SOUTH CAROLINA. 



695 



would be turned over to Mr. Hampton. At 

 the time fixed, a representative of Mr. Cham- 

 berlain handed over to a representative of Mr. 

 Hampton the keys of the Executive office and 

 the Seal of the State, accompanying the de- 

 livery with the words of the usual formula. 



On the 12th of April, "Wade Hampton en- 

 tered the State House and took actual posses- 

 sion of the Executive office ; into which his 

 papers also were transferred from the place he 

 had before occupied elsewhere for the dis- 

 charge of his duties as Governor. 



The offices assigned to the several depart- 

 ments of the Executive were still occupied by 

 the officers of Mr. Chamberlain's administra- 

 tion. They refused to comply with the request 

 to vacate their places, on the ground that their 

 respective competitors, elected with Mr. Hamp- 

 ton, had previously instituted against them 

 suits in the nature of quo-warranto for that 

 purpose ; and that, those suits being still pend- 

 ing, they had the right to keep their offices 

 until the courts should have decided against 

 them. 



On the 16th of April, Governor Hampton 

 caused the doors of the several offices to be 

 sealed. He had previously signified to them by 

 letter that this measure of sealing the doors 

 might have been carried out with their con- 

 sent and under their protest, so as to leave their 

 rights as they then stood before the courts. 

 After the sealing had been executed, they pro- 

 tested against it. 



One of the first acts of Governor Hampton, 

 on taking possession of the State House, was to 

 issue a proclamation under the same date, 

 April 12th, convening the Legislature at Co- 

 lumbia for an extraordinary session on the 

 24th. 



The Legislature met at the time appointed, 

 and both Houses were organized at the first 

 sitting. The Senate was called to order by R. 

 H. Gleaves, who had acted as Lieutenant-Gov- 

 ernor in Mr. Chamberlain's administration, 

 and, as such, had presided over the Senate dur- 

 ing the session opened in November, 1876. He 

 took now the chair only to address the Sena- 

 tors and bid them farewell, having first as- 

 serted his right to continue to preside over 

 them ; on which he said, among other things : 

 " We meet now under the call of a gentleman 

 who has not heretofore been recognized by 

 this body as the Governor of South Carolina. 

 If that gentleman is to be regarded as the act- 

 ual Governor of the State, it has occurred to 

 me that I should no longer exercise my right 

 to preside here. I desire to place on record, 

 in the most public and unqualified manner, my 

 sense of the great wrong which thns forces me 

 practically to abandon rights conferred on me, 

 as I fully believe, by a majority of my fellow- 

 citizens of this State. Those rights I do not 

 renounce to-day ; but I do not feel that I can 

 advance the interests of those whom I repre- 

 sent politically by longer exercising my right 

 as Lieutenant-Governor presiding over this Sen- 



ate ; and I therefore announce to yon, Senators, 

 that I shall vacate this chair from this time 

 forward." Thereupon, W. D. Simpson, the 

 Lieutenant-Governor elected with Governor 

 Hampton, occupied the vacated chair, and en- 

 tered upon the duties of President. 



The number of Senators present at the roll- 

 call was 2717 Republicans, 10 Democrats 

 a few only being absent. 



The House of Representatives was called to 

 order by William H. Wallace, the Speaker, who, 

 at the opening of the session in November, 

 1876, had been elected by his fellow-members 

 to preside over that body, which the Supreme 

 Court, on December 6th, declared to be the 

 legal House of Representatives of South Caro- 

 lina. On the roll being called, 69 members 

 answered to their names ; whereupon the 

 Speaker announced that a quorum was present, 

 and the House ready for business. On a mo- 

 tion to adjourn, the House then adjourned to 

 the following day. 



This abrupt end of the first sitting was in- 

 tended against those members of the House 

 who at its meeting for the regular session in 

 November, 1876, had organized themselves and 

 acted as a separate body, presided over by E. 

 W. M. Mackey, as Speaker. Upon the meeting 

 of the Legislature for the extra session in 

 April, 1877, the said members were present to 

 participate in the proceedings, occupying to- 

 gether one side of the Hall. But the Clerk 

 left their names out ; and as soon as the roll 

 had been called, the House was adjourned. 

 Subsequently, however, these so-called Mac- 

 key members were not only admitted to act 

 with the others in the extra session, and paid 

 for it, but were paid also for their work in the 

 said November session, when they refused to 

 recognize the Hampton Legislature and Gov- 

 ernment of the State, and acted against both. 

 They were given $200 each for that work. 



The two Houses met in jbint convention on 

 the 15th of May, for the purpose of electing a 

 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in the 

 place of Franklin J. Moses, Sr., who had died 

 on the 22d <>f the preceding February. A. J. 

 Willard was elected by a vote of 86 against 89 

 cast for Mr. McGowan, his principal competi- 

 tor. Mr. Willard had sat on the Supremo 

 Bench as associate justice for a long time, and 

 won the general respect of the people for M* 

 impartiality, and the other qualities befitting a 

 judge. Although he was a Republican, and a 

 native of a Northern State, all the Democrat* 

 in both Houses, except one in the Senate, voted 

 for him; while almost all the Republican* 

 voted for Mr. McGowan. 



The General Assembly closed It* extra Ma- 

 sion by final adjournment on the 9th of June, 

 having continued it 48 days. Dnrinjr that time 

 102 acts and joint resolutions were pa*ol by 

 both Houses, and wore approved br the Gover- 

 nor. Among the more important are the follow- 

 ing : "An act to redoee and fix the pr diem and 

 mileage of members of the Gnra) 



