The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-02-06
THE STATE DEBP MUDDLE.
Changing the Battlo Ground to tho State
Supreme Court.
COLUMBIA. Monday Night, Jan. 27.

COLUMBIA, Monday Night, Jan. 81.
This was the day fixed for the hearing,
bv the Supreme Court, of the petition of
Thomas P. Branch for mandamas to
compel the State Treasurer to pay out the
interest money in his hands on account
of the January interest on the recognized
Consolidation debt.
In this case Messrs. Lord and Brawley,
representing certain holders of bonds in
Schedule of the report of the Bond
Commission, who had obtained an in
junction from the United States Court
restraining the Treasurer from paying
interest on the recognized bonds Of the
State, desired to be heard for the purpose
of arguing that the act of December "a,
1878, was unconstitutional, in this, that
it proposed to divert funds in the treas
ury from the purposes for which it was
claimed that such funds had been already
appropriated, and by the force of contract
were to be kept for that purpose.
The counsel for the holders of the re-
cognized debt, the Hon. A. G. Magrath,
contended in his reply to the answer of
the State Treasurer, setting forth the re-
straining order of the United States
Court, that the holders of the unrecog-
nized debt in Schedule 6, in their bill,
claim a right to the moneys derived from
taxes, disregarding the conditions and
provisions which attach to the same in
the hands Of the Treasurer of the State;
disregarding all the measures, judicial
and otherwise, adopted by the State for
the proper investigation of its alleged in-
debtedness; disregarding all the proceed
ings already had and taken in the Courts
of the State to determine the question Of
the liability of the State'for the bonds of
these complainants, and seek to obtain
Judgment upon the questions now before
the Courts of the State, to which Courts
the State has submitted the question of
its liability, with its pledge made in the
Act of oath December, 1878, that as soon
as the validity of these bonds shall have
been finally decided, provision shall be
made for the payment of the interest
upon all bonds which may be decided to
be legal, honest and valid, to which bill
and other proceedings in the Courts of
the United States the State is not party,
and cannot thereto be made a party.
In the Supreme Court to-day the Chief
Justice and Associate Justices, severally
speaking, said they were not willing to
allow the issue to be discussed while pro-
ceedings to that end were now pending
in another jurisdiction. The Judges
would not undertake to suggest how the
difficulty could be obviated, but stated to
the counsel on both sides that, if any
mode could be agreed upon by which it
could be removed, the Court would be
willing to entertain the questions, consti-
tutional and otherwise, involved in the
case before it.
I understand that the holders of the
unrecognized bonds have dismissed pro-
ceedings in the United States Court and
will move tomorrow before the Supreme
Court of the State (where proceedings of
the recognized bondholders are now
pending to compel the Treasurer to pay
the ip:erest on the recognized bonds as
provided in the act of December "a,
1S7S) for an order requiring the Treas
urer to retain the funds until the final
determination OF the validity of said
bonds. In this way all conflict of juris-
diction will be avoided and the question
will be determined at an early day
Cor. Ne,u' and Courier.