National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-03-06

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Q. And they auth orized You to borrow
ticipate revenue fro m the taxes, es,ker 6ne.
Z. VIII you p| ease refer to the section tnas
authorizes that borrowing of mcaeya "A; sec
tion OF this ct would seem TO provide LOT u
1t w1ll.be fov I'D on page 40 Of the Proceeoings
OF the Seco'.m Legislative Assembly. Hso
these worr $: In section 4, Pase 40, says;
"That in order that the Indebtedness Of said
county shall be liauidatcd and settled with the
least. possible delay, the Governor Is hereby
au..bssi,ed to anticipate the revenue uh8ch may
arlss from the taxes hereby levied to aaamounti
sAtBcient to satisfy any and all of tie lioatins
As.btetness Of said county"
Is there any other authority thsn what Is
contained in thati A. None occurs tome at
|Ethe present time.
Q. There is, then, no provision of Flaw for
what, time he should borrow tho mones or
whst interest he should payf 4. Nc, 'sf; he
is tven unlimited power.
=. Or what collateral security he thouM
giRea A. No, ssr; his power b general;
Q. Do / understand you - say that these
bonds were boaAs given by the old corporations
,f Washington and Georgetc~n TO the District
Of Columbias A. Yes, SIR
| @. To rei,1Aurse the District for debts Of
those corporations paid By th- Dtstric& govern
menti A. Yes, sir.
| O. To what amount did Georgetown give
|
do not think that Georgetown had any detE
that required any bonds 1t was-aa Washing
| ton.
Q. To what amount id Washington y.
About 81 ,2oa, 900.
Q. Under what provision hfke act organizing
the District governmeat-thea ctof Congress-
| did the District government pay 81 ,20O, 900 Of
the debt of the city of Washington! "A. Byact
of the Legislature, and IN actOf, Congress, also.
They did nct pay
| Q. want to know under what authority
You say they didn't ray- IF they didn'tipay,
how did Washington give thefbonds to the Dis
| trict goveruGentl A mean to say that these
ington, not By the District of columbia. They
SO specify ca their face.
@. Didn't the fundamental act organizing
the government provide that Washington should
be liable for its own debts, Georgetownfor it's
own debts, and the county fer it's own debts!
A. Yes, sir; these bonds are worded IN that
way, so that they only bind the city of wash
ington. They do not bind the District.of Co
lumbia.
Q. Under what provision of the fundamental
act did the District government have power to
hypothecate these bonds, or sell them? will
not trouble you to answer that question now.
1t may REQUIRE Investigation. Counsel can
look that up better than you can, perhaps.
@. How many of these bonds have been thus
hypothecated Of those 81 ,2O0, 600 Of bonds
A. Six hundred thousand dollars.
| Q. As collateral to notes given BY the Gov
ernor? A. Yes, cir.
| @. How long time have these notes to rum
A. Indefinitely.
@. How payable-on demand! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Payable at any time OH demand! A. Yes,
sir, l think those are the terms.
Q. Are you quite sure of that? A. am not
quite sure, because my attention has not
been called to it for some time.
Q. Are they mere certificates of indebted
ness, or are they promissory notes, payable on
demand9 A. Promissory notes signed by the
Governor.
Q. Binding the District government or bind
ing the old city Of Washington, which? A.
They bind the District.
@. Cannot you produce one of these nOes or
blank form! / suppose they were printed or
engraved. A. No, sir; it is all in one note now,
believe.
Q. Who discounted that note, A. It was
discounted in New York, by the First National
Bank OF New York.
Q. Have you any copy or registry of that
motel. A. 1t appears in my record. Certainly
have copy Of 1t in my Office.
Q. Is It call loan A. 1t is, virtually. I
do not remember the terms exactly.
@. What rate Of interest does 1t bear9 A.
Ten per cent.
O. What number of bonds? What amount
of bonds are hypothecated? How much is the
amount of the loan? You say 5000, 600 of the
bonds have been used, what is the amount of
the loaQs A. Some portion Of i has been
paid 50 that ! ssnn0s tell here without refer
@. When was this loan made? A. II was
made very soon after the passage Of this act,
about two years ago, and It has been encwed
several times and new notes given an portions
Of / paid.
Q. Do you mean portions of 1t were paid to
the lender. A. Yes, sir; large share oft.
Q. How much was the loan at first; do you
recollect! A. think it was $3.50 900 at first,
and it is now between &4O0, 600 and s5OO, 900, If
my memory serves me.
Q. You can give us the exact figures some
other time? A. Yes, sir; can do It.
Q. or course you will have opportunity to do
that We desire you to give US these matters
accurately. Now, what bonds were hypothe-
Gated! A. These bonds issued by the sinking
fund commissioners, to pay the debts of WASH
ington.
Q. mean what proportion Of bonds was is
sued dollar for dollar! A. think that the
5000, 900 was against s45O, 900. That is my
memory about 1t; but cannot tell with any
certainty without referring to my books. I
prefer to refer to them.
Q. That is all very proper; and that loan,
you think, was made under that clause Of the
law that you have readl A. Yes, sir.
". was tuc lOuu OIlSludlly uduc Will Inc
First National bank there7 A. Yes, sir.
Q. And it has always been continued sincea
A. Yes, sir.
@. You say it has been renewed from time
to time. Then, Of course, the Governors notes
were taken ups A. Yes, sir.
|, "! 9. Ess you produce one of those hottest A.
Q. WIN you please do sos A. Twill.
Q. You had better produce them all, If you
A ctr ,ufll
Senator Allison. All that have been taken
Q. And the registry of the one, If you have
1t, still outstanding? A. Yes, sir; will do so.
BY Senator Allison: Q. Is this e2l5 900 paid
for chool-houses by hypothecating the bonds
included in the 1878 900 Of which you speak as
having been paid out in the three years 4.
Yes, elr. -
Q. That is included in the ss73, 0OOl A.
Yes, sir.
BY Mr.. Wilson: @. I want to ask you Dues
ton or two in regard to this note. Can you
state what amount of bonds was originally n.y.
pothecated to secure this loan? A. Never to
exceed 5000: 900, as say to the best of my
memory.
o. What is your recollection as to the origi-
nal loani A. my recollection is that the origi-
nal loan was made without any hypothecation;
that when it came to be reduced then hypotE-
ecation was made.
o. You say that the amount of this note has
been reduced by paymentsa A. Yes, sir.
have got the notes down, and will refer to
my books in regard to this matter. My i'm
precision is that at the time the loan was re-
duced there were no bonds in the possession of
the lender. 1t was only after It was reduced
that we offered them-these bonds-in hypoth-
ecation.
o. Is the whole 5000, 900 in the hands of the
lender nowa A. Yes, sir; that is my impress
sion.
Q. What has become of the balance of those
bonds-the 81 200 900 which you say were is
suedl A. They were disposed Of in various
ways, paying debts of the city of Washington.
Q. Can you state now to whom they were
disposed of A. No, sir. That comes within
the purview Of the treasurer of the sinking
fund, Mr.. Kelley.
Q. You have no knowledge, then of what dis
position has been made of the other $500 900
of these bondsf A. No, sir; they were sold by
the sinking fund commission. They were all
sold by that commission.
Q. Who would know in regard to themi A.
Moses Kelley, treasurer of the sinking fund. I
think It all appears in his report. All these
things appear in reports.
O. What amount of taxes are being collected
for the present fiscal yeara A. That am not
able to say here. only brought memoranda
g. rnloxto,, .ohnoI sfforR did mt