The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-10-22

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adequate constitutional provision for tho pay.
mcnt OF tho principal when duo, the accriliig
interest nnd ahc interest in nrrear; therefore. =.
SUnserS Ss,his oct TIC on.,ro debt was find.
edp oxeeM cortain bonds and scrip known
US tstlloi Macalisor AMI Stebbins bonds and
scrip, canal. G6nds, and other evidences Of
Indebtedness OF tho Illinois aud Michigan
canal. New internal Improvement scrip was
issued Tor the old debt, equal i'll urnount and
bearing like interest and payable at tho sumo
time NJ lie bond or scrip surrendered.
The "Mncalister and Stcbbins bonds aud
into the possession Of said firm as the agents Is
of the Stntc. The Suite received, for said
amount $26l ,6Ga.s3, or about % 64-lO0 cents
| whcrcns they wero entitled to receive accord.
ing TO agreement about 40 cents on the
dollar. TIE firm refused to pny the balance,
and tho Legislature III February, lSl9, in
strucied the Governor to compromise the
matter by offering TO fund tho amount
actually advanced upon the bonds with DER
cent interest, from tho dn,o OF tie advance to
the time of funding; ind Notwithstanding
thVse bonds had passed into tho hands Of
INNOCENT oldcrs the State refused TO recoy-
nizo any further liability upon them. except TO
tho amount of 70 cents on lilo dollur
with per cent. interest This arrangement
was acquicsccd in by many of the holders
and most of tho bonds hive been funded at
| said rate.
Tho constitutional convention OF lS4S
submitted to Tho people the following amend.
inent, which was rutiicd ty lurge minority
cf votes:
"rhcrr shall bc annually assessed and COL
| lected, in tho same manner rs other State
revenue may be assessed aud collected, tax
of two mills upon each dollars worth of
| frnn -, adj
taxes, to be applied as follows to wit: Tho
fund so created shall 'e kept separate, and
annually on tho first OF January, be appor-
toned and laid over pro rata, upon all such
state indebtedness other tl,un the canal aud
school Indebtedness as may for that purpose
bc presented by tho holders OF tho same, tn
be ciitcred MS credits upon and to that cxte.,t
i'll extinguslncnt Of said Indebtedness"
The first tax under this provision wus col.
lected in laI9-50; tho credit uf tho Stn,o
immediately revived, and in l853 tho State
entered upon an era of prosperity unprrce-
denlcd Ill tho history of any other Slnto oil tho
Union.
| This feature Of the constitution operated
hcnecially to tho tax payers in n manner
entirely unforeseen. AS the .State grew in
| wealth tho two mills tax. the collection OF
which WAS imperative, began to renlizo II
larger s'lin tham tho State could annually apply
to the extinguismcnt Of tho debt. as the
hotders refused TO surrender SO valuable n
security until compelled to do so by its ma
turity. II became necessary. therefore, in
| orderto avoid the collection ut an amount Of
noney under this tax in excess of what could
| be'actually applied yearly to the oxtinpuisl,-
mont OF tho debt, to reduce the valuation Of
property as low as possible. The State audi.
tor in his report for 1860, estimated the taxn.
| ble property of the State to he assessed mt
twenty-five per cent. or one fourth oil its actual
value.
Tho last levy undor this provision of the
constitution Of e4S wus made in 1870 The
moneys now OH hand, together with the rev.
cnue from the Illinois Central Railroad, will be
more than sufficient to cancel the entire
Indebtedness mt mntlIrity, which amounted on
tho alst day of December, 1872 TO 2,O6O,-
| 15063
Tho foregoing illustrations are sufficient to
| show the innnner in Which scvcral of the
States got into debt the means they used 10
extricate themselves, md with what SUCCESS.
INC ioSson they teach is too plain to require
| comment
Having looked aL that picture, lot us OK
| amino tins NI
The State of Minnesota, in 1859, authorized
tho issue oil So, OUO, 600 of bonds in uid of cor.
tain railroad enterprises. The roads wore not
built but The bonds were disposed OF. The
State refused 10 recognize the validity Of Llie
debt or provide Tor The. phynlent of interest or
prnc'IEi They, hnve been practically re-
ptitiiated for fourteen years.
| The bondhol,lrrs have ma.lo repeated ef}oris
TO effect compromise, but each and ovcry
| cllnrt has hccm unsuccessful.
| The present treasurer, however states that
nc ucSlrcS the matter 10 bo settled aud is ell
'i'1irlng ns 1" the bost method Of adjustment.
From tho report of :he committee OH lin-
ancc OF the constitutional convention Of 1868.
OF tiio 'St"G ~ .irkdnSds, it appears that suid
State hal Uir!aaiy rcIudiatctl her det,t Ior
thirty years. In reply u the lucstio ION
what il tho present vuuo of our Stule
ooll':s, The committee reported "Thnt tho
bonds of the State of Arkansas arc uol
quoted in the lnarket of any city of tho ciri-
fiSe't rooth. This il attributable to tho fact
that i'll II period Of nearly Muy years. the
Stat" authorities lnvo not provided for the
| payment of interest ON her bti,tls 4 system of
hnancicrng kn"wn only to thieves and robbers
without conscience prevailed To such an extent
that their operations now cost the State the
neat little SUN of 50, o. G04.lG. Not content
with impoyerisling tho State; dcsolating the
country, and causing mourning mt every hearth.
stone, wo find theso seif-sanc mcn arrayed
in hostility to the present reconstruction
measures, hoping thereby To hide from the
public gaze and investigation the plumber
aud tlieiis Of thirty ycnrsl
For years the levy Of the State Tux was light.
tho people thought the government was well
and economically managed, by letting the
bonds run Tor years without paying any in
tcrcst, nnd not seeing any appropriations
Tor the payment OF interest on those bonds
in tho disbursement of tho public funds,
it is not strange that they forgot tho i,ttcbt-
cdncss OF II prior generation"
1t is proper to add that the State authorities
referred. 10, who rcSDDuSilllp for that