The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-12-22

been sent to a committee and kept there s.
| week, in nteTrOr,tm over the President. He had
been informed also that the bonds of the State
had fallen ito p five cents on the dollar. He
| was sorry also for that, but 1t was not to be
1 helped, and he asked If the men who were now
| arraigned had paused, in their career of theft
and prodigality, to consider the wounds they
were ipficting upon the credit of the State. He
understood that telegramhad been produced
in caucus to show that he had asked the Gov
ernor to retain Kimpton, but ne denied that
| he had done 80. He had sent telegram
when he saw that the State was being robbed
| of 50, ,500,0 600, as an effort 10 prevent that
| fraud. He had seen In New York blank
piece of paper with the signature OF R. K.
Scott at the bottom, which was to be filled up
with an order authorizing So, SOC, 600 OF sterling
| bonds TO be launched upon the market, and
he had begged Scott to prevent that.
Jones Gnterrupting.) You say you saw a
| blank piece Of paper? How are you going to
make us believe that therefore So, 500, 900 were
going to be transferred?
Mr. Bowen replied that he could show 1t by
three members there present, and bv two
members Of the Senate, and he would put
| them on the stand and make them prove 1t.
The Governor and treasurer had clandestinely
caused Sc 000, 900 of sterling bonds 10 be print
ed, had caused the Autographed signature OF
the Governor 10 be attached to S3,500,0O OF
them, and then proposed TO put them in the
hands OF the treasurer without any guarantee
whatever.
Byas Cnterruplng.) What's the treasurer
for? What is lie piid for but taking care OF
the bonds? Why do you say clandestinely !!
Financial board had three members, and two OF
them were quorum
Mr.. Bowen read from the act authorizing
the sterling loan 10 show that the knowlege
and consent of an advisory board, comprising
the Governor, treasurer, comptroller-Seneral,
attorney general aud secretary of State, were
necessary 10 any transfer Of those b 9nds. But
the Governor aud treasurer had got control OF
them without consulting the majority of the
board, and the attorney ey-general mad gone TO
New York 10 commence legal proceedings
against them, but they had begged of. He
proceeded. not without many interruptions
from Byas, Jones, Hayne, Singleton and
others, TO expose what he termed the Green
vile and Columbia Paiiroad swindle, and he
said that he saw on the floor Of that House
almost every man who was interested In that
swindle, trying to save themselves. The
money TO buy up that road came from the treas
ury Of The State, and when the people, in alarm,
stopped the sale Of stock, aud when the South
Carolina Railroad Company was ready to pay
SIS per share for the stock, they. got the sink
inr iund act through and sold the stock be-
longing 10 the State for 50 Is per share, while
the South Carolina Company was paying SIS for
il. Then the Governor refused to sign the
transfer until his brother-in-law was paid
$40, 900, " hich Uas DONE and then the trans
fer was signed and the swindle completed
He had heard another rumor-that he had
gone TO Scott and asked him to sign check
| for s23, 900, assuring him that II he would do
so the Impeachment proposition would be
Withdrawn. This he pronounced wilfil, ma
licious, diabolical lie, such as could have EN-.
anated Omy from man VINO hau
never In his life sacrificed one selfish
interest to public good, and If the Governor,
treasurer or anybody else would swear to such
q statement, he would fix them so that they
need not be lmpeached. He then took up the
subject OF the land commission, which he de-
nounced as an uumltigated swindle. The cs'
tensibe object had been q laudabe one-to
provide homesteads for poor people-but how
had they proceeded? They had paid from
three TO ten times the value of every piece of
land they purchased, and In the majority OF
cases had got no titles that were worth the
paper they were written on. Drawing his IL
Iustrat'on from Charleston County. where he
was best acquainted with the facts, he in-
stanced the Manigault tract, in the Parish OF
could be bought for $4,000, but which was
bought by the land commissioner Tor $4,000.
Byas here arose 10 the point of order, that
the Governor was arraigned and not the land
commissioner.
Tue speaker ruled out the point OF order,
the Governor as a member OF the advisory
board of the land commission, and as such, es
a party to the frauds. He was not surprised
however, at the course of some parties who
had been helped liberally from the treasury OF
this State, but he advised one member VINO
had been paid a swlndlng claim of $4,000 to
take heed.
and wanted to know If the member referred
10 him.
Mr.. Bowen replied that when you fire gun
into pack of dogs II is easy to tell which dog
is hit BY the noise he makes. He continued
that he understood perfectly well the position
o. those parti,s. The Governor had said
plainly to them that he had stood BY them In
the past and allowed them 10 pluDder and rob
the people, and that now II they refused to
stand by him the doors of the Penilentiary
were standing open to receive Them. Con-
linuing his exposure of the land commission
swlndies he instanced the Whitewood tract In
Christ Church Parish, which in 1858 had been
sold to George A. Trenholm for $1,000, In 1855 10
Mr. Lucas for $500. and In 1858 10 Mr.. GilloOn
~ for $4,000, Mr.. Gillopn ~ giving Mr. Lucas
bond and mortgage for The whole amount.
Mr.. Lucas assigned the mortgage 10 trust TO
DR.. Wragg, who, upon foreclosure, sod The
tract for $780, After all this, however, the
land COMMISSION bought 1t from DR.. Wragg for
the astonishing sum OF S23 900; and the worst
of all was that they got no title und-r Gods
heaven for it, because Dr. WIaSes had no
riuht under the trust deed to make sale.
The Pla,t tract was purchased for $4,000, but
no scintilla of title obtained. Another tract
was bought from A Of B one clay for 5000, and
sold by B The same day to the land commits
sion for $4,000, and the advisory board ap-
proved of it. Another tract. on Johns Island,
was sold some time ago TO Mr.. Dill tor 5000.
Then Julius Carpenter bought the tract from
Mr.. Dill for 5000, and then another man (Cap-
tain Joseph H. Jenks) who never owned 1t,
sold il to the land commission for $4,000, aud
julius Carpenter holds the title yet. Mr. Bowen
continued in tits strain ct some length, and
then referred to the one hundred ana eighty
thousand acres of public land that Con.
gress had given to the State. He asked
where the scrip for this land had gone. It
had been reported as sold, and the proceeds
invested in State securities, but Scott and
Parker, In whose hands the scrip had been
placed, reported that 1t had been sold at 72s
cents, while he could bring men who could
swear that they paid 81 cents for large por-
tions of that scrip and would g'adly have
taken more at that price. He referred also to
the school moneys, saying that the county
commits sioners were unable TO get The money
they were entitled TO 10 support the schools,
because it had been diverted into the pockets
of the Ring He affirmed the truth OF these
statements, and declared that every member
of the House knew that they were true. and
he concluded his argument with spirited and
earnest appeal to the House to throw no OBJ
oto in tho yyay Of hrin IinO To the bar of