Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-08-20
THE County was not called upon for the pay.

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year 1857. Whether any part of the bonds
had been retained by the Company or not, we
do not know. Indeed, we do not believe thst
the Company have ever yet reported the man.
ner in which they. disposed of them; whether
by sale, delivery to contractors OF Others in
payment for work, paterialsan and machinery; by
hypothecation, OF otherwise This isimportant
in some respects Of the present controversy be-
tween the County and the holders of those
bonds, and it seems to us. that the court should
at once call ..upon the Company to report, in
detail, the.manner in which they parted with
these bonds, and especially, the consideration
received in each case. But whether these bonds
remained in the hands of the Company, or had
been transferred by them to others, the county
was not called on for thes payment of interest
prior to 1857, as we have just stated; bat at the
annual election in 1856, Tor possibly before that
time, for it may have been at the election of
1859 a material change had been made in the
membership Of the board. Upon an investi-
CATION, the board became satisfied that the pro-
position to pay interest dividends upon the
capital stock to their own shareholders, would
but lead to hopeless ruin and insolvency, TO say
nothing Of its illegality; and they therefore
wisely resolved to give notice to their share
holders, municipal and individual, that they
could no longer continue to do 3d. 'Conse-
quently, when the County Court met at its levy
term in. June, 1857, it was called upon to levy
for the interest for that yenr. This was done;
but We understand there was then some division
of opinion amongst the Justices as to the pro-
Priety Of. SO doing, and some Of the questions
since SO warmly debated were mooted and the
levy resisted. However with the understand
ing on the part of portion of the court, that
the levy would, in no manner, effect any of the
rights of the county, nor impair any defence
going to the validity of these bonds, it was
made.
Some time during the preceding year, the
road had been nominally completed TO Wash.
ington, Pa, and for some months had been
worked, with greater OF less regularity. But
in the early winter of 1867, both the road
and machinery had become so dilapidated and
out of repair, that all business upon it was
abandoned. Our readers, many of them at
least are aware of the arrangements under
which the road was sufficiently restored, the
old machinery repaired and some new machi
merry procured; by which means, the business
of transportation between this place and WASH
ington was resumed in the fall of 1858. But
we defer any further notice of these things at
present; it being our present purpose, in refer.
ing to them, to remind our readers of the con-
dltion, of the company's road, at the time of
the occurrence of the transactions which we are
about to detail. Up to the time of the levy
court in 1857, we are not aware that the court
or the people of the county, had in any manner
interfered IN the disposition of the bonds Of the
county, or the general management of the at.
fairssof the company by the board of directors.
It'll true, that at the January term, 1853, Of
the court, an order was passed, urging the cleo
ton of the Hon. R. T. Conrad, Of The city of
Philadelphia, TO the Presidency of the company,
(Which was, by this and other like means secu-
redo but this an order of a monthly term
and not the act Of the large body of the Justi.
ces. The court and the people seem to have
supposed, that, either every thing was going on
under the most prudent and careful manage.
ment, or that they were powerless to remedy
the miSmanagement and reckless waste of the
company scapital, if any there was; or what is
more likely was the case, the people were too
much engrossed in other enterprises in which
they felta greater individual interest," to give
any attention to this Hempfeld Company and
their operations Bethis as it may, the fact is,
that until called upon to levy for the interest,
the court had paid no attention whatever to the
$500, 900 Of bonds with their coupons, which
they had issued and delivered to this company:
They did not even enquire what.had been done
with them-nor in any manner make known
the slightest objection to their ultimate pay
ment. They knew At that time, that the com
Pany were unable TO provide for the payment of
the interest, and from their knowledge of the
condition. of the company 3 affairs, they could
neither have hoped nor expected, that their
ability would be in any wise improved within
thefew following years. stillthey did nothing.
We submit to the worshipful Justices, that this
SnaetiO", under the state of affairs, which has
existed, touching the county debt, during the
past twoyears, may, if cohtinbsd, result almost
as disnstrousIy, as active efforts even iHunwisely
directed. 60. = - / - - ~
However. as must have been anticipated by
the court would be the case at the lew term