< no will be most courteous througl fe is the child who has been treate< UU cuuricajr, tvuu utuopcui mciuiai tive years of life in a sweet and gen il atmosphere, and been moulded no ) much by military rules brusquely aforced as by the genial influence o srene tempers and the blessedness o ood examples. Giant Powder Exploded. Leadville, Sept. 26.?Sixty-fi 7 Dunds of giant powder exploded thi fternoon in the Belgian mine ii .delaide park, five miles from thi ity, killing six miners and fatally in lring two. Ten miners were at worl 1 the drifts at the time, and it is be eyed that a miner carrying powde om one draft to another, let it fal ad the explosion caused a cavein he six were instantly killed. Hel 'as sent from the city as soon as th jport of the explosion was receive* ad the dead and injured were brough I the surface. The only miner wh in tell how the explosion occurre< as brought to the city tonight so bad t injured that he cannot talk and wil ie. The six bodies were brought t le morgue and were identified as fo] iws: Clark McGinnis. John Ham iill; James H. Grayj Ed Kuhen hris Phillips, John Baggs. Two Deputy Sheriff! Killed. Pine Bluff, Ark., Sept. 24.?Deput; heriffs Harris and Stiff of Arkansa Dunty were shot and killed near Ene md, Lonoke county, yesterday whil ttempting to arrest an escaped pris tier named Lacey, who had made hi scape from Arkansas county jail. K as located in a deserted house thre ad a half miles from England am hen called upon to srurrender opener re. The first shot struck and ic antly killed Harris and the secom lortally wounded Stiff. Another re ort states that the crime was commit id by two escaped criminals namei wens and Nicholas. The murdere r murderers escaped to the woods hey are surrounded by a posse an< ill (9 lynched if caught alive. Poor Klrby Tupper. Atlanta, Sept. 23.?Kirby S. Tup er, a deputy collector of customs a harleston, S. C-, shot himself hen lis morning. His brother, S. Y. Tup er, secretary of the Southeastern As )ciation, has an office in the Equita le building on north Prior street iirby Tapper went to the Equitable a iven o'clock this morning and a jani )r unlocked Sam Tupper's office-door jrby Tupner wrote a note to hi rother, and notes to two relatives fter which he shot himself throuel le head. No cause is known for tn licide. He was to report at the ex osition grounds today for duty. Elections will take place this yea 1 eleven States, one-quarter of th hole number and but few are really nportant. The States voting arc Iowa .'ansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massa husetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ne^ ork, New Jersey,JOhio and Pennsyl ania. A Governor will be returnei i Iowa. Kentucky, Maryland, Massa iusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey am hio, and four of the seven now hav 'emocratic Governors. Besides thes tah will abandon the Territoria age and become a State, choosing t ill set of officers. The interesting mtests are in Kentucky, Maryland ew Jersey and Ohio. All? uniig inn ruing, Fort Smith, Ark., Sept. 24.?Th lack gang, composed of Jiufus Buck ldian, Lucy Davis, a negro; Lewi avis, Sam Simpson and Maomi Juty reek Indians, who operated in th reek nation and of whose crime i lurder was the least brutal, wer ied yesterday. The jury was out onl; iree minutes and returned a verdic uilty and the death penalty. 7 OUR CITIES AND TOWNS. it ie HOW THEY ARE TO BE ORGANIZED AND REGULATED. e ir Animated and Interesting Debate on this ** 7 v important Matter In the Conatltntionftl * Convention.?8om? New Provisions. it t Columbia, Sept. 27.?Special: One s of the most interesting debates yet i heard in the Constitutional Convend vention began on Wednesday morn7 ing. It was called forth in the ccn9 sideration of the proposed article on i- municipal corporations and polio? i. regulations. Tnis article deals jrith v s the powers, duties and responsibilities -* y of cities and towns. The ordinary J- laws on the subject are generally unf derstood, and these were accepted by b. the Convention with but immaterial e alterations. It was chiefly in new y features that the article called forth 1 discussion. The first section of this A i- ordinance read as follows: . c "TUa T ?T 11 Ivw ~ jll?v jucgiamiuru biuui pruviuo uj y general laws for the organization and V t classification of municipal corpora* f tions. The powers of each class shall 6 be defined by general laws, so that no i- such corporation shall have any power t or be subject to any restrictions other , than all corporations of the same class, e Cities and towns now existing under e special charters may abandon the . same and reorganize under the general s laws of the State." 7 Mr. Barker, of Charleston, moved e to amend by striking out after the ? words "charters may" the words - "abandon the same and reorganize r under the general laws of the State," t and substitute the following words: 3 "May reorganize under the general law* of the State, and when so orga ul/.o i their special charters shall cease and determine." t Mr. Barker explained that this i amendment was intended to provide . for preventing the possible hiatus be1 tween the surrendering of the special [ charters and the reorganization under , the general lawa The amendment was t adopted. 3 Tne third section was adopted as the t sctuiiu iittu uecu, wimuut uppuuuuu, > the two being as follows: t Sec. 2. No city or town shall be.ort ganized without the consent of the 5 majority of electors residing and enc titled by law to vote within the disb trict proposed to be incorporated; such h consent to be ascertained in \Jie man9 ner and under such regulations as may - be prescribed by law. s Sec. 3. The Legislature shall restrict 0 the powers of cities and towns to levy 1 taxes and assessments to bOrrow s money or to contract debts; and no tax i or assessment shall be levied or debt - contracted except in pursuance of law > j for public purposes specified by lay.. f RIGHTS OP RAILROADS. Section 4 read this way as reported r by the committee: -~ s Sec. 4., No law shall be passed by - the general assembly granting the i right to construct and operate a street i or other railway, telegraph, telephone i or electric plant or to erect water or gas works for public uses and to lay - mains for any purpose, without first i nkfoininn fho nnnsanf of fcVlA fill - r thoritiesjn control of the streets or y f public places proposed, to be occupied f for any such or like purpose. Mr. Stanyarne Wilson moved to strike out "or other," so as to exempt railways from the power given by the e section to municipalities. Adopted, s Mr. Patton moved to reconsider the i vote on this motion. This was agreed s to, and there was further discussion l- participated in by Messrs. Patton, !c Cooper, Wilson ahd Meares. ! Mr. Barker suggested and offered an r amendment requiring the grantee of 1 such right to obtain previously the consent of the town or city interested, p Tkis was generally accepted and was e adopted. d Mr. Patterson moved to indefinitely t postpone the entire section. Lost. The 0 section as amended was then adopted. 1 TAXES FOR IMPROVEMENTS. i- Mr. John T. Sloan moved to strike I out Section 5: V o 1 'The general assembly may vest the [- authorities of cities and towns with i- power to make local improvements by ; special assessment or by special taxa Hon or property ucucuircu. The section was struck out on division, 61 to 46. y WATER AND LIGHTS, s Mr. Haynsworth moved to strike out section 6, reading thus: e "Cities and towns may acquire by i- construction or purchase and may ops erate water "works systems and plants e for furnishing lights^ and may furnish e water and lights to individuals, firms d and private corporations for* reasonad ble compensation," ' i- Mr. Haynsworth motion to strike d out was defeated. s- Mr. (jr. G. Wells offered an amendmeat providing that no such enterprise d be undertaken by a municipal corpor ration except by vote of the majority i. of the electors qualified to vote on the I creation of a bonded debt. Mr. Wells spoke strongly in support of his amendment. This amendment was adopted and the section, as thus amended, was t passed. B TRIAL BY JURY. * Section 7 was then taken up. On motion of Mr. Prince it was amended so as to read: j "Whenever any municipal court is authorized and empowered to punish , violators of city or town ordinances j by a term of imprisonment, it shall be , competent for said court to couple ? witn said imprisonment hard labor e upon the streets or public works of _ said city or town, to l>e performed under such supervision and regulation as may be prescribed by ordinance." r Mr. George Johnstone moved to e amend by adding after the word j "court" where it occurs the second , time the words' 'provided that trial has been had by jury." v The convention voted 85 to 48, on call of ayes and noes to table Mr. Johni stone's amendment. Mr. Aldrich offered an amendment 1 that the accused in all cases should e nave iiits ngui ui a^pcai iv ? e court for trial de novo. 1 The matter was further discussed by a Messrs. Rodgers Bellinger, Burn and y Henderson. , Mr. Aldrich'samendment was voted down. Mr. Jeremiah Smith offered an amendment that no person shall be e sentenced to work on the streets until after the right to demand trial by jury s of at least six. The amendment of Mr. > Smith was adopted by an overwhelme ing majority. s I Mr. Hutson offered a substitute ine J tended to leave to the general assembly ly under fundamental limitations the [CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR,] i