Port Royal commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874, 1873-11-06

salu the1 WcHt-OHlSeiSIty ChahSOS
The proposition regarding the public
debt.
COLUMBIA, s. c., Oct. so.
Perhaps the most noteworthy event
of the week, has been the sudden arrival
and as sudden departure of the "cheru-
bic Kimpton, who it is understood,
claims still to be the financial agent Of
the state, on the ground that the state
has never made any settlement with him.
1t evidently became too warm for him
in the lower house yesterday, upon the
floor of which he was, and the temper of
the members of which he could not have
possibly understood. A resolution came
up, which was debated at length by the
heavier logicians, to instruct the attorney
general, to proceed against Mr.. kimp-
ton, for the purpose of ascertaining, what
he had done with the bonds that we're
purchased with the proceeds of the sale
of the land scrip, donated by congress to
the state, on condition that the revenue
arising therefrom, should be applied to
the support of an agricultural college.
Mr.. Hurley became very much in earn
est, apparently, while endeavoring to
track the crooked course Of this very
crooked transaction, and made the asser-
ton that if the legislature empowered
him he would cause the arrest OF the
cherubic before nine o'clock that night.
The cherubic, who sat in the southeast
corner of the hall, showed no outward
signs of fear, and looked bland as is his
wont; but last night he vanished, wheth-
er or not through intimidation and fear
is only surmised. To-day the senate en-.
tered with a general discussion Of the
concurrent resolution, during which there
were many funny things said; the sem
ate very properly killed it, on the ground
it may be said, that it was not only a
blank cartridge, but was aimed in the
wrong direction. In fact, regarding this
transaction, the majority of the members
appear to be pretty much in the fog. Of
one thing, there can be no question even
now that the bonds and scrip have passed
beyond the reach Of the state-or more
properly beyond the reach of the trus-
tees of the agricultural college; that is,
that the state having solemnly pledged
itself 10 congress, to apply the annual
revenue OF what the donation produced
10 the object named, it has got to payth
interest on Sl92, 900 of its bonds in which
the proceeds of the sale were invested.
To do this, it will be necessary to make
an additional appropriation every year.
There is no getting away from this.
What the legislature desires, however, is
to find out who is to blame. Some
blame the financial board, who Kimpton
says, ordered him to hypothccate the
bonds, and thus they passed beyond
his CONTROL" but the board deny that
they give him any such Instructions. and
some Of the members assert that when
settlement between the board and tho
agent was being sought, the latter tried
to charge up as Indebtedness against the
state the very bonds he bought with the
land scrip money, and which it had been
asserted the trustees could not procure
from him, because they had passed be-
yonl his control; in view Of The agents
report to the comptrollcr-general for that
year, this statement look very strange,
as he counts the larger portion of these
bonds as "on hand" Regarding the
coupons of the bonds in question, which,
it was agreed had been cut eff, the way
they were lost were explained by the
reading of letter from the cx-trcasurer
in which it was stated that the coupons
had been forwarded by the agent among
lot of others, and w,rc cancelled with
them, there being no Distinguishing fea-
ture about them to show that they were
cut from the bonds that were to support
the agricultural college, and in fact, no
knowledge that such was the fact, until
letter was received, dated Nov. !, aud
mailed November 25, latter the treasur-
er had destroyed thcm) in which it was
mildly stated that they were the support
ing coupons. This is the way they arc
said to have passed into eternity,-or
the clutches of the chcrubic. During the
debate, Mr.. Whittcmore made the re-
markablc statement, if anything can be
considered remarkable these days, that
the high joint committee in their inves-
tigating report, had not given all the in
formation they obtained, and that he
had aflidavits that would show UP many
bad transactions, among these statements
was one that the agent had stated, he
sold the scrip for sevenU-two cents per
acre, when there was proof that he re-
ceived seventy-six per acre. Again it is
held by some Of the senators, and of
course by soMe of the old financial board,
that the trustees are the proper parties
to bring to account, because they did
not secure the proceeds Of the scrip
A. ... lo.,1. ,,.Io,, ,l,,,, o,,,l1 lo,,