The daily gazette., 1875-05-18
Letter from Samuel Townsend.
For The. Gazette.

Mr.. EDrToR:-As there are seyera,
versions about the amount of money
collected from the Delaware peach shin.
pers in 1869 and 1870 by the p, w. & b.
X. X. Co., as indemnity in case they had
to pay the State of Delaware certain
| tax laid on rolling stock. at the previous
session OF the Legislature. The facts, 1
think; are as follows: Mr.. Hinckley.
President of said road, taxed Eve dollars
per car load Of peaches shipped in Della
ware: The Committee OF the Peninsula
Peach Growers Association, (of which I
am orie,) whose duty it is to help arrange
with railroad companies in regard to the
freight, ventilation of cnrs, the time Of
starting and delivery, and all other mat
ters that is considered for the best inter
ests OF the peach growers, called on Mr..
Hlnckiey soon after this five dollar ex-
ira order was published, and Mr.. Hinck
ley told the Committee that the Eve dol.
lars per car was laid solely to be collect
ed and kept separate from the railroad
monies. and interest ollo,oed on it, all to
be paid back to the Delaware peach ship
pers who paid it, in case they, the said
hallroad Company, had not to pay the
State the tax on rolling stock, that they,
the company, did not believe said tax
constitutional, and as soon MS it was de-
cided, if constitutional, then the Rail
road Company would keep the money.
but ii, on the other hand, the law was
unconstitutional, then they would pay
back to the peach shippers of Delaware
or their representatives every dollar of
principal and interest. About ten months
or one year after making the above
statement to us; Mr.. Hinckley, at an
other meeting with some of the Peach
Committee, said he should claim from
us part OF the attorneys fees. 1t has
run on until last winter, when, before
the Legislature and a hundred other
citizens, Mr.. Hinckley stated that there
was between fourteen and fiteen thou
sand dollars in his hands after deduct
ing expenses. l wrote HIM that about a
year had elapsed from the beginning. in
1863, until the spring of 1870, before [
had heard of his demanding from the
peach, shippers part of the attorneys
fees, but that we, the peach shippers.
wanted him to make out a statement of
the amount of principal and interest
which we could prove by as respectable
people as there was in the State that he
had promised to pay, but as far as was
concerned myself individually, would
allow reasonable share of attorney's
fees. Things were suffered to sleep on
for awhile, then plea was put in to
know whether OF not the State had
abandoned the suit 1t was finally sat-
isfactory to the Railroad Company that
the State had abandoned that part of
the suit hich related to the question
that this five dollars per car was collect
ed on. and week before last notice ap-
peared over the signature OF Mr.. c. X.
Ide that the amount had suddenly
arisen from the night Mr.. Hinckley
made his speech before the Legislature
to the first day Of May from fourteen or
fifteen thousand to twenty -one thousand
dollars, six thousand in three months;
but mind, no public statement of how
they arrived at these figures. But the
following are the true figures: