Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Inaugural Address. Governor Ellerbe Not Bound by Factional Lines.' The Constitution and Laws Will Be His Guide in All Things.1 An Independent, Manly As sertion of His Purposes. Tho following ia tho inaugural ad drets of Win. H. Ellorbo as Governor Of South Carolina, which was delivered on Mot.day at. noon : Fellow Citlss ns : Vou have called mo to tho highest oiiice within your gift. In assuming tho duties ol this most important trust, 1 cannot express in lilting words n.y high appreciation of tho confidence placed in me. This groat honor, 1 ulruod . realize, carries with it great responsibilities. With out your warm support, upon which f confidently rely, I shall be unable to meet and overcome the many difficul ties already apparent. It has long been the custom of the in coming Governor to outline, in bis in augural address, tho policy of Iiis ad ministration, in obedience to this time-' honored custom, I shall attempt briefly to set before you the course which I shuil endeavor to pursue during my term of olllce. (Julrammelcd by obligations or pled ges inconsistent with the welfare of tho people, it shall be my highest ambition to discharge my duties faithfully and impartially. The solemn oath of office which I have just taken binds me to no political party or fuction, but it docs bind me to preserve, to protect and to defend both the constitution of this State and of the United States. Under our form of government, faith fulness to our fundamental laws and zeal for the public welfare are all that is demanded of citizens assuming public trusts. Tu support the constitution, the foundation of our free gov nrninents, i? the duty of every citizen. Upon this consideration, I have a right to expect the support of all good citizens and you have a right to demand that I, in tho administration of tho laws, glvo "equal rights to all and special privi leges to none." To administer faithfully tho laws ; to lighten, by all worthy means, the bur den of taxation ; to develop the re sources of tho State : to protect the in dustries of her citizens ; to encourage immigration of the right sort: to fos ter our Institutions of learning, both church and State ; to enhance tho olli oici.cy of our public, schools ; to sustain our penal and charitable and other in stitutions?shall bo my earnest desire and unalterable purpose. In matters of detail, bowovor, I deem it best to make to tho General Assem bly by special message, such recom mendations as may from time to time occur to me, and the exigencies of tho case may demand. To the intelligence and patriotism of this body wo must look for the enactment of laws which may best protect the people's interests. 1 huvo neither the power nor inclina tion to forco your representatives to accept my views. At all times 1 stand ready to co-operate with them, to coun cil and to advise. TAXATION. Without taxation, direct or indirect, no government can ho maintained. All patriotic citizens cheerfully bear their part of tho burden of taxation when the affairs of stute are wisely and economically managed. It is only when the revenues of the State are squandered or unwisely and extravagantly oxponded, or when some classes of property escape taxation and tiio burden of supporting the govern ment* is, then-fore, unequally distri buted, that the people complain. It is e'ear then that all taxable property Should be assessed and that great care should bo taken in the equalization of asses-moots. The legislators are tho s' rvunts of tho people, entrusted with the delicate responsibility of appropria ting public funds: and, like good bush ncss men, they should endeavpr to ex pend every dollar wisely and economi cally. To secure the best government, at tho least oxpeose to the people, should bo the constant aim of every legislator. It is tho part of a states man to 6eek to lighten tho burden of taxation when this ean bo done with out detriment to the public interest : but to cripple or destroy institutions, established for the benefit of tho people, merely to reduce the tax rate, is neith ( r wiso bor statesman-like. To pursue I the one course Is to advance : to pursue | ttc other Is to retrograde. It. shall be my policy then, toendeavor to increase, in every legitimate way, our taxable property. This can be done byJoduclog worthy immigrants to our midst, and by teach ing our own people to diversify and im prove In every possible way. it is thus that we shall be able to bring under cultivation vast stretches of rich, mi tilled lands and at the same time, to improve soil already made poor by im proper tillago. Our olimatQ is. per haps, on tho whole, as delightful as any on this continent. Our winters aro short and our summers long, but not warmer than at the North. Stock ro quiro loss food, and man less clothing than in colder sections. Our truck farmers have an immense advantage over thoir Northern com petitors. We aro no longer dependent upon the West-rn farmer for corn and oats und hay and pork and beef. In 8omo sections tobacco culture has al ready become a profitable industry. We havo perhaps the advantage of Northern ar.d Western farmers in many respects, und with cotton as a sure money crop, wo can Offer to immi grants advantages not possessed by ary other section. There is now reason to believe that tho manufacturers of Now England are already looking towards tho South. They are beginning to ro alizo that It Is cheaper to bring their mills to tho cotton than to tuku tho cotton to tho mills. With our splondld water powere, many of which aro un developed for lack of capital, but which, if harnessed for tho ueo of man, would matorially increase our wealth, wo ought, It sooms to mo, to call tho at tention of the outside world not only to theso unparalelled advantages, but also to our genial climate, tho rlchnoss and va.'lety of our soil, our mineral wealth, our splendid forests of plno and oak and hickory and walnut and gum and other varieties of trees. South Carolina ought to becomo a groat manufaoturing State. We need a variety of industries. Thero should bo no antagonism botweon tho farmer and tho manufacturer, between tho olt ^h^^^a^tho town and t he citizen of the la not only depondont, but poor, and the poverty cf tho South in duo not alone to desolation of war, but to tho lack of tho arts and Industries which have mado the North rich. At tho satno time, we should not in our zeal to foster manufactories, commit tho fatal blunder of neglecting or falling to pro too1 our agricultural interests, which lie at tho basis of all our prosperity. Capital, it i? said, is cowardly. At any rate it seeks a solid basis for invest ment. Wo ought, on thie account, to inspire in the outside world the confi dence that legitimate investments mado in South Carolina shall not bo disturbed by unjust legislation, and, at the same time, wo should protect and I encourage industries already estab lished. If wo rigidly pursue this pol icy during tbo next decade, wo snail bo able to double tho material wealth of the Slate, and thereby to reduce tbo rate of taxation by increasing our tax ablo property. DISPENSARY. Tho most diMoult and perplexing problem with which tho people in all civilized countries bhould contend is that of tho liquor trulllc. All tho cherts of tho legislators to cope with thehydraheaded monsterof alcoholism have been unsatisfactory and Inoffeot ual. Prohibition has been tried re peatedly in different States, and, while it has failed to check drunken ness, it has encouraged hypocrisy, evasion or open violation of tho law. Its advocates aro uncpicstiouably In spired by tho loftiest of motives, but human nature remains forever tho same; and, while legislators may enact laws, for the puuishmontof crime, they can never force men to become virtu ous or sober. So vast a problem as that of tho li quor traffic demands fur its soiutiou the co-operation and combined wisdom of all the people. Local option cannot, therelore, settle it, except temporarily and to a very limited extent. The open saloon is a constant menace and a dis grace to civilization. As is well known, I was at first not an advocate of the dispensary law and I was skeptical as t? its ever being u success in aoy form. 1 can not there fore be considered as unduly biased in its favor and I have arrived at my present conclusion In regard to it somewhat against my will. The opin ion reach* d by me, alter a thorough investigation of Us working through out the State, and after having tho views of a good many intelligent and good men, is that the law is a great improvement over tho old license sys tem and that it deserves to bo fully tried, in its present form, before there is any radical change made. Tho proof is overwhelming that there is less drunkenness now than formerly and that the consumption of liquor has been largely decreased. This is ac knowledged by every fair-miuded man, and that tho masses of the people are averse to returning to tho license sys tem in any form is very evident to any man who has mingled with them. ! laving stated my opinion as to tho pol icy tho State bhould pursue, I fool it my duty to enter at somo length on tho workings and merits of tho law, and point out tho severe tests to which it has beei; subjected. It is not saying too much to assort that it has never had a fair chance. Fuaoted during a period of intense political activity, when prejudice and party spirit were running high, it was opposed by many on political grounds purely, without consideration of its purpaso or merit, and every possible obstruction thrown in its way. The Federal courts by in junctions have crippled its enforce ment seriously. After tho Darlington trouble had been quieted tin: decision of tho Supreme Court declaring tho law unconstitutional cum; to undo all tho work that had been done. While it demonstrated the utter futility of prohibition it at the same time initiat ed tlie bale of liquor without license in every neighborhood and many who then began the nefarious trulllc never ceased to follow it, and arts still selling liquor as much as thoy dare. ()f what uso is it to argue that the State should not t-ell liquor to its citi zens or reap a profit from tho " blood money," as somo term it, when they advoeate licensing its sale and thus sharing in the profits mado by the pri vate dealer ? One system is just as immoral as tho other, if there is im morality in either. .Hut the monopoly of tho salo by the State enables it to control in a measure and minimize tho evil, and - he profits which aro but of secondary consideration to the State aro shared by all the people. On the other band tbo licensing of it- sale to private parties would create p. monop oply just as certainly u& tho existing one?a private monopoly which lias never been and will never he controll ed by law, and the profits which then become the paramount object aro shared by the State and the barkeeper. There is a monopoly in cither easo and tie- State in one instance reap , all tbo profits and seeks only to promote tho cause of temperance and reduce tho evil to a minimum. In the other tho profit goes largely to private individ uals and thou: is no thought of redu dng the consumption of liquor and promoting sobriety; while oxperienca lias shown beyond disputo that prlvato gain stimulates the sale in ovory way possiblo and encourages tho evil. There ate no " backstairs, " or 11 sido doors" toll * dispensaries, but there never was barroom which did not sell liquor on the sly on public occa sions when tho law required it to bo closed. Tho dispensary is open only in tl o daytime and whon ordered to be closed, as on circus days and during ttie fair in Columbia, they woroclosed, and but fow drunken men could bo found in tho city, tbc-Ugh the crowd was immense Hie Slate can afford to lose profit on such occasions, but | umb r no system of liconso has it ever ? been poasiblo to shut tho bars. IVivato greed is not to bo controlled and here in lies tho great merit of tho system. Then tho closing of tho dlsponsarics at night and tho destruction of treat ing by forbidding tho sealed packages being opened on the premises. Those throe features aro tho ones which make the dispensary law popular in spite of "shortages" In dispensers' accounts and "rebates," whether real or imaginary. Lot us - try, then, to porfect the system and punish dishon est dispensers rathor than try the old plan which wo know Is less eonducivo to sobriety and good morale. Now, in regard to tho administration of tho law and tho prevention of fraud and stealage, I fcol sure that an in vestigation will show that a great deal has been said about ?'rebates" receiv ed by tho officers charged with tho execution jf tho dispensary law that has little foundation; but should tho contrary bo shown I feel that a system can bo devised or is already In forco which will froe tho law from criticism on that score. My exDorlenco in the comptroller gonoral's office satlfies me that the business can bo conducted In such a way as to prevent stealing, or detect and punish It if the, dtopeusora Or Other officers connected with tho Ul pensary attempt It. Thero Is no reason why snob cheoka and safe guards can not be devised as will pro tect tho stuto's interest as thoroughly of taxos and other public money. The dispensary has becomo a part of tho fixed policy of tbo Stato and a* long as our present constitution remains intact it ;is tho duty of tho Governor .to see that tho laws governing it aro enforc ed, and it ia tbo duty ofall law-abiding citizens to labor for tho same end, or at least to submit to tho provisions of tho law. I bolievo tbo dispensary comes near er to the solution of tho liquor problem than any other scbomo yet propos ed by man. It may bo necessary to modify the law, hut constaut changes aro to bo deplored. Tho dispensers should bo honest men, selected with out regard to party afliliatlons, and when convicted of crime should bo handled liko other criminals. Tho chief dispenser, tho hoard of control and all the higher ollicials should ho men whose honesty cannot bo reasona bly questioned, and who should hold their places on account of fitness and not for political reasons. An institu tion is known by Its fruits, and it is simply a question whether prohibition or tho disponsary system will do most to diminish drunkenness and its ac companying ills Upon moral grounds and only upon moral grounds, tho dis pensary must stand or fall. The pro lit feature is of secondary considera tion. EDUCATION?TUE PU?LIC SCHOOLS. That it is tho duty of the Stato to provido for the education of her child- ! ren is now almost universally conced ed. Ho belongs to the past and not to tbo prcsout who hopes to check tho growing demand for popular educa tion. The enemies of the public school will find tho entire drift of modern civilization against them. All the lead'rg nations of tho earth have founded, and aro still endeavoring to perfect, systems of popular education. Witness Germany with 1'J per cent, and Franco and England each with 10 1-2 per cent, of their population in tho -schools, To bo rol?Ratod to tho roar is tho fato of every State that fails to provido for tho training of her ohildro?. Witness Spain, once tho leading power of Europe, with only 10 per cent.; Italy, once tho homo ofartaud science and culture, with 0 per cont.; Turkey, at once tho shame and disgraco of Kurope, with 2 l-2per cent ; Mexico, with A 1-2. and Brazil with only 3 per cent, of her population at school. The whole h'story of modern civiliza tion teaches that, in tho struggle for supremacy, the sceptre of dominion passes not to the State most richly blessed by uature, but to tho State that best succeeds in training its citi zens for all the duties of life, both pub lic and private, in peaco and in war. In comparison with cold and bleak New England the South is a paradise. And yet it must bo confessed by all fair-minded men that long before the desolating cyclone of war bad swept over our fair fields, power and do minion were already passing rapidly to tho North. Wo were already ap proaching a condition of intellectual bondage in tho South. It has been estimated by oininent authority that this section paid annually to tho North, for many years before tho war, not less than $5,000,000 for hooks and edu cation. When Now England estab lished her freo public schools and strengthened her system of popular instruction, she armed herself with the powor to wrest supremacy from the South, which was content with pri vate and parochial schools, and to make good her claim to leadership far more oU'eetually than she subsequently secured in tho surrender of Leo at Ap pomattox. This is said in no harsh ciiticism of tbo geueration of men now rapidly passing from thostage, whose courage and fortitude were tested on a hundred hard-fought field?, whose "energy mado bricks without straw and spread splendor amid tho ruins of their war wasted homes ;" hut for tho purpose of emphasizing a truth which cannot he too deeply impressed upon the minds of tho men into whose bunds is com mitted the solemn responsibility of moulding tho destiny of the State and of making her future not unworthy of her proud, inspiring past. To see our own short-comings and to rise with linn will to correct past mistakes is tho part of wisdom. Vain conceit in a State is no more to he admired than in an individual. Our schools are not what they ought tobe, in the opportunities they oiler their youth for education, the north ern and western States have left us far behind and this for reasons beyond our control. Tho war left us confront ed by tho most serious educational problem evor thrust upon a freo peo ple?tho problem, it has been well said, of educating three times the num ber of children with one-third tho mouey. Tho war not only robbed us of more than 50 por cent, of our tax able property, but It added atasinglo stroke to our school population hun dreds of thousands of illiterate ex slavos. In spite of despcrato odds, wo have been moving forward, hut tho battle is not yet won. South Carolina has not yet regained her onco proud position in this groat ropuhlic. Sho can never regain it until her people, rising above all partisan hatred, unite, in one heroic effort to mako our sys tem of public instruction inferior to nono. It is tints and thus only that we shall triumph in tho end. Wo should de velop our mines, build factories and improvo tho fertility of our soil ; hut our highest, our most sacred duty now and evermore must bo to improve tho quality of our citizenship, to dovolop tho mind and hearts of tho rising gen eration, for upon their Intelligence, virtuo and patriotism tho destiny of our State dopenfs. fn a monarchy, In an aristocracy, a few great and good men may govern tho stato wisely and well, but In a gov irnmentof tho people, for tho peoplo und by tho poople, illiteracy Is ashamo and a disgraco and a constant monaco to tho safety of the State. All good citizens sho lid unito in tho ctTort to Improvoour public schools ; to lengthen the school term, especially In tho country : to encourage tho foundation of public libraries; to inaugurate a systora of university extension that shall ea:ry scionco and culture to eager minds grasping aftor bettor things ; to increase tho number and efficiency of tho farmers' Institute, now conducted by tho authorities of Clomson collogo. In this groat work of oducating tho masses f pledge my unwavorir<g sup port and sympathy. To our higher in stitutions of learning, tho public schools must loak for efficient, well-trained ' teachers. Destroy or cripple our col leges and you destroy and crlpplo all hope of hotter public schools. As a stream cannot rlso higher than tho fountain head, so will touching in tho puollc schools remain low and unsatis factory until those who aro to ongago in this work seek tho bolter to oqulp tborasolvos In tho higher semlnarleaof loarning. Nor is this all. Tbo pri mary sobool, it is said, has a right to livo booauso it fits peoplo for the duties of oltl/mshlp. But for what diVtios ? To read, to write, to olphor?/ Does this fit thorn for tbo duties of Oltizen thipV For the lowest perhaps, but rhat of the highest ? Do not t^> high est duties require the amplest scholar ship, tho highest aud noblest training that con bo given ? Can tho free school tit for tho highest duties of statesmanship? Assuredly not. For the solution of groat und oft times perplexing problems Involving tho pcaceand proauorityiof all tho peo ple theiStato stands In constant need of men of tho highest scholarship, of tho profoundest knowledge of law ; men whoso mental grasp is largo enough to sweep tho whole horizon ; men able to rise abovo local or oven Stato interests and to act for the common good of tha peoplo of all tho States. It Is tho ehlof pride and glory of our Stato to claim for hor sons men whoso names aro forcvor Inscribed in tho his tory of this nation. Such woro Logare 1 and Sims and Hayno aud Preston and i MeDulfie and the great Calhoun. From ] her hills and valleys may still go forth meu who shall notonly bless tholr Stato und nation, but humanity itself. Again, docs tho common school train men for the professions of law, of medicine ?j Does it equip them for scicntilic pur- | suits P Does it send out expert chom- I ists and geologists and engineers and scicntilic agriculturalists ? It can never train men f<?- t.he mi"'**' ' imi ,Its and p" fcia lie ,.,<cu w ?h? ikiuuaiuui youth ( I tho Stato. For those wo must furnish i ceded training in seminaries of learn ing or look to other States to do for us what we should do for ourselves, und spend money abroad for what tho Stato couid supply. Against such a fate State pride aud patriotism alike rebel. Such a disaster would fall with crushing weight upon the sons and daughters of the poor, who would be unable to meet tho expenses of an education at tho North. Hut wo are told that higher education In South Carolina costs too much. Does it not cost less than any wbcro olse in the world ? Harvard, with her .'I,DUO students, has an annual income of more than $1,000,000 ? a cost of $400 per student, and this, to i, with no account taken of tho millions al ready invested in buildings and books and scientific equipment. Aud yet who will say that tho vast sums invested in this great university fail to bring in adequate returns? Docs Virginia com plain of tho $100,000 annually spent for the ?00 young men at her university. Have not Michigan and Wisconsin aud Minnesota and Nebraska and California been amply repaid for the millions in recent, years devoted to higher educa tion ? A tax of $100,000 for higher edu cation in South Carolina means but little more than 50cents for every t hou sand dollars of taxable property. Such a tax, oven were there no adequate re turns, is no burden to any one. Hut it docs bring adequate returns in mauhood and womanhood. It does, 1 believe, in the long run, pay for the investment in dollars and cents. Thero can be, thero must be no confllotbetween church and Stato colleges. There shoulel be gener ous.rivalry, but open or cuvert antagon ism is disastrous to tho interests of both. Colleges fouudeel by tbeehurehos and by private beneficence have performed, anel are still performing, a great and patriotic service, but ne> Stato should | surrender to private philanthropy or denominational steal its sacred, inalien able right and solemn eluty eif placing within reach of all her children the I broad of knowledge. Zial in cduca- I tional work is contagious. The church I school nourishes best in those States I whero public spirit, rallies to tho sup- I port of tho Stato colleges, or to speak I more philosophically, wherever the church Is healthiest there all public institutions for-the ge>od of men llnd their warmest support. Genuine Christianity enkindles intel lectual life, arouses man from lethargy anel creates within him public spirit anel patriotism anel an unfailing inter est in tho welfare of others. In Mexico, in Brazil, in Spain, wherever in short, Christianity has become stagnant, there all public enterprises languish. Destroy or cripple our denominational colleges and you take from our civiliza tion its strong, unlifting force: but ele stroy or cripple our State Institutions, and ye>u take the reiad which has car ried Spain, once tins leading power and naturally the richest,country of Kuropo, to the rear in tho triumphal march of civilization. There should of cemrso be no wasto in our educational resources. CONCLUSION. Felleiw oitizens, the political cam paign of lS'.iti is over. You have hon ored mo as few men in South Carolina have ever been honorod anel far more richly than I deserve. You gave me, I say it in no spirit of vain glory or of boasting, but in profound appreciation of tho honor bestowed- you gave me in tho Democratic primary the largest mujority ever given a oandldato for Governor. Both factions of the Demo cratic party, as the veite cast indicates, gave mo warm and enthusiastic sup port, such us necessarily could not have boon given to any factional candidate. My constant anxiety shall be not to prove unworthy of your confidence. I am your Governoi thoGovernor of tho wholo people. Our interests aro mutual. It will be base and treacherous and ungrateful on my part and unwise and unpatriotic on your part, longer to fan the tiros of. partisan hatred. On questions of public policy we cannot all agree; but when issues aro settled at the ballot box, we can and ought to sub mit to tho will of the majority honestly expressed. I beseech you to rosolvo on this occa sion to bury all factional feelings and to join hands anel hearts in your efforts to develop tho resources of our beloved State, to build up her institutions, to i promote horovory inter, st. In assum- | ing my olhcial eluties, I pledge you my best services. With all my strength e>f I head and heart I shall labor for the common weal, anil in my official capac ity I shall treat both friend and foo with equal con-ich-ration. I rid myself of all sectional and partisan foldings and hail you all as Carolinians. I love my native Stato. 1 le>vo her people. I am proud of her grand and Inspiring his tory; of tho names of her illustrious sons: of tho thousands of her honored dead whe> sleep upon every groat battle field of their country. I rejoice in the hopo our future inspires, in tho patriot ism of our young manhood and in the solf-sacrllicing devotion of our young womanhood. ? Everybody knows how hard It Is to look entirely unconscious if you havo nothing to put In tho plato when a collection is being taken, but it is an Impossibility in acortain Now York church, whoro tho contribution box ' used contains a small boll concoalod in it, which rings only when a contribu tion Is made. Tho collection Is usual ly taken during tho Rennen, and no stingy churchgoer can fail detection. ?A Chioago clerk recently threw a book agent forcibly out of his office, after refusing to take tho man's card in to his omployor, and was justlllod by tho judgo boforo whom bo was tried for assault who established as Chicago law tho theory that such forcible meas ures in dealing with book agonts woro justifiable. ?Ooly 70 years havo olaspod slnco tho first railway In tho world was fin ished. ? During that comparatively brief period 400,000 miles have boon constructed. Liquor Caii Be Imported lor Personal Use. THE U. 8. BUPttKMK COURT SUS TAINS SIMONTON. Tho Highest Legal Tribunal in tho idtn(i liuids linn the Interstate Commerce Feature of Oar Dispen sary Law is Null uml Void?Justice Itrowu Dissents on High Ground. Tho Supreme Court of tho United States has decided that tho portion of tho South Carolina Dispensary law which provides for tho Inspection of liquors imported iu tho State to be in contravontion to tho constitution of tho United States. Tho opinion, which had beon prepared by Justice Shires, was stated very briclly by Chief Justice Fuller. The written opinion is a very elaborate document, but tho Chief Justice gave a very brief synopsis of it, declining afterwards to givo tho document to tue public. Tho cases at bar were begun iu tho Federal court for South Carolina by James Donald, aoitizonof this State, upon tho seizure of a case of California claret, six bottles of Maryland whiskey and a barrel of Hochester, N. Y., beer, by S. M. Gardner, M. T. Holly, Sr., E. C. Beach and J. Al. Scott, State con stables, acting under tho provisions of the dispensary law directing the seizure of all tho liquors in the hands of any common carrier, agent or pri vate citizen, not sold by tho State agent, whether Imported or other wise. Tho trial court gave Douald judgment for $300 in each case and tho constables appealed. The cases were argued last fall, the validity of the en tire law being brought into question. Tho opinion of tho court stated that tho proceedings were not a suit against the State, which could not be brought without its consent, and that tho plead ings of tho record raised questions which gave the Supreme Court of the United States jurisdiction of tbo whole subject. The. law was discussed at groat length in the opinion and many authorities cited, the result being that the judgment of tho court below in favor of the owner of the liquors was allirmcd with costs, for the reason that the law was in contravontion of the clauso of the national constitut ion re gulating commerce between the. States. Tho opinion conceded that the legisla ture of the State passed the law in what it believed to bo tho exercise of its polico power and with no intention to interfere with tho operation of any Federal law or to discriminate against tho products of any other State, but that intention, it continued, could not finally control the determination of the effect of tho law. The Chiof Justice, said that it was a dolieate matter to pass upon a law looking to the restriction of the traffic In intoxicating liquors, but that when the law itself recognized it as a subject of interstate traffic, it became the duty of tho court to regard it as any other article of commerce, aud to handle the subject accordingly. The Chief Justice declared that tho law did not conform to the require ments of tho Wilson bill for regulation of interstatecornmer.ee in liquors be tween the States. Mr. Justice Drown recorded a vigo rous dissout, saying: "Tho etl'oot of the enactiucntof the Wilson law seems to inc to withdraw intoxicating liquors from tho operation of the commorco clauso of the constitution and to per mit the traffic in them to be regulated in such a manner as tho several States, in the exercise of their police powers, shall deem best for the general in terests of the public This act is not limited in its operation, as the majority opinion seems to assume, to State laws forbidding the importation, manu facture and sale of such liquors, but declares that they shall be subject upon their arrival within tho State to the operation of all its laws enacted in the exercise of its police powers. " Now, as congress has expressly de clared that such articles shall, upon their arrival in the State, become sub ject to its laws to tho same extent as if they had been originally produced there, and as tho dispensary law does not declare them contraband as im ported liquors or because they wore imported, but because they were not bought from a State officer authorized to sell the same, and as the law makes no discrimination In that particular between imported and domestic liquor, it is impossible for mo to see why con gress has rot directly authorized the action that was taken by the State officers in seizing these liquors. " But as I understand, the court bases, to a certain extent, its opinion of tho constitutionality of this act upon the fact that the traffic in intoxicating liquors Is not absolutely prohibited, but is monopolized by the Stale itself through tho agency of a State commis sion. "Granting [that the act gives tho State Itself a monopoly of all the traffic in such liquors, it is not a monopoly in the ordinary or obvious sense of tho term, whore one individual or corpora tion is given the right to a manufacture or trade which is not open to others, but a monopoly for the benefit of tho whole people of tho State, the profits of which, if any, aro enjoyed by the whole people ; in short, a monopoly iu the same sense in which the postolliee department ami the right to carry tho mails, is a monopoly of the federal gov ernment." Quoting Chief Justices Marshall and VVaite upon tho necessity of the ex pediency of tho courts acting with great delicacy and hesitation in declar ing a statute unconstitutional, Justice Brown concluded : " I regard these words as particularly applicable to the dealings by this court with the pro ceedings of a State legislature, and that their right to determine what is for the best interests of their people, should be carefully respected, OXCOpt where it cdmes in manifest conllict with tho dominant law. F.spccially Bhould everything be avoided which carries tho suggestion of a vexatious interference with Stato action. Tho manifest dangers to tbo future of tho country, which lurk in the. inlloxibi lity of the Federal constitution can only be averted by carefully distin guishing between such laws as practi cally 'concern tho inhabitants of a particular Stato only, and aro intend ed bona lido for their welfare, and such as aro a moro subterfuge for an un lawful discrimination and cannot ho carried Into effect without doing pal pablo injustice to citizens of other states. It should not bo overlooked in tills connection that tho complaints in this case emanate from a eitizon of South Carolina, who seoks to defy tho law of bis own Stato and puts forward as his excuse the IcjUStlCO dono tho citizens of other States, who make no complaint of her action in this parti cular. If a Stato cannot prohibit her own citizens from importing liquors, as well as buying them at home, the 'Wilson bill' is set at naught and the prohibitory laws of tho sovoral States rondcred Inoperative In a vital parti cular. The fact ihat thenn liquors wore Imported for complainant's own use, and consumption, IOstoad of for sale, raises no question uudor the Federal constitution. Both are under the ban of tho statute. " I an: uuableto sco how that section of the dispensary act of South Caro lina, which authorized tho seizure inudo in this case, conflicts in auy par ticular with tho Federal constitution." Seuator Tillman is highly pleas ed with tho opinion. He as Governor of the State was responsible for tho Dispensary law, and has been very much interested in tho result of tho litiga tion over the law. Ho says the opin ion delivered does not alTect tho merits of the law as a whole, and that the part covered, applying as it does only to tho interstate commcrco fea ture of the law, really makes tho law in its application to the Stato stronger than it was before. Tillman and Irl], on tlie Dispensary Case, Till; DOCTORS WILL DISAGREE. Tillman Thinks Iii?; Decision Docs Not Hurt tho Law?It'by Relieves tho Law is Dead. Special to News and Courier. Senator Tillman's hobby, (the South Carolina dispensary liquor law), has been ditched by the Supreme Court of tho United States. The Court decided that the law is unconstitutional so far as it seeks to prohibit citizens of the State from importing into the com monwealth liquor for 'personal use. The question whether tho State has the right to engage in tho liquor traf fic was not raiocd during tho trial, hence the constitutionality of the en tire dispensarylaw was not passed upon by the Court. Tho genera) opinion of South Caro linians and lawyers who have followed this interesting case is that tho deci sion practically destroys tho famous liquor law, which enabled Senator Tillman to rise from the. Governor's \ chair to tho United States Senate. Ever since the ChioagO convention Tillman's Infliienco in South Carolina has been on the down-grade, and his political enemies claim that the deci sion of the Supreme Court to day will expedite his journey into political ob scurity. One of the interesting Inci dents of the day was the wide differ ence of opinion between the two South Carolina Senators on this subject. Irby claims to have made Tillman, but re cently they quarrelled and Tillman undertook to displace Irby in the Hen ate with F.x-Governor John Gary Evans, irby joined forces with the Anti-Til)man faction in tho Slate and helped to defeat l.vans with Judge Karle. To-day Tillman and Irby met in the Senate cbambor for the llrst lime this session. Tillman advanced towards bis colleague and extentled his hand. Tho handshake that followed was about us cordial as Corbett and Fit/. simmons will put up if they over meet at the ring side. A few perfunctory words were exchanged and the hated rivals parted. A few minutes later the news reached tho Senate that tho South Carolina liquor ease had been decided against tho State. Here is bow the South Carolina Senators ex pressed themselves on the subject: Senator Tillman said he was the " daddy of the dispensary child, and therefore he was anxious to ascertain to what extent the Supreme Court had mutilated his offspring." There was considerable confusion over tho deci sion of the Court owing to the fact that Chief Justice Fuller announced the decree of the Court for Mr. Justice Shi ras, who was absent from the bench to-day. Tho decision was quite long, and the Chief Justice made but a brief statement of tho Undings of the Court. His condensation was such that it was difficult to determine whether the Court had passed upon the entire dis pensary act, or Simply that part of it which enables parties'to bring liquor into tho Slate for their personal use. After spending several hours In trying to get at tho real scope of the decision Senator Tillman was informell by Mr. Justice Brown, who dissented from the opinion of the Court, that the decision ullicms the decree of the lower court, which decided that it was unconstitu tional for the State authorities to ar rest persons for bringing liquor into the. State for personal use. \\ ith that understanding of tho decision Senator Tillman exclaimed: "That decision does not kill my dispensary law by a jug full. As I understand it tbo de cision simply afUrm8 the decision of Judge Slmonton, Who more than a year ago issued an injunction which prevented the Stale olllcors from ar resting and seizing liquor brought into tbo State for the personal use of the parties interested. It does not go into the general question of the constitu- I tional right of the stale- to traffic in ] liquor. We have h en operating under the injunction of Judgo Slmonton for more than a year, and tho decision rendered to-day docs not materialiy alYcot the existence of the law. Wc will go right ahoad and enforce the law so as not to conllict with the Su proine Court, hut if wo llnd that tho law is not broad enough I will under take to get a special Act of Congre.-.s passed to give us all the power wo do Biro to enforce the law. The light Is not over by a jug full, and we will con tinue todef. ml the dispensary law he cause we believe it is for the good of tho people of the State." " Will not the decision rondorod to day enable or encourage people to evade the law and make combinations to get liquor into the State under the pretext that it is for their personal uso V " "If they do WO will capture their stuff just as we are doing to-day. If any further legislation is necessary, our Legislature is in session, and wo will amend the. law to meet any em ergency that may arise. There is a mistaken idea prevailing in the minds of certain people that the disponscry law was onaoted to give t';,': State rev enue. That was not the intention of tho framers of the law. We want to break up the bar-room system and our tall the consumption of liquors in the State. We don't care anything about the rovonu" we get from it if we can prevent drunkenness and check the InfluenOO Of tho rum sellers in State polities. A great deal has been said about the dispensary law being used to promote tho political ambition of certain men in the Statt:. These charges are without foundation, and it will not do for tho enemies of the law to keep up that old cry." Senator Irby said that he was unable to see tho text of tho decision, hut the impression given him by those who listened to Its reading by Chief Justice Fuller was that tho Court decides the entiro dispensary Act unconstitutional. Ho road Mr. Justice Brown's dissent, Which soomod to take tho ground that the majority of the Court erred in de claring the whole Act unconstitution al. " I bavo always believed in the spirit of tho dispensary law," said Sonator Irby, " but I roalizo that it has boon rendorod obnoxious to a ma jority of tho peoplo of tho State by the methods omployed In executing it. F,vcn if the Court DOS not decided tho entire A<t unconstitutional by deciding tho rntor-State commoroo feature of tho law.unconstitutional, the decision praotlcally sounds the doath knoll of tbo law In South Carolina. i I "Tho law its unpopular iu tho Stato because it increases the price of liquor to tho consumer. 1 appreciate tho fact that the dispensary system is bet tor for tho morality of our people than tho public bar-room system, but the expcutiou of the law has been tainted with scandal, and it h.is boon used for the political advancement of certain persons. "Tito law properly administered, is in my judgment a good law, but it is evident that many of tho objections raised against It are justifiable. The decision of the Court practically kills the law, for under the decisioii of the Court persons uro entitled to go out side of the Stato and purchase their liquor, which necessarily reduces the revenue to tho State contemplated by tho dispensary laws. Form a bus iness standpoint the State can not afford to continue the system, and, therefore, 1 believe the law is dead. Tho returns to the State have not been a> great as expected, besides the pol It cal crimes committed iu the name of the dispensary law combine to render the law generally obnoxious through out the Kt-ate." 1-2VANS' LAST OFFICIAL ACT. His Appeal tor tin; Completion of the Confederate Records. Tbc following message is the last, official act of John Gary Kvans as i Govornor of South Carolina, and is creditable us the closing feature of his administration : Gentlemen of the General Assembly: The report of the commissioner and historian of the Confederate records, which will bo printed and laid upon your tables, has just been handed me. having been delayed by the severe illness of General II. L. Farley, the commissioner. It enter.- into all details couucctcd with the work, Bhowlug both Its ex tent and Importanoo, which tiro apt to bo overlooked by a casual observer. It shews that a great deal has-been ac complished with what was then con sidered by many as a totally inade quate appropriation, and that under a contract to the "lowest bidder,'' work which was considered impossible has been done. General Farley also shows that a large amount of valuable' manuscript work has been and is being accumulat ed, which in the future will become in valuable. 1 submit the report to tho general assombly. regarding you as tho best judges of the amount to be appro priated, but would eommond this work to your kindest consideration, because it is too valuable to be lost or to be neglected. 1 would recommend that the amount suggested In his report of at least$500 to complete tho printing of the rolls, be granted and that such sum as your body may think proper to be given him to look after the matter, which will be delayed by reason of the failure of the appropriation. Tho contract with Mr. Wilson, as tho "lowest bidder," was made under my approval, and as ho has properly equipped him elf for the work, and is doing it so che iply, he is fairly entitled to linifth the job, which in all probabil ity no other printer would undertake now, the great bulk of it having been done. The balance which will be due to General Parley, a? historian, when he has finished aud delivered his manu scripts, should be placod In tho trea sury, subject to the terms and condi tions of the original act. In conclusion, I would say that this important work shoul be porsovored in unlit is an accomplished fact. The State can and will alYo**d to bo not only just but genorous to tho Confederate cause and soldiers, and as General Parley was ono of them, with a gallant record as such and besides has faith fully served the Slate In many other ways, you ought undoubtedly to put. it iu his power to finish this work with credit l?) the State and honor, credit und prolit to himsolf, without haggling ovor tho cost. U tspeclfully, John Gakv E\ ans. Governor. GOLD 1'KYKK IN NORTH GKORGIA Tho out Mines Around Dahloneira Are Open Again- Gold JIunters are Creating a Sensation. A special from Dahlonuga, Ga., to tho Atlanta Evening Constitution gives the following : " The gold fever is on here and it is running higher every day. old pros pector- from Cripple Creek and South Africa are pouring in. and capitalists are taking options US fast as they can obtain them. There is no staking olaitUS here, U9 tbe property is ail hohl under title. One hundred mines arc being developed within a radius of two miles of this town, where a United Slates mint was located before the war. Tho mint, by tho way. coined $20,000,000 in gold, bu*. the dlscovory of the California held and the war broke up mining be re except in it small way and the mint was abandoned, in the old days tho mining in this Held was tili dona by crude methods and more gold was lost than was saved. Nothing but surface ore was worked, as at a depth of about forty feet BUl* phurots wero*oncountored and the amalgam plates would t.ot catch that, " Recently Mr. A. French, of Pitts? burg, i 'a., the largest steel spring manu facturorln the world, has demonstrated that the ohlorinatlOO process Is an eco nomical way of treating these ores and assays of the tailings from the old mills show from $20 to $100 per ton value, Whloh has been allowed to escape. The old mine- arc being oponed and assays from shafts leu foot deep give valtlOB running from >S> up. "Metz, thu Philadelphia brewer, and Christian Wahl, of Milwaukee, have obtained very rloh assays, tho hitter having had ore to run as high as $1,100 to the ton. Judge Morris, of Tennessee, who is tunneling a moun tain near here, struck three: rich veins, which run from *2'.i to $500. All this ore is saprollto, or partly decomposed and < isily mined. " The belt is of great length, Tho Crcighton mine, on one of these voins, twenty-live miles southwest of hero, yielded bs.uuo pennyweights lust year and the capacity is to bo doubled. Popo & Dye at rJoily Springs arc said to have taken out $40,000 in tho lust few months, using a ten stump mill. " Prospootors from South Africa say that this belt is full of mines richer than the famous Robinson mine, and they all say that this la destined to bo u wonderful mining cam p. ?? The whole section is wild with ex citomervt because the more that devel opment work goes on tho grcalor uro tho results. Veins which are more ribbons on tho surfaco run together at varying depths and widen out to ton, fifty and one hundred feet with in creasing richness as they g.o down. < >ne compuny Is being organized to put In a largo plant with a two hundred stamp null and another syndicate is , getting roady to put In a 250 stamp mill with a ohlorlnation plant largo enough to treat all the oonoontrat.es i from 500 stamps." WAY8IOK OATH ICKINGS. Hits oi Humor mill Nugjcote of Truth ibr tllO l?l uli it mir ?A pound of phosphorus make ],(i00,000 matches. ? A million tons of loe aro oxpooted this year from tho Kennoboo rlvor alone. ?To be able to say no at tho right time Is better than to bo ablo to speak half a dozen languages. ?A clever Parisian has invented a maehlno which cau split ono human hair lengthwise into HO strips. -President Cleveland will bo 00 years old two weeks after tho expira tion of Iiis present term of olfico. -M. Nobel, tho inventor of dyna mite, who has just died, was a singu larly gentle aud mild-maunercd man. -California now has ovor ;i5,000 acres of almond orchards, ropresont Ing an Investment of moro than $10, 000,000. ?A clock keeps its baud boforo its face, probably because it is ashamed of tho cowardly way in which time Hies. ?The cigarette fiend smokes to kill time, but usually discovers that time can stand tho racket longer than ho can. ?Don't try to get rich all at onco. Any one can be sure of a competency who has sense enough to keep what he earns. ?In a breach of promise caso tho lover was convicted of writing, " Ml hart beets only for tho, Ml darling bun ney." ?Savo in the Ottoman Emire, Per sia, Arabia, Slam, China and tho In terior of African countries, slavery is now extinct. ?In Melbourne a woman gets two pence, half penny for making a shirt, while a Chinaman gets live penco for wash!og it. ? In the l'abst brewery at Milwua kie is a machine whioh corks, wires, and cups 10,000 bottles per clay auto matically. ?A strong microscope shows tho single hairs of the head to bo like coarse, round rasp, but with tcoth ex tremely irregular aud jagged. ?The lowest temperature ever re eorded was on Docombor 'M), I871t by Professor Gornohon, at \\ rchojausk, Siberia, SI decrees below zero. ? According to college statistics, Glrard college, Philadelphia, is the rieht st college in this country, having over $11,260,000 of endowment. ?The speculative astronomers aro now arguing that tho moon is in tho shape of a plumb bob, and that tho largo end is always toward the earth. 1 ?In the last 20 years the Southern Stat- s have expended $8,000.000 for negro schools. Nearly every dollar of this vast sum was furnished by tho while poopld. ?Steel pens are destroyed by cor rosion from acid in the ink. If a nail or some old steel pens are put in tho ink the acid will exhaust itself on them, and t he pens in use will not cor rode. ?All experience teaches us that wo become, that which we make oursolves. We strive against tho inclination to do wrong, wo strive for tho inclination to do right, and little by little wo bo come that for whioh we strive, Every day's effort makes the struggle easier. ?"The reason bicycles cost so much,''explained the agent, "isthat the cost of manufacture?" "Thoroa son bicycles cost so much," interrupted tho rider, " is that people aro crazy enough to pay so much for thorn. And the tlgCUt did not feel that ho was justified iu entering a denial. ?At some of the Pennsylvania mines coal is Belling for 55 and 00 cents a ton, and the miners aro paid 70 cents. The owners of the mines appa rently lose money on each ton of coal taken out. but as many of them aro interested in the railroads which carry the coal to market, they probably more than make good the loss. ~ ?.? i MOODY'S BIRTHDAY GIFT. Friends of the lOvnngelisl Will l'ro sent Mini With a Chapel. An event of considerable interest and importance in the life of Dwlght L. Moody will take plaee on February ?">, when Mr. Moody will be sixty years old. A number of his friends aro working to raise a fund ' of $25,000 to erect a chapel for the famous summer school at NorthUold, and it is confi dently expected by the committee that the whole sum will be raised by Feb ruary 5, so that the chapel may be pre sented as a birthday gift. Mr. MoodyV English friends also aro deeply Interested In this matter, and tho liov. Dl?. M. K. Meyer, tho colo bratcd English evangoltst who will arrive in New York February 3, has been especially active. Tho purpose is to raiso half of the amount in euch country. Dr. Meyer, writing from London recently, expressed tho feeling" of Mr. Moody's English friends as fol lows: "Foryears ho has wished for. this (tho chapel; and it ought not to " bo dlllioult to raise that amount for* ot,o to w horn wo are all under obligation, who has never asked sixpence for him self.'1 The chapel, when built, will practi cally complete the chain of NorthUold school buildings which has teen evolv ed during tho pasl Iifteeu years. Tho Norlhiicld school and its summer con foroncos havo becomo famous. Some of the most prominent religious speak ers and workers In tho world havo been heard in the large NorthUold mooting.^. This pleasant Massachusetts town has become, the gathering place for hundreds of young people, and tho student conferences, one of tho most cent idoas, haVO been very success ful. The NorthUold Seminary for Young Women was the first institution start Od there by Mr. Moody. About 400 students were enrolled last season. Three courses of study are olTurcd? the college prcp.iraloi y course, tho general courso, affording largersoopo in elootivus, and the English courso. Tiie seminary Is non-sectarian. Since it was established, in 1870, tho numbor of students enrolled has been 1,070. The tuition is a year, but thocost of each pupil is about $200, tho deficit ii dng made up by subscriptions. The Skinner gymnasium was oponod in September, ls'.'>. It contains a bowling ulloy, swimming tank, dress ing rooms, a running track and modern athh tic apparatus. Tho conferences began in a small way In 1880, and have grown ovory yoar. The student conference is now held during the last week in. /uno and first week in duly, and the tyoung wo men's conference is held lu tho c*/t* part of July. There Is also a woi V conference, especially for Hiblo.t^/* , ers, and great attention is also i ?*? to tho work of tho Young Men's ( tlan Association. Many of the') men camp cut in tho pleasant st now popularly linown as Camp Held)