The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-01-01
THE LAND RING SWINDLES.
,WHIT VAS Paid FOR LESLIEys RE-
- .SIGN4TTON.

AAA A-AA'O AeAi'O OIt 1IlDLLO'
fWHlT VAS PAID FOR LEsLLEs RE
SIGN4TION
An Outrageous and Enormous Swindle
4 How 1t Worked-shali the CuIprits
:. be Brought to Justices
/ The joint investigating committee, having,
In their expose of the land commission
sWindle, shown the provisions of the laws
upon the subject, and also. the startling fact
that the money spent for the purposes Of the
commission amounts, as far as known, to
s746,724 OF tonly 100000 in bonds. having
beer appropriately so on to say:
Here Is an instance OF very large excess in
expenditures over the appropriations or pro.
visions made for the same. By the act ap.
proved March q, 1869, and March !, 1870, an
Issue of seven hundred thousand dollars
(sT0e, ,OO0) In bonds Of the State were author.
lied s'for the purposes of the land commits
slon." No information Is yet obtained from
sources from, which it should be expected,
whether any Of these bonds have been sold,
and when the financial agent was by this
committee asked, '.lf he had sold class of
bonds known as land commission honds,n he
falledto give a'declded answer, but left the
inference that a portion If not all Of these
bonds had been cold.
The committee also, by collateral informa-
tion, were led to believe that portion Of this
class of bonds had been sold, by the order Of
|. the financial board, at price as low as sixty
cents, which. If true, would net. If all disposed
OF, -four hundred and twenty thousand dollars,
{s420, 0,900,) or three hundred and twenty-slx
II h,,n Nd fsra - frraa
07-l00 dollars 1926, 723 07 less than the Gggre-
gate expenditures Of the commission, under
the two first commissioners.
Or. If these bonds were sold at the price
fixed upon by resolution passed by the advi.
sorry board, June 10th, 1870, which directs
SIhe land commissioners to sell them for n ot
less than elghty-ave cents on the dollar" then
hundred and hfty.one thousand seven hundred
and twenty 7-100 dollars, (sl5l, 72s- 07) less
than the aggregate amount expended.
Accordiog ITO the correspondence between
the Hon. r. C.. DsLarge, land commissioner,
and q. n. Kimpton, financial agent, dated
June l7th, 1870, at Columbia, s. g., 1t would
seem that five hundred thousand dollars OF
these bonds had not at that time been sold
for, when the financial agent was requested TO
turn them over to- the land commissioner, he
was informed '.that the State treasurer some
time eince forwarded the said five hundred
thousand dollars of bonds to me, TO be used
as collateral security Tor loans. All OF. the
bonds are now In use as collateral security for
moneys advanced to the land commission. ]
am ready to promptly deliver the bonds to you
whenever the loans are paid or other satisfac.
tory securities are substituted In their place"
If such then was the fact, for two months
before June 10th. 1870, had the excess alluded
to been paid ont, 1t is certain the bonds Issued
| tor land commission purposes were no longer
sufficient as "collatsrals for moneys ad.
vauced In that direction. From what source.
| then, could the excess have been provided for
The fertile brains of men, bent upon person.
reference to the Legitimacy OF such payments,
it is intlmated, devised way, or Interpreted
| the provisions of law 80 hberally, as TO cover
| all amounts expended, and here Will the ne.
Eceesity OF guarding all future appropriations
| be seen, as well as the. great care necessary
| to be used In the selection of language Cloth
Ing O provision of law that authorizes the
issue OF bonds for loans, on me Ialtn ano
credit of the State. There should be nc
chance for misinterpreiation of the law; II
1t Is Intended to provide for the issue Of bonds
| the face value Of which. in the aggregate,
shall be seven hundred thousand dollars,
without any reference to their market value,
| let the provisions Of the law 80 declare; then
It may not be possible for an issue of bonds to
De maze Suulcleut, WuSu Sue, " otiuS SefCu
hundred thousand dollars, though the bonds
| NAV sell FOR less than. half their face value.
That such course has been pursued In
| the issue of land commission bonds, either
by the financial agent with or Without the
consent of the financial board, the com
mittee : have reason to believe will be
eventually proven, and If the law IN tlls
| Instance can be construed to authorize ar
Issue Of bonds sufficient to realize their face II
| aoNo -S,1-n atrunfi0n
placed upon every statute, providing for the
| issue of bonds |? And as 1t has been, by some
| of the State officials admitted, that the law
| already passed authorizing the pew loans are
capable Of such construction, and, If an oVel
issue has been made, astrlct interpretation o
| the law permits 1t, may we not fear that the
rumor as to '.over Issues Of Ehe new bonds o
cion aud speculation The keeping of the
| land commission accounts has been systen
/ of conceaIment; the outlays were go great il
80 short q time that the operators themselves
| had not vet grown bold enough to submit
them to the inspection Of the public. Fol
some time there was controversy between
/ the State treasurer, the financial board aux
should be kept, and so determined was tn
| financial l.agent that they should be Kept by tn
| State treasurer, to whom. he was willing t
Furnish money to, make payments, that he sui
tered the earliest dralls Of the treasurer, on &C
| count of the land commission, to go to protest
! and they were returned thrice dlshonored.
This course did not long prevail; the reason
/ of the treasurer became TOO .,cogent and con
yincIng, as we'll as the persuaslons and assur
ances OF the subtle commissioner, who "Fo
ways that are dark and tricks not oil vain,
has no equal.
The major part of the business transaction
! of the land commission were now performed
by the financial agent In the City OF New
York. The accounts kept by him, o: By
transcript Of the same, will be seen. To u.s.
the language Of the financial agent IN ansWe
to the question from the committee, "Wha
has been the process by which the land com
mission transactions have been conducted be
tween you, as financial agent of the State o
| South Carolina, and the State treasurer Pr h'
saye, s'Instead of drawing on me, the treasu
rer directed me to credit the State as having
received the money from him, and charg'
the land commission with the same"
| This plan, 1t will be apparent, obVlated tn
necessity of charges upon the treasurer's Of
even the land commissioners books. AS al
| illustration in the case Of the 'Hell-Holt
| Swamp purchase, Parker gives drafts on q
81. Kimpton. in favor of q. B. Oakes, for ont
| hundred and twenty thousand seven hundred
and ffty-two dollars (sl20, 1872 These are
Kimpton's vouchers.
Parker pays the money OF Columbia, tht
| draft on KImpton is the notice OF the paymen
| of money, the State Is credited on Rimpton'
books with the same amount In cash, and the
| land commission at the same time debltet
with the amount, and the whole transaction Il
safe, for details are not INDUCED In by tht
financial agent in his reports; nor do the ad