Southern pioneer, and Carroll, Choctaw and Tallahatchie Counties advertiser. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1840-1842, 1841-07-24
cARRoILToN. SATURDAY. JULY a. lsn

also, that the legislature concurred with the
committee, for the report was received. agreed
TO, and printed by almost unanimous votes.-
30 Tar then, two years had elapsed since the
passage of the supplemental active millions
of the bonds had been sold and the money
squandered, and five millions more signed and
offered for sale. The governor had sent in
two annual messages TO the legislature, and
two legislative committees had examined the
bank and its affairs, and reported thereon; and
strange to say, no one had yet discovered that
our constitution, the supreme law of the land,
had been violated and trampled upon by the
shank thieves" the "fund mongers," and their
"bribed TOOLS" This discovery was reserved
for later day, and it was not made until af-
ter the Presidential election in 1910, when it
was found that the party which had ruled and
ruined the state was no longer in the ascend
ant! At the session of the legislature held in
January. lS4l, Gov. McNutt broke ground in
favor of repudiating the bonds in his annual
message, and Immediately the infamous prop
osition was responded TO by his satellites in and
out of the legislature. A committee to whom
that portion of the governors message was
referred, offered report and some resolutions,
declaring that the state was bound to pay, and
that she ,couid pay, all of which were adopt
ed by large majorities. In the House the vote
was ayes 50, noes 81, and in the Senate ayes
20. noes 10. Thus it will be seen, that altho'
the "act supplemental to the Union Bank char.
ter" became law on the 18th day of Febru-
| airy 1888, the question of its unconstitutional
| ity was never raised until January and Feb
ruary, lS4l, or just three years afterwards
So, too, of the alleged violation of the charter
in the sale of the bonds. They were sold in
August, 1888, and the terms of the sale were
reported to the Legislature in January, 1899
and yet. strange as it may appear, every de-
partment of the government recognized tina
sale, and it was not until January, lS4l, two
whole years after the sale had been reported
that -tho 4aessiea-as to a violation Of the char
ter was raised In view Of all the facts; the
silence of the state for three years upon one
point of the controversy, and of two years
upon the other, can the state now repudiate
the bonds without damning herself to an eter.
nifty of infamy! Admitting all that the anti.
payers allege. that the supplemental act is un.
constitutional, and that the charter was viola.
ted in the sale of the bonds; have we acted
honestly in the premises? On the contrary
will we not exhibit to the world splendid
piece of villainy? Here we established bank
upon the credit of the state. We issued bonds
sold them and got the money for them. Our
bank went into operation and was badly man.
aged. The money we borrowed was squan.
dered without beneitting particularly any one
and after waiting quietly until the last dollar
is gone, we step forward and declare that we
will not pay; that we will repudiate the debt
and justify ourselves upon two grounds: first
the charter was unconstitutional, and second
1t was violated in the sale of the bonds The
lqueston which all honest men will ask, "why
did YOU not make these discoveries soener?'
will be a difficult one to answer, and though
we doubt not many honest men think they are
perfectly right in endeavoring to have the
bonds repudiated; the act if carried out, will
be nothing more or less than most atrociou.
and bare faced robbery, and one for which the
State will deserve to be execrated in all time
f to come.