Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-03-14


value. and4hree millions at their par value
and Two per cent. Premium. IEany thing
else were, necessarYto prove the value Of
that contrac The State.'and the immense
effectit lad in ele9atinglhe5pricesof her
bonds, itdnays be found in.stheN fact that.
Immediately upon the termination of that
contract, the agents selected by Governor
Floyd to execute it came before the Board
and purchased million of bonds at eight
per cent. premiuml Such was the first
contract with Selden, Withers & Co. It
has been assailed with great violence, but
we think the time has come when the in
justice of those assaults is made obvious,
and when review Of that transaction will
elicit commendation, rather than censure
If such contract could be made now, we
doubt whether many voices would be
raised against it. On the contrary, we
are inclined to the opinion that the aus
thorities that refused to sanction such a
contract at the present time, would meet
with little else in any quarter of the State
than the .severest censure and condemna-
lion. 49, s4'esN =s.-5
2" The second contract with selden,
Withers q Co., as before intimated, was
for an actual sale of bonds to tie amount
of 1000, 900 at 8 per cent. premium
This contract, also, was fully executed,
and the entire amount of principal and
premium was realized by the State.
The third contract appointed those
parties the agent of the Board, to sell
bonds to the amount of / 500, 900 dollars.
By the terms OF this agreement, the Board
were to advance to Selden, Withers & Co.,
ahead of sales, bonds to an amount not
exceeding $500. 900, and Selden, Withers
& Co.. were bound. if required, to ad-
vance to the Board from three to five
hundred thousand dollars, over and above
sales previously made and in anticipation
of sales thereafter to be made 1t is i'm
portant to the history Of this transaction
to state here, that after the terms of this
contract had been agreed on, they were
submitted 10 the Attorney General by the
| Board of Public Works, with the request
that he prepare contract in accordance
Herewith, and that he advise the Board
of the legality of its several provisions >
and that, when he submitted the contract
to the Board, he stated that pressing en-
gagements prevented him from giving his
opinion in writing, of the legality Of the
terms Of said contract, but that he saw
nothing Objectionable in them
"When the Board Of Public Works, rs
organized under the new Constitution,
came into Office, they found this contract
in existence, but uncxecuted. This, we
suppose, resulted from the fact that the
market valnc of the bonds had sensibly
declined, and the minimum price fixed in
the contract was par and eight per cent
premium.
a. From this recital, we can form some
estimate Of the sickly condition of the loan
fund when the new Board was Inaugural
ted. What were the duties instantly de-
volved upon them and what the respou>
sibiities that instantly attached to them
Like the Board Of 1851, they, also, found
q large amount of drafts upon their table
unprovided for, and again, like the Board
of 1851, they had large appropriations to
meet. For, be it remembered, that the
Legislature Of 1898 made the very lib
eral appropriation of II ,534,795 dollars,
which, in the imperative language Of the
laws. they directed the Board 10 JorroV.
1t was not difficult to pass those laws
LOG rolling" secured the constitutional
vote, and the Board of Public Works were
regarded as ''team," that could travel
as fast and would not kick under the con-
slant application of whip and spur. So
the whip and spur were applied with an
unmistakable good will, and the "team"
would have been cursed if it had done
nothing, just as it has been cursed fornot
succeeding in all that it attempted TO do.
However, the new Board, in obedi>
ence TO the wishes and instructions of the
Legislature, undertook the difficult and
responsible task with the determination
to do their duty TO the full extent Of their
ability. a large amount Of money had
to be raised, and that amount could be
obtained only by sale of bonds. The
agency system had been adopted by their
predecessors, and the State had realized
from the sale Of her bonds, through that
agency, without default or neglect, the
round sum of FIVE millions ofdollars. The
same agency they found in existence
when they came into Office, with author
ity to sell one and half millions bonds
upon terms in which the Attorney General,
"a saw nothing Objectionable" Learning
that those agents had been faithful in the
execution of their preceding obligations,
that they were competent to perform the
duties of agents, and that they enjoyed
the confidence of the Board of Public
Works, under two administration Of the
State, it was not strange, it was very
natural that this board should continue
that confidence, and, through the same
agancy, endeavor to provide the heavy
loans they were required to obtain and
appropriate. !, Nor was it at all singular
that they should have adhered to the
Enrr, IL LII IL.