The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-06-12
The Fraudulent Bonds.

1ne return OF COmpCrOller-Uenefal hoSe W
the petition of Morton, Bliss & Co., of New
York, for writ of mandamus to compel him
to levy tax for the payment of interest upon
the public debt, and which return has been
most carefully prepared by the Attorney-Gen-
eral for the respondent, demonstrates conclu-
sively to our mind that the Supreme Court
cannot grant the writ for which application is
made. The Comptroller denies, in general
terms, that it is his duty to ascertain and de-
termine the rate of taxation; argues that the
judgment of the Court, if obtained, would be
vain and nugatory, and furthermore declares
that the bonds upon which the petition is based
were not lawfully hypothecated and sold, and
that large portion of them were issued with
out the sanction of law. This return of the
Comptroller-G General meets the question square,
ly and unequivocally, and distinctly charges
that bonds of the State, amounting to 81 ,19l,-
700, have been issued without authority of law,
and cannot be considered valid debt of the
State. In view of this condition of the public
debt, the Supreme Court is asked not to issue
such writ until an investigation is made to
ascertain what portion of the public debt, ag-
gregating SIS, 1927, remains as the valid debt
of the State. We have here an official admis-
sion that the State of South Carolina has been
robbed of more than S7,OOO,OOO, under the
benign rule of the party to which the Comp
troller- General belongs, and it is all the more
creditable to him that he makes this damaging
confession over his official signature, implica-
ting the men with whom he has been associated
politically since his advent into our State, but
with whose peculations and frauds he has never
been connected so far as the public knew.
The reply of Morton, Bliss G. Co. to the re-
turns of the Comptroller-General has likewise
been filed, in which these relators deny most of
the material allegations of the respondent,
confessing and avoiding others. The notorious
Validation Act is set up as a waiver of all
irregularity in the original issue or hypotheca-
tion of the bonds. In regard to the fraudulent
issue of 100000 in bonds, the relators claim
that it is immaterial, so far as they are con-
cerned, unless proof is made that the bonds
upon which their suit is based belong to the
fraudulent class, and this allegation is denied.
Briefly, the relators maintain that they hold
good and valid bonds; that the State has ex-
pressly contracted to pay the interest annually
upon these bonds, and has authorized the levy
of tax for that purpose in the various Acts
creating the several issues of bonds; that it is
clearly the ministerial duty of the Comptroller
General to give notice of the rate per cent.
necessary, -and that, as he neglected to do so
for the currens fiscal year, and refuses to do so
for the next year, the Court may compel him
to perform this duty by writ of mandamus,
as asked in their petition. The relators unite
with the respondent in the effort to prevent an
investigation by the Supreme Court into the
condition of the public debt, but on entirely
different grounds. They maintain that the
registration ordered by the General Assembly,
before any payment of interest shall be made,
is wholly unconstitutional, as impairing the
obligation of contracts.
The argument of this case before the Su-
preme Court began on Tuesday last, according
to agreement, and the main point Of the de-
fence will be to throw the whole matter out of
the Courtleaviag the public debt undetermined,
and the fraudulent issues of bonds to be settled
hereafter by the General Assembly. The mo-
tives of the administration, in defeating an
examination into the fraudulent debt now con.
fessed before the world, are boldly impugned
as discreditable and unworthy, savoring of
avarice and ambition. Time will only deyelope
these motives, and the people will be compelled
to await the result, since their rulers are very
reticent on this important subject.