The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-09-17
THE $S05,OOo SUIT.
A REJO1NDER IL MADE TO THE AN.
sWER.
Mr.. Thomas Layton, President of the
southern Bank, to the COmmi ssf0ners
Of the Consolidated Debt.

| Of the Consolidated Debt.
| New ORLEANS Sept. II. 1877.
M Editnr-With the an-caled "nnsarer" be-
| fore us. which the combined ingenuity Of three
brood over and which has at length come to
light. we feel again provoked publicly TO de-
UNFouNDEp AND wANToN
| the sudden attack 80 ungenerously made on
| Sunday last, and repeated yesterday, under
cover of ajudicial proceeding. plotted and RI
pened. as 1t apparently is for. no other, than
wicked purposes. against the, Southern Bauk.
and this we do regardless of the unaecepted re-
iterated protests made to the contrary. by the
| evil spirits which inspired it,
| There are circumstances in life when silence
becomes crime. when self defense becomes
an irresistible moral obligation, when the de
| fcial1y screened they be accidentally, becomes
| q solemn public duty, imperiously demanded
by the highest eonsderatiohps OF social good
in this city and beyond the State nay. to the
less observing and eonsiderate, the suit brought
on the 9Th inst In the name Of the city against
found astonshment for the bank lit must be
admittedl. has always borne and it now bears u
| character as high as that of any other money
institution In the land, IN point of honor. pru-
dence and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS imparegnablity
duty alone gives the directors of the bank
were. at least rs much surprised ut an assault
In no way previously ,intimated, not even by the
precedes every judicial proceeding, and which
seemed insidiousy calculated to strike at the
| Bank a fatal blow, which, If successful, would
| have sprung monstrous disasters upon the
| planting and commercial communities of the
country. in this: that a run on the Bank might
have provoked runs on other banks which. un-
prepared, might have been driven. forcibly, to
lamentable SUSPENSION of payments.
10 hurl back and silence the reckless charges,
with the most indspuabe evidence in hand
and. next, to stigmatize the unfair enemies who
have preferred them, became u duty not to be
n nd
and which was faithfully and fearlessly dis
| charged.
dicted Is that while It was the fiscal agent Of the
] city of New Orleans. 1t has trronaf,Hy Wisappied
ssos635 OF the seven per cent, bonds which the
ruary 27. 1862 and had deposited with the bank.
The misappropfiation charged consists in
having delivered bonds. for that amount to the
!ne1n required by law not having been furnished
by the city to the bank. and which alone could
Justify the application, and in having disposed
of these bonds at less than par. at heavy dis
count.
Hence the bank is called upon to return the
bonds or pay the amount OF the same.
SO that the suit is predcated upon:
|. The rant OF tte statement, and
2, The disposal Of tte bonds al a discount.
Those charges the bank has triumphanty re-
futed by answering emphatically:
/. That the statement denied to exist had ac-
tualiy been prepare. by the municipal officers
in the possession and keeping of the bank
bearing the original attestation of those officers
est and .. that the bonds directed 10 be Issued I'm
der the law, by that statement. and otherwise II
necessary. had been given to and received by
the item Of city Indebtedness, in favor of the
Metropolitan Police and placed on the statement
as per receipt of the State Treasurer, likewise
subject to inspection by all concerned
1t was to be expected after such a frank and
ungarbled defense that the city officials who
had assumed the grave responsibility of insti-
L nTpNiOua or
mand. and without. any sueeia authority to
that end from the City Council a suit Of such
view and scrutinize the documents in question,
no Traces y q Nv wG i HR5p t existed or
| case. For some reason not easily disoerned
/ not one Of the officials has presented himself.
Nutm,ut'gtfe inquiry arises why ,oas this not
The prominent feature Of the refutation made
by the President of the bank Is THE AvERMENT
| OF THE EXISTENCE or THE DENIED STATEMENT
ana the application of the BONDS AT PAR. as d.
| RECTED by law, and the statement in furtherence
Of IT.
bic zeal for what they consider "A sentiment
dictated by, equal Justice before the law the
three city officials, who have inferred to as
/ sumo the odi,nlt of the suit and Of defense of
| 1t. have. In their own queer way analysed that
| refutation. and have found that 1t presented tho
proninem features; first: an elaborate statement
charge OF malice against the prosecutors.
II is truly wonderful that gentlemen Of their
/
have considered as pronsinent features matters
Of mere detail possibly unnecessary, after all
but, which were casually thrown in. to, publicly
and without dread of contradiction. apprse
| them Of facts which they seemed to ignore, and
| to echo to them the unanimous. pubic censurt
| and condemnation of the wicked motives which
spite and revenge seemed to have suggested in
/ the matter
They, however. admit with a Hagitious candor
that they never questioned the financial condi-
ton of the hank and Tint exhibits in that direc-
| ton are purely gratuitous."
For this great liberali y. let them accept our
| cordial thanks for to them we feel under un-
measured obligations. as. otherwise. the mime
which they intended to spring on the bank hay
a Se bnk %on
ceased to exist
1t took, the gentlemen can be assured, the
president of the bank no labor to recall histori-
cal facts in the annals of local banking. His
statements took less time to be made. and sure
ly was not as elaborate. rs tho patched answer in
question. the production of several minds re-
auired, for though. ovefshadowed and hera1ded
many days ago. it has only appeared yesterday
| Sunday (another Sunday)l!
After the announcement made In the official
paper OF an answer to the REPUTATION of the
| charges by the bank 1t might have been sur
bank would have been crushed by such charge
of insufficency or of forgery against the state
ment and receipts. based upon, report of .ex-
perts in handwriting, made after close optical
chemical and other scientific experimentation
But. 10! nothing of the kind On the contrary
relied on by the bank, and the existence Of Of
which had been peremptorily denied by the
city. are totally ignored by the officials in their
answer not the least reference being made to
| them in that remark able Joint production.
Without presuming to dictate to our adverse
res the manner in which they should have
proceeded. 1t is our right to criticise that In
| which they have moved
They claim to represent a principal the city
demanding from subordinate. its late Fiscal
| 10e,t, an account of certain bonds, and in de-
| fault the amount of the same.
The agent answers alleging disposal Of the
bonds under authority Of the law of the State
| relative thereto, and If necessary, under formal
mandatory. instructions of the city itself, as
| vouchers show.
The, only issue then is: We're the bonds le-
gally disposed of? The city holds the negative
and the bank the affirmative
Why then do the prominent city officials seek
to make irrelevant side issues? They aver as
to do. The bank was directed by law. by mu-
n1cipal ord NANCE aud by finance committee
resolution to apply bonds for that amount to