Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1843-09-16


N ayers oflho bunk Tho documents here
!, with submitted viii place you " posses
. sion Of tho instructions ofIhc MlssSslpp
D Union bank, TO tho commissioner 9ppoln'
tod 10 negotiate the bonds and tho terms
+ Iof sale. The charter OF tho bank pro-
= yidos that the bonds shall not bo sold Tor
4 less than lhoir par yoluc, They were
y dated on Tho 9Th, sixth, seventh, eighth,
A and ninth days Of June, A, d. 1888
I and payable in twelve and twenty years
O from tho fifth day ofl'cbruary, 1893, and
. sold TO Nicholas Biddc, Esq, on the cigh.
, loenlh day of August, 1888, for Eve mill
, ions of dollars, lawful money OF tho Unl-
4; ted States, payable in five equol lnstal
ments Of one million dollars each, on the
! first day Of November, one thousand eight
; hundred and thirty eight, and on the first
days of January, March, May and July,
lin the year one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-nine. The bonds bear inter-
est from the date thereof and the bank
has already paid one hundred thousand
dollars interest thereon. lnasmuch as
Itno bonds were sold on credit, and interest
accrued from their date, it is certain that
they were sold for less than their par
value. The bank has heretofore paid in.
terest on the sum Of five millions of dol
lars for the use Of one million, and will
have to pay interest on more money than
liz has received until tho FIRST day of July
next. The commissioners in the sale of
the bonds exceeded their Instructions, but
mo doubt obtained as much for them as
could have been had a t the time Of sale.
An anxious desire TO place the bank into
speedy operation was certainly common
dable, but at the same time no violation
of the charter should have been sane
toned"
From tie above extract ii appears that
all the facts connected with the sale OF
the bonds, were before the legislature,
called particularly to their attention by
the Governor, and with this knowledge
before hem they sanctioned and approved
the sale. The Governor, with the same
facts before him approved his own previ-
Gus act OF issueing the bonds, and ratifiei-
the act OF the commissioners in selling
them in the following language:
"The state debt now amounts to the
sum Of $685. 80, deposited by the
general government, and which is liable
at any time to be recallcd-two millions
Of dollars, in six per cent bonds, sold by
The state to pay for stock to that amount
in The Planters bank, five millions of
dollars in five per cent bonds, sold to take
stock to that amount in the Mississippi
Union bank, amounting in all TO the sum I
Of seven million three hundred and eigh- 9
Iy-,wo thousand three hundred and thirty Il
five dollars and thirty cents-and the S
annual interest on that sum (most Of it Il
payable in Europe) amounts to the sum q
of three hundred and seventy thousand
dollars. To preScrue The honor ofthe state
and her credit unimpaired, ii is |
of the last importance that the interest /
should be punctuaHy paid, al the places .
and ample funds provided for g
he redemption Of the principal."-s[Sen- :
ale Journal of 1899, page 20, /
Between the time ofthe ad iournment Of y
this legislature in 1889, and the meeting a
of the Legislature Of 1910, new elections q
had taken place. The public mind was I
niue excited upon the subject Of the In S
ion bank. Every fact connected with b
the issue and sale of the bonds was known n
and discussed. Most rof the old members ii
who voted for the Union bank charter II
and supplement, together with the Cover a
nor, who had approved them, and who o
had signed the bonds, were reelected by d.
The people. The people thereby gave n
heir sanction 10 what their representa- Oh
lives had done. CT
This newly elected legislature, when t
t assembled in 1871, ratified the sale OF,
md distinctly acknowledged the liability
If the state 10 pay the Union bank bonds. L
We give the following extracts from the
'eport Of joint committee appointed by
he legislature to examine the Union
'ank, in February, 1910: L
"The right Of the bank TO issue post
otes has been claimed under the post
ote law Of May, 1887; but that law was
onfned 10 banks chartered previous 10
S passage, and the charter of the Union
ank was not approved until February,
1913. The charter of the bank required
ne action of two successive legislatures Ar
sfore it became a law; the first action
as had in 1887, the second in 1888. =
has been contended, that the first ac- pie
on conferred complete charter powers, thu
I'd that therefore the issue could be tht
adc under the posi-note law Of 1887 di.
his position the committee conceive TO int
a sophism hardly worthy passing no ces
&c. The life and blood of the charter err
as the pledging the faith ofthe state 20
the other provisions depended upon Of
is, and could not have been carried out by
ID this provision to pledge been stricken en-
i or failed. The con stitution requires
e law TO 60 upon the journals, and re- sin
i've the sanction Of two legislatures VIII
i IL