Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-01-25

was under their exclusive control, GUS
| tody ani care. On inquiry the COM
mittee find that neither oi the fund COM
| missoners give bond as such. nor does
it appear that any law requires them to
do SO. They do not keep minutes Of
their proceedings, nor an account of the
moneys by them received and disbursed.
| AS all their payments and receipts must
pass through the auditor and treasurer,
| it is considered that the books of these
officers are sufficient memoranda of the
commissioners acts and account of
their transactions.
HOW THEIR FUNCTIONS ARE PERFORMED.
The proceedings OF these iunctiona-
ries in the discharge OF official duty
would seem to be about this: Commits
sioners Gates and Holiday direct Audi
tor Holladay to draw warrant for the
sum required at the time. which being
complied with, Commissioners Gates
and Holladay instruct Treasurer Gates
to pay over to them the amount called
tor by the warrant. When the warrant
is entered as paid on the treasurer's
books the money forthwith passes un-
der the exclusive control aud custody of
the commissioners until expended in the
payment OF bonds OF coupons. 1t is not
within the province of the committee to
explain why such singular provisions
have been incorporated into the inan-
cial legislation OF the state, nor why
these commissioners, who are charged
with such important duties, Us well as
the exclusive control, custody and dis
bursc.nent OF millions. are not required
to give bond. The committee simply
report the facts as they find them.
| ha YaSnacttnIIv SnODQeE
that the law be so amended as to make
the governor, the auditor and the at
torncy- general the board of fund COM
missouers-the governor the president.
the auditor the secretary. That there
may be u summary means to compel the
performance OF duty, vest in the gov.
ernor the power, subject to the approval
OF the majority OF the supreme court, to
remove the auditor or treasurer and to
appoint some one to his place.
In the course of examination the
Statements of the bank OF commerce,
the fiscal agent OF the state, were in
spected To their surprise, the commit
tee could find no charge for. commits
sions, nor is the bank credited upon the
auditors books with any sum represent
ing such commissions. On further in
quiry it was ascertained that since 1872.
, when the act took effect reducing the
, compensation Of the fiscal agent from
, one-tourth, the commission previously
, allowed. to one-tenth per cent. Wagner,
%. l,2S2, sec. Z, the bank had refused to
accept the one-tenth per cent. as mad
equate remuneration, and rendered in
its statements no charges for commits.
, sions.
Attention is called to this anomalous
, I'coudition of things that a remedy may
he applied, the claim oil the bank ad.
iusted, and provision made for the large
sum now due it.
+ DOUBLE PAYMENT OF INTEREST.
0 BY an act approved Nov. 10, 1857,
y Claws 1857, p.-) the governor was
2 authorized to denver To The Pacific,
e The Southwest Branch, and the Iron
Mountain railroad. III the aggregate,
t 81, ,576, 900 "f twenty-year per cent,
q state bonds, in lieu vi q like amount
9 of thirty-year per cent. guarantee
d bonds, interest payable on the first
II DAYS of January and July, with q
e proviso against selling them for less
10 lnan 80 cents. These bonds ''may
Il bear date July l, 1857. or the first of
l. January or July OF the year in which
4, they shall be issued"
IS The bonds thus authoriz I'd werO
): printed with 40 full coupo..s each
! representing the years interest, the
{ first falling due January or July of
rs the year in which the bJuu was
1 issued, last January or July of the
at year wnen the bond fell uue. The
IT. date OF the issue of each bond was
left blank to DO flied in with lux.
The bonds were payable "twenty
wears after the date thereof, with iu-
} Ierest ut the rate OF six per cent. pei
unnun from date unit. paid, pay.
el- able semi-annually on the
OF first OF January aud July in eaci
in year, on the presentation aud deliv
1T cry of the interest coupons hereto
re seveIaliy subjoined." None of the
bonds bore dale 1st of July, 1857, Ol
the 1st of January or July of tn,
to year i'll which they were issued as re
he quired by section s of the act author
In Izing them, but we're dated aud 10
yer sued at Irregular Intervals during
the years 1857 8.
o. After u very careful examination
the committee are fully satisfied tha
% all the bonds were delivered to tn,
os railroads with 40 tull coupons eacl
he attached; in fact there is no evidence
,p- to the contrary. Consequently eacl
nd bond, when issued, bore certain
ON amount OF accrued interest; 1anl
su- Furthermore, ali the coupons, repre-
M seutlng the full twenty-years' inter.
he est, fell due and were paid before tn,
,us maturity of the bond. 1t is thus ap
as parent tnat although there was an in
all t.rvul bet " cen the time at hich thl
his .ast coupon became due and the ma
he turity Of the bond itself, still the i'll
,at terest for this interval had already
.. been paid by the coupons, or, il
RS other words, the bond was for twent,
years, and 40 coupons was the inter
IN est lhereon; only the coupons wer'
We antedated, and the last one collected
er- before the bond itself became due.
"o For reasons, the validity of whicl
I'd, the committee failed to appreciate
an the fund commissioners thought the,
ese were authorized to pay interest OF
90. these bonds for the period after th
md list of July, 1877, until the dates o
their respective maturity, although
YER that interest bad already been liqui
lse da'ed III the coupons. moreover, l
The is noteworthy that the question o
we paying this fractional interest ha,
20 arisen previously III the case of othe
not bonds, which though not issued un
ob. der the act already cited, were other
,ch wise in the same category Of irregu
tly larity aud although the Legislature
at could nave been applied to, its inter
at venlion was not invoked, nor does i
or. appear that even the aLtOruey-geuera
hat was consulted III the premises.
AMOUNT OF E4CEssIvE INTERHs'
l.. PAID
1t appears from the returns of tn
-, Nv York B.nk of Cunmerce tha
.r- during the years 1878 (excludinl
n,s Whatever may be embraced i'll its Ia.
.a3 statement, not yet received) ther
'a ~ was pnid of excessive or double in
us Wv teres', $50, 1916; and according to th
'rt Wv, fund commissioners report for tn
NV ~ years 1875 6, there was paid durin
'';I, ;r these years 1872, ,631, aggregatiny
md - total in four years Of $66.OO7; OF, i
Inv Inv other words, this amount has lee
. .no expended in excess of what the stat
e. e. contracted to pay when it issued it
~, bonds.
as 1t is but lust to allow Fund Com