Port Royal commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874, 1874-02-05
THE LIONS IN OUR PATH.

THE LlONS IN OUh IAlH.
There are four financial lions in The
path Of the republican party Of this
state. Between them it is likely to be
quickly destroyed, unless it should be
wise in time and enter upon the
straight and narrow way of honesty
and economy.
The bills of the bank of the state
have already been adjudicated upon by
the U. s. Supreme court, and have
been declared receivable for taxes
The shallow tricksters who occupy the
positions of statesmen at Columbia im
agine that this decision can be defeated
by a legal quibble to the effect that
only the bills Immediately before the
court were adjudicated upon. We
know that measures are now being ia
ken which will force the treasurers
either to take the bills next year OF
practically cease TO get any taxes at all
This is lion number one.
In 1871 tax was levied to pay the
interest ON the public debt. The mon
ey was collected but the interest was
not paid. A similar case in North Car
olina has produced suit on the part
of bond holders to compel the treasurer
to pay the money due them for inter
est before paying any other appropria'
tions. An injunction was asked for,
and though it was refused, the opinion
of the federal court plainly intimated
that when the case was fully heard and
decided that the injunction would be
granted. Such suit will soon be
commenced against the state treasurer
O: South Carolina, and he will be forced
to retain enough money to pay the
S60o, 600 collected 70 pay interest and
subsequently misappropriated to other
purposes. This is lion number two.
The Blue Ridge scrip is not yetdead.
Like fabled Hydra it seems TO thrive
on wounds. The federal courts are to
be appealed to to force the state to full.
I'll The contract entered into with the
Blue Ridge railroad company. The as.
signees of that bankrupt corporation
demand the surrendered bonds or the
scrip for which they were surrendered.
The holders of the scrip rely upon the
decision of the U. S. Supreme court in
the case of the bills of The bank of the
STATE as applicable to the contract ex,
pressed upon the face of the scrip. The
state agreed with the holder that il
would receive the scrip for tax, s.
Much of it was received and was again
paid out of the treasury. The form OF
the scrip has been decided by our state
supreme court TO be illegal. No decis-
ION has ever been given against the
binding force Of the contract as ex-
pressed upon its face. That something
will have to be done with this scrip so
that it may be retired, is as certain as
daylight. This is lion number three.
The following recent decision Of the
highest judicial authority Of the land
was clipped from the New York Times.
"The supreme court of the Unite d
estates has given decision in favor OF
George o. Marcy, of Boston, con-
4" firming the validity of $40, 900 worth
" of Illinois registered town bonds, is.
"sued in aid of the Illinois Grand
"Trunk Railroad. The town attempted
"to avoid paying interest Oh the bonds
alleging that they were illegally is
Issued. The basis of the courts deci-
"slon was that no irregularity prece-
"dent to the issue, not even fraud on
"the part of the agents of the town,
can vitiate the bonds in the hands of
"an innocent holder. The court ap-
"plies the same rules to these bonds as
"are applied to commercial paper
Where is the boasted settlement of
the bonded debt under this decisionp
The fact that resolution has passed
the legislature that we don't intend to
pay our debts will hardly stand againss
adictum Of the U. S. supreme court, In
fact we do not doubt that de,i ion
similar to the Morton Bliss decision
could be obtained from the state su-
preme court, after the next election,
sustaining the validity of every conver-
sion bond in existence. This is lion
number four.