692 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



no more take possession of the trade in one of those 

 articles of commerce than it can of the trade in any or 

 all the others. 



On an appeal to the Supreme Court the authori- 

 ties obtained from Justice Pope a writ ordering 

 a stay of the injunction, and permitting the dis- 

 pensary to go on with business. Judge Wallace 

 gave an opinion in favor of the law, since there 

 is nothing in either the State or the national 

 Constitutions expressly forbidding it. 



The trouble continued through the year. As 

 was expected, serious obstacles arose in the way 

 of enforcing the law. In cases of supposed vio- 

 lations and consequent search, complaints were 

 made that the law of personal liberty was disre- 

 garded, and private apartments were invaded. 

 Still another decision was given by Judge Hud- 

 son in an action to enjoin a man from keeping 

 and maintaining a place for the illegal sale of in- 

 toxicating liquors in Darlington, and to procure 

 an order to search his premises, and to abate the 

 nuisance alleged to have been created by him. 

 Judge Hudson refused the order of injunction 

 applied for, on the ground that the existence of 

 the nuisance is doubtful and must first be estab- 

 lished by the verdict of a jury ; and refused the 

 search warrant because it was a criminal process 

 and wholly foreign to equity jurisdiction. 



Similar actions arose in different parts of the 

 State, growing out of efforts on the one hand to 

 resist the opening of the State dispensaries, and 

 on the other to detect and punish violations of 

 the law by illegal sellers. Most important, how- 

 ever, were the cases against the railroads for re- 

 ceiving and delivering liquors in violation of the 

 dispensary law. The decision in one of these 

 cases, by Judge Simonton, was as follows : 



Section 25 of the Dispensary act makes it a mis- 

 demeanor for the railroad employee to deliver any 

 liquors from his train, and this without requiring any 

 knowledge on his part that the package contains in- 

 toxicating liquors or that it is intended for sale. In 

 every other instance mentioned in this section, includ- 

 ing private carriers and railroad and express com- 

 panies, knowledge that the intoxicating liquor is in- 

 tended for sale is expressly required. This is a dis- 

 crimination against one class of people railroad em- 

 ployees and is in conflict with the Constitution of 

 this State, and so not within its police powers, and 

 therefore not within the provisions of the act of Con- 

 gress known as the " Wilson act." This being the 

 case, the clause of section 25 of the Dispensary act, 

 under which the petitioner was charged and arrested, 

 is void under the Interstate Commerce law and the 

 fourteenth amendment. 



One of these cases involving the railroads 

 came up in August, and continued in one phase 

 or another into 1894. It was that of a dispensary 

 agent, C. B. Swan, who seized a barrel of whisky 

 at the freight depot of the South Carolina Rail- 

 way in Charleston and took it to the sheriff's 

 office. This railroad, being one of those in the 

 hands of the United States courts, obtained an 

 order against the agent in the United States cir- 

 cuit court, calling upon him to show cause why 

 he should not be punished for contempt, and also 

 be restrained from further intermeddling with 

 the railroad, and from disposing of the property 

 which he seized, and be compelled to return it 

 whence he took it. He was acting under orders 

 from the Governor. It was decided that he had no 

 right to seize the property without judicial pro- 



cess, and the order was given that he should re- 

 main in custody till he returned the property, 

 and then three months longer as a punishment. 



The State authorities obtained from the 

 United States Supreme Court an order to the 

 United States marshal to show cause why Swan 

 should not be released on habeas corpus pro- 

 ceedings, and the case was heard in Washington 

 in November. The decision, Dec. 18, was ad- 

 verse to the State, and the agent was accordingly 

 obliged to go to jail. Many other cases came up 

 under the law. In some cases violent resistance 

 was made to the constables' attempts at arrest 

 and seizure ; and in Spartansburg. in December, 

 an attempt to arrest an alleged liquor seller led 

 to an affray in which he was killed, and the 

 officer dangerously wounded. 



There was some doubt whether rice beer came 

 within the meaning of the law, which allows the 

 free sale of any beverage having less than 2 per 

 cent, of alcohol, and the new bill passed by 

 the Legislature of 1893 places it among the for- 

 bidden liquors. 



The report of the State Commissioner, D. H. 

 Traxler, rendered Nov. 27. gives the following 

 summary of the business: Total expenses to Nov. 

 1, $72,566.38; cost of merchandise, $70,251.22. 

 Appropriation, $50,000; cash on account, $100,- 

 332.13; leaving a balance of $7.514.55. Total 

 assets Nov. 1, $143,225.69 ; liabilities appropria- 

 tion, $50,000; bills payable, $61,027.53; profits, 

 $32,198.16. It is explained that the difference 

 between this account and the State Treasurer's 

 was occasioned by warrants drawn by the Com- 

 missioner after Nov. 1 to cover October business. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature con- 

 vened Nov. 28, and adjourned Dec. 23. There 

 were 4 Republicans in the House, none in the 

 Senate, and 120 Democrats in the House and 36 

 in the Senate. One associate justice of the Su- 

 preme Court and 5 circuit judges were elected. 



Among the most important acts was the re- 

 districting of the State. The object of the 

 measure is described as follows by the Charles- 

 ton " News and Courier," which is in opposition 

 to the Governor and the prevailing Reform- 

 Democrat party : 



The scheme is designed to put all these people 

 [the greater part of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, 

 Georgetown, Williamsburg, and Colleton] into a dis- 

 trict with an overwhelming negro majority. They 

 will be cut off by it from the rest of 'the State by- 

 lines of division which will compel them to accept a 

 Eepublican and a negro as their representative in 

 Congress. Their highest interests will be in his 

 hands. The white people, the Democrats of the dis- 

 trict, will have to look to him to speak for them in 

 Congress on all questions touching their welfare. 



An act was passed reconstructing the system 

 of county government. The Governor is to ap- 

 point, upon the recommendation of the Senator 

 and representatives from the county, 3 township 

 road commissioners for each township their 

 terms of office to be coterminal with that of 

 the Governor appointing them. The township 

 boards of assessors and boards of equalization 

 are abolished, and their duties devolve upon the 

 county board of commissioners. Convicts sen- 

 tenced to hard labor for not more than two 

 years are to be put to labor on the roads in 

 chain gangs. 



