Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1858-12-04
From the N. Y. Tribune Of Moo. 20.

TTO1t tne ". 4. xfaOune or N0U 20.
We publish ON another page letter from
Minnesota, to which the dealers in stocks and
bonds will do well to give careful attention.
The subject matter may be thus briefly sta
ted the State of Minnesota voted to loan
bonds to the amount of five millions to di-
vers railroad companies in that State, on con-
dition, among other things, that, by way of
securing the State against being obliged to pay
either interest or principal, the roads should
give the State First Mortgage bonds on their
respective roads equal in amount to the State
bonds by them respectively received The
intent is manifest and clear, that the State
should have first lien ON these roads to the
amount of her advances. But the rail
roads have resorted to this egregious and
fraudulent dodge-they have issued, among
them, twenty-one millions of First Mortgage
bonds, five millions Of which they ten
dered by way of security for the State bonds.
The Governor refused to become a party to
this fraud, and declined to issue the State
bonds The railroad spectators, who have
done more in the last ten years to demOral-
ize the nation than even the trading politicians
and often the two trades are carried on
together]ooked around for some means to
carving out their scheme. From corrupting
Congress and buying up Governor and Leg
islature, as in the neighboring State of Wis
consn, they had the audacity to assail even
the purity of the bench. They applied to
the Supreme Court of Minnesota for a man.
damus to compel the Governor to take the
bogus security offered and to issue the State
bonds, and the Court has granted it
We trust Gov. Sibley will now have the
spirit to perform the duty which he owes to
himself and the State. Let him refuse to
obey the mandamus and let the Court COM
NIT him to Jail if they will and if they dare.
The usurpation of courts has gone far enough
already A stop, and decided stop must
be put to it. A Governor in the discharge of
the duties imposed upon him by law, ought to
act upon his own responsibility or at the die
tation of any Court, high or low. Otherwise,
our Government is not democracy nor an
aristocracy, but an irresponsible despotism
exercised by Judges, so called, who, forget
ting the limits upon that Office imposed by
the common law, seem to aspire to the ire
sponsible power exercised of fold by the Judges
| Israelites, who were not merely Judges but
substantially Kings.
We can only add to the Iribune's article
the remark, that Mr.. Sibley and his friends
did talk valorously of refusing to "obey the
mandamus," as our lawyers generally in
formed him he need not if he believed the
State in danger, etc.; but ye acting Governor
is not Treasurer of the Cedar Valley Compa
ny for nothing, and so he has caved and is
sued the bonds as directed.
In the Tribune of the following Monday
morning, the 22d, communication appeared
in answer to the letter and article of the
Tribune of the previous Saturday, which We
have appended:
From the N. Y Tribune Of Nor %.
IS The Railroads and State Loan OF
| Minnesota,
| To the Editors of The ~ Y. Tribune.
SIR: Your paper of this morning contains
an article purporting to come from your st
Paul correspondent, entitled "Thc Railroad
Swindle in Minnesota" which you sustain by
an editorial, and which is too full of misrep
resentation and falsehood to pass withou
notice sincerely regret that any Minneso
tan should so far degrade himself as to seel
to disgrace his State, and all the Railroad Com
panies in it, for the purpose of wreaking :
petty vengeance on a few individuals, agains
whom he may have prejudice; and l still
more regret that the Tribune should be made
the instrument of such injustice toward ont
of the most vigorous and honorable youn:
States of the Union; and that, too, so soor
after she has enrolled herself among the Re
publican States of the West.
will try to correct a few of the errors o
your correspondent, though it would take :
long article to correct them all. First, then
he conveys the idea that the loan measure
was called for by the Railroad Companies
and not by the people. This is erroneous, a
least in part, for some of the companies die
not ask for the Loan; and at least one Com
pany stated officially to the Legislature tina
it did not ask for any such measure. Blu
the people DID demand it, and when it wa
submitted to them for their approval, it wa
sustained by vote of more than three to one
Secondly: He speaks of "the repeatet
ciolation By the Companies, Of the condition.
on aohich the loan aoas granted" He doe.
not attempt to tell what those violations are
nor can he, for the reason that none exist.
am a Minnesotian, and voted myself agains
the loan but since that time | have had re
peated conversations with the prominent op
ponents of that measure, and they have inva
riably expressed themselves as happily disap
pointed by the vigor and good faith with which
the Companies have uniformly prosecuted
their work each of the four Companies hav
ing graded between forty and fifty miles o
their line already, though commencing very
late in the season. deem it, therefore. due
to every Company, that they be vindicatet
from such unjust censure.
| TH;rJJu. Vn,1r cOrrocpop6ov+ cove, fI,o
"Mey (the Railroad Companies) now refus
"to execute to the State the First Mortgag
" Bonds caUed for By the act" &C. Now
if that writer knows anything about the mat
ter of which he assumes to speak, he knows
that three of the Companies have, some time
since, given their First Mortgage Bonds" ii
the form prescribed by the Governor; ant
only one Company has seen fit to bring thu
question before the Court This, they un
doubtedly had a right TO do, as there was al
the Governor.
Your correspondent quotes from the act as
follows:
Each Company shall make precision. 70,
the punctual payment and redemption of all
bonds issued and delicered as aforesaid Il
said Company, and for the puactual pay
ment Of the interest aohich shall accrue there
on, IN such manner as to eronerate the Trea
sury Of this State from any adcances O
money for that purpose"
"And as security therefor, the Governor
shall demand and receive from each of SAID
Companies before any of said bonds are is
sued, an instrument, pledging the net profits
of its road for the payment of said interest
and conveyance to the State of the first two
hundred and forty sections of land, free from
prior membranes, which such Company is
or may be authorized to hold in trust, for the
better security of the Treasury of the State
from loss on said bonds, which said deed o
trust shall authorize the Governor and Secre
tary of State to make conveyances of title to
all or any such lands to purchasers agreeing
with the respective Railroad Companies there
for. Procided, That before releasing the in
terest of the State to such lands, such sale
shall be approved by the Governor, but the
proceeds of all such sales shall be applied to
the payment of interest accruing upon the