New-York tribune., 1879-08-30

| Il, 1870, aDn St ,J'S.olS Dtdto bciip ioS"'' "f
| that time. This showed an increase Of the debt In
one year Of nearly million and half dollars.
Another statement in The Financial Chronicle
dated November H. 1874. placed the debt at
Si2 800 Oo0 nearly onc-third Of which, 1t was esti-
mated, held abroad
| N January, 1873, the debt amounted to
| S14,51l,1iS principal. and $4,1276S2 over
due interest b January, ], 1875. In
| September, 1873, however, the Auditor OF
| State made n " statement - and supplementary
abatement Of tho debt. Included in the former
arc bonds to the amount Of S3,193,5OO, on when
the interest due and unpaid to September 81,
1878, was 81, ,20iO50. The amount of bonds in
| cluded in the supplementary statement s
| SIS ,6o4, ,773, and the amount Of unpaid interest
reckoned thereon S3,173,13i. This report makes
| the principal of the debt S11, ,70S, ,273 and the
amount of deiauted interest S5.437, 1S4. Adding
| interest accrued since this statement to July l.,
1879, one finds the entire amount Of defaulted In
terest TO that date to be $3.50 000 and the total
debt, principal and interest. to be S1s,2S7,273.
| No interest has been paid on any portion OF TINS
debt since the Democrats assumed control OF AFFAIRS
| III 1874, except on $4,000 of per cents IS
| sued in 1878. and S281, 800 of 10 per cents
issued in 1874. The only mterest-bearins debt
now recognized" by the State is $3193,5OO
principal aud about $2.370,00O OF interest due
and unpaid; but part OF this appears to be dis
| puted. In a letter of the State Board of Finance,
dated October. 1877, the "uudsputed" debt OF
the State is estimated at $2,657 800. besides in-
| terest due and unpaid.
There appears 20 be a hoatiug debt Of unknown
amount-probably exceeding million Of dollars.
The Auditors last report showed that of the receipts
from all sources about $780, 900 were nState scrip
and about 1925, 600 OF the same currency had been
| ont the
100000 in loans from banks and $225,000 By
transfers" from the sinking fund. This report
covers the period from September 80, 1876, to Sep
| tember 30 1873.
The reduction Of the debt from more than
| $14, 900, 900 to about S3,000000 in less than
year has been very gratifying to the people OF Ar
! kansas whatever the creditors Of that State may
think about it. To accomplish this feat the aid Of
! the Supreme Court of the State was invoked. The
Court promptly responded, and, on June o, 1877
declared null and void bonds issued to railroads to
the amount Of So $50 600, which unpaid interest
had accrued amounting to $1.785,298. The same
Court March 81. 1878, declared void 81 9S6,773 OF
| evee bonds on which interest had accrued and was
cnpsis TO the amount Of $S6S,715. The latter do
cision was in tho face of a decision of the United
States Circuit Court Judges Dillon and CaldweD at
Little Rock, which held that the leyee bonds were
|
| there are about 81 100000 If funded bonds issued
| IN 1870 in dispute, and litigation concern
! ing them is now pending in tho same court which
nuIlifef its railroad and levee bonds The deci
siOns of the Supreme Court of Arkansas in regard
to the railroad and levee bonds based or tech
! ncal defects in the laws under which the bonds
were is ued The Arkansas Constitution OF 1868
provided that "on The final passage of all bills the
vote shall be taScH by yeas and nays, and entered
! on the journal" Ii appears that on the final pas
| sage of the bl authorizing the levee bonds the
| yeas and nays were not recorded. 1t was on this
| single point, aud not on the equity OF the
| case that the decision was based The bonds wero
issued in regular and proper form, and their gent-
| ineness attested by the signatures OF the proper
officers. They were bought and sold evidences
of debt issued by the state Of Arkansas in accord
ance with law To show now widely these bonds
we're distributed, and how little many of the own
ers of them could know OF any legal informalty at
tending their issue, the following paragraph from
letter of the Finance Board to the people OF Arkan-
sas. dated October g. 1877, is copied:
attera wore received intervals from many indyid
uaI holders OF bonds some of whom were apparently
with the language in which the DOnOs are
prirtad showing that the bonds were widely d.semi-
hated throughout great part of the civilized world
And vet. with these facts known, the Supreme
Court proceeded to conscate the property OF lnn0-
could know nothing Of and the Democratic party of
Arkansas applauded the decisions. Respecting the
decision in tho levee bond case, Tho Little Rock ga
cette the leading Democratic newspaper OF the
| State said:
Toe aoeson s correct ona and will be sustained by
the approval OF evpry unprJudced legal mind III the
state We congratulate tho people or Arkansas upon
tbs decision which lifts burden Of nearly $3OoOOU0
| from their saOuluerS
On the same subject The FSndRcat ChroR'cle forcl-
| bly, remarked:
I.is fhtess to dscuss question like this, for as
matter OF technical il Ia too well understood that
sovereign state may utterly refuse to gsy is aeGts
and her creditors are remediess Few states nt thls
rnent more Arkansas, and yet reiusa 70 meet
State obligations direct rebuff "a slap IN the iaee
TO all respectable men VINO would invest money vi take
| up their residence within ner borders
In the letter of the Finance Board before quoted
is found an appeal to the people TO provide for the
payment of the "undisputed" debt. The Board said:
That debt thus admitted to be Justly due ought to be
paid is matter open to debate 80 eng as human
pbIgstious are admitted to have the slightest ssncty
The debt could hayo been paid long ago. IN such man
nor as not have been folt and the penalty OF not
| meeiin9 these obligations with something moro tang
Die han vague promises has long ago been paid In the
way retarded prosperity and the acquisition Of bad
name This will be equally obvious To Que who knows
the history Of the State, or VINO has any faith IN the
maxim that honesty Is the best best pol b0isS s t paefs
rupcy REPAID aon ana all makeshfts OF that KIND are
with them misorunes which greater than the hard
! ships attending the payment OF just debts.
This appeal, it must be remembered, was not to
arouse the people of Arkansas to pay all their debts
It was an effort to induce them to accept PROPOSE
| ton of the weary and betrayed bondholders to
.'readjust" the debt. They offered to return to the
State for nothing bonds amounting to $11 474 ,501,
| and also to surrender other per cent bonds the
validity Of which had never been disputed amount
ing with interest to S3, ,022. .0O0 on condition that
! the State would issue to them new thirty-year
bonds to tho amount of So O22 900. with interest at
! 2 per cont tho first year, per cent the second
/ -. A nor cant tha third vaar and a. nor oan l.