The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-11
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MISSISSIPPrS REPUTATION.

With democratic success in Mississippi
has come, also, an apparent success to the
endeavor to make the bonds of the state,
issued TO, or in aid of, the Planters and
Union banks, complete and final, by the
ratification of a constitutional amendment
prohibiting their payment by the state.
The history of the issue of these bonds is
briefly this: The Union bank was moor
porated in January 1887, under the title of
the mississippi union bank" with an au-
thorized capital of fifteen and half mil
lions of dollars 10 be "raised by means of
" a loan" to be obtained by its directors. In
order to facilitate the directors in procur-
ing the loan, the fifth section Of the act OF
incorporation pledged the faith of the state
for the security of both the capital of the
bank and interest thereon, and directed the
issue, under the seal of the state, OF seventy
FIVE hundred of the bonds of the state for
two thousand dollars each, bearing five
per cent interest, signed by the governor
and countersigned by the state treasurer.
payable to the order of the Mississippi
union bank. In accordance with the pro.
visions of the then existing state constitu.
ton, the legislature, in 1888, re-enacted
this fifth section pledging the faith of the
state and authorizing theissue of the bonds
and this last act, or re-enactment, was
signed by the governor and the bonds of
the state were issued in accordance there
with. The Planters bank was incorpo-
rated and the bonds of the state authorized
and issued to it in substantially the same
manner-the state becoming its principal
stakeholder.
The business of banking does not ap-
pear to have been profitable to the state
and we, therefore, find Governor McNutt,
as early as March, 1910, recommending the
repeal of the bank charter and stating that
although the faith of the state was pledged
for the whole capital of the bank, so long
as only about one voter out of thirty was
stakeholder it did not 'comport with good
faith" and was inconsistent with the
principles of justice to render the property
and persons of the many liable to be as
sessed TO raise money for the especial use
of the few, "many of them citizens of
great wealth." In accordance with his
recommendation, an anti-bank bill of a
revolutionary character passed the house
by large majority, but was defeated IN
the senate. This was the first step towards
reputation.
But the repudiationists did not yield
Almost Immediately Governor McNutt is
sued his proclamation announcing that the
state neither could or would pay the bonds
issued and signed by himself in behalf OF
the state in aid of the Union bank. The
question of reputation then became Pc.
litical one, dividing parties, the democrats
openly advocating it and the wings, under
thsslead of Sergeant s. Prentiss, opposing
it--and the repudationists carried the day
aud these state bonds were repudiated by
an act of the legislature. In May, 1858,
however, the high court of error and APP
peals affirmed the legal and constitutional
validity of the bonds and the obligation of
the state to pay them, but the reputation
lists, this time under the lead of jeff Davis,
again made political issue of the question,
adhered to the policy of reputation, de-
nounced the decision of the court, dropped
one of the judges making the decision, and
triumphantly elected their candidates-and
the principal and interest of the bonds still
remain unpaid.
1t would seem from a reference to the
newspapers and other publications of the
day, that the Arguments used by the repu-
diationlsts were much the same as those
used, this year, in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Thus the Vicksburg Sentinel, of Novem-
Der 7, 1S43, in an editorial, says to the voters