Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-10-07

.ou ne8ngent manner, and without regard
to law. BY the law as heretofore c!.sd
1t seems 1t was the intention of the Leri.-
iature that the countersigning of the Ger.
uncates BY the secretary Of State should
be check upon the issue Of certifica,es
without pre-paymen, Of the amount re-
CURED by law But ii appears that the
secretary of State, Attorney General and
) Treasurer were in the habif of sipniny
large quantities of certificates in blank.
! and leaving them in the hands of the cEks
IN the school land office, to be filed ou,
as occasion might require.
These certificates afte. being signed
and countersigned in blank, were left in
the office where every one had access to
them; they were not even locked up For
the purpose of enabling parties holding
these certificates to have them recorded.
the law provides that they may be ac-
knowledged. The clerks In the Office
were IN the constant practice of filing ou,
the certificates of acknowledgment, and
signing their names as Notaries, withou,
their having been acknowledged By either
OF the Commissioners.
MIR. Byrne, clerk in the Office, says
that 1t was customary, while he was there
! to deliver certificates of School Lands to
certain parties, on their promising to set.
tie with the treasurer for them, and tha.
they had 40 means Of knowing whether
they were paid for. He moreover saws
! that clerks employed in the several State
Departments usually kept deposit with
the treasurer TO meet any amount which
might be due for certificates taken by them,
and tha; they usually took their ceriif-
Gates, and said they would settle with the
treasurer for them, but he did not know
whether they did SO or not.
1t cannot be a matter of surprise that
under such state of things, with such
practices prevailing, in express violation
OF law, there has been large issue Of
! School Land certificates upon which MOTH
ing has ever been paid. This is the case
with many of the certificates issued in the
names of Daniel Howell, VIM Chappei
/ and E. H. Gleason, in which land, it APP
! pears. the clerks and some of the acting
commissioners were directly interested
1t will he recollected That the certificate
/ specifies the amount paid. and is in the
| hands of the holders an Acknowledgment
on behalf of the State that the amount
required to be prepaid, with interest to
| The subsequent interest upon many OF
these certificates has been paid and many.
If not all Of them, are now undoubtedly
held by Iona fide purchasers wi.hodt ..b-
,ice Of their fraudulent issue
/, Will be an important question for the
consideration OF the Legislature as toll the
action to be taken in relation to them:--
They were issued in violation Of law, bu.
the subsequent holders had 20 means of
knowing that fact, as they were fair upon
their face. The amount of loss to the
School Fund arising from this source is
(Sl6, 1854 sixteen thousand two hun
dred and forty-hve dollars and ninety.four
cents, as will more fully appear from the
table hereto annexed marked /" g."
While It appears from the testimony
that the rule of the Commissioners in re-
| lation to enforcing the payment of penal.
ties was in accordance with the REQUIRE
ments of law, which provides that in case
of failure 10 pay interest on a loan, or
on money due on sale of school land with.
in the time specified by the statute, the
party SO failing shall forfeit and pay to
the State five per cent. of the principal
sum due, there appears large deficiency
IN the Treasury, arising either from the
non-payment of these penalties, or from
the amount collected not having been en-
tered on the Treasurer's books, and cred.
tied to the State. The amount of loss to
the school fund from this source is twenty.
three thousand SIX hundred and seventy
eight dollars aud seventy-seven cents.
which Will more fully appear in the &C.
companying table, marked K"
1t is said by some of the clerks In the
office that 1t was not unusual IN the hurry
OF business, for persons desiring to pay
interest near the expiration of time pre-
scribed by law for the payment, to mako
deposit of money with the Treasurer
for the Payment of the interest due, and
that the receipts were made Cut subse-
que.it to the expiration of the time. This
Eidy have been SO, but the committee was
governed by the books of the treasurer.
presuming that they were correct as to
the dates. 1t weald have been an easy
matter to have made the time of payment
appear on the books if the payments had
been made in time. The practice of ma
king deposits is one under which the law
might easily have been evadsd. and sho'd
not be allowed in any case. The filling
out blank receipt could occupy but little
more time than taxing the deposit and put
ting it In the vault.
In some cases which came to the knowl-
edge of the Committee, the penalty was
paid by the party, but 10 entry of the
amount was found on the Treasurers
books. This was so in the case of An.
drew Proudfit, where it appears penal
ty attached of some twenty-five dollars.
which was not found creditedto the School
Fund, but which he says he paid, and for
which he took receipt from the Treas
urer { his assistant. The C0ihmittee
could not take testimony from all the par.
ties from whom it appeared thst penalties
were due. They could only be governed
By the books. ~
The books in the office Of the Commas
sioners show that these penalties attsched.
and that the parties were liable for thesA
L Il - IL