Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1850-03-29

The loan to Fairfield is much LARGER
than her share, and there is no reason we
can see why she should have more than
the other districts no farther off. With
regard to the solvcncv of the debtors to
the bank. the committee are not able 70
speak with certainty. They have no hes
ltatlon IN saying that they saw very few
debts that they knew to be bad, and had
the assurance of the officers that nearly ali
the bcbts were well secured. Although
they were authorized by the Legislature
to Sc M for persons and papers to ascer
tain the solvency of the debtors, thew
upon reflection, were satifed no GOOD
purpose could be Effected by it. In adj
dition to the time required and the diff
Guilty OF getting witnesses, verySfew know
the situation of his nearest neighbor, and
il they knew it, would be very reluctant
teteli it. In fnct, many do not know
their own situation or have but very
imperfect knowledge of it, An individ-
ual may be in possession of ten thousand
dollars worth of property with no iudg-
mcnt against him. and if we were called
upon to testify would scarcely be able to
say he was insolvcnt, although he may
be an indorser for a friend for double the
amount he is worth, and you are satisfied
in your own mind his principal would
fail; called upon to act yourself, you
would not trust him, but upon mere
opinion of contingency to happen, YOU
could not call him insolvcnt. The same
thing may be said of the debts in bank.
A owes five thousand dollars, YOU know
him to be worth ten thousand, vet YOU
see his name on twenty or thirty thosand
dollars worth Of paper as endorser; you
would hesitate to own his paper yourself,
and yet you would not be at liberty to
call IT bad. Hence the great and almost
insuperable difficulty of committee
coming to satisfactory conclusion
Take the clse ofa debtor to the bank,
who has given Railroad stock and two
houses and lots as security. At the pres
ent price of railroad stock and the esti-
mated value of the property, by the Pres
ident of the bank, enough to pay the
debt could not be realized, and vet tho
property might sell for much more thar,
Its estimate, and the stock for more than
its present price. No two men probably
could agree as to the value of the house
and lots, the value Of that sort of proper
| ty depending much upon it locality and
the klndof business purchaser might
wish to engage in and other circumstan-
cesi The committee are Of opiaioa shat
there is not much danger to be apprehen-
ded of the insufficiency of the security in
the first place, and of the discretion the
Directors have Tor have assumed of col
Letting some debts promptly and allow
ing Others to remain unpaid, so that the
change of a mans circumstances, after a
lapse of time, sometimes renders a once
good debt insecure. Having once OBJ
tanned good security and determined to
grant long indulgence, the change of for
tune, in the multiplicity of business, es-
capes the attention Of the Directors until
it is too late. On the other hand, hy
loaning for a reasonable time and colcc-
ting portion at certain intervals, and en-
forcing the collection whenever the par
ties fail to comply, there will be very
little danger of loss.
The aggregate indebtedness of the
Officers and Directors of IL bank, on the
18th Nay last, was $3O9, 645, and their
liabilities as endorsers $146, 800, although
tho statement furnished us would make
observation-disclosures only SI7e,645 The
committee thought itproper to add the
Indebtedness Of the firm, whenever an
4 Officer or Director was member of L,
and also their indebtedness as endorsers,
after the failure of the principal in the
note, and his notorious insolvency, which
then evidently made it the debt of the en-
dorSers.
Exhibit b is monthly statement of the
Branch bank at Columbia, on the first of
October, 1S49, which ends the fiscal
year, and shows profit on the capital
| ofa little above five per ceut, if we take
| the average OF the monthly statements of
amounts due the parent Bank, and add
thereto the average of deposites and de-
duct fifty thousand dollars as the sup
posed amount of the average of tho in
debtedness of the treasury. We were
informed that there should be deducted
from the supposed capital the item of
drafts in the monthly statements; but
! not being satisfied of the propriety of