The daily gazette., 1877-12-20
INTERESTING TO HOLDERS
OF SOUTH CAROLI.N.A
BONDS.
From the n. Y. Sun.


Since the adjournment, last spring,
of the South Carolina Legislature,
Commission appointed by that body
has been investigating the character
of the consolidated bonds issued un-
der the Funding act of Dec, %,
1873. The Comm ission's report will
probably be made public on Friday
or Saturday of the present week. We
are able to print this morning the eX-
act results Of their work. so that til e
holder of every $1,000 bond of the
| SO, ,575 200 in this class can see at a
| CLAN Ce the status of his property in
| the judgment ut the legislative COM
mltlee.
This three and half millions of in
debtedhess represents, 1t must be re-
memDered, an original debt of twi ce
the sum. The consolidated bonds
were issued under the pretence Of af>
fording complete protection to credi-
tors who held doubtful paper and
were willing to fund at fifty cents on
the dollar, sacrificing one-half their
claims for the Sake of being assured
the other half. Why, then, are some
of the bonds of this issue classed as
valid, some as worthless, and some as
uncertain? The answer to this ques-
tion carries us back to the shameful
corruption in the management Of
South Cardinals finances during the
supremacy of the Chamberlain Ring.
While honest investors were buying
South Carolina securities of Kimp-
ton in Wall street, KImpton's confed-
crates at Columbia were issuing bonds
under laws passed by bribed LegislA-
lures, and issuing bonds for which
there was no law whatever, as fast as
they could work their printing press
es. Nobody has ever been able to de-
, termine the exact total of the d ebt
, thrown upon South Carolina by this
gang of thieves. Four years ago MIR,
, Pike, in his book, THE Prostrate
1 State" estimated it at $30,000,000.
q The State Investigating Committee Of
1873 reported it as Sz9, 1885, ,914. In thu
three years 1868, 1853, and 1870, tn,
It American Bank N Note Company alou
e printed $22, 100000 of paper Tor tn,
n Chamberlain Ring. Bonds that hat
been redeemed or refunded were bolC
o ly sent to Kimpton to be sold owe
e again. When the limit placed by Law
ir upon oae series Che conversion
,r boLds) had been reached, the swind
lers began once more at the beginnin
IL numbering the fraudulent bonds in
le different colOred ink and putting ther
if on the market side by side with tn
v genuine. The great seal of the Stat
~ was brought North by Scout, and Il
= issue OF bonds was made at one tim
ie in room Of the Metropolitan Hott
Is In this city, aud at anOthe time in
H. house OF Infamous character and wit
. the assistance of a notorious woman.
~ When it became evident that Tia
y; impoverished State could never carr
OF the enormous burden put upon it, th
Republican Legislature Of 1913 passe
a law repudlatlng about six million
er off the taiLted Conversion" issu
If and providing for consolidation bono
-, at fifty cents on the dollar. Thes
consolidation bonds, therefore, repre-
ne sent previous bonds of various DIT
ey grees of validity, and we suppo
,rs that the Commission, with the asst
-, tance of an expert has endoavored
trace each bond back to the Origin
'ht claim upon the State to deter NIL
lis whether it is based upon an hone
nd debt, or fraudulent debt.
-. The result is somewhat astonishin
10 By the committees report only S.
100000 OF the debt is recognized
valid, while nearly 81 900 600 is
na- jected altogether, and 81, 800, 600 clas
ned ed as doubtful"
ra 1t is impossible to overlook the ia
i1 that the drift of sentiment in Sou
pie Carolina is toward reputation
the the whole debt. The question is f,
No passing out of the plane of comm
,,,,t honesty into that Of political poll
5n' The politicians, Hampton and I
rest, who are figuring and inLrigui
for Senatorial honors ,are rapidly Il
rt+ ing advantage of the division in pl
eN' lie opinion about the State debt
ma further their own scheme for persol
Jl ic advancement.
,ing This last proposal to scale down
> ~ Indebtedness already once sea
VI down will not be likely to strength
uc- the credit OF South Carolina.
city -.