Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-10-30

every member to go into the library and there
provide himself with the report Of what was called
the High Joint Investigating Committee, SO that
each one may know when he casts his vote what
he is voting for. Suppose all the old bonded debt
is scaled, he had no doubt that many of the hold
ers would refuse regarding the scaling of the
conversion bonds he did not wish to be misunder-
stood he was opposed to no honest adjustment
of the debt but he wished to state that of the seven
million of bonds called conversion bonds, five
million were stolen from the treasury, and for
which the State never received any equivalent {;
no act of any sort gave them any value but the
validating act.
Mr. Minort rose to question, and desired to
know when these bonds were stolen from the
treasury; if it was when the speaker WAS a men,
ber at a previous term? Mr.. Hurley stated, even
if it was then, he would never have known any
thing of it, unless the treasurer had been COM
PEELED to make report. While in New York he
had asked the American Bank Note Company to
give him the number or amount of bonds they
had printed for the State, and they refused to do
80. He ascertancd at last, that in nineteen days
the company had printed twenty-onc millions OF
dollars. He also saw a letter from State officer,
authorizing the company to sign his name to
them. He asked member of the company how
many they were going to print, and the reply was
that they had no orders to stop, and they might
be printing them now, for all ho knew; and,
those bonds were never issued from South Caro-
lima &; they were issued right out OF the Coleman
House New York. He desired to make another
statement: He was at the brokers' board one day;
a gentleman made inquiry for ten thousand dol
lars worth of South Carolina bonds, and he saw
on the floor of that brokers' board the financial
agent of this State, and brother of an associate
justice OF the State, crying down the bonds, and
they were sold for fifteen cents OH the dollar !;
sixty-three thousand dollars of them, were-yOu
might say-taken from ono safe and put into an
other, and these are the bonds that the Supreme
Court has said we are compelled to pay interest
upon. Not Il solitary one of these bonds has ever
been in the State. He thought the State should
pay every dollar OF the obligations contracted, for
which she had received an equivalent. To him it
was acurious idea where court could tell an otfi-
Ger Of the State government to pay the interest on
bond when the principal can never be paid. The
State could not be sued; these thieves have had
sense enough to know that if hey can put through
bill to pay the interest, they are satisfied, for
they are not going to live long enough to see the
principal paid.
The whole object of this scheme is not to scale
the debt; it is to provide by legislative enactment
for getting two millions Of dollars out of the over
burdened tax payers of the State. The parties
managing it do not care cent for the bondhold-
ers; on the contrary, they tell them to stand OIL,
and We'll put bill through to pay the interest.
There has been great change since we last ad-
jOurned there Isl great deal more honesty about
this building than there was then.
This General Assembly cannot afford to carry
out the recommendations of the Governor just
exactly as he has stated in his message, and they
not going to do it, because if they do they un-
Qertake TO scale certain pOrClO1S OF ueDt tldI IL uo
debt let them scale that portion held by parties
outside the State, and put the high price on that
owned in the State. He was in favor Of paying
that held in South Carolina first of all If men in
New York have gone into the market and bought
bonds at six and one-quarter cents on the dollar,
let them wait fifteen years for the other fifteen
sixteenths, and pay them one-sixteenth they can
afford it; the money proposed to be raised to pay
interest on bonds is taken out ofthe State; he was
in favor of paying every debt justly contracted
tor supplies, &c, and where an equivalent had
been received, even if it took tax Of three mills
to do it, but it is duty to make the levies to pay
that portion owned in the State first; he would
pay all debts honestly contracted for supplies SER
vices &C., at par, and scale all others in proper
ton to what the holders paid if he could have bis
way about it. Hewould repudatc the five or six
millions Of stolen bonds; if he could he would
bring Kimpton before twelve good tax payers,
and ifthat man could provethese conversion bonds
all right, then he would pay them too.
The House was next addressed by Mr..
Boston, colored, of Beaufort, in opposition to
wholesale scaling at random but he favored
an attempt to ascertain what part of the debt
is illegal and repudiate that. He favored
the equitable scaling of the valid debt Upon
the conclusion of Boston's remarks, the COM
mittee then rose, the chairman reported pro-
gress, and agreed to sit again at o'clock,
P. NJ, Thursday. Mr.. Smith, of Spartan
burg, having the floor, the House then ad-
iOurned