The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-05-29


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Communicated
Atlantic. Mississippi. and Ohio Rail-
road.
WILLIAM MAHoSE, PRESIDENT.
PETERSBURG, VA, 25th February, 1874.
Dear Sir.-Iour esteemed favor, under
date eth instant. is now before ME.
The tabular information you ask for will
follow this letter as soon as it can be pre-
pared. ! would remark, in this connection,
that discrepancies gay appear here and there
by comparing the particular state OF any one
account, as presented in later report, with
that to be found in some previous report,
growing ont Of the circumstance, rs you will
appreciate, Of getting all matters exactly un-
der their proper head in the transfer OF the
old accounts OF old roads to the new COM
pany, having regard to the provisions OF the
charter, but especially to such forms OF ac-
counts as will not only protect the proper
rights OF all parties, but especially SO as re-
spccts the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio
Company's own bondholdcrs, whose rights
and security may be larger than either you
or | ever anticipated
Where, on what specific property, and
how the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio mort
gage applies. is not Il subject Of inYestiga-
zion on our part. and we have been brought
to this inquiry more particularly by reason
Of some OF the foolish talk Of some OF the
holders OF the old bonds, mainly resident in
Baltimore. and tits on this line Of thought
that Mr.. John Conyham, OF whom | wrote
YOU, has directed a series OF inquiries. We
are now getting together all the mortgages
OF the old roads, together with all acts Of
Assembly relating to the old corporations,
for the purpose Of having these printed and
bound together in a few volumes, and that
we may take counsel, the best to be had
here, to the very depths Of this inquiry, and
which / say have been forced to look into
because Of this talk OF some Of the old
bondholdcrs about foreclosure. So far as
we have gone am encouraged to believe
that the gold bonds are as we'll ii not better
secured than any of the bonds OF the old
Virginia and Tennessee or Southside roads.
One thing we believe is quite sure: that
the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Company
stand toward either one OF the old compa-
nies in the attitude of different person,
and SO one OF our courts has recently ruled
in an analogous case. We believe that the At
lantic, Mississippi and Ohio mortgage di-
rectly holds first, foremost, and exclusively
on all the stocks and all the claims it bought
OF and received from the State in these old
roads. Such are beyond doubt the property
of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Com
pany.
Passing by all stock, let us see what the
claims are:
/. One hundred and forty-four thousand
S per cent. first mortgage Norfolk and Pc
tersburg and $4,000 Z per cent. first mort
gage Norfolk and Petersburg bonds-total,
Sl31,000: which constitute part and parcel
of an issue secured by such first mortgage
OF 5000, 900, and $4S, 900 first mortgage Nor
folk and Petersburg s per cent. purchased
and turned in to trustees, exchanged Tor
gold bonds.
>. The first mortgage OF the Virginia and
Tennessee railroad covers s1,500,000 all
told-S1, 100000, Il loan by the State, and
S5O0,o00 OF bonds for individuals, all OF
which were issued except $4,000. There
are outstanding (held by individuals OF this
S492, 900 and $4,000, the $4,000. having
been purchased by the Atlantic, Mississippi
and Ohio Company, and there are first mort
gage per cent. bonds, with accrued inter
est for one year, S27,020, equal as now to
$479.12O.
The loan OF 81 900, 900 made by the State
has been reduced by the operation OF sink
ing fund payment is of date September 10,
1868, to about SSSG,6Sj, and at this time was
! paid off in Confederate money ina manner
so irregular that such payment, although
received by one Of the officers OF the State,
was not duly recognized then by the sink
ing fund board, nor has such payment ever
been admitted by competent authority since.
But, on the contrary, 1t was held up to the
day Of the sale to the Atlantic, MISSISSIPPI
and Ohio Company that such payment was
illegal and void, and so the State in trans
Go, 4, lni,1 fn
whatever claims. rights, and privileges
which belong to the State by reason OF such
| loan," &c. Now, if we allow this payment
in Confederate money on the scale which
has been applied since the war in similar
cases, the debt would stand as OF Septem-
bcr, 1868, at SSSG,6S5, less 98,520 equalled
value OF payments, S79S, lG5; plus interest
from 1863 to 1874, ten and a half years, 63
per cent, S502,S4 Total in round num-
bers, SITE, 120, first mortgage claim.
3. $4,000 Southside old mortgage bonds,
equal to trst-G per cent. purchased and
turned overto otrusteeS-eXchanged for gold
bonds.
4. $4,000 past-due income bonds Vir-
ginia and Tennessee six per cent.-S93, 900
| held rs collateral, and $4,000 purchased by
5. Coupons paid for SouthSide railroad,
s230, 900: coupons paid for Virginia and
| Tennessee railroad, S475,000; registered
certificate, S5,000-in all against these divi-
sions OH this account, ST11, 1000, with inter
est, which, if calculated up to date, would
swell this sum to nearly $I50,000.
6. Salt-Works branch; no mortgage eX-
cept the Atlantic, Mississippi and ONO; ten
miles.
7. Southside consolidated mortgage does
not pretend to cover any subsequently-ac-
ouired property, while the mortgages OF the
Norfolk and Petersburg and Virginia ana
Tennessee do so pretend; but in no case IS
it believed that such old mortgages 40 OF
can be made to cover the property OF q
third person, whether they do SO pretend
or not. for the acts of the Virginia and Ten
nessee road, for instance, are the acts OF the
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio, nor are the
acts Of the Atlantic, Mississippi and ONO
the acts of the Virginia and Tennessee old
road. Therefore we hold further, that the
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio mortgage ai-
rectly, exclusively, covers all property add
ed to the entire line since the consolidation,
or by the use of its credit. The sale OF It's
bonds so far, and wherever the same can De
identified; which of course can be done as
to all engines, cars, passenger and tonnage,
new dep0ts, new rails on track, and espe-
cially since we credit the old road with the
proceeds from sale of old rails. Then, by
way OF summary under this view, the cor
rectness OF which am aiming to have con-
firmed by deliberate legal opinion, we
have:
inns