The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-04-05
series had. not been used, except to the extent
of about $50, 1000, leaving about sl,46o, 600 on

This review presents the bono indebted
| ness of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad
Company, as follows, viz:
| Oh frst mortgage bonds; maturing
1862. 1858. 1884, outstanding, about. Soy IVY
Old non-nDrtgage, past due.......1 1919. e0o
State guarantees. i,'o''e''
Bo1Gs. secend mortgagasnot issued,
81, 500, 600, less $4,000, Used In K
changes. ,4oo'VuN
And the Illegal and damaging character OF the
legislation eonprehendedi in the so-called ICON
solidation act'' becomes conspicuously plain.
The act provides that the States guaranty and
mortgage, solemnly delivered to the present
holders as a first mortgage, shall be repealed,
and TALL other mortgage. obligations Of the
company preferred thereto" What are"the
other mortgage obligations? The frss mort
gage. old and past due, amounts to about $780,
600, and the second mortgage, just referred to-
sl,450, 900. These the act proposes to call nrst
morteages-the State guarantees second,
and for what? To pander to the greed GA
band of twelve men, who are responsible for
all the evils whichhave come upon the State,
in all their various shapes. And at whose iex-
pense is this. to be done?
lst. At the expense of the holders Of these
guaranty bonds, which, If this act is enforced,
will have little or no value.
I'd. at the expense Of the citizens of this
State, who may hereafter, (the security OF the
bonds being wlthdrawn,) have to pay them.
About the Illegally and moral wrong Of this
act there can be no question. The real ques-
ton Is, what remedy have we against proceed,
ings of a character which appear to defy all
the restraints of law and Justice, and all the
obligations of honor? And the real answer Is,
we oughtsto use stern and unoompromisingre,
~slstance b. every means known to the law.
If our own:coarts cannot, or will not, protect
the citizens in the enjoyment of their rights,
let US go into the United States Courts and see
if the obligation to respect contracts is a sub
stantial protection or a hollow sound. Let US,
as stockholders, bondholders and citizens, en-
phatically and in1exibly oppose this tide Of
fraud and rapine.
But it may be said, the injury is apparent
and speculative. only. Governor Scott in his
WSoSo&C opP10sLp6 sAS " ooJo oo1 eaN -
presses the opinion that though. the State
guaranty is degraded, there is NO ground OF
apprehension that the road may fab to pay the
interest. What Governor Scott says, md what
Governor Scott means, have before to-day
been found to be very different things. But If
Governor Scott has said any such thing, then
he has said what he ought to- know is hot cor
rect. Governor Scott Is one of the Ring, and
he ought to know that the Greenville and Co.
lumbia Rallroadhas not paid the interest on
its present bond debt as given above (sl,soO,-
oeofor the past year, out Of Its earnings; and
lit cannot pay the interest on 81, 900, 900, Is 1t
likely to pay interest on that sum aud 81, 49,
900 added-s3. 450, 900 total? Mr. Kimp-
toms arithmetic will hardly cypher him out of
that difficulty, though Il may borrow for him,
on O pledge of State bonds, at ls per cent. per
annmm, the money for the purpose for a
while, and until the grand crash of the rotten
fabric comes, whose fall will reveal a picture
OF moral flth, shocking to common honesty.
FIRST MORTGAGE B~oNDHoLDERS
OF b GREENvTLLE Road.