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1 1 I "fASi 1\n I QI XIII. I;nT ?,oinANM EB 00tIS I8MNT NEWIERRIY, S. C., WEDNESDAY, FEBRIUARIY 23, 1887.,.C OE.Pbihr tdJrpitr O Att IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE STATH SUPREME COURT. Thb Jurisdiction of Trial Justices in Cases of Petit Larceny. HE ZNTWs AND COURIER BUitEAU, 101 MAIN ST., COLUMBIA, Feb. 16. } Quite a sensation was caused in the legal circle of Columbia to-day by the announcement that a decision hd .been filed in the Supreme Court that trial justices had no more juris 46iton.in cases of petty larceny any more than they had in cases of mur der. A representative of the Bureau acoertained that such a decision had been fled, and as it is of importance tpf very trial justice in the State, lie obt ted a copy of the document. Hereafter every person charged with petty larceny and brought before a trial justice will, if the evidence is Bumotent, be sent to jail to await trial lb the Court of General Sessions, un. less a,bond in given. The jails, of course, will- soon be overstocked. The following is the decision : - he State of South Carolina -In the ,Supreme Court-November Term, 1886--.The State, respondent, vs. lftobert Jenkins, appellant. OPINION-SIMPSON, C. J. The appellant was indicted for perjury, charged to have been com mitted by him in a previous prosecu tion against him for petit larceny be. fgre a trial justice. The Judge was e ested to charge that a trial jus. stl had no jurisdiction in cases of petit larceny, and therefore that per jury could not be committed in such - a case. Tis request was refused, where. upod the defendant was convicted. The only question in the appeal is, was it error for the Judge to refuse appellait's request, which raises the question whether or not trial justices have jurisdiction in cases of petit lar. ceny.. Section 19, Article I, ot the, Con stitution, provides, that. justices of the peace, or other oflcer authorized tyf' law, * * * shall have juris. diction in all cases less than feloi.y where the punishment does not ex coed a fine of a hundred dollars, or imprisonment for thirty days, and 'that such offences shall be summarily tried by them. a a * There is no doubt that a trial jus. tice falls undhr the terms "other of1. per authorized by law," and that he has all the powers conferred by this section of the Constitution. State v& Fillebrown, 2 S. C., 404. It is apparent, too, that this section con fere'upon him juriediction in all of fences under felony where the pun. Si slament does not exceed that men tioned above. Section 4,498, General Statutes, deolafes that larceny of goods * * * l elow the value of twenty dollars shall be -a misdemeanor and consid. ered a petit larceny. We suppose the previous prosecution before the trial Justice was for a larceny . of goods below the value of twenty dol. , ,It was, therefore, a misde. meanor, and consequently less than felony, and to that extent having one ,of the elements necessary to the ju rhadiction.of the trial justice. The other element, however, is equally necessary, to wit, the charac ter of the punishment, the limit be ing thirty days imprisonment and one hundred dollars fine. Is that the punishment of petit larceny? There seems to be no punishment, strange to say, affixed to this offence by our Statute. Section 2,498 supra, describes the offence, to wit, the steal ,ing of goods * * * below the value of twenty dollars, and declares that if considered to be a misdo. *meanor and petit larceny, but omits punishment. Nor have we found any other Act aiing punishment Shereto. Under :these circumstances .we must look to :the common law for the p)unishment. Misdemeanors at ibommon law are * punishable by fine or ingprisonment, or both,.according t9 the degree.1 Russell on Crimes, jpage 45. But tihe limit is not flied. No that there is no express law either found in our Acts of Assembly or in the common law which limits th,e punishment of this offense to a line of a hundred dollars and lrmpri%onment for thirty days. un the cpntrary the State vs. Williams, 18 S. C., 11, expressly (10. thbat it inot so limited, and on h. that.ac unQnt kat case holds that the Court otIeO oral Sessions has jurns. dicotion, o 'rruling the case of the State v. H 1,rper, 6 8. 0., 464, which held that tha Court of General See sins had n o Jurisdiction in .petit larceny, thee jurisdiction beingex cluslvely In Courts of trial justices. Ir, then, thPi unishmient is not 1im Ited, which w nave se en in the case groan ap e,/ mination of both tihe State and the elb'enmwon law, and which, as We-have said, above, has been cx ~ressly so decI, ed in tihe case of the A vs. WIlIl~ ams, supra, we do not SEeQW triaI/' justices can have any Jarledigion7~ as the second clement neesa to4 such jurisdiction is vaht7i . he certainly cannot take ha jurisdiction under Article I, Section 19, of the Constitution, as the juris. diction there conferred is conditioned 2 expressly upon the fact that the judg ment does not exceed the limit men. tioned. Article IV, Section 18, of the Con. stitution, confers on the Courts of ( General Sessions exclusive jurisdic. tion over all criminal cases "which shall not be otherwise provided by law." Now when the Constitution was adopted with these two sections I in it. inasmuch as justices of the r peace or other cfilcers authorized by 1 law could have jurisdiction only in cases where the punishment was lim ited, as specified in Article I, Section 19, and inasmuch as the punishment of petit larceny was not thus limited, the jurisdiction of petit larceny, "was not otherwise provided by law" and consequently under Article IV, Sec tion 18, the Court of General Ses. sions had exclusive jurisdiction. 1- as that jurisdiction been lost since the adoption of. the Constitution? It could only have been lost by some provision of law enacted since the adoption of the Constitution con. ('erred jurisdiction upon -some other Court, because Article IV,-Section 18, provides that the Court of General Sessions shall have exclusive juris. diction in all criminal cases "which shall not be otherwise brovided by law." Has there been such provision? If the General Assembly had since limited the punishment of petty lar. ceny as mentioned in Arti^,le II, Sec tion 19, they, under the language of the Act, would have conferred ex clusive jurisdiction upon trial justices and consequently would have ousted the jurisdiction of the General Ses sions, as by such Act punishmen't in such cases would have been "other wise provided by law." But no such Act has been passed, and because no such Act has been passed this Court decided in the State. vs. Williams, that the Court of General. Sessions still has jurisdiction. Section 826 of the General Stat utes, however, expressly confers ju risdiction in cases of petit larceny upon trial justices, notwithstanding the fact that the punishment has never been limited to a fine of $100 and imprisonment to,thirty days. If this Act is of force it has certainly enlarged the jurisdiction of Trial Jus tice Courts beyond its constitutional provisions. Can this. be done? It might be that it would be competent for the General Assembly to confer incidental po-ers, and perhaps ad. ditional duties upon a Court organ ized under the Constitution, besides those mentioned therein, but it could hardly enlarge its powers as to the matters for which it was expressly constituted. Here the Trial Justice Courts have been organized under the constitution, with certain. powers conferred by that instrument in crim inal cases, this'risdiction being de pendent upon the' character of the punishment to be inflicted. This, it seems to us, is in effect confining these Courts to such cases, and the General Assembly would have no pIower to extend their Jurisdiction be yond this constitutional boundary. C But It may be said that the Act conferring the jurisdiction on Trial Justices necessarily--proprio rizgore. reduces the punishment of' petit lar ceny to the limit mentioned, because the trial Justice cannot, under thme Constitution, sentence beyond that limit. This is met again by the State vs. Williams, supr'a, which, as as we have said, decides that the pun. ishment has not been reduced, and consequently the Court of General Sessions has jurisdiction. So that if the two positions be correct, we have the strange anomaly of the same offence being snbject to two different punishments. dep)ending upon the Court in which tihe prisoner may hap. pen to be tried and convicted. Upon the whole our conclusion is, that. trial justices, in the absence of any law limiting t'.me punishment to $100 flne or thirty days imprisanmient for petit larceny, and without jurisdic Lion. It is the judgment, therefore, of this Court that the judgment of the Circuit Court be reversed. Mr. H. C. Patton, who is a grad. uate of the South Carolina College law class, and who was admitte A to the Bar a year ago, took this caseI before the Supreme Court. iIe rep. resented tihe defendant, and as the result of his argument the Court ren dered this important decision'. W. E:. G. A Bakery for Lauren. t Mr. Henry Wright and his brother T. RI. Wright, who has been runnine a bakery in Newberry for several years past, will establish a first-class bakery in Laui-ens some time next week. Such an enterprise is needed here and should receive a full share of patronage.-Laurenville Herald. If You Wanwt a Good Article t Of PLUG TOnACCO, ask your- dealer for . "01 OlUip." te PROGRESS FROM POVERTY. Ir. Edward Atkinson's View of the Economic Situation. New York 'Pmes, February l0th. If the members of the Ninetenth ,entury Club and- their friends do ot awake this morning after a night u which statistics have played an nportant part in their dreams when be interest which they displayed %st evening while Edward Atkinson soled off numbers to them for an our didn't mean what it seemed to neau. A theatre party could have een hardly better pleased, and hen Mr. Atkinson made his parting ow he was rewarded in a way that ertainly would have compelled an ncoro under other circumstances. Ie came here on an Invitation to talk efore the club on "Progress from 'overty." When the lecture began he attendance more than filled the arge hall at the American Art Gal eries and overflowed into the corri lors. Tne speaker did not partake of the ommon belief that 68,000 votes for Jenry George indicated dangerous ymptoms, but rather a wholesome gitation. Laboring men had no vish to destroy the country, for had hey been so minded they could have lone it long ago. Mr. Atkinson lrew from under his desk a stone xe, cut by "prehistoric man," and a nodern fifty-cent hatchet. They gave ilm his text. The maker of the axe was a greater apitalist than the hatchet maker. L'he latter saved labor. If a capi. alist saved what would otherwise be vasted, of what harm was the capi alist. Of old he kept everything to iimself; now he had to allow others o share the benefits of his work, dore than 90 per cent. of the peo >le enjoyed substantial equality now. L'he rich had more clothing, but the oor wore out more. In fuel they vere equal consumers. The greatest lisparity between the two was in helter and in the control of their ime. Subsistence was now so bundant that there was complaint f overproduction. There was more apital than could be used. A great cry went up eternally ibout the railroads. For his part he vould rather have the Vanderbilts arry his trunk than to carry it him. elf. They could do it cheaper. All nodern agitation led him to con lude that social and political con: litions were to be imp)roved by evo. ution, not by revolution. There was iot an art in which the profit was not ess than the waste of twenty.five rears ago. The margin of profit had eccome very small. If men became ich by saving the waste and apply. ng it to the benefit of labor, who uffered ? . Experience showed that the great emedy for Socialism was the devel cent of the individual and the ed. ication of the young. Labor was ast learning that diminished profits nd prices went hand in hand with Igher wages and lower cost. ~he earning power of capital had de reased since 1860 from 8 to 4 per ent., while labor's condition had mproved. The very poor were not core numerous than formerly, in lie organization of labor was ound an attempt to equalize the lisparities of modern conditions. ligh wages were the corelative of ow cost. Pauper labor was to be eared only by those of pauper in eligence. Mr. Atkinson said lie and investigated fifty arts. T1hey all howed progress developing from overty; high wages with diminish d profits, and on all sidea an ap. roach to more equal conditions of lie employer and laborer. WVhen Mr. Atkinson rolled tip his harts and settled himself comforta ly amiong the audience, his paper as discussed by Prof. .Edmund L. ames of the University of P'ennsyl. ~ania and by others. BILAINE'S NEW IIOPEc. ecling Ills WVay to the White IIouse T1hrough the Question of National Defense. AUaUS-rA, ME., February 15.-It as leaked out that Mr. Blaine is en eavoring to make peCrsonal and Party capital out of the coast do. enees and the increase of the navy uestions. Bllaine believes that the country is Ipe for promplt action on the part of )ongress, and lie thinks that failure o consent to a comprehensive sys em of fortifications, as well as a onsiderable enlargement of the anvy, will react on the Democratic arty. With this idea in his mind lie has 'assedi the wordl to his followers at Vashington to (10 all in their power o cause that class of (.he Demio. ratio Congressmen who oppose lib. ral appropriation to persevere in bher course, and to allow the pro. osed measures now before Congress o go by dfaulnt. The exact manner in which the astute aspirant for the Presidei.cy expects his scheme to be accom plished does not appear, but the truth of.the above statement there is no question. It is understood here that the speech of Mr. Reed of Maine, in the House of Represe3tatives a few days since, in -vhich he challenged the Democrats on the subject of coast defenses, was in accordance with Mr. Blaine's plan of action. Mr. Blaine utterly refuses to ex press himself to newspaper repre sentatives. When the card of a member of the press is sent to hii he writes on the back, . "Not in. J. U. B." NIPPED IN TiHE 3U). Opinions of the Press on the Preal dent's Voto of the Great Pension Steal. From the Neto York World, Dem. The President has performed his duty and met the expectations of the country in vetoing the so-called "Dependent pension bill." The rea. sons which he gives for his action are cogent and conclusive. From the New York Herald, Ind. The veto will gratify every honest soldier and every taxpayer. The President has done himself honor and established a fresh claim to the confidence of the country by it. From the Wash. National Republican, Rep. This country to-day has the re makable spectacle presented of a Democratic President vetoing a gen eral pension law in order to enable Congress to reduce the war taxes, and a Democratic Speaker of the Democratic House of Representa. tives using his power to gag Con gress to prevent the removal of the war tax )pon tobacco. From the Savaanah Neus, bern. The President vetoed the depend ent pension bill, and in doing so he showed that he has more moral conr age than either the Democrats or Re publicans in Congress. From the Colutmbus, Ga., Inquircr-Stun, Dem. If the President does nothing else during his term of office, this act alone earns his salary. From the Petersburg, Va., Index-Appeal, Ind. The President has not disappoint. ed the people, so far as the twelve dollars-a-month pension grab is con. cerned. From the Mtontgomcry, Ala., Advertiser, Dem. Cleveland will be the next Presi dent. his veto of the pauper pen sion bill, which would have taken un told millions out of the treasury and made the American pension roll larger than the actual roll of any standing army of the world, entitles him to the united support, not only of his party, but of . all patriots of every party. It is not once in a century that a man so firm to do right gets into the service of the peo0 ple. From thse J)altimsore ,Sun, Dem. In returning the dependent pen 810on bill to Congress without his ap proval the President justified the es timate the country has formed of his intelligence and patriotism. A more dlemagogue would p)robably have signedl the bill, bad as it is, hoping for p)rofit to I)imself and party from winning the so-called soldier vote. But President Cleveland was proof againset the muotives thlat swayed tihe maljority of tile Senate and of the House, and dared to take the sound position that the large class of per sons to be benefited by the baill were not entitled ?0 penfsionls. From f/he New Yor,k T'ime., Rep. It is plain that hIe has been in fluenced by a sense of dluty, and thlat he ns disregarded some p)olitical considerations wvhich, with a weaker man, or one less loyal to his convic tions, might have had much weight. From f/he Washsington P'osl, Dem. He will hear from it-in thec snarl. ing censure of miere p)artisanls whlo have complacently learned to regard the war as their p)ersonal legacy, and in the praise and npproval of tile great mass oh the commou p)eop)le of all sections, alike theo tax-p)ayinlg civillian and thle honest and honored veteran. Fr,om f/he New York ,Susn, Ind. Dems. At last Mr. Cleveland hlas written "I forbid" Onl a bIg peOnsion steal. Good for Mr. Cleveland. F'rom f/se Bltimore Ierald, Recp. President Cleveland hlas vetoed tile ",paup)er pension bill," and thle coun try will not be apt to find fault with Ihim for so doing. Fro the Ausgosfa, Ga., Eccening' News. Dem. President G;levclanid had theO nerve andl manShoodI to veto the in)famlous dependent pension bill, notwithI standing this proposed huge robbery hlad passed both houses0 of Congress. It was infamously wicked and cor rupt, and every member of Congress, Ti especially from the South who gave it his support, should be held to a strict account by his constituents. Mr. Cleveland was too honest and patriotic to put his signature to such a measure. "rom thef Au/usla, Ga., Chronicle, Dem. i' The President deserves and will 1c receivo the applause of the over- li whelmin g majority of his country- n 1men1 for his veto of the dependent Oi pension bill. A more daring and to outrageous raid upon the treasury be was never perpiCtrated. It was time ex to call a halt upon these pension it swindlers, and we are glad that Mr. mn Cleveland had the nerve and con. c science to do so. A Break in the Cabinet. )III A VAsiIINo"ToN, February 17.-The tli resignation of Secretary Manning wi breaks that unity in President Clove. "n land's Cabinet which he had hoped f to preserve to the end of his term. Urc President Pierce alone of all the gr Presidents kept his Cabinet intact fm through the four years of his admin. istration. W ashington had two Post. she masters General in his first term. l Jefferson, through his second .term, ti had two Attorneys General; Monroe, si during his second term, two Secre taries of the Navy; John Quiney Le Adams, two Secretaries of War. Mr. '1 liayes, who was going to keep his tal Cabinet officers together through the A four years lie was in the White I louse, a had two Secretaries of War and " Navy and two Postmasters General. m Even during the term of Franklin pi Pierce there was no Vice.1'resident, cam Mr. King having died six weeks af. tal ter the term began, so that there has . has never been an administration is that ended as it began. There were two Presidents pr,o len of the Senate between 1853 and 1857, the time Mr. Pierce was President. S< hi Serious Results of a Joke. M I1 A few days ago a young white man named Cureton and a colored man .i named White, both butchers, impro. vised a guessing match at the weight th of' a cow and each backed his judg ment to the amount of one dollar. The stakes were placed in the hands o of E. A. Carter'. Mr. Cureton won c and demanded his money, but Mr. Carter declined to deliver it and (I spoke of having the parties prose cuted for betting, his purpose, he M says, being only to tease them. At last a warrant charging him with G breach of trust was sworn out and the case was heard by Justice Earle G on yesterday, W. A. Williams, ap. pearing for the prosecution and J. T. T Nix for the defense. After hearing the evidence and and arguments the G Justice decided to send the case up for trial. Mr. Carter offered to hand Cl over the stakes if the prosecution would withdraw the case, and the Trial Justice would remit the costs. The prosecution was willing, but Mr. of Earle thought that as the costs under the new law go to the county, he had i no right to remit them, and tihe case was sent up, tile defendant giving bail for his appearance.-Greenville '. News. Decath of Solicitor JBlonham. Trhe anniouncement of tihe death of IRichard 0-. Bonihami, whlich occurred aut 3.415 o'clock yesterday afternoon, was received with universal sorrow. Mr. Bonham had been in failing Ilealthl for some time, andl fears had co been felt for his recovery, but the re andl was oiy none thought to beC so 50 scear. ti; Mr. Blonhiam was in thle 38th year in f his age. Born in Edgeflel, lhe th abere received his early education, co 20mpleting it at the Unaiversity of' cc Virginia. HeI was admitted to thme ha mar in 1870, and1 practiced in copart- gr, aership with his father Ex-Governor te, MI. L. Bonham. In 1880 hie wvas m< Zlectedl Solicitor of' the Fifth JTudicial In Wircuit, andl was rceeectedl ini 1884f. we I'hc diuties of this ofice he dischniged bu lrmly, faithftully and elleiently. In 00 hie course of his ofilcial Ilfe, Mr. N< Blonhmam had -frequent occasion to 5j3 visit Columb,ia, and( lhe made here a 00 large circle of' friends driawin to lhin Cir by his warmth of heart aind his hiighi "r sharater.-Colanm>ia ReCcord(, IFe>. 16. C Y. M. C. A. ln 05 Pastors and Christian workers in sa, hie v"arious towns andl cities of South tra Warolina, interested in I le work of to. le Young Meni's Christian Asso. it iation, and who are dlesiious to un- ce lertake speciah hristian work in sI( ~heir communities in behalf of' young l)C nen in conlnectio)n with that organi- ca sation, are earnestly requested to sonulnuniicate with me at once. I jej lesire to devote a monthm's time pri\. aedinig our next State Convention, wlhch convenes in A pr'il, in organ.-' zing and visiting existing Associa. in Ions, andl stiimulating thle wvork pr' ~enerally throughout the State. ap . II. 0-. ScunDAY, in ae Connantttee l.ocate the tiun1ding for the South Carolinn Exhibit. Sparlutnburg Herald. On Tuesday evening Col. Butler, Con sslonor of Agriculture, Col. Duncan, 'esident of the State Agricultural and ,chan ical Society, Col. LIpscomb, tster of the State Grange, and Mr. che, arrived on the Columbla train to ,ate the building for the South Cairo a exhibit at. the Grange Encamp !t. The building is to cost $1,000. Wednesday morning they went out the Encanmpment ground w.ith a numn r of our citizens. The grounds have on cleared of all the forest growth cept such as is Intended Onr, 'tade. wonld be hard to 1111d In th b,ato a >e) suitable place for the Encamp mt, ani the commissioners were armed with it. There Is nearly a arter of a mile front along the rail id--perfectly level. It Is along thia e the building will all be erected. bro'id avenue will be made between se bui;dings and the railroatl, and LI be extended around the Encamp mt, forming a charm lug drive anl a e course for the display of speed by t, horses in addition their will be it >ad avenue down the centre of the minds. - This vill lead t.o the stalls animals in the rear. l'he "Tabernacle'' will be a largo ,lter 80 by 100 feet. It will be thIe ice for the speeches and lectures, and 11 he locatedl near the the centre of Encampnetit, oni a ground Just ping enough to give every one an y view of the speaker. 'Taniler & umaster ht.tve alreatly contracted for build<ing of the Tabernacle for $2-15. ethree shares whieh they agree to Swill m:ake the net outlay only $215. pile of logs has already I.een hauled, aw mllI is to be brought there, andi rk will be coniIced ini a few days. hMe visit ing gentlemen seemed greatly lresst'd wil ii tlhe advantages this Ice will oler, not only for the E ' npment:, but also for the experilmen at aLlon, which is to be establishel ia hort time. There is no doubt that, thi.; the place for it. The Royal Arch Masons. The Grand Council of R1oyal and lect Masters met in annual assen y yesterday, at 10 o'clock, at the asonic Temple, Charleston. Most ustrious Grand Master W. W. umphries, of Anderson, S. C., pre led. After the reading of the address of e Most Illustrious U rand Master, d the presentation )f reports from c Grand Treasurer and G rand Re rder and Lhe several committees to mom the several paper3 were re 'red, the following officers were eted to serve for the ensuing year. G. T. Berg, of Columbia, M. I. 0. aster. A. H. White, of Rock Hill, Dep. Master. W. 11. 1). Gaillard, of Pendleton, , C. of Works. C. F. Jackson, of Columbia, G. 'easurer. Zimmerman Davis, of Charleston, Recorder. Rev. J. M. Boyd, of Chester, (. aplain. J. E. B3razeale, of Anderson, G. irsIial. Ed. Scholtz, of Newberry, G. Capt. Guard. W. T. Branch, of Abbeville, G. inductor of C. Alex. Lindstrom, of Charleston, G. o wardI. L. F. Mcer, of Charleston, G. n tineci. Thie grand officers b)eing dluly in. dIled, the Grand Council was closed (duc form. 0 Inc(rease in the Conusumptlonm of Cotton. Theii PnwnciaLl Choronicle, wh li ch is uisidered authority on all matters ating to the cotton trade, p)resent8 mec facts regarding the consumip. 'i of the stap)le which arc of some ,crest. T1hie stat,iotics p)repared by it pulblication indicate that the ulsump)tion has materially in. ~ased, and is now larger' than it s been ini any previous year. T1hec >wth ini consulmmption in] the past years has been relatively much >re rapid inm thae Southern States, 1 87't the conisumiptioni in the South s reported at G3,000,000 porund(s, t ini I88G it was no less than 155,. ),000. T1h,e consumption in the >rthecrnI 1m1is has ri sen from~ about 7,600,000 pounds iln 1876 to 756, 3,000 pound(s in 1886. The in mase ini this eonutry also has been later than ini Great Britain or on the iltinenit. Since 1873 the increase consuminptioni ini Great Britain has eni 20 per1 cent., on 'lhe Conutinient per cent., amnd in time UJnited rites 741 per' cent. As this couni sends abroad a quantity of' cot 1 goods not materially greater thant exp)ortcd, then this increased per-. stage i mplies a remarkable expan mu in the consuming powler' of' our oie arnd in their coiansntion per naed $1,00 for Vioantinug Pr'ohlbltioni. AnA,.NTA', G ., February 16(L.-J. lircser, who was 01ned fifty (dollars the Police Cour't, for violating the Shib)ition laws several weeks ago, pealed to the City Court, and1, be. 4 convicted to-day, was ined $1,000 Judge IIowarr1 Van Eppn'