S. 8. Mr. Lawson: A Bill to amend Section 1743, Volume I, Civil Code, 1912. by adding thereto a proviso as to Bethlehem School District No. 17, Darlington county. MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR. Mr. JOHN K. AULL, Secretary to the Governor, presented the following: MESSAGE No. 5. State of South Carolina, Executive Department. Gentlemen of the Senate: I herewith transmit to you report of the State Dispensary Commission, filed with me shortly after the adjournment of the General Assembly of 1912, which said report has never been opened by me. Very respectfully, Columbia, S. C., January 17, 1913. COLE. L. BLEASE, The report above mentioned and transmitted to the Senate by his Excellency, the Governor, was received under seal and directed to "Governor Cole. L. Blease, Columbia, S. C., Report of Dispensary Commission." And the Clerk of the Senate was directed to open the The report is as follows: same. FINAL REPORT OF THE STATE DISPENSARY COMMISSION OF SOUTH CAROLINA. To His Excellency, Cole. L. Blease, Governor of South Carolina. Sir: Since our last report, filed with you on the 18th day of January, 1912, Mr. Fred. H. Dominick, a member of the commission, resigned as a member of the commission on the 7th day of March, having been appointed a member of the Board of Regents. of the State Hospital for the Insane. In our report, at page 34 of the printed copy, we stated that we had come to the conclusion that all of the claims mentioned in that report should be closed out, with the exception of that of the Richland Distilling Company, which was then in process of adjustment, and which we had hoped would be closed up before that report. Since that time, on February 22d, in reply to our inquiry, Mr. B. L. Abney, whom we had employed as counsel in this matter, advised us that he had entered into an agreement settling the liability of A. Block, N. M. Block and I. Block, individually and as stockholders of the Richland Distilling Company, for the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars and the delivery of three hundred and ninety-six shares of the capital stock of the Richland Distilling Company, of the par value of one hundred dollars each, the total amount issued of said stock being, as we were advised, eight hundred and twenty. shares, of the par value of one hundred dollars each; and he asked our approval of this settlement. On the same day we approved the settlement. Of the twenty-five thousand dollars there was to be paid in cash twelve thousand five hundred dollars, and then twelve thousand five hundred dollars more to be paid upon the nol prossing of the indictment pending against the Blocks in Chester county, which we are advised will be done at the ensuing term of the Court in Chester, which will be held during the week beginning on the 25th of March. (All of which is set out in detail in copies of the correspondence, hereto attached, marked Exhibit "A.") Our attorney, Mr. Abney, has collected the twelve thousand five hundred dollars, which was to be paid in cash, and the same is placed to his credit, as attorney for the State Dispensary Commission, in the Palmetto National Bank of Columbia, S. C. He has also received and holds for the commission the three hundred and ninetysix shares of stock, and which he is holding for the purpose of winding up the distilling company and subjecting the property of the company, situate in Richland county, to the payment of the claim. of the State against said company. The twelve thousand five hundred dollars was to be retained, in accordance with the agreement with the Blocks, by our attorney, until final action shall be taken nol prossing the indictment against the Blocks in Chester county, when the balance is also to be paid. It is not practicable for this money on hand to be turned over to the State Treasurer until the agreement between the commission, through its attorney, and the Blocks is finally carried out and consummated; and for that reason the attorney employed by us has not turned over the funds to us at this time. As soon as the settlement is consummated the net funds resulting from said settlement will be turned over to the State, as. prescribed by law. We understand that by securing the possession of the three hundred and ninety-six shares of the capital stock of the Richland Distilling Company, which will be used in winding up the affairs of the Richland Distilling Company, our attorney will be enabled to secure an order from the Court of Common Pleas for Richland county which will result in obtaining for the State the entire prop erty of the said company, now located in Richland county, with good marketable title and free of all encumbrances and claims. The value of this property, including the personalty, has been variously estimated at from twenty-five thousand dollars to thirty-five thousand dollars and more; so that it seems that we can safely report that the settlement with the Blocks will amount in the end to at least fifty thousand dollars. In securing this settlement we were forced to have the assistance of an attorney in the matter on account of the fact that we were absolutely without any assistance from the Attorney General's office, he having stated to us in his letter of the 29th of May, 1911, that, "having been cut off from the source through which practically all information has come, and through which I have anticipated other information would come, by the dismissal of Mr. Felder, it is impractical to proceed before you supply the necessary facts." This was in reply to a resolution of this commission requesting him to proceed with the case to a final conclusion, and, if so advised, employ other counsel in this State to assist, or to continue Messrs. Abney and Stevenson. The Attorney General would not take action; the property, which was and is now in the hands of a receiver, was depreciating in value; it was impossible to obtain insurance; we were without any information or facts in regard to the case, finding nothing in the records of the former commission except the naked finding of a judgment for some five or six hundred thousand dollars against the company, with no facts set out upon which to base it; the taxes were unpaid; other costs and expenses for watchmen, etc., were being incurred, and the commission had to do something. The Attorney General had informed us, in the same letter referred to above, that the suit was commenced by Messrs. Anderson, Felder, Rountree & Wilson, under an agreement had with our predecessors in office, after they had, as he was informed, collected sufficient information upon which to base the action. We have been unable to secure any of the information upon which the action was based or brought, notwithstanding the fact that under the plain terms, as we see it, of the Felder contract, it was provided that such information should be turned over to the Attorney General of the State should he deem it necessary to have such information in any proceeding that might be instituted. As stated in our last report, we made efforts to obtain this information, but we were powerless in the matter and could not obtain it, and the Attorney General failed to obtain it for us. Under these cir cumstances we requested Mr. Abney to take charge of the matter, and his letter and the action of the commission, which set out the contract, are hereto attached, marked Exhibit "B," and made a part of this report. There is only one other matter which we deem it necessary to call your attention to in this report; that is, as to the seven thousand five hundred dollars on deposit with the Union Savings Bank and Trust Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, which is referred to on page. 31 of the printed copy of our last report. As stated in that report, "we had never received any information whatever from the Attorney General, the former winding up commission, or from any records turned over to us, as to this seven thousand five hundred dollars." The matter, we presume, is still in the same shape and condition, whatever that shape and condition may be, as it was at the time of that report. We have not been able to secure any further information in regard to the matter, nor has the Attorney General put us in possession of the facts in connection with it, or made any explanation to this commission. We know nothing of the matter and can find out nothing in regard to it, except that which was incidentally disclosed during the trial of the "label" case in Columbia in September, 1911. As this commission has been abolished by law, it can pursue the matter no further. We append to this report cash statement of receipts and disbursements since the first of January, 1912, marked Exhibit "C;" statement of disbursements, marked Exhibit "D," and itemized statement of the State Dispensary Commission for expenses, per diem and mileage, marked Exhibit "E." As will be noted, the only receipts of the commission were the amounts received as interest on deposits not included in our last report, which aggregated $224.99. The amounts collected and to be collected in the settlement of the Richland Distilling Company matter are not included in these cash statements for the reasons stated in this report, although the amounts should be properly credited to this commission. On the 20th day of March, 1912, as provided by law, we turned over to the State Treasurer $25,587.01, being the net amount on hand to the credit of the commission. In making this, our final report, we wish to thank your Excellency for courtesies extended and assistance rendered us in our work. We feel that, had we received the same co-operation and assistance from all those who were in a position and whose duty it was to render it, we could have accomplished more for the State than we have done, and in a much shorter time. Respectfully submitted, THE STATE DISPENSARY COMMISSION, By JAMES STACKHOUSE, Chairman; J. V. WALLACE, FRED. H. DOMINICK, E. M. THOMSON. Columbia, S. C., March 18, 1912. EXHIBIT "A." Law Office of B. L. Abney, Columbia, S. C. Columbia, S. C., February 22, 1912. Malcolm D. Jones, Esq., Attorney for Blocks, Columbia, S. C. Dear Sir: I offer to settle all claims, both criminal and civil, of the State of South Carolina, against A. and N. M. Block and I. Block, as individuals, stockholders and officers of the Richland Distilling Company, by reason of any transactions had by them with the old State Dispensary and its directors, such settlement to be without prejudice against the State's claim against the Richland Distilling Company as a corporation, and without prejudice whatsoever to the proceedings now pending in the Court of Common Pleas for Richland county by the State against said corporation, for the sum of twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dollars, twelve thousand five hundred ($12,500) dollars of which to be paid cash, and the other twelve thousand five hundred ($12,500) dollars to be paid at or before the nol prossing of the indictment against the Blocks and others now pending in Chester county, S. C., the Blocks to assign and deliver to me in blank the stock held by them, and each of them, in the said Richland Distilling Company, amounting to about the par value of forty thousand ($40,000) dollars, being their entire holdings, said stock to become the absolute property of the State of South Carolina, or such person as I, as attorney for the State Dispensary Commission, shall designate; and upon the delivery of the said stock to me, or to such person as I may designate, the said Blocks will take no objection to any proceedings looking toward the entry of a decree in the said case against the said distilling company as a corporation, and will in no wise obstruct or impede the suit of the State now pending in the Court of Common Pleas for |