New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-09-13

cepicd " IS. In fact all tnat the bondhonrr ch k
pr"rnut acceptance. We recommend our cor
respondens 10 send in their bonds once. the time
within which they may be exchanged is limited
Bondholdcrs who receive this circular will be
likely to consider the of compromise instead
Of robbery" as pleasant n euphemism ms the
clause in he funding" law itself, which reads
all pasf-iue interest to be surrendered.' This law
provides that holders of the ante-war bonds
/ may surrender them aud receive new bonds Tor
| the face thereof less 60 per cent the new ponds
| are 10 bear instead of 6 per cent interest Bonus
! of Tins class are outstanding to rho amount OF
81 37s. 200. and 5000 900 Of this is repndia'ed
outright. together with all past-due interest; and
the interest on the remainder is cut down from To
4 per cent internal improvement bonds issued
since the war and bearing per cent interest are
recognized to the amount of 81 G93,2l1. lheSe
NAV be "surrendcred also, and the holders IT,
cciye in lieu thereof oncfourth Of their face Nalue
in four per ceut bonds. In other words S5.ol"'''f
of the principal and all the past-dne interest," are to
pudaed and tue interest on the remainder reuuc'u
/ from 10 per cent.
In 1n6G and 1868 bonds were issued to iuhd pasl-
dne interest on the "ante-war " debt. These bonds
amount 10 So ass. 600 and bear per cent interest.
/ The holders of these may surrender" them ana
receive In exchange new four per cent bonds 10 'o
amount of 10 per cent Of the face value OF inc
/ old bonds or 1888. 800. The amount OF rtpuuia-
ton in this case is 3O5,310 besides oil pas'-uhe
interest while the interest the remainder Is re-
duced per cent The principal of The DEBT pe'"s
thus reduced 10 So lG7, onehrd Of the interest
on this Is rcpudiated under the operation Of the law
involving the bondhoders in n further prospective
loss of 81 10000 which they should have re-
ceived according 10 the original contract.
The repudiatIon account of North Carolina then
appears to stand as follows:
ignored" debt with int. 20 July l. 1879. S2oo}6oNo
Principal 81 recognized debt rcpudiated.. ils1E'lol
nlercs OF rvcog nized debt Icpudlatcd.-.. lO4biSs
Interest lost by scaling from u 10 per cent SpVo''V
Total i43o3,lol
Ii Is impossible to conceive what principle II any,
governed IN the preparation Of this odious funding
law 1t will be observed that the entire principal
of the debt A. "readIustedr il less than one-halt
the amount of the ante-war debit plus tie interest
due on it at the end of the Rebellion. The validity
of chat debt has been questioned by anybody.
II was contracted more than twenty years ago,
when North Carolina enjoyed reputation for non
esty; and most of the bonds yielded the State more
than one hundred cents the dollar The State re-
ceIved TIL money from the bondhoders. Aud ye''
after refusin to pay interest this debt for the
last ten years. the honest Democrats OF North Caro-
/ lima coolly say To the States creditors:
We will not pay either the principal or the interest OF
these bonds II choose 10 suirendet theu We
owe you and Will promise 10 pay yon per cel IL
erest them. fyou do not agree TO TINS We VIII not
pas ycu do lar
The funding bonds were issued in 1866 and lS6,
TO nay interest Oh the antewar debt and their valid
ity has never been. nor can 1t he, disputed They
have exactly the same standing the principal 81
that debt itself But for these bonds the holders are
10 receive only II cents the dolarlss than one
tenth Of their face value, plus accrued interest.
Why any difference has been made between these
bonds and those issued before the war Is something
that nobody but North Carolina Democratic iinan-
cier of the Nasty school can ever comprehend. No.
body pretends that the "rccognized" internal I'M
provement bonds issued since the are not valid,
and yet the holders OF them are forced to =" sur
render them for bonds worth loss than onc-siXth Of
their face value. plus accrued interest.
Monumentally dishonest rs the law is, however,
the bondholders probably have reason 10 congfatu-
late themse selves that they get of without losing
every dollar of their Investments, well as the in
tcrest for the reputation sentiment appears TO be
rapidly aud steadily gaining grouad among the
Democrats Of North Carolina.
In ls77a committee of the bondholders visited
that State and held conferences with Governor
Vance, prominent members of the Legislature and
other leading citizens. On their return they re-
ported that they found great apathy regarding the
public debt, not only among State officials and
members of the Legislature, but also among mer-
! chants and bankers. All admitted, the committee
said that the sett lement of the debt would greatly
benefit the State and If plan of settlement could
! have been devised which would not necesstate the
levvinq of taxes. 10 would have met with universal
assent With one exception the newspapers of the
: ate were opposed TO any settlement of the public
debt Whatever. were neutral on the subject.
Those opposed were extremely active in their opp0-
sition.
| Ii took the Democrats Of North Carolina just two
| ,1o G., fha of fla
State debt without levying taxes, but they sue
ceeded. Governor Vance, in his message to the
Legislature. January 10. 1877, said:
Many inquiries being made as 10 the disposition
Of our public debt presume Il is tho Intention OF our
people to provide for its liquidation az some figure as
the necessary taxation can be borne; but when
and on That Of S' the people yS must
decide While II Is certainly desirable Ill many
respects debt and restore credit TO
ts ancient standard. am FAR from believing that We
are subject to OF III any way oonEAIos -
the greater pa Of those claims there Is not the
aTy honest ctzen Of North Carolina The story of
niques prsciised upon us Is an ample Justification Tor
our delay.
The declarations Of poverty and inability to pay
arc not sustained by the facts. The assessed val
nation of property IN North Carolina in 1868 was
SI2O 900, 900, in 1870 it $130.37S. 900, ex-
actly half the census valuation OF the same
year; in 1873 II was 81 80 600 O00 and in 1876 it
was Slls 900 900. 81 900, 900 less than in 1875,
and SIP 900 900 less than the census valuation of
1870.
Not only was the assessment excessively low. but
the rate of taxation was equally so. The tax-rate
in North Carolina, in 1877, was IS cents on 800;
in South Carolina it was 45 cents; in Virginia. 80
cents in Florida 30 cents and in Arkansas, 81.
North Carolina is quite able To pay as heavy d tax
as either one of the other States mentioned and
the average rate ia those States was 74l2 cents,
nearly twice that Of North Carolina. Ii will be
observed that all the States named Demo
cratic.