The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-12-07

J60DA I NlOH6NlNt, DECEI
exported products of the State. Claiming tc
represent large amount Of capital, their names
are chiefly found upon the. arrear list, when
found at all in the tax books, and nearly all ol
them have long since voluntarily recorded
themselves upon the roll of bankrupts. Their
pretence that they are the guardians of the
honor and credit of South Carolina, would be
supremely ridiculous, lift were not SO supreme
Their present cry Of "repudiation" Ia not sur
prising. Reputation is their chronic disease
When they were in power in 1862, they repudi-
ated all their debts due the loyal men, both
private and public, and have themselves been
repudiated by the people of South Carolina,
upon the blood, and muscle, and sinews OF
whose hard-handed laborers these privileged
few so long fattened. Processing to be the
champions of good government, when they
were in power, instead of efecting an equitable
distribution of the taxes over all classes OF
property, they created numerous railway and
other corporations, exempting them from all
taxation forever. These corporations, although
owning millions of property throughout the
treasury, and even successfully claim, in the
1
for their residences, and pleasure carriages and
horses of their officers in our towDs and cities,
where, in nearly every street, these wealthy
benefciaries of the State own long rows OF
houses, .untaxed and untaxable, which they
buy and cell on speculation.
| Remembering the general private suffering
that they have caused, and the great public
burdens that they have aided to create by their
treasonable acts, it would better become these
selfstyled representatives of South Carolina to
walk more humbly, and to show grateful up
probation of the generous magnanimity that
they have receiyedat the hands of the National
and State Governments, by honestly endeavor-
ing, in some measure, to repair the ruin that
they have made. a.. As these persons have been
pleased to except from their proposed scheme
of "repudiation" the "old bonds" Of the State,
| it may be well to inform them that should the
evil day ever come for South Carolina to pro-
claim her perfdy or insolvency, by repudia-
ting any part of her valid debt, she will not
first dishonor that class of her obligations in
the benefits arising from the creation of which
the largest number of her people have shared.
On such financial dooms-day the last would
surely not be the first.
In dismissing this branch of my message,
would observe that the local combination
ism applied to the State credit, and naturally
had, upon the exchangeable value of our secu-
rites, the same depressing effect which that in
famous system has had upon the material pros
perity of the State.
THE FINANCIAL AGENT OF TIE STATE.
When the present State Government was in
augurated, July 6, 1861 there were only S45
in the State Treasury. A large bonded and
floating debt incurred by former administra-
tions, had to be provided for. The ancient
credit of the State, that had once stood SO just
ly high in the money markets of the world,
was gone. 1t had been blown away with the
smoke of the first gun fired at Fort Sumter.
In order to meet the current expenses, until
money sould be realized from the tax levy, it
was necessary for the State to borrow on its Sc
curities. To effect this object on the best terms
for the State, the General Assembly authorized
the Governor, Attorney-General and the Treas,
urer, "to appoint under commission signed
by them, some responsible bank or banker in
the city of New York, to act as Financial Agent
of the State" To this end, visited New
York, and conferred with leading banks. They
all declined the agency, alleging that the du-
ties were arduous and the time of payment un-
certain; that we were only borrowers in the
market While thus endeayoring to secure the
services Of responsible and efficient Financial
Agent, the name of Mr.. II. 81. Kimpton was
presented. He was highly endorsed by prom
fnent officials in the State, and by leading
bankers in New York, among whom were the
Presidents of the Broadway Bank and the
Bank of The Republic. Although averse to ap-
pointing any individual banker Financial
Agent, for reasons which time has since forti-
fed, there then appeared to be no other alter.
native, and I, therefore, as one of the Financial
Board, gave my assent to the appointment OF
Mr.. KimptoD, but on the condition that he
would give bond to the State in the sum Of
S5OOO00, conditioned for the faithful discharge
of his trust as Financial Agent. Mr.. Henry
Clews, a prominent banker OF New 4ork, was
proposed and accepted as bondsman, and was
afterwards informed by the Treasurer that Mr.
Kimpton had executed and filed his bond.
It is proper that should here remark, that
the law did not require the Financial Agent to
give bond, nor are bonds ever required of
their financial agents by other States; but In
! sisted upon it, out of an abundance OF caution
| in the interest of the State / mention this
fact simply to show that this trust was not care
lessly conferred In referring 10 it, do not
mean to intimate that the depreciation in our
securities bears any relation to the bond OF the
Financial Agent, for, even though his bond had
exceeded in amount the total value OF our Sc
cufities in his hands, that depreciation and the
consequent loss to the State could not have
been thereby prevented, as it would have in
| demnifed the State only in the event of dam
age received through neglect or fraud on the
part par of the Agent neither Of which is alleged
against him. Subsequent events have made it
manifest that it was a grave mistake to appoint
an individual instead Of chartered company
as our Financial Agent An individual bank
er, whatever may be his capacity as fnancier,
cannot, in the management of large money ~
confidence on the part of capitalists, that a
corporation can. Especially is this the case
when the basis of the proposed negotiation
consists of class Of securities new to the
market, at q time, too, when there was all &C.
tive speculative movement in the stocks and
bonds of all the Southern States, and the value
of the currency to holders was constantly made
| l.. a,,,+,,oto h,, nDorotiono nf speculatOrS in