768 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



habit of Speaker in South Carolina before the 

 war. 



The question of silver remonetization being 

 then under consideration in Congress, in con- 

 nection with the resumption act, the following 

 concurrent resolutions were adopted in the 

 House on February 2d : 



Whereas, There seems to be a prevailing opinion 

 throughout the country that the people of iSoutl) Car- 

 olina are in favor of the demonetization of silver, 

 and of the act of Congress to resume specie payments 

 in 1879; and 



Whereas, It is proper that the General Assembly 

 of South Carolina, now in session convened, express 

 its opinion on these questions of vital importance: 

 therefore, 



Resolved, by the House of Kepresentatives, the Sen- 

 ate concurring, That it is the sense of the General 

 Assembly of South Carolina that, while holding 

 that the Government of the United States should 

 maintain inviolate good faith with the public credit- 

 ors, as due to its own dignity and honor, and the 

 Belt-respect of every American citizen, yet it is their 

 judgment that the demonetization of silver, in this 

 the greatest silver-producing country in the world, 

 strikes a fatal blow at the business prosperity of all 

 sections of the Union, and tends to postpone or ren- 

 der impracticable the full resumption of specie pay- 

 ments. 



Jtesolved, That it is the true intent and meaning of 

 section 10, Article X. of the Constitution of the 

 .United States, that both gold and silver shall be a 

 legal tender in payment of all debts, and that the 

 demonetization of silver, and requiring the interest 

 on the public debt to be paid only in gold, operates 

 as a most unjust discrimination against the debtor 

 class, can not be rightly and legally demanded by 

 the bonded creditors, because not so "nominated in 

 the bond," while at the same time it is paralyzing 

 the industries of the country, and has been a potent 

 cause of the present financial stringency, and fosters 

 the presence of hard times upon the industries of the 

 people. 



The Legislature closed its session on the 22d 

 of March. Its treatment of the State debt is 

 worthy of notice. An act entitled " An act to 

 reduce the volume of the State debt, and to 

 provide for the payment of the same," was ap- 

 proved December 22, 1873. The State, hav- 

 ing sifted her liabilities outstanding on October 

 31, 1873, threw out $5,965,000 entirely, as null 

 and void; and for the remainder, $9,886,627, 

 offered her creditors as a compromise and final 

 settlement that she would recognize them at 

 the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and on 

 presentation of their respective vouchers fund 

 them by issuing in exchange at that rate new 

 consolidation bonds and certificates of interest- 

 bearing stock payable at certain specified times ; 

 which settlement was then accepted by the 

 creditors, and during the subsequent four years 

 had been executed almost entirely. The ac- 

 tion of the present Legislature upon this sub- 

 ject was considered the most important of all 

 measures of the session. 



At the extraordinary session convened by 

 the call of Governor Hampton when he first 

 entered upon the undisputed discharge of hi? 

 official duties in the spring of 1877, the Gen- 

 eral Assembly appointed three Senators and 

 four Representatives as a special joint commit- 



tee "to investigate the indebtedness of the 

 State." Under these general words, however, 

 was meant the debt resulting from the execu- 

 tion of the forementioned act of 1873 ; the ob- 

 ject of the work intrusted to the special com- 

 mittee, as officially declared by one of its mem- 

 bers in the preamble of a joint resolution in- 

 troduced at the present session, being " to make 

 a complete and thorough investigation of the 

 following and kindred matters : First, the en- 

 tire amount of consolidation bonds and certifi- 

 cates of stock that have been issued under the 

 act 'to reduce the volume of the public debt, 

 and to provide for the payment of the same' ; 

 second, whether there are in the State Treasur- 

 er's office on file, as vouchers, canceled bonds, 

 coupons, and certificates of stock, of the issues 

 described, issued in accordance with law, and 

 authorized to be consolidated, to the amount 

 required by the said act." 



This special committee, commonly called 

 "the Bond Commission," met at Columbia on 

 the 1st of August, 1877, and continued there 

 to meet for the performance of their duties 

 from day to day until the the 7th of February, 

 1878, when they submitted their report to the 

 General Assembly. They declare that, of all 

 the consolidated bonds and certificates of stock 

 issued under the act of 1873,^to the aggregate 

 amount of $4,396,290, one portion, amounting 

 to $1,577,835.62, are " valid obligations of the 

 State " ; and that all the rest are, wholly or in 

 part, "not valid." The presentation of this 

 report, declaring invalid the largest portion of 

 a settlement by compromise which the State 

 five years before had voluntarily offered to her 

 creditors, with full knowledge of the nature 

 and character of their claims against her 

 which had been accepted by the creditors, car- 

 ried out already into almost complete execu- 

 tion, and considered by all as final ever since 

 gave rise to the greatest excitement, dissatisfac- 

 tion, and contradiction everywhere, especially 

 within the legislative halls, among members 

 not only of opposite political parties, but of 

 the dominant Democratic party, even at the 

 risk of a split ; some decidedly asserting the in- 

 tangibility of the settlement effected under the 

 act of 1873, others as decidedly maintaining 

 the correctness of the conclusions embodied in 

 the report of the special joint committee, and 

 urging its adoption. They went under the ap- 

 pellations of "Debt" and "Anti-Debt party," 

 respectively. After many days' parliamentary 

 fight, on the 19th of February a member of the 

 Debt party in the House introduced the follow- 

 ing joint resolution for adoption: 



SECTION 1. That it is inexpedient to disturb the 

 adjustment of the indebtedness of the State made by 

 the act to reduce the volume of the public debt aud 

 t? ~?ovide for the payment of the same, approved 

 December 22d, in the year 1873. 



^SEC. 2. The proper officers of the State are hereby 

 directed to complete the said.adjustment. 



In opposition to this resolution, and as a sub- 

 stitute for it, one of the Anti-Debt party, who 



