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TM'K.WS S. rT?J M KS. ifctsi;'Ku riviniv >}.vtuiii>a v moukiko uy tim: lllJ'iO. !*t;i.l\id!, iiusim*'vH^ir^r. T?i'iurj ol iiTjs<*t1 ii11it>jl^ (">?<? ( ' / I/ i..;.' IV.ir.$2 (?(? " ?SV.c Mou'L.t. 1 00 Kates of AilvtM'tiidiig. """ Owt: iStjiithv. Ut insertion.?1 r?? ; /.Wi KitiiMiiu'itt " . i oo .VohYv.j iiinrh t! in l.oa I < Ulvntu til 2Ui: /<n; /.nie. .!// $iU>*ciiniion.<<;itit Tyusiait .1.7 1:1 id' ntcnii> In be ptiiilj'pr iii Ailtmii i t*y A"" /.'?'.? ?'/./? '/?? .,?/.'???: .?/? .!?:".?.,? itVwH-ii/? ?>??.? r?t/i*?f % /??.*?f|?;*i jlliuifiyci'. We sir? in i'<? why r< ; ? 11 i!? If for til-- views it opinion:; of oitr ('Orrc^poiul er.ts. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1877. Mr. Hill 1ms tak. n look at the l-'ehato C'b'rihil.?er sibd shaken hands will) his old i iietny?lllaine. The pugilists of* a prize ring always.?linke hands before knocking each oilier down. The Pillsburg Comiuiirrfitf says: Eivc t-'u j >ri.-iii t: Court diidgei, live Senators and live llepreschlativc.S for the count; fifteen two, fifteen (our, fill con six, Iben turn a jack, on s for the i;i?l?, equals 11 io game?J85." Now, which jack v. ill lite fifth .Judge turn? Hayes or Tilden ?' --m^vraT- ? ? ? "t : Put few, if anyi men know the measure, extent, sweep, amplitude and horizon of their own abilities until they have put Hum severely lo the test. VYe advise Chamberlain lo I a li c lo "looting" up comtuissitms." Therein lies his foi l, especially i:' it i can alway.j find a Parker or a Mi nip ton for a partner. The Copgressnicn who are to be members of the Grand Commission have ali been chosen. In the Senate, Edmund.-, Morton ami Enilihgli liy sen represent tin- Republicans, and Iiay iird and Thurm an thd Democrat's In the House, lloai and Garfield represent the Republicans, and Hun Ion, Payne and Abbott the Ecmb cials. Packard hasgoilcn very little com fort from Grant. T!ie President da ciiiics t ? i:.!- flirre in behalf of cither Governor, and in true Dictator styjej Hays that ii;any troublo occurs lie wi I mi j Crccdc both goycrninciilsj with General Augur anil the military; 11 hit frig a solution of th( Prcsidt mini prbbiem. Tins is se?rc-dy ?hat the 1 hmoerats desire, but the d>-? is doubly unpalatable (?> Packard. This i.- son),- sat islaetion. The Hill for counting the Elccibrlil vole, which we publish elsewhere, i a euniproiui.se inca tire, ami involves iii it a saciificc <?!' principle to :i iii ffiiiii exit nt, as i.- generally the < :i>.' in political compromises, ft abrogates the clear intention of the Constitution' hut is probably the best m fasti re lliat can be secured at this cxirit-'d .- 'ate of the contending parties. Wi tin t it will fccHire ail honc/l count ami de claration of the true vote, and that fitiiiiuV.i tl. Tilden, the people's choice, will be our next 1 'nsident. The l.trioil-Jfutiftl says thill (luv crnor Ilamplon dobs not have to c III r a man :t chroiiio lo induce him lo accept. (liii e under his government Of comfc not. Every sensible man knows that the Hampton government will succeed, and then his oiluiers are sure to continue in their positions during his administration. I'oor Chamberlain is not so well oflj for tic: public cognize the inet (hat his prof pee Is arc continually wcakchihg, and lb crelo vo even a c.'iromb could not induce prudent nicii to incur lli-: i tspobfiibilily of exercising an illegal of li co. The Philadelphia /Vrs.s gives I he fluctuations in gold for fourtoch years. The advance began in dune, 186% when from two or thicc per cent, above currency, it rose in duly I ID. After reaching 172 in I8G!), it do elihctl iii the Mime year to Pjl?. The upward i< . ieiicy agsiin began, ami in July, ISO 1, it touched tho liiipi'ccc j rivulet! figure of 2??. The closing ? quotation ofthat year was 244-. The end of the rebellion was followed for the most part by a dotdine. In 1808, however, it was rated higher than in ISG7, and on Illach Friday, J809, it ran up to lG2-j, a figure not reached since. Through 1S70 and I871 its course was steadily downward, but in 1872 liiere was a temporary rise above j 1 I?, succeeded in the same year by a j .'.t!l to 1053. 'ilie present quotations arc almost as low as in J802. Head and be Instructed. Ib-re is the entire letter with which Flliott would have demolished Chain herlaiu in the Radien) Nominating Convention if he, Chamberlain, bad fi fused to support that doughty politician for Atlorney (leneral. Jt is enough to damn the pretended ( (i'oy< rnor for all lime io come. y\o wonder ( hnmhci lain said in the convention referred to that the j world bad placed its frown upon the practice of exposing a mail's private | correspondence; He well knew that the people of Eolith Carolina would repudiate hin? if the letter To "Dear IV got into the newspapers. To buy its suppression he clasped bands with Fllioit, Whitlcinore and Dunn, hi our opinion Kliiolt was not inter die led In etiquette from reading it a'J, as it appears to treat more of pub? lie ibaiicrs than privrdo ones. Cer tainly the United States Scmalbrsliip and the momys of the tax-payers arc hot to be considered as cither personal or private srctc'Ss. 'l'lic commissions were what Chaniberlaiit was after, and they had to cumc out of the people's treasury. Ileie is his letter, the correctness of which is vouched !orb} ill-} AVim <ni'/.,!, ;< r: Si:i'Ti:r?!!:i:n 2i?, 1870. DittrJ'.: Yours of Hie 21st, came to nie this CNcniiig 1 was glad, in deed, to bear fr? m you; </,/./ especially t!t<tl (lie /:iia;t'<{i note /irOiiiise hi tccitthcr i:i<- I lure ,,t> .'<.ii'{ if tea* tcclt to tiefer iff! '?.-;<>:. in.,i " mit,'/ Oil ober. 'I here i.-; no special u iws here. For a few days we have bad b ars of an outbreak in Lr.u'ivi'.s and Newberry, but We bear, yesterday, that the dan ger i-' over. About t!..- United Stales Senator sliipi 1 doii'l know what io say. I huo\i\ eery tvtll thai it ii'l ix kvkiiy .>' a y nil! ill: roll u r. '?? remain tritt rc I. it in fir {fit >..?/ ../' my term: tit HI, I tint cttllt tl a t amlidtf le dljxaili/, and hiv position is just this: It* my friends \vi Ii tnc to bcciiiiK a candidate, for the sake of keeping the party from going over to A'ty)dphitisM% I will stand; but, if' no such need exists, 1 if/iO'ttltt j t'ef e to re lit It ill It it n- I um. II hat the t in nees Are I ha re uo tltcons of ifiies in;/ note. / teilt /???/? my friends \.i atiy vny in my potrc'r, and csjicc tally y()iT; Do i*i11-: Commission* foot i;p idVivn v w i.t.t ? I'lli!!! Kkoakos TO K. Yoiirsj faithfully, Cham uiciti.Aix. Carpenter's Corpus Case. Judge Carpenter 1km rendered his decision in the Smith hithcas corjitts case in which the legality of (.'bam bei Iain's claim lb ollico was involved, lie has decided that neither Hamp ton nor Clinmhorlaiii was legally: in stalled as Governor, that the Gover nor holds his ollico for two years, and until his successor ii choseii, and as there has been no legal qualifica tion of his successor, D. if. Chamber lain is law fully in the possession of the executive ollico and entitled to discharg'j the functions of life same j until such qualification takes ! place. \Yhv Carpenter held back his de cision until lie went to Washington and sloshed around among the poli ticians in that sink cf iniquity is one of those things that no man can tell. Carpenter ran for Governor on the reform ticket in 1870. lie is well known in this community as a very smart man, who understands the law and can administer it- if ho chose*, ' a gnat expediency man with a well developed head but "a damned dis inheriting countenance." Mr. Preston.-Jiowcvcr, disposes of the Judge's decision in the following able review, which we publish entire for the benefit of our readers : fjui heerel in Hiera, liieret in cortice. b'oino judges adhere so faithfully to tho liiere letter of the law, that they ncvcrgoLintot.be heart of a great Oiise involving 'gfea'i principles. Ilerctblbre Judge Carpenter was none of that. sort. Whilst he lacked the diligence and patience necessary to the careful examination of difficult legal questions, he possessed, never theless, in a most remarkable degree, the power lo catch with clearness, as if hy mere intuition, nil the complica ted fuels and legal points involye)l in any case. 1 raving done this, ho did not usually hesitate on matter of mere form, ceremony or immaterial irregularity; but in niost cases deci ded promptly and correctly on the very right and justice of the case. 11. is, therefore, very greatly t<? ho re gretted, that, in deciding (lie questioii: Who i.s Governor of the .State? he ever resolved to put aside the only weapon, the sling, which ho could have used effectually, and to gird himself in the armor of Saul, which he had never proved. It seems lobe a step backward into the region of technicality, and that at a time when ilie Courts o! till the Stales, especially of the great Western States, manifest a most resolute purpose lo slough 6If the unsightly excrescence, which de face and mar the vi.-ago of Justice If Judge Carpenter's only error were obstructing the (low of that healthful current, that would be error enough. Biit his decision i.s worse than that; it is erroneous not only oh ilic "right and justice (d'the ease, but also in ignoring one of the plainest, well es tablished principles of law, known as estoppel. Let us briefly glance at the points involved in that decision. First. He decides that I). II. Cham berlain was not in December last le gally installed Governor of South Carolina. Iii this he was right, but why? Not because, if he was legally elected to that olllce, liviro irregu larities in the form and ccromdn y of invediture could deprive him of it; but because, not having received a majority of the voles according to the face oI the returns, he did not estab lish bis right lo Iho ollivju before the tribunal provided by law, nor before any other legal tribunal. lie wii.s, therefore, not legally installed, even if the Legislature before wh ich he was inaugurated hud buen the lawful General Assembly of the Stale. Seeon ly. Judge Carpenter decides that Wade Hampton was hot legally installed as Governor. W'lvgallg" invariably involves the idea of form, aud the very letter of the law, thou thatd eoision is correct. lbiL il one who i.s legally clouted lo an office becomes entitled to enter upon its duties as soon as ho had done,or offered In do, all that the law requires of him, even although there many b - irregularity in the form of i?veat?re, thou Wade Hanipton is legally tho Governor of South Caro lina. I aflirni that under our Cod is Li l? lion the executive and legislative bra il dies arc distinct an I indepen dent, ami that the unlawful refusal of tho Legislature to iiut.ilI tli3 lo gaily elected Governor cannot do privehim of the right lo perform the duties of the of lice; and that bis righ t in that refipoct inn it bei recog nized by ( very tribunal it it be mani fest on the facts before it. Tho lau giiagobf lhb courts in stich case is this: "Thai which .should have been done, icim Hone." The Senate, oh notice i'lom the lawful House, was bound lo :it tend the installation of Governor. Its refusal to do so was unlawful and revolutionary, and the House did right, to consider^the Son ale as constructively present; and to proceed with the inauguration of llie Govcrncr ds if it were present, The plain doctrine of law upon that subject i.s this: Tho person, or the hody , which causes irrcguhtiity in any procedure is estopped in law from disputing the legality of that which was made irregular by his or its own unlawful conduct. 11 iii Judge Carpenter's third propo sition .Still more completely ignores this doctrine of ostopcl. Governor Chamberlain undoubtedly had the right to hold the olliee, titular his previous term, until his successor was elected and qualified. Hut he went through the form of installation for his second term. Judge Carpenter decides that inas much us that installation was unlaw 1'ul, it was not a rc&iynation of his former term. J object entirely to the use of the word rc.n'yiutli?n in this connection; it does not express, in legal language, tho principle involved in the case. Tho proper word is "estoppel," ami tho legal principle involved is this : "A party cannot occupy inconsistent positions, and where one has an election between several inconsistent courses of action, he will ho confined to that which ho at fust adopLV "Any decisive act of the party done with a knowledge of his rights and of tho fact, determines his choice and works an estoppel." This is the em phatic language of Mr. Jiigelow, our best author oil that subject, and tho doctrine thus slated by him runs like a bright silver thread through ever)' rla-s of cases known to legal tribun als. Thus if one have title to land and stands by in silence whilst ahpth er sells it as his own, the former is lot ever thereafter estopped in law from alleging his own title to tho land. If a widow having a vested estate of dower in the lambs of her deceased husband, and knowing tb it bis estate i.- deeply in ?lebt, noverlho less solemnly elects to accept a legacy in lieu id' dower, .-be is estopped thereafter Iroin claiming her dower, even though the legncv; which she elected nistend of it, be swept away by | her b;t.-!).in l's creditors. The law does not compel one to choose hastily, 01 without a full know ledge of all tho fan's and cir cumstances; but any uno having iln-so and deliberately choosing is bound by bis choice, and, if that fail him, be cannot (lion fail back upon bis old title. Nor does the unlawfulness of the act, in which he participated, whilst indicating bis choice, make his condition any belter. The tenant who attorns to a claim ant of the land, who has no title, does an unlawful act. Under the old feudal system such attornment was quasi I reason to the true lord of; the manor, lint the fact that the new attornment was unlawful docs not save the tenant from forfeiting the lease, by which bo before had a good title. All fraud is unlaw ful; and yet in attempting a fraud one m ay do an act which will ?stop bim from c'aiin ing an important previous right; but whoever henrd before t hat he is re mitted to bis former right, if bis fraudulent attempt be unlawful ? Such a doctrine, if established, woil hi overturn every legal principle which underlies the I cm pics ;df justice. It is not, it catinot be, law or equity. 11 lit let us row apply, ting d >c tritic of estoppel t , Governor Cham berlain's case. lie was Governor of South Carolina, with right to hold over liiitii his successor bad qualified. I.o also c'aimed to to have licen lega?y elected as his own successor. If the matter was contested, bo was entitle I to a trial of his claim in due form of law. With out such trial, he might choose to be inaugurated by the body which then claimed to be tho Legislature of the ?State. AH tho facts bearing upon the legality of that body were then well known to him. He knew all his rights and was fully capablo of understanding all the advantages or disadvantages of choice he might make. If be bad refused to be in augurated by the body which invited him to that ceremony, this refusal would have been an express declara tion of its illegality in his opinion, and as such would have caused it to melt away like u suowliakc, in a single day. He also well kmw that such inauguration would bj such ac ceptance of his alleged now term of ollico as would bo wholly incouii-j tent with any claiiii of right to hold over under bis old term. With all these fa-ts before him,ho dolibira-lely made bis choice, and was in uigura ted. Thereby be hold tog? til or hi* supposed Legislature, and continued the terms of bis temporary control of the Stale House. Having mule that choice, he must stand or fall by it; the law holds him by it. He cannot be Governor in right of both bis u w term and his old one. Tho rights of tho one arc inconsistent with tho rights of tho other, and Bigolow says that he cannot occupy "iuconaixtcut positiints." When, therefore, ho chose to bo inaugurated for bis second term lawfully or unlawfully, by that act ho is estopped from claiming under his right to hold over. If he had par ticipated in tho inauguration of another poison claiming to be Gov or nor, nobody doubts that such par tie pillion would have estopped him from ever thereafter reclaiming the oflicc under iho right to hold over, and how can his case be possibly any better by tho fact that he himself was the now Governor whom he helped to inaugurate. If the pretended maugu ration was unlawful; so much the worse for him. Even without tho priu pi pic of estopped, unlawful acts, where by oncattemps to extend the term of his estate, will cause a forfeiture of that which he previously held. \\. G. PltESSLEY. Plan of Agreement. 1 he following is the complete text of the bill agreed upon by the Joint Committee on Counting the Electoral Vote : A BlI.L TO PT.OVIIJE FOIt AND RK?U I.ATK TIIK COUNTING Ol' VOTES l OK I'KKSIDENT AND VI CK l*KESI DENT AND Till-: DECISION or OCESTIUXS AKISINU THEI'.EON FOll THE TERM COMMENCING MARCH 1, A. 1). 1X77. He. it enacted- ?fr., That the.Sc.iatc and House of lleprcsenta ives shall meet in the Hall of the House of Re presentatives, at tho hour of 1 p. in., on the first Thursday in February, A. I). 1K77, and the President of the Senate .-hall be their presiding officer Two tellers shall oc previously ap pointed on the part of the Senate and two on the part id" the Home of Re presentative?, to whom shall bo hand ed, us they arc opened by t le Presi dent of the Senate, the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of tho electoral votes, which certificates and papers 'shall be opened in the presence of the two houses, and be acted upon in thv alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter A; and .-aid tellers, having then read the same in the presence and hearing ( f the two houses, shall ma Ice* a list of the votes as they shall appear from the said certificates; and the votes having been ascertained and counted, as in this act provided, the result of the same shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the vote and I he names of the persons, if any, elected, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient dcclara tion of the persons elected President and Vice President of the United States, which, together with a list of the votes, shall be entere 1 on the jour nals of tho two houses. Upon such reading ^f any such certificates or paper, when there shall be only one return from ablate, tho President of llic Senate shall call for objections, if any. livery objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the grjund thcicof, ai.d shall be signed by at least one Senator and one mem ber of tho House of Representatives before the same .-hall be received. When a'J objections so made to any vote or paper from a Stale shall have been receiyed ami read, the Senate shall thereupon withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate Tor its decision, and the Speaker of the House of Rep rcsenta tives shall in like manner submit such objections to the House of Represonta tives for its decision, dud no electoral vote or votes from any State from which one return has been rcccivc l shall be rejected, except by the aflir mative vote of the two houses. When the two houses have voted, they shall immediately again meet, and the pre siding officer shall then announce the decision of the question submitted. Six*. 2. That if more than one re turn or paper purporting to be a return from a State shall have been recc.veJ by the President of the Senate, pur porting to be the certificates of elector ul votes given at the last preceding election for President and Vice Presi dent in such State, unless they shall be duplicates of the came return, all such returns ami papers shall be open ed by him inj he pics nee of .he two houses, when inet as aforesaid; and read by the tellers; and all such re turns and papers .-hall thereupon be submitted lo the judgment and do cision, as to which is the true and law fill clcctotal vole of such Slate, of a commission constituted as follows, namely : During the session of each house on the Tuesday iior.t preceding tho first Thursday in February, 1877, each house shall, by viva roicc vote, appoint live of its members who, with the live Associato Justices of^the Su picnic Court of the United Stales, to be ascertained as hereinafter pro vided, shall constitute a commission for the decision, of all questions upon or in respect of such double returns named in this section. On the Tues day next preceding the first Thursday in February, Anno Domini 1877, or as soon thereafter as may be, tho As sociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States now assigned to the 1st, 3d, 4tli and 9th circuits shall select, in such manner as a majority I of them shall deem fit, another of the Associate Justices of said court, which fivo persons shall he members of said commission; and the person longest in commission of said five Justices shall be the president of said commission. The members of said commission shall respectively take and subscribe tho following oath : "I, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm ns tho case may be,) that I will impartially examine and consider all questions submitted to the commission of which I am a member, and a true judgment give thereon, agreeable to the con pi union and the laws: So help me God." Which oath shall be filed with the Secretary of tho Senate. When the commission shall have been thus organized, it shall not be in tho power of either house to dissolve the ha me, or to withdraw any of its mem bers; but if any such Senator or mem her shall die or become physically unable to perform the duties required by this act, the fact of such death or physical inability shall be by said commission, before it shall proceed further, communicated to the Senate or House of Representatives, ns the case may be. which body shall im mediately and without debate pro ceed by t int voice vote to fill the place so vacated; and the persou so appoin ted shall take and subscribe the oath hereinbefore prescribed, and become a member of said commission; and in like manner if any of said Juslijes of the Supreme Court shall die or bs come physically incapable of perform ing the duties required by this act,/he other of said Justices members of the ooni mission shall immediately ap point another Justice of said court a member of said commission; and in such appointments regard shall bad to the impartiality and freedom from bias sought by the original ap pointments of said commission, who shall thereupon i in mediately take and subscribe the oath hereinbefore pre scribed and become a member of said \'0 in mission, to lill the vacancy occa sioned. All the certificates and papers purporting to be ce: tificates of tho electoral votes of euch Stuteshall be opened in the alphabetical order of the States, as provided tu section one of this act; and where there shall he more than one such certificate or paper, as the certificates and papers from such State shall be opened, ex cepting duplicates of the same return, tlioy shall be read by the todera; ami ?thereupon the President of the Sen ate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shad state clearly and concisely and without argument tho ground thereof, an I shall b? signed by at least one Senator and one mem ber of line House of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all such objections so made to any certificate, vote or paper from a State shall have been received and read, nil such certificates, votes and ' papers so objected to and papers ac companying the same, together with such objections, shall be forthwith submitted to said commission, which sha'l pr occcd tp consider the same, with the same powers, if any, now possessed for that purpose by the two houses acting separately or together and by n majority of votes decide whether any and what votes from such State are the votes provided for by the constitution of the United States, and how miiuy and what per sons were duly appointed electors in such State; and may therein take into view .-ucb petitions, depositions and other papers, if any, as shall by the constitution and now existing laws bo competent and pertinent in such con sideration; which decision shall be made in writing, stating briefly the ground thereof, and bo signed by tho members of said commission agreeing therein; w hereupon the two houses shall again meet, and s ich decision shall bo rend and entered in tho jour nal of each house, and the counting of the votes shall proceed in con formity therewith, unless, upon objec tion made thereto in writing, by nt least five. Senators and fivo members ol the. House of Representatives, tho two bouses shall separately coucur in ordering otherwise, in which case such concurrent order, which shall govoru no votes or papers from any other State, shall bo acted upon until tho objection previously made to tho vete? or papers from any State shall havo been finally disposed of. Srcc. 3. That whilo tho two hou ses shall be in meeting, as provided in this act, no debate shall be allow [CONCLUD12D ON LOCAL TAGE.]