The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-08-29
SPEECH OF
GOVERNOR CONRAD BAKER,
delivered as indianapolis, Saturday
evening, Auguss q, 1870.

allow-C Citizens:
The past and present Indebtedness
of the State being matters OF puoil11c
record, open to the Inspection OF al,
nav be misrepresented, but need not
"a misunderstood by any one deslrous
1f knowing the truth.
[ propose in what L shall say on
lis subject on the present occasion, to
sither quote literally from the record,
.r at least to refer to book and page
Tor the veri6cation of every state
ment.
1t is a matter of history that. In
diana in 1886, under the influence Of
The internal improvement mania which
then afflicted her people, embarked
il the construction of vast system OF
Dublic works which soon proved to
be largely beyond her ability to COM
Dlete.
By single act in 1886. she author
ized the borrowing of $40, 600, 900, for
which the faith of the State was
pledged. The bonds issued under this
not. are known as Internal Improve
ne1t RoRds;;" and although there
we're other bonds of prior issues out
standing at the time Of the adjust
nent Of the State debt in 1847, L
shall, to avoid circumlocution, desig-
nate all the bonds issued prior to
1847 as Internal Improvement
Bonds"
In 1841, the State ceased to provide
ior the payment of the interest on
her outstanding bonds, and no at
tempt was made to resume the pay.
nent of the interest on any portion of
aer bonded debt until after the ad-
8ustment of 1S47. When the State
suspended payment of the interest in
i841, her entire taxable property, real
and personal, was less than 500 Co.,
900, and her outstanding liabilities.
foreign and domestic, were about
100000. In other words, the
State owed an amount equal to about
one eighth of all the taxable property
of her entire people.
In 1945, the taxable property of the
State had increased to $l22, O00, 900;
and, at the meeting Of the General
Assembly In December of that year.
Charles Butler, Esq, of New York,
on behalf of large number OF the
foreign creditors of the State, pro-
posed that the public debt of the
State should be adjusted in such
manner, and upon such terms as
would render it possible for her to re-
sumo the payment of interest on such
portion of the debt as should by the
terms of the arrangement be charged
upon the revenues of the State.
The result of many conferences be-
tween Mr.. Butler and the members
and appropriate committees of the
Legislature, was the passage of the
act Of January 18th, 1916, entitled
AN act to provide for the funded
debt of the State of Indiana, and for
che completion of the Wabash aud
Erie Canal to Evansville
This act was submitted soon after
its passage by Mr.. Butler to confer
ence of a large number of the foreign
creditors of the State, held IN Lon
don, at which divers amendments
were suggested and prepared for pre-.
eentation to our General Assembly, at
its, then, next meeting, in December
1916.
The amendments were accordingly
presented, and the result was the pas
sage of the supplementary act OF
January q, 1847, which, as ] under.
stand the matter, largely consists Of
amendments prepared by the London
Conference, and hence the peculiari-
ties of this act when compared with
our ordinary forms of legislation.
These two acts taken together have
ever since their passage been known
as the Butler Bill"
This Butler Bill was at the time oil
its passage only proposition, because
it in express terms provided that il
should cease, determine and be NIL
and void unless bonds of the State to
the amount of four million dollars
exclusive of interest, should be sur.
rendered for cancellation under the
provisions of the bill on or before the
first day of July, 1847. What ther
was, or is, the Butler BiIl?" l an
swer in brief that it was a PROPOSE,
ton made In the first place by a large
number of the creditors of the State
to the Legislature, and adopted by it
that, the creditors should take the
Wabash & Erie Canal and some 800,
600 acres of land donated by Con
gress for its completion, for one-hal
of the principal of the bonded debt
and also for one half Of the Interest
accrued thereon; and, for the other
half, the State was to make provisions
by taxation.
The principal of each bond was to
be divided into two equal parts, and
for one OF these halves or parts the
State was to issue-upon the surren
der of the old bonds--a new FIVE pei
cent. State bond, the interest being
payable semi annually, and the prin-
clpal being payable at the pleasure OF
the State after the expiration of TWEEN
ty years.
For the other half of the principal
OF each bond surrendered a five Der
cent. certificate of Canal Stock was 10
issue, and the payment Of the princi
pal and interest thereof, was to be ex-
clusiyely charged upon the Wabash
and Erie Canal, its lands and revenues
and for the payment of which the
State was not to be liable,
The interest in arrears from 1341
TO 1S4I, on each bond surrendered was
to be funded, and interest on the 40.
gregate thus funded was to be calcn
lated at the rate of two and a hal
per cent. per annum from January /
1847, to January l, 1853, and added
to such aggregate. and the sum thuC
TO be divided into equal parts, for on,
of which halves or parts, certificate
of State Stock was to issue, bearin,
interest after January /, 1853, at tn
rate of two and a half per cent. ant
for the other half. a like Certifcat,
ofCanal Stock, chargeable exclusivel,
upon said Canal, was to issue: Fou
millions of the old bonds of the Stat
were surrendered under the Butte
Bill before the LIST day of July, 1847
and that bill thereupon became eff
fectual. IF all the Internal Improve
ment Bonds had been surrendered
the matter would have then been yer,
much slmpilhedi for them the foreigl
debt, for which the State is liable
would have consisted exclusively O
two and q half and five ner cent Stat