The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-08-23
SOUTH CAROLINA,S BONDS.
of Great Interest to the
Holders Thereof.
obrrs,pondenes Of The New York SUI.
CHARLESTON, S. c., Aug.

CHARLESTON, .. C., aug. ~.
In 1878 the debt of South Carolina,
which was not repudiated, was made
fundable at fifty cents on the dollar, in
consolidation bonds. These consolida-
ton bonds do not rate with those of
Louisiana, nor meet with the expecta-
ton of the holders. The fact is, there
have been grave suspicious hanging over
many of these bonds for a long time.
From their issue Cardozo, who was Treas
urer, and as such was running the con-
solidation mill, was suspected of being
addicted to stufing in any kind of mat
ter which was at hand, as long as it paid
him. 1t appears that the testimony of
ex-Gov. Moses before the investigating
committee was directed partially to this
point, and that thereby so much light
was thrown upon the makeup of some
of the consolidation bonds that the COM
mittee have thought proper to recon-
mend the reputation of those bonds by
the next Legislature as fraudulent and
void.
It becomes interesting to the holders
of these bonds, and the public generally,
to know which lot of the consolidation
bonds are to be repudiated, and as the
committee are mum on the point, Cir
cumstantial evidence alone can solve the
problem. Moses recommended the Con-
solidation act, and it was passed during
his administration. Before he went out
of Office he signed and had sealed from
No. to No. 400 of these bonds of 81, 900
each. The most of them were funded
by State officials, and are thought from
the names of the parties to have belonged
to the Bond Ring of the State. During
this period Senator Y. J. P. Owens fund
ed the $3.50, 1000 of stolen coupons, which,
during the Parker trial, were found to
have belonged to Scott, Parker, Kimp-
ton, Neagle, and Chamberlain. An
other element in these bonds was the
Land Commission bonds, which only
netted the State some thirty per cent.
The genuinencss of some other constitu-
ent bonds during this period is question
able, so that large number OF consoll-
dation bonds were issued which ought
not to have been. Moses could not tes-
tify concerning any bonds except those
which he issued for during Chamber
lain's term that reformer did not counte-
nance his predecessor. Some of the
bonds issued by him were good, and COM
pounded of good material, for they were
issued to some of the best and most pa
triotic men in the State, so as to give the
Consolidation act a good send-of by
their countenance and willingness to
compromise their old gold bonds of an
ante-bellum issue. But the most of this
funding was engineered by Kimpton for
the Bond Ring. This fnancier at first
pretended to be very averse to the con-
solidation scheme, decrying it as repu-
diation, etc. But when the time came
for its passage he landed suddenly in
Columbia to see the boys, as he said.
The bill was delayed until the last day
of the session so that the Senators and
members could realize the highest mar
ket price for its passage. 1t was late at
night when it was ready for the Govern
or's signature. Gov. Moses had retired
to his mansion mile away from the
state House, and it was feared that the
bill could not be ratified. Kimpton then
threw off his appearance of hostility to
the bill. A carriage was in waiting, and
Kimpton, carrying the engrossed bill in
his hands, waited on Gov. Moses, made
the necessary arrangements for his sigma
ture. and returned with it to the State
House in time to make it an act OF that
session. o
How much further than the first 400
of tbcse bonds NAV be implicated is not
known. After their issue, Chamberlain's
name appears upon their successors
Even after Hampton's Inauguration,
Chamberlain continued, with Cardoza,s
aid, to issue consolidation bonds to all
who applied to have their old securities
exchanged for the new bonds.
There is a division of sentiment on the
question of these bonds in the State.
The Governor and many others in the
State are in favor of standing to the con-
solidation bonds as they are. But there
are very many who insist upon, the elm
nation of the fraudulent bonds, accord
ing to the proposed report of the COM
mittee. These latter insist that the State
cannot paw the interest due and past due
on the 1st of January, 1878, without a
contraction of the debt to the smallest
scope possible. They figure it out put tina that
this interest will amount to 81 l,02O,OOo,
which will require tax of ten mills, or
three mills more than the present years
tax, for all State purposes. This includes
all the interest on the fundable bonds not
vet funded, since the 1st of January,
1874, and excludes all interest prior to
that time which is fundable, along with
the bonds as of that day. If the Gov
ernor's position prevails, it will be plain
sailing as to all these bonds; but if it
does not, then the pedigree of each con-
solidation bond will have to accompany
it before it is marketable. This Is
curious position for personal property;
but it is actually so, that these pcdigrees
are in existence, that such a bond was
funded by certain parties out OF various
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