Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-09-15
From the Charleston Courier.
To the Hon. Edward G. Palmer

~ IHe l1on EDWARD ". Ealmer.
1t is in behalf of the people of South Car
olna that you arraign the Officers of the Com
pany in the columns of the Edgcfcld Advc,,-
User, the SoaM CaroLimiam, and, presume,
IN other public journals, cd the charges of
violation of the charter of the Company, and
of bad faith for having expended the funds of
the Company beyond the limits of the State.
J have SHOWN that other Railroad Companies
IN SouthNEmolina have, by subscription of
stock to other Railroad Companies, in this
state aud oft of it, aided in the construction
Of other roads than their own, and it has not
occurred to any person that in so doing they
had violated their charters or acted in bad
faith. But will proceed to show that such
expenditure is authorized by Legislative re-
ports and cnactmcnts, and that even if it
were not consistent with the charter of the
Company, the State. as stockholdcr has
sanctioned and confirmed what the officers of
the Company have done. Some latitude must
be allowed to the defence. My purpose is not
to assert and to argue in reply to your charges,
but to prove them to be grossly unfoundcd
In the statement of the evidence | will he as
brief as may be compatible with this purpose
The Blue Ridge Railroad Company was in
corporatcd in 1882 and by the same Act the
State gave aid to the enterprise by engaging,
on certain conditions, to guarantee the bonds
OF the Company to the amount of 81 ,250, 900,
which bonds were to be secured by q first
mortgage on the road. 1t is unnecessary to
advert to the conditions of that aid, because it
was not accepted by the Company In 1858
the Company entered into a contract with An
son Bangs Co. for the construction of the
entire l5Iue Itdgc noao from Anderson tu
Knoxville. The contractors undertook to do
all the work and furnish all the materials nee
essary for the complete construction of the
road, at certain fixed prices for the work and
materials, for which payment was to be made
to them monthly, onelalf in cash, one fourth
in stock, and the remaining fourth in bonds of
the Company, which were to be secured only
by mortgage of the road. The aid granted
by the Act of 1852 being considered by the
contractors to be insufficient to enable the
Company to perform their part of the con.
tract, they Inserted a stipulation that, unless
more satisfactory aid was granted by the State
they should be at liberty to abandon the con.
tract.
The Company accordingly titoned the
Legislature, in 1853, for more effective assis-
tance, In the petition all the terms of the
contract with Anson Bangs & Co were fully
set forth. The estimated cost of the rond in
South Carolina was stated to be SO, 500 900 {;
and of the entire road, from Anderson to
Knoxvile, to be So, 100000 The means of
the Company to accomplish the work,
were exhibited to be: The subscription by the
City of Charleston, S1,040, ,0OO private sub
scriptions, S151 900. The Tennessee sub
scription, $500, 600, aud the Stock and Bonds
OF the Company to be taken by Bangs & Co.
in payment of one-half of the estimated cost
of the road. These assets, amounting in the
whole to S5,450,0 900, left deficiency, when
compared with the estimated cost of the road
from Anderson to Knoxville, of $4,000 900.
The petition prayed that the Legislature
would supply this deficiency by a subscription
OF $753,990, ;n edition to the guaranty of
Bonds provided for by the Net OF. 1882. The
petition was referred to the appropriate Com
mittees in tho two House,, aud bill was re-
ported granting aid to the amount prayed for
by the Company. After very full discus.
sion of the bill upon It's merits, the bill was
passed in the Senate but lost in the House
4 In tha progress of the bill certain fesolu-
tlops gero adopted by the Senate, calling for
INFORMATION respecting the amount of the
subscriptions in South Carolina and Georgia !;
che nntnber ofindiyiduhl subscribers, aud the
particulars of the contract with Anson Bangs
" Co The President Of the road. Mr. Hem
ny Gourdia, responded to the Inquiries, and
his statement was reported BY the Committee
Of Finance and Banlss TO tho Senate. The
terms Of the contract with Anson Etss.,ssss &
Co, for the constrnctioha aof the road from
Anderson 70 Knoxville, were fully set forth