The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1861-03-21
Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana,

leaving due the state. tnfrty nine tnouoon
nine hundred and thirty three dollars 40
one cent These two bill were, at the clos
OF Mr. Nofsinger's official term. delivered ,
his successor. who made no attempt to &C
erce the payment of them; nor did the the
officers Of State direct the Attorney Genel
ALDO institute suit thereon
When the Commission met. there wa
due the entire amount above stated. togett
er with the interest which had accrued there
on.
The going is believed To be faithful
history Of the transaction. derived from .
the sources of information within our reach
Mr. Michael q. Bright proposed 10 US L
discharge these bills. and the notes given b,
May, Drake and himself to Auditor Talbot
by real estate, at fair valuation He sub
Initted for our examination list of lands
with an abstract of title. He stated his be
lief tha. he had a valid defense TO a recov
cry upon the paper. but that. for obvious
reasons. he anxiously desired the settlement
of the matter in tie manner proposed.
From a full examination of the facts, We
had no doubt of the liability Of a the par
ties to these bills. The efficacy OF an at.
tempted collection of them by suit. involv
ed other considerations. May and Drake
hal no tangible property, and we're regard
ed as hopelessly insolvent After thorough
inquiry into the pecuniary condition Of the
remaining party, we were satisfied that an
acceptance OF the proposition was the only
mode we could adopt. for the adjustment Of
this Indebtedness, without subjecting the
State to the imminent hazard Of total loss.
We visited and carefully examined the
lands embraced in the proposition, and were
aided b. Thomas 5. Stanfeld, ESQ.,, whose
I services 10 this connection were able to
secure. and whose opinions were entitled to
great weight. The discrepancy between
our valuation of the lands and the price
Claimed tor them. was so great as to pre-
cude for time. all hope of a se,tlement.-
Mr.. Bright subsequently, offered lands
lying III Jasper county. to which. he assur-
ed us, he would, at an early day. be able to
obtain valid title. After personal exam
ination OF the laads by one OF US. and TAX
Ing the ssorn statement OF those convers-
ant with their quality and market value. We
agreed 10 take, IN extiuguishment OF Mr..
Bught's liability upon the bills, 500 acres.
A written contract was executed by which
he stipulated to convey them to the S,at by
good and sufficient deed. This contract
was submitted to, and received the official
sanction of Gov Willard with whom we
had frequent interviews duling the progress
OF our Investigations. and whose opinions.
on all the points involved in this mater, CO.
inclded with our own.
We regret to say that Mr.. Bright failed to
comply with the contract, by reason OF his
inability to make title to the whole of the
lands. A modification was then made, by
which. the Commissioners agreed to take
1865 acres, a portion of the lands to which
a ha nd in of
the remainder, to accept conveyance Of
1,2S0 acres Of land in Newton county
The contract was closed aud received your
appreciation.
In the Appendix to this report. viii! be
found description of the lands. Most of
those lands in Jasper are in body. and Of
ea>y access from any point. They arr,
therefore, more capable of being guarded
against trespasses and waste. Although
the larger portion Of them were originally
selected as Swamp Lands. yet the selection
under she act of 1859. was made early by
the late Col. May, with view to incorpo
rate them Into his home farm. They are
now almost entirely reclaimed by drainag-,
and are found 70 possess all the fac quail :
ties Of rich prairie land. In the midst OF
an agricultural region of surprising fertility
surrounded by well cultivated farms, within
an hours drive OF railway station upon
one Of the great thoroughtares from the AT
lantic cities to The Mississippi, and within
ten miles of inter.ecting railroad run
nlny from North to South. and passing
through the capital OF the State. that can
be reached III five hours, these tracts have
an intrinsic value, that can not be estimated
b. ordinary rules.
The lands in Newton are more remote
from any leading thorong ghfare, and sit
uated IN sparsely settled section Of the
country. They are OF course less valuable
than the lands in Jasper county. X word
as to tie. prospective value of the real e>-
tate. may not be Inappropriate. Our con
tdence in this property is such, that We re-
gard it to be the true policy Ct the Stale to
retain the ownership for many years, and
We believe that. at no distant period, it will
pay a large principal represented BY the
debts.
During the progress of our investig ations
upon this subject, we deemed it our dut,
to direct the Attorney General to Institute
suit upon Mr. Nofsinger's official bond
The remedy upon ths, instrument would
soon have been barred by ispse of time. anc
our object was TO preserve the rights OF tbs
State, anI the means Of their enforcement
the conclusion that legal liability existed
We informed tha, gentleman and his profes
sional adviser. as well IS the Attorney Gen
ersl. that We had taken that step only will
that view. We regretted the apparent ne
cessiiy tor it. and the suit was calculated t,
impair Mr.. Nofsinger's credit. and nigh
give rise to injurious and unfounded impu
tations 1t was agreed that the suit shoult
be continued. until we should be prepared Il
come to a conclusion. with full knowlsdg
of all the facts.
Two questions arise for determination
Were these bills the property of the State
or os Mr.. No isingers Ii they belonged 4
the State, wha. liability, if any. did tha
gentleman incur, By reason OF the curchas
Of them, and the failure of the parties there
10 TO pay them?
Ii there was no public necessity for th
purchase of such paper. If the money ad
vanced therefor WAS. really and IN fsct
81 Of Al