The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1873-10-21

accruing from August. 1868, 10 JULY. 1869 n
| period OF eleven months, is cliargcabe 10 the
| post-reconstruction period or. in other
words, 1924 OF the entire debt Of 81 ,45O. .OUO I:
amounting to $7s5,4lG 66i. is cfurgcahle to
the former period. and 1924, amounting to
$6G4, ,5S3.33t, is chargesble to the latter pc.
| Rod.
| IL may be proper 10 state, i'm connection
with this subject tlla. tire Legislature. at its
| session OF lS6S-'G9, appropriated $500 600
| Tor the paymoE. of the interest due for this
same period, 30 that there w.re really two
SOURCES oil income to meet this indebtedness
In comparing The amount of moneys received
rom taxes, with tho moneys expended ON at.-
count OF appropriations for this same period
It appears that the expenditures, exclusive OF
tho payments for interest. exceeded the re-
ceipts from taxes. and therefore, il is assumed
that the interest was paid FROM the remaining
source OF revenue viz the proceeds from tho
sale of these honda
Under tho act OF September Is, 1865. for
funding the bills of tho Bank of the State. tho
American Bank Note Company printed & 300
200. Or this sum 81 ,259, 900 wore issued. the
others were cancelled unused OF the amount
issued S69, 400 were converted and 81, Sc, 600
are outstanding in their original form. The
bonds prepared under tho act OF February II.
1869, for tho relief of tho treasury, amounted
to 81 100000, OF which SIOl 900 were never
issued and arc cancelled and filed in the
treasury; $4,000 OF the remainder have been
exchanged for conversion bonds aud 1856, 900
are now outstanding in their original form.
Tho stock originally issued under the act of
March 23r 1868, for the conversion OF State
securities, amounted to S775,7OO of which
$7ll, ZOO have been converted into couver.
sion bonds. $4,000 represent stock transferred
and S64,OOO are outstanding in the original
FORM
The issue OF the conversion stock is cx-
planned in this way: when application was
uado To the treasurer Ivy a person holding n
bond of the State 20 have the same ex-
changed for conversion bond, tho trcasu.
rer took up such bond and issued i'm lien
piece ot conversion stock of equal amount.
which stock WAS thou cancelled and exchanged
Tor conversion bond. This roundabout pro-
cess was prescribed by the act for the conyer.
sion oi State securities. Several persons PFC
ierred to hold the conversion stock and. there
iore, did not carry the operation further,
which accounts for the outstanding balance of
SOD, 900 before referred TO- OF course this
amount does not represent increase Of the
public debt, but merely represents in another
form some pre.existing obligation.
ri's. -.s.''"N amount af j.~-..I- :-@..Al ...I--
the aaln act lOr tho conversion of State secur-
tiles was &7,67G, 800 Or this sum Sl,Gll,-
500 were issnod merely to change the form OF
some pre-exist'ng outstanding Indebtedness
| i'll the form OF bonds and stocks previously
authorized and hence do not represent an
increase OF the public debt
The $34, 900 OF conversion bonds converted
and cancelled are thus explained
person holding s. 900 Of bonds of differ
ont classes (say funding interest, etc, $500 of
the denomination OF $l00; funding bills Bank
OF the State $500 OF tie denomination of $50,
and conversion, $500 of the denomination of
SlOO) would present them TO the treasurer.
and receive in exchange a piece Of conver.
sion stock Of The denomination of 81 600
and in exchange for said stock conversion
bond Of equal amount Thus Sa4 900 Of
conversion bonds found their way back into
the treasury, and bonds of the same class.
but larger denomination, found their way into
the market without fncreaSiay the volume of
dobt.
l repeat, therefore, that there are nny ont.
standing $l,677. 500 OF conversion bonds is.
sued in strict accordance with law which are
merely tho representatives of bonds aud
stocks Of various classes, and. in the aggre-
gate, OF equal Rilount cancelled and filed in
the treasury. This statement is based upon
my personal examination of said cancelled
bonds and stocks, and may be relied upon as
accurate in every particular.
There arc also outstanding CO.. .e.. IN bonds
10 inc amount OF So,S65, OUO Will, repre-
sent an actual increase of the publ debt
Ii has been alleged that these ,lds were
hypothecated for security of loans, by order
OF the Financial Board, and the moneys re.
ceived therefrom used TO cover the deficit of
revenue from taxation, or to bridge the
ehasm between tho receipts aud appropri-
atoms, and the State being unable to redeem
the bonds at tho maturity of tho loans they
were forfeited and sold and thus, by the
amount represented upon their face, increased
the public debt
will not venture to assert that these allie.
ations are entirely at variance with the facts,
because hayo been unable TO get access to
tho records OF the Financial Board, or 10 asccr.
tain the exact time eaoh particular loan was
negotiated, aud the amount thereof, ns also
the amount OF bonds forfeited for each loan
the State faod to discharge at maturity. But
this | assert with certainty. that more than
! one-sevcnth of said amour, is accounted for
in another way.
1t appears, that on tile eth of December,
1870, tho then treasurer OF the State, in
letter addressed to tho financial agent, Ia
copy of which is of record in the treasury
stated that the Stale owed debt Of $303,.
343.s9, duo in 1870, known as Fire Loan
Stock, and also dcbt Of $3.50, 900, duo in 1871,
known rs State Capital Bonds, which debts
the financial board had instructed him. the
treasurer, to discharge with authority 10
mako whatever arrangements might be neces-
sary therefor. He accordingly placed in said
agents possession bonds for the conversion
Of State securities, amounting to SS00,00O
directing him to make such use of said bonds