Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-02-26

TO carry on ali the institutions of the
State, and keep the machinery of the
governlnent IN motion This would de-
volve upon me great and novel RESPONSE
bilities, but they were as nothing COM
pared with those should have assumed
BY suspension and failure. Money was
procured from various sources-from the
proceeds of the arsenal, from various
counties-private persons-from one
bank and one railr Dad company, until, [
believe, sufficient funds have been seeur-
ed TO carry forward the State Govern
ment until the lst OF February, 1868. 1
ani gratiied to state that when the in
creased cost of ali articles of food, cloth
ing ana materials OF every kind consum-
Ell in the benevolent institutions shall
have been considered, It will be found
that they have been carried on at a di-
minished cost of ten or fifteen per cent,
as contrastcd with the expenditures of
former years. For this | am indebted
to the vigilance aud economy of The su-
perintenaents Of the institutions, the
members Of the Board of Trustees, and.
especially 70 Andrew Wallace, Presi-
dent of the BoaEa
Interest Oh the state Debt
p / neu approach the history Of trans-
action the most remarkable IN the iuan-
cial records of the State, and one which
will be read hereafter with mingled as
tonishment and Indignation.
Shortly after the adjournment of the
Legislature. 1t was bruited about that
Mr. Ristine, the State Auditor, would
decide that there was no existing appro-
ton by which the money could be drawn
from the Treasury to pay the interest on
the State debt, and shortly after the
opinion OF Mr.. Hord, the Attorney Gen.
eral, to that effect, purporting TO be ad
dressed to Mr. Ristine, was published in
the papers. This grand discovery was
surprise to everybody, and the purpose
of it could not be mistaken-which was
to drive me to call an extra session of
the Legislature. The proposition itself
was an insult to good morals and public
faith, and in utter disregard of the usage
and practice Of the State for many years
In lS4l, the State having contracted
large debt for the purpose of internal
improvement, and the system having
proved disastrous, failed to pay the
interest upon her bonds, the credit
of the State was at once prostrated in
the money markets of the world, her
hitherto good name everywhere affected,
and her fair prospects for future pros
perity and greatness blighted Her rep
utation for bad faith and bankruptcy for
many years caused the current Of immi-
grafton to sweep around her and over
her to States in the North and West, and
for a series of years her growth in popu-
lation and wealth was retarded. In
1916 the people of the State declared
imperatively that measures must be
adopted to restore her credit and do
justice to her creditors. Accordingly,
compromise was finally agreed upon
and adopted by which her creditors sur
rendered and cancelled one-half of their
debt, amounting to over seven millions
of dollars, in consideration of which the
State transferred to them the Wabash
and Erie Canal, and issued new stocks
to them for the other half, upon which
she solemnly pledged herself to pay the
interest semi-annually, on the first days
of January and July in each year, until
the principal should be paid. The ar
rangement was highly advantageous to
the State, and did mach for the imme-
date restoration of her credit For the
creditors it was bad one, for the Wa
bash and Erie Canal in few years be-
came worthless, and has since been
practically abandoned, and they had sur
rendered and lost one-half Of their entire
claim Legislation had in 1916 and
lS47, in completion of the arrangement,
was regarded as perfect and continu-
ing appropriation from the Treasury of
an amount of money sufficient to pay
the interest from time to time, accord
ing to the terms Of the new agree
ment 1t was so regarded and acted
upon throughout the remainder of the
Administration Of Governor Whitcomb,
throughout the two Administrations of
Governor Wright, and the late Admins
tration of Governor Willard. In 1857, the
Legislature having failed to make the
usual appropriations for the support of
the State Government, the Hon. Joseph
E. Mcdonald; then Attorney General of
the State, gave it as his official opinion
that while there were no appropriations
authorizing the payment of money from
the Treasury foE the support Of benevo-
lent institutions, there was a legal and
continuing appropriation for the pay
ment of the interest on the State debt,
and in accordance with this opinion,
Governor Willard, in 1858, borrowed
from the Sinking Fund enough money to
pay the July interest, the Treasury at
that time being empty. The new Con-
stitution adopted in 1850, expressly guar
anteed the payment of the principal and
interest of this debt, and was regarded
( as of itself constituting an. unalterab Bile
! appropriation until the principal of the
debt should be finally paid. 1t is true
that in 1859 and 1861, the Legislature
made special appropriations for the pay
ment of this interest, but so it did also
for the payment of the salaries of all the
State officers, the payment of the State
printer, and for several other purposes,
all OF which are now paid out of the
State Treasury, without specific appro-
priations. These appropriations were
without significance, because no ques-
ton had been or was then raised as tc
the sufficiency of the original appropria-
tions to pay the interest on the State
debt
Justice to Mr.. Brett, the Treasurer Of
the State, requires it to be said that he
did not enter readily into this scheme OF
reputation, and frequently expressed
his entire disapprobation of it To Sc
cure the cooperation Of Mr.. Brett, and
to stem the current of public indigna
ton which was setting in strongly
against the parties to this scheme, i
was determined in May to procure al
opinion from the Supreme Court, By
which Brett could be coerced, and under
which Ristine and his coadjutors coulC
be sheltered. Accordingly, in May the
Hon. W. H. Talbot, the President of the
Sinking Fund, and who, it was we'll un
derstood, was one of Ristine's adviser:
in this scheme of reputation, commenc
ed suit against Ristine in the Circui
Court of Marion County, asking for a
n