Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-01-19

with the Ohio Life Insurance aud Trust
Company, under which that institution
advanced To the s ate, on the lst day Of
July, IL New York. the sum of y I5o, 600,
which sum. with what had been previously
provided, pail the interest on the public
debt, and fully protected the credit Of the
State.
~, Another arrangement was made with
the State Bank and Branches, by which
these Institutions agreed to pay directly to
the parties holding the warrants OF the
Auditor upon the Treasurer, the several
amounts due them, and await reimburse
ment of the principal from the incoming
revenues, and of interest at six per cent.
from the next General Assembly. By this
arrangement, the pecuniary expenses of the
State Government were provided for, and
the injurious effect OF the defalcation upon
the public interestas far rs possible averted.
do not doubt that You will promptly pro-
vide for the payment Of the interest which
has accrued upon the advances 80 honora-
bly, and literally made.
The arrangement with the Trust Com
J pany resulted in unforeseen advantage to
the State. s
At the time of Mr. Gibson's resignation,
according to the Treasury books, there
were in his custody, as Treasurer, State
xix per cent bonds TO the amount of $685.
628 IA, deposited as security for the cir
culating notes of the Seneca County Bank.
OF these bonds it was soon afterward as
certained that 81 32,l28 ID had been sent
TO New York to be converted, as was al
;..tn xtl,,,. kNulo &C n AiHaro,,f data
ard 100000 of these had been placed in
the hands of Atwood & Co., with au-
thori'y to sell; and drafts had been made
on that firm, and accepted by it on this
credit, to the amount of S58, 500. Proceed
inss in behalf Of the State were imme
d ately instituted TO obtain possession of
t.e3e bonds, which resulted in an arrange
ment, by which the bonds we're trans
ferrod to the Ohio Life Insurance and
g Trust Company to be transferred to the
State, as soon as money advanced by that
institution in discharge of the claim of
4. Atwood & Co., should be realized out of
certain securities deposited by Mr.. Glib
son.
5d Before the making of the transfer ac-
cording to this arrangement the Trust
Company failed; and it was ascertained
that the bonds had been converted by its
Cashier TO his own use, or that Of the in
stitution, by which means the Trust Com
pany had become the debtor of the State
in their full amount. Other funds of the
State IN the hands of the Trust Company
were also converted in the same manner.
The whole amount thus embezzled was
nearly equal to the sum advanced, and
would have been almost, if not altogether
a total loss, had not the arrangement for
the payment Of the July interest, c,eated
a more than equal debt to the Trust Com
pany, and thus secured the State against
the possibility of loss by its failure.
Until within very recent period no ef
fectual legislative guards had been pro-
vided for the security of the Treasury.
The Legislature of 1856 and 1857, in
great part supplied this defect. 1t made
the Auditor of State the chief accounting
officer of the Treasury, and required all
payments as we'll as all disbursements to
be made upon his warrant; it directed the
Commissioners Of the Sinking Fund to
withdraw from the Treasury from time to
time the moneys belonging to that fund; it
provided for the appointment of deposito-
ries subordinate to the Treasury, and re-
quired of them ample securities for all
moneys deposited with them; and intro
duced other important checks upon the
acti IN of the Treasurer.
Had these provisions of law been adopted
Immediately after the ratification of the
present Constitution, it is highly improba-
bic that the defalcation which now en-
harnesses our finances could have oc-
CURED. ss
s It will be observed that the system now
established resembles, in some respects,
that Of the Independent Treasury Of the
United States. The resemblance would
be almost complete, except as to receipts
and disbursements of revenue in coin, if
the Treasurer of State were excluded from
actual custody of the puolic money, and
all payments were required to be made to
repositories, and all disbursements by
drafts upon them, under suitable restric-
tions and regulations.
asEMBLANCE OF A STATE sUB-TREAsURY RE-
80 ea. COMMENDED.
recommend provision Of this nature,
and that hereafter all public moneys be re-
quired to be collected and disbursed in
specie or notes of specie-paying banks of
this State, and that no payment be made
from the Treasury of any sum under
twenty dollars otherwise than in coin.
Every guard that Legislative wisdom can
devise should be provided against future
misuse Of public funds. recommend
also that provision be made for thorough
examination into the condition of the
County Treasures. and full reports of the
results for the infor nation Of the General
Assembly -a.
Some further provision of law is neces-
sary in regard to the custody and transfer
Of State and Federal bonds held by officers
Of State, as security for the circulation of
banks. AT present the bonds belonging
10 the Independent Banks are held by the
Treasurer. while those belonging to the
'Free Banks are held by the Auditor. In
case Of insolvency, the bonds are required