The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-09-20
Oo0 tor the payment of interest on the
pubic debt at 8 per cent, $l,O0O,O 900 for

ucot az per cent, $l ,00O, 900 fol
od the relief ellie of the treasury at per cent.
SoOo,OOO for the redemption of Goyerno,
Orr's currency, and 100000 for the Dur.
chase OF lands under the land commits
SION: Ohe million two hundred thou.
sand dollars was called for in addition tt
provide for the redemption of the bills of
the State bank. These bills have moi
yet been redeemed, but are floating about
IN considerable quantities, though I dc
not believe any one knows how many are
in existence.
In this session also the far,ous Con.
verrion act was passed. This act author.
lied the issue of bonds to take up all out.
standing bonded and stock indebtedness
OF every kind, and authorized, further.
more, all holders of stock or any kind of
government securities to convert them
into these bonds. The object OF this &C.
was declared to be t. rive uniformity and
consolidation to all classes of securities.
All these acts, repeat, were presented
by the financial agent, Kimptou. and
urged upon the financial board by him
as necessity. They were never pre.
pared by Scott or myself, but always by
Chamberlain and Kimpton. Chamber.
lain used to say to me that Kimpton de-
clared these measures to be necessary.
and he supposed that they were 80.
Under the act authorizing the Governor
to borrow 81 900, 600 to pay the interest
upon the public debts, $4,000 900 of bonds
were issued. Five hundred thousand
dollars of these bonds we're returned and
bonded in the presence of the financial
board and others, S25O,OOO we're ex.
changed by the financial agent for con-
version bonds, and S1,250, 900 remained
out. The $500,000 bonds that we're re.
turned had passed through the hands of
the financial agent. While in his DOS.
session coupons might have been taken
off, or they might have been applied for
the payment of the interest, and so got
into the hands of the public. In this
last way they might have been presented
to the State treasury honestly for furd-
ing. / was sued upon civil process for
S450,000 in 1874, the allegation being
that l had funded that amount illegally
in the treasury. A Judgment was rem
dered against me for S75, 600; but this,
you will bear in mind, was the judgment
on technical wrong in civil suit. AS
soon as the conversion act was passed n
very large number of these bonds we're
printed. OF these bonds 81 200, 900 were
issued strictly in accordance with the
provision of the act, but all Others issued
were put on the market in an arbitrary
manner: For all that, the money OBJ
tanned by the State Oh these bonds by
Frank Moses was issued by me, as treas
urer, in accordance with law.
ENORMOUS ISSUES OF BONDS.
Now the S3,200,000 which the Legisla-
ture authorized the Governor to raise by
the sale of bonds had to be obtained at a
sacrifice. The bonds of the State would
not sell at anything like par. In fact,
when first Issued, we we're obliged to dis
pose of them for twenty cents on dollar.
When the acts passed the Legislature,
understood, and think it was generally
understood by all members of the Legis-
lature except those let into the secret.
that SO, 200, 900 in bonds at par was the
total sum authorized by the acts. When
the acts were nassed, however, Chamber
lain and Kimpton pointed out what was
the literal Interpretation of the acts.
They contended that BOMBS could be sold
at any sacrifice to obtain the sum in cash
of SO 100000. Relying on Chamberlain
as the legal adviser of the BOARD, Scott
and / consented to the issue of the
amount of bonds necessary to raise the
authorized sum. He found, however,
that the ordinary bonds of the State were
not taken readily when nut on the mar
ket. Bankers require the best security
possible, before they will invest their
money in the purchase of bonds, that the
bonds are legally Issued. This point
was involved in scme doubt, and when
they discovered that there were more
than million of bonds issued under the
act to provide for the payment of the
public debt, they refused TO deal in these
bonds, or rather TO take them in any way.
In this exigency recourse was had tc the
act authorizing the issue of conversion
bonds. The act provides that these
bonds shall be issued for the redemption
of other State securities, but it was con-
tended by Chamberlain and Kimpton
that these bonds could also bo Issued di-
rectly, that is they could be put on the
market and sold like ordinary bonds, and
the proceeds devotei to the REDEEM ption
of outstanding claims and TO meet othe.
State expenses. Scott and ! were pre-.
vailed upon by Chamberlain and Kimp.
ton 10 countenance this issue of bonds
When, therefore, these conversion bonde
we're put directly on the market they
we're sold quite readily, for brokers had
no means 81 knowing how many were
issued, or could be issued, in one year
So they secured these bouds as collateral
security, and purchased them in prefer.
ence to the others. Perhaps this was moi
| exactly fair, but we went on the princi
pie that outsiders were bound to look out
for themselves. The object of the finan.
cial hoard in this was tn aecure n,onav nj
the least cost to the State, and there wai
no intention to defraud the State there
by.
DEBT INCREASED $1O,OOO,OOo IN Four
YEARS.
During the four years in which We
| were in Office the bonded debt was in
creased about $40, 100000. All outstand.
ing claims were provided for and wipet
out, so that at the end of the four yean
| the only outstanding debt was for tht
current expenses of the State during 1872
This board has been censured for causing
these acts to be passed. Who drew uJ
and presented the acts? Chamberlain
drew up every one of them, and KimptoI
presented them. The proposition for tht
issue of conversion bonds directly wa
:eade hy Chamberlain, II, looked upoi
this issue as necessity. look upoE i
now as did then. My first opposition
to the issue of bends in the Constitution
al Convention was due to the belief tha
the State expenses could be provided 70
without this issue, by taxation. When
found, however, that the State expense
made upon the treasury by law 70
| I sv,A 4,