New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-08-17
unjust and passionate denunciations OF MI
Wendell Phillips.
THE GEORGIA ROBBERIES.

nected with the issues OF the currency ana
gold bonds of 1870
By an act of the Legislature, approved Aug.
81. 1870, there was authorized an issue OF two
millions of currency bonds for temporary
purposes, TO be taken up. cancelled, and re-
turned TO the State Treasurer so soon as the
quarterly gold bonds, authorized by an act
approved Sept. 10, 1870, could be made ready
In the early part of 1871, three millions of
gold bonds were prepared and placed at the
disposition Of Gov. Bullock. AT that time the
two millions of currency bonds were in the
hands of Henry Clews a. Co., the Fourth
National Bank land Mr.. Russell Sage,
all of this city being held by them
as security for loans made to the State. In
March, 1871, Hannibal l. Kimball came to this
city with instructions from Gov. Bullock to
take up the currency bonds held by Mr.. Clews
and the Fourth National Bank, and return
them TO the State as Cancelled. The bank sur
rendered their currency bonds to Kimball, but
the latter, instead of returning them to the
State Treasury as directed, hypothecateu
$4,000 with j. BoOrman, Johnston a. Co.,
and $4,000 with A. G. Johns President OF
the Fulton Bagk q Brooklyn, and received
on both hypothecations money on his private
account Messrs. Sage and CLOVIS received the
gold bonds but refused to give up tne cur
rency bonds, retaining both as security Ior
their claims against the State.
The Investigating Committee in their report
recognize the validity of the claims OF the
Fourth National Bank and Mr.. Sage, pro-
nounce the currency bonds as of no binding
force against the State, and also reDudiate the
gold and currency bonds held by Henry Clews
6, Co. as security for their claim. they say
that "Mr. Clews received the gold bonds for
Z" sale that they were never placed III his
Glands as collateral security. and that he
"misappropriatcd over 100000 of the funds
" of the State by paying the drafts and notes
&" of Bullock and Blodgett, when he knew that
"the money in his hands arising from the sale
of the State (gold) bonds could only be APP
"pied to the payment of past due bonds and
"coupons, and bonds and coupons falling due,
" of the StateD We think the Committee
are right. Mr. Clews was holding the
property of the State of Georgia, not the pri-
waite funds of Rufus b. Bullock. IL was his
duty to respect the Constitution and laws of
the State, not to follow blindly the mandates
%
Office of Governor. Admitting 1t to have been
constitutional utterly to ignore the State
Treasurer and the legitimate methods of dis
bursting public moneys by warrant, the act
authorizing the gold bonds limited the appl-
cation of the proceeds to thee purposes, viz:
the payment of past due bonds, the payment
of interest coupons and to such other pur-
poses as the Legislature might direct. The
Legislature made no further appropriation
from this fund. Let lis now see what became
of the money which passed through the hands
of Mr.. CLOVIS.
Hannibal l. Kimball, who, as Mr.. Clews ad-
mts in his testimony had too many enter
"prises on hand consistent with business pru-
"dence," owned controlling interest i'll tho
Georgia National Bank at Atlanta. With this
bank Kimball had an account, and Bullock two
accounts, one "Special' az Governor and the
other individual These three accounts were
treated by the officers of the bank as in fact
but one only. A considerable share of the
money received by Mr.. Clews from the sale of
the gold bOnds-to be exact the sum of Si3l 5SG II
was drawn out by Bullock and Kimball and
placed with the Georgia National Bank to the
credit of the Especial" account. On the 3lst
of October, 1871. at which time Bullock had
made his final "eKOdus" from Georgia, his
individual account was overdrawn S53,057 %,
and Kimbalrs account was overdrawn $4,000.
There was S122,9j3 CT at the credit of the
Especial" account. ThereupOn the officers OF
this model bank proceeded to balance ac
counts by transferring $S9,0j7 9S from the
Special account to meet the Deficiencies of
the other two Tho cashier of the bank tes
tilted that "the reason these items were thus
charged u.s. that Gov. Bullock had told the
"oflicers of the bank, in language and
"manuer that could not BE- misunderstood.
that all advances made to II. /. kmball, or
al. l. Kimball g. Co., or to his own current
account, should be secured by deposits to
"thls Special account" Legal proceedings
have been commenced against the bank for
this money.
TO conclude this chapter, let the reader ask
himself what he would think of a London
banker who ignoring the Constitution, the
laws, the Treasurer, and the Controller of the
State of Newly YORK, should advance money on
the sole order Of the Governor, to be appro-
prated to the private use of men whom the
banker himself more than suspected to be
thievesf If London banker did this he
would do precisely what Mr.. Clews seems to
have done, both in the instance above stated
and in the case of the Brunswick and Albany
Railroad.
TALKING FROM THE TEETH OUTWARDS
There is no doubt that the fight in Maine is