Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-04-13


ments of the Board persuaded W not to eall io
a copy, for the curious reason, that the Baring'
were accustomed to deal with crowned heads
aud would not endure the publicity. with "ilet
we poor Republicans wont 10 conduct inc
business of our government. The history OF the
contract illustrates the tendeny, perhaps ineYta-
BILE tendency. of such agency as selden, W ith-
ers, * Co, hold, 10 oyerstep the authority OF law
The original contract provides, that all sales OF
Virginia bonds ON State account, shall be sus
pended until the lst of April. and that IN all iu-
ture loans and issues. (no time being limited
Barring x Brothers shall have preference To pur-
chase them at the lowest price at which the
State is willing to sell the same. When this came
to the knowledge of the Board. they were forced
TO interfere, and while they limited the operation
of this clause to five years, 10 declare that they
had power thus TO bind the State Nhlle
fear that serious embarrassment may arise III the
construction Of this clause of the contract, yet
| will take occasion to say that ! am glad such
house as the Earrings has become largely inter
! osted in our bonds | only regret that the Board
did not at once apply to parties of such world
wide reputation. instead Of committing our for
tunes TO comparatively obscure firm in Wash
| inRfon. On this subject. | will only add that
since this contract with Barring Brothers Is
for sterling per cent bonds AZ 90, 50 that the
! bond sells for less than the principal sum ii pro-
/ misses to pay, no part of the loan will go into
! the general treasury on account of premiums.
! The Board further informs us TINT the agents
have sold $500, 900 ofbonds at - per cent pre-
MUM, Il learn that this sale was to /. T. James,)
and S5,2OOoDO at per cent This does not IN
clude additional sale of another million To At
wood d Reber nj the same rate. But the terms
of these sales. and before called your attention
to the fact that the Board had no copies OF the
contracts, must have been very singular. For
of his contract at % per cent premium for $500
900 of bonds, I. +. james IT nppears,has reeelv-
ed -275,OD yet no premium has ever been paid.
So too the Trans-Alleghany Bank, which con
tractcd for u million, has received 225,O00
Sturges has received S570.000 and Atwood *
Reber $4,000 but not a dollar has ever been
received from them, or from our agents, for pre-
miums on these bonds. Do the agents retain, at
their pleasure, these premiums, as it seems they
did the premiums on the -s30,OO0 before men
toned or these alleged sales really mere
approximations parton an addition to the g.
$4,000 of bonds reported, ON February 9th, to
have been hypothetical Probably these bonds
were originally delivered to these parties ON by
pothecation. and they afterwards bought them.
Such a suppostion would go far TO explain their
sale at : per cent, when the registered
bonds in our Auditors office have been selling at
Il and per cent. premium, for we all know
pawn broker buys the goods TINT hive been paw
ned with him, at his own price by what au-
thority of law can these Washington brokers, or
even the Board itself, pawn our bonds all over
the world
The more, sir, we examine into these transae-
tons, the more remarkable they appear Take,
for instance the contract with the Trans Allie
ghany Bank, which was chartered last winter,
and which is one of those Banks whose circnln-
ton is secured by n pledge of State Stock with
the Treasurer. The contract with this Bank
must have been made before our officers had any
notice of its organization for its first batch of
S5OO1O { notes was obtained from the Treas rcr
on Nov. y 81. upon deposit of TINT amount OF
coupon bonds, delivered upon the contract, hy
the agents. of course these notes gave the
Bank the means of advancing TO another in
,talmcnt of the loan, and procuring moro bonds
as bnsis for another issue Of notes. ! have eX-
amined the dates OF the succ 'ssve issues ofnotes
upon coupon bonds deposited 10y this Bank, and
by examining their numbers have nsccrtaincd
when the identical bonds in 4 'estion were dev-
cred by the Auditor at the order OF the Board of
Public Works 10 the agents for this Bank. \
comparison of the two series of dates makes it
probable TINT the notes, which represent one is
sue 81 bonds, were the means of purchasing the
next issue. 50 that in this loan we have been en-
! gagged IN borrowing our own credit and in con-
/ verting our interest beuriug stock into non in
terest-bcaring circulating paper for the benefit of
! the Trans Allegheny Bunk And it further APP
pears, sir that the agents of this Bank TO receive
! the notes from the Treasurer, are Selden, With
! ers X Co., the same parties, who, rs agents for
! our Board, made the contract with the Bank: and
II we may trust general report, one of this firm is
| himself large stakeholder in thnt institution. 1t
Is said that he subscribed Il suppose for himself
and othcrs) for several hundre thousand donrs
! 10 stock
promised to explain why struck TIE item of
| premiums from the Auditors estimate of our re-.
sources. | submit that have redeemed my pro-
| misc. n sale Mt two per cent nominal premium,
will net only fraction of one per cent, aud thus
tar, though S3,Sl50DO of bonds have been deliv-
cred 10 agents, nothing for premiums, except the
draft for SD TO, has been received. We can
not rely ON such iusory resources, and feel
justified in striking them from our financial esti-
mates. The auditor made his calculation of
S3D0,OO0 on the supposition that our bonds would
bring some , per cent. promium he naturally ex-
pectod rather more than half the current rate of
sales in his office. With the new lights now be-
fore us, he will acknowledge that he was deceiv-
ed
have heard il said that these questions should
not be too closely investigated, aud that publ
cation of the facts will njure credit. In pri-
vate life, sir, the first sign of approaching bank
ruptcy is desire to conceal from the world, ant
oven from ourselves, the true condition of oui
debts aud credits. Nor is it different with States
The despotisms of the old world, Russia and Aus
tria, may bolster up their credit by mystery; bu
we have nothing 10 gain by conccament. Oul
State has ample means to pay all her obligations
and she need not fear an examination. Rely up
on il, sir, publicity--thc constant vigilance o
public opinions the necessary safeguard of re
publican administrations, and, as for credit
with ordinary prudence and economy, it cannot
suffer; for it is built on that rock which has new
er been shakcn-the rock of old Virginia faith
and truth