The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-04-29
Arrest of Niles G. Parker, Ex-Treasurer.

on the 2lst inst, charged with embezzlement
and fraudulent misapplication of the public
funds to the amount of s2S,1O0 while serving
as member of the Sinking Fund Commission.
The legal proceedings against Parker were in
sttuted by Messrs. D. Fl. Chamberlain, T. G.
Dunn, S. W. Melton, W. B. Nash and Paris
Simkins, the present Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund. The affidavit upon which
warrant was issued for his arrest was made by
Hon. T. c. Dunn, Comptroller General. The
writ was issued by the Clerk of the Circuit
Court, and bail was required in double the sum
charged as being embezzled, which Parker was
unable to give, and he was remanded to Jail.
The plaintiffs are represented by Messrs. Sam
uel W. Melton, James H. Rion and W. H.
Wingate, and the defendant has employed
Messrs. G. D. Melton, Leroy F. Youmans and
w. K. Bachman as his attorneys.
The complainants refer to the Act of the
General Assembly, March 1, 1870, which pro-
vides for the Sinking Fund, and allege that the
Commissioners under it were directed to sell
such real and personal property, assets and
effects belonging to the State as were not in
actual use, and that the revenues thence de-
rived were to be by it applied to the extinguish-
ment of the public debt, by investing the same
in the public securities of the State; that W.
B. Gulick was the Treasurer of the Sinking
Fund on May 29, 1872; that on that day Parker
was Treasurer of the State that on that date
there was in the hands of Gulick certain funds
which had been collected by the Commission
ers, &C., and that on that date he delivered to
Parker the sum of $2S,10O. The complaint
further alleges that the defendant (Parker) did
not, as agent of the Sinking Fund or otherwise
use the said sum of money for the purpose of
extinguishing the public debt, by investing the
same in the public securities of the State, but
on the contrary embezzled and fraudulently
misapplied the aforesaid money. The affidavit
of Mr. Dunn includes the following statement:
That a sufficient cause of action exists in
favor of the plaintiffs, as "the Commissioners
of the Sinking Fund.-" against the defendant
Niles G. Parker, and the grounds for which
appear, by the sworn complaint in this action,
hereto annexed; all the statements concerned
in which are true to the knowledge of this
deponent, except those therein stateC on infor-
nation and belief, and those he believes to be
true that the grounds of his belief are the
sworn statements Of various witnesses examined
before the Social Joint Committee of the Gen
eral Assembly of the STAKE of South Carolina,
appointed pursuant to concurrent resolution
passed 23rd February, 1873 "for the purpose
of investigating the sale of certain property in
the cities of Charleston and Columbia, made
by the Sinking Fund Commission also the
stocks and bonds said to have been sold by said
Commission" of which said committee this
deponent was member.
And this deponent further says that, from
information derived from the examination of
witnesses before said committee, he is Informed
and believes that, on 29th day of May, A. D.
1872, w. B. Gulick, as Treasurer of the Com
missioners of the Sinking Fund, had in his
hands the sum of S23, 100, invested in bonds of
the State of South Carolina, in accordance
with the provisions of law, proceeds of the
sale of the property of the State; that upon
the order of J. L. Neagle, the Comptroller
General, Y. J. P. Owens, then Chairman of
the Finance Committee of the Senate, and OF
w. J. Whipper, then Chairman of the Com
mittee on Ways and Means Of the House of
Representatives of the said State, and said
parties constituting a majority of the Board of
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, the
said w. B. Gu!ick, Treasurer, as aforesaid, sold
the bonds in his hands and transferred to the
defendant, Niles &. Parker, then State Treas
urer, on the Goth May, 1872, the sum of S28, 100,
and that the defendant N. G. Parker, there
upon embezzled and fraudulently misapplied
the said moneys.
After Parker had been committed to jail
upon the charges above specified, another and
more gigantic fraud was alleged against him,
upon which he was required to give bail in the
sum of $25O,000 to answer. This required bail
was too much, however, and the prison doors
are closed upon the Ex-Treasurer. The latter
charge, even more fragrant in its character, is
thus stated by the Phenir:
The action is brought in the name of the
State by the Attorney General, who, in this
more important case, as in the other, is very
efficiently seconded and assisted by James H.
Rion, Esq, of Winnsboro. The State alleges,
and will undertake to prove, that during the
years 1S69-70 and 1871, Parker, then State
Treasurer, among coupons that he paid on valid
bonds, left $3.50, 900 of them uncanceled. That
is, he paid them, but did not cancel them.
They were thus preserved, in order to be pre-
sented and paid again at the Treasury He
then cut off from the conversion bonds in his
Office which had not been signed by the Gov
ernor and himself, (the Treasurer,) coupons
that according to their dates would have ma
tured at that time. These coupons had his
(Parker's) engraved signature on them, and
required no other authorization. They had
the look of being all right. Of this kind Of
coupons, he substituted S450,000 in amount,
for the same amount of valid coupons, which,
as we said, he had taken good care not to can
eel when he paid them. These latter have
made their appearance at the Treasury and
been taken up. Nearly all of these valid cou,,
pons thus paid but uncanceled, thus replaced
by bogus ones, within a few thousand,) have
been funded during the present year. The
State has lost by the operation, unless the thing
can, in some way be undone, 1925, 900. Parker
is now required to give $3.50 900 bail a margin
of hon tho p1 oh q