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

accrung from August. 1868, to july, 1869. q
period of eleven months, is clnrgcab!e to the
post-reconstruct;ou period or i'm other
words, 1924 Of the entire debt Of 81 .45O. 600
amounting to 1885,, ,4lG 66s. is chargcnble to
the former period, and ll-2I, amounting to
Soo4'aSS.33t, is eharGesblc to the latter pc
! rod
| 1t may be proper to state, in connection
with this subject. that tho Legislature at its
session of lS6s-G9 appropriated $500. 900
| Tor the payment of tho interest due for this
saiiiv period, 80 that there were really two
sources OF income to meet this indebtedness
In comparing the amount Of moneys received
from taxes, with tho moneys expended ON tsS-
count OF appropriations for this same period
| II appears that the expenditures, exclusive of
tho payments for interest. exceeded the re-
| ceipts from taxes. and therefore, il s assumed
that the interest was paid from the remaining
source of revenue, viz the proceeds from tho
sale of these bonds
Under the act OF September 10, 1858. for
funding the bills Of the Bank of the State tho
American Bank Note Company printed 81 800
600. OF this SUN 81, ,259, 900 were issued. the
others were cancelled unused. Or the amount
issued So9, 400 werecOnyerted and 81, Sc. 600
are outstanding in their original form. The
bonds prepared under tho act of February IL
1869, for tho relief OF tile treasury, amounted
to 81 900, 900, OF which $lOi 900 were never
issued, and arc cancelled and filed in the
treasury; $4,000 Of the remainder have been
exchanged FOR conversion bonds aud SS56. 900
are now outstanding in their original iornl.
Tho stock originally issued under the act of
March %, 1869, for The conversion of State
securities, amounted to $775,7OO: OF which
S7ll, ZOO have been converted into convcr-
sion bonds. $4,000 represent stock transferred
and S64,OOO arc outstanding in the original
form.
The issue Of tile conversion stock is cx-
planned in this way: when application was
made To the treasurer by person holding n
bond OF the State 20 have the samo ex-
changed for conversion bond. tho trcasu.
rer took up such bond and Issued i'm lieu y
piece OF conversion stock of equal amount,
which stock Was thou cancelled and exchanged
for conversion bond. This roundabout pro
cess was prescribed by the net for the conver.
SION oi State securities. Several persons pre-
lerred to hold the conversion stock and there
fore, did not carry the operation further.
which accounts FOR the outstanding balance of
$64, 900 before referred TO- OF course this
amount does not represent an increase Of the
public debt, but merely represents i'll another
form some preexistins obligation
'''@ -''''-r amount az I~-..'. ;,~.~,a ...I--
the saln act Tor tho conversion OF State secur.
tiles WAS 81, SIC, 800. OF this sum Sl,Gll,-
500 were issued 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 oil the publc tcbt.
The $34 900 OF conversion bonds converted
and cancelled are thus explained
person holding $1,000 Of bonds OF differ
ont classes (say funding interest ETC. $500 of
, the denomination Of $l00; funding bills Bank
OF the State, $500 OF the denomination of $40.
Var .fth th.a. az -r
SlOOD would present them to the treasurer.
and receive in exchange a piece of convcr-
sion stock OF the denomination of & 900,
and in exchange for said stock n conversion
bond OF equal amount. Thus S3I 900 of
conversion bonds found their way back into
the treasury and bonds o. the same class,
but lnrger denomination. found their way into
the market without increasing the volume of
debt.
repeat, therefore, that there are nnv ont
standing 1911 500 OF conversion bonds is
sued in strict accordance with law, Which are
merely tho representatives of bonds and
stocka Of various classes, and. in the aggre-
gate, OF equal amount cancelled and filed in
The treasury. This statement is based upon
my personal examination of said cancelled
bonds and stockn, and may be relied upon an
accurate in every particular.
There arc also outstanding conversion bonds
10 INC amount oil SO, 963, ,OoO which repro
sent an actual increase of the public debt
II has been alleged that these bonds were
hypothecated for security of loans Ivy order
OF the Financial Board, and the moneys re-
coivod therefrom used TO cover the deficit of
revenue from taxation, or to "bridge the
ehasm between tho receipts aud appropri-
ations, and tho 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
tho public debt.
will not venture to assert that these allie
| atious are entirely at variance with the facts,
because have been unable TO get access 10
tho records OF the Financial Board, or 10 ascer.
tain the exact time eaol particular loan was
negotiated, aud the amount thereof, us also
tho amount OF bonds forfeited for each loan
the State failed to discharge at maturity. But
this assert with certainty. that more than
one-seventE of said amount is accounted for
in snother way.
1t appears, that on the 9Th of December
1870, tho then treasurer of the State in a
letter addressed to tho financial agent, Ia
copy of which is of record in the treasury J
stated that the Stale owed debt of S303,
343.s9, duo in 1870, known as Fire Loan
Stock, and nlso debt OF $3.50, 900, duo in STl, ,
known as State Capital Bonds, which debts
the financial board had instructed him. tho
treasurer, to discharge, with authority 10
make whatever arrangements might I've neces-
| sary therefor. He accordingly placed in said
agents possession bonds for the conversion
| of State securities, amounting to $500, 000
directing him TO make auch Use OF said bonds
as he might deem necessary To redeem said