Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-04-30

Our honorable Legislators are
still tinkering q 1.-THE State debt aud
we doubt if they will ever succeed
in getting the matter wiped out
fully to their satisfaction. A short
time since a bill was introduced
for the funding Of the present
State debt, and for the accumula
ton Of about 100000 of idle
money to lie and rot in the State
vaults, If some enterprising indi-
yidual did not relieve the State Of
the care Of it. This bill we have
lost sight Of. We cannot tell
whether it has been smothered in
the committee room, has died a
natural death or is being redressed
for q second presentation. In the
meantime, however, Mr.. Landon,
from this city, presents his bill
which we print elsewhere, in full,
to-day. Mr.. Landon's bill is food.
ed with faults, so much so in fact,
that ifthere is any sense of justice
and fairness in the Legislature, we
are satisfied the bill will never
pass. 1t is lamentably lame in its
most important particular. The
consolidation of the debt is very
ably provided for but there was
an exhibition of similar genius in
an effort to provide no means for
the ultimate payment of the debt.
The floating debt by the plan Of
Mr.. Landon is all absorbed, and
interest ~punctually paid, If there
should be any money with which
to pay it, and there the whole mat.
ter rests.
To be brief. The bill provides,
that after q certain day this year,
the Auditors warrants shall be no
longer receivable for taxes, but
the taxes must be paid in national
currency or coin; that in sums of
not less than one hundred dollars
they shall be presented to the
Treasurer who shall give a cert.
ficate declaring the amount of
warrants surrendered. This cert.
ticate is to be presented to the
Auditor who will give in exchange
coupon warrants, bearing eight
per cent interest, in sums of one
hundred dollars. These coupons
are made payable in February,
lS71-2-3 These coupons, as
they become due, are made receiv-
able for taxes due to the State.
The warrants are made receivable
also for State taxes after they be.
come due.
While the bill does not declare
when the warrants shall become
due, yet the form prescribed for
Auditors warrants provides that
they shall become due on the first
day ofMay, 1873. These warrants
have appended coupons falling
due on the LIST of February, 1871
%; these coupons are SS 90,
sl6 90 and ga 90 on each war
want of one hundred dollars, and
yet the warrants are to bear date
May LIST, 1870, which pays q full
years interest for only nine
months, the interval between May,
1870, and February, 1871, and
this continues through the three
years contemplated. Here is a
serious fault.
The next serious objection is
the forced funding. The claims
are virtually barred unless funded.
No provision whatever for their
payment Is made after the expira-
ton Of the three years, and Sher-
Ifs are prohibited from receiving
them for taxes. Thus, unless they
are funded as required by this
bill, other legislative action must
be had to provide for their pay
ment. After being forced to re-
main without the use Of their
money for three years, at least,
the h~oldersssOf claims against the
State are not rewarded by the
payment Of their claims outright,
but In lieu thereof the SheriFs
ere instructed to receive them
in payment Of taxes; and
they will thus be gradually
absorbed as they are now, while
the State has undergone an addi-
tiOnal expense Of forty.eight dol
lars interest on every hundred dol