The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-07-25
Tho Fraudulent Bonda.

gree OF certainty, the precise amount OF
State bonds which have been issued by
the present corrupt Financial Board.
We know. though, that the public debt
Of the State at the time when the pre-
sent regime went into power was about
$500,000. It 10 generally stated at that,
though it was something considerably
less. It is now placed by the official
financial authorities of the State at
about Sig. 100000. In November, 1870,
the Comptroller General, in his report to
the General Assembly, declared the debt
to be little over S7.500,0OO. Some
thing over 5000, 900 of the debt, then,
was created within one year, from No
vember l, 1870, to November 1. 1871,
and the probability is, that almost the
entire amount of bonds were issued
within very short period of time, just
before the schemes of the Financial
Board were exploded in New York, by
the discovery that Scott and his ring
were having printed some twenty odd
millions OF bonds.
This, upon the face OF it, smells of
fraud. The State could not possibly
have had need of such an enormous
amount of money. say in round num-
bers $4,000, 900. in three months time.
Before the war that much money would
have supported the State Government
for sixteen years, and kept all the public
institutions in healthful and Aourishing
condition. The Scott ring have issued
IN all, and attempted to bind the State
to their payment, some $l1 100000 of
bonds, according to their own showing.
Of these 100000 were issued for the
purpose of buying lands under the Land
Commission ACT, 100000 or $500, 900
were probably issued legitimately to re-
deem the bills OF the Bank Of the State,
and perhaps the $500. 600 in bonds issued
to redeem the bills receivable mayor
part of them, for we have no idea there
were 80 many bills receivable outstand-
ing-be considered as legal and valid OBJ
legations. But, all told, we do not be-
Aeve that a cent over $4,000, 900 of the
bonds, if that much, can be sustained as
legal obligations against the State.
There are, therefore, in our judgment,
at least $4,000, 900 of fraudulent bonds
out on the market, and tax will be
levied in the fall to pay the interest,
which will amount to $500, 600. This is
abundantly sufficient to pay all the legi-
innate expenses of the State Govern
ment, with the exception of the free
schools, for an entire year. Will our
people quietly submit to be thus robbed
again and again?
Under the present Constitution. there
oan be no authority for the issue of
bonds, except for the purpose of raising
funds for extraordinary expenditures-
such as the building of railroads, costly
public improvements, SC. It is we'll
known tact, that not mile of railroad
has been constructed, nor any other pub
ic work Of the kind even attempted, in
the last four years.
All the money from these millions of
bonds, and tho greater part besides OF
the enormous amounts raised by taxa
ton, have gone into the greedy pockets
of SCOTT, and his thievish crew, and there
is not dollar of consideration for it to
the taxpayers and the people of the
State. These bonds are not only fraud
ulent but unconstitutional, and we be-
ieve would be 30 pronounced by the
courts, it the question is properly made
before them. It needed but to subject
the fraudulent bond scrip to the test Of
judicial Investigation to kill it utterly,
and it is reasonable to expect that a like
effect would follow an action to test the
validity Of the bonds. $4,000, 900 we're
saved to the Taxpayers OF the State in
She one case; $1,000. 900 may be saved in
the other. Reputation is a distastefnl
remedy, and though We should strongly
advocate it in the case of the fraudulent
bonds, it is certainly far preferable to
have them declared invalid bv the courts.