The Russellville Democrat., 1877-11-08
FINANCE QUESTION.

EDITOR OF DEMOCRAT: The press of the State has for some time been engaged in the discussion of the Ad- ams Redfield proposition to bond portion of the outstanding indebted ness State pro and con. That propo- sition requires that the bonds shall be issued under the provisions of an act of the legislature, approved De cember 24, 1874, commonly designa- ted as the "Loughborough Bill" which provides among other things, in section 9, "That the Governor of the State is hereby authorized to mortgage any of the unsold lands of the State, except school lands and lands occupied by public buildings, for the security of said bonds.." This provision is very objectionable to me, in any sense or view that may be taken of it. I have faith in the State officials, that they will honest ly dispose of the public lands, and pay the money into the State treas ury in accordance with law, and it would be an aspersion on them to take from their custody and put that vast interest in the hands of trus tee for the benefit of few foreign bond holders, thereby building up gigantic monopoly at the expense of the people, and to the detriment of future immigration to this State. It would withdraw many thousands of acres of the most valuable lands al- most from market-or at least throw impediments in the way of purchas- ing them-so that none but the rich could buy; it would at once stop our pre-emption system and hinder the development of the agricultural re- sources of the State.
 Section 10 of the same act reads as follows:
 In order to secure the payment of the interest on said bonds, and to provide sinking fund for the re. demption of the principal thereof, It is further enacted as part of the contract on which said bonds shall be issued, and as an inviolable con dition thereof, that until said bonds, principle and interest shall have been fully pad off and discharged, there shall be levied an annual tax suffi- cient to produce the sum of one hun dred and fifty thousand dollars for interest, and thirty eight thousand dollars for sinking fund, which sums are hereby set apart for the purpose aforesaid; and the first money re- ceived Tn the treasury annually du- ring the period aforesaid, from any source whatever, is hereby expressly appropriated to said purpose, until the sum of one hundred. and eighty eight thousand dollars aforesaid, shall have been applied annually in payment of said interest, and in ere ating said sinking fund; and the right of any holder of said bonds to the benefits herein provided shall be considered as vested and inextin- guishable from the time of the issu ing thereof until the said bonds shall have been fully paid off; all moneys belonging to said sinking fund shall be annually applied by the Treasur CT, under the direction of the Gov ernor, in the purchase of any of said bonds which may be outstanding, in the same manner as is provided in section nine of this act for purchase of said bonds by the trustee or trus tees. any Judge of the Circuit courts of this State, or Chancellor in term time or vacation, is hereby injoined and required upon the application of any holder of said bonds to compel by mandamus or other proper pro cess the authorities of the State to levy, assess and collect the taxes pro vided for in this section, and to pre-