Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-12-09

Asia. we will have our headquarters in Con- |
stantinople and our hindquaflers IN India and |
there is no telling how much money we shall |
make That is only an overdrawn character |
of nlen We can lind III every community, that |
are living in dreams of what can lie DONE and |
yet such men are not generally reaplng these |
magnificent fortunes. | do not undertake to |
make u denuncatlon of Ferree. but the others |
did not know what they were talkiug about |
and had gotten their Ideas from man but | |
always desire % put the most favorable con-
atruction on it but yOu all know the testi-
nlony is not worth much. Why do | RAY con
iidently that that testimony was not worth |
snup of my nlser!
There was III the court room, Mt the time |
these men were testli yng, a man who knew Il |
good deal about real estate and who had |
keen interest in this business, who had put |
very much too high valuation on that prop |
erty, and that man had been on the stand i'll |
this case believe not less than five times |
lie had been pnt up to tell how very little he
knew about lnsI.dnce Why was not Mr.. |
Bright put on the stand to tell you something |
of his I'M re5aions Of that Pennsylvania land |
Just ask yourselves that question anl, if yUu |
can, answer it.
Now.of all thcse mortgages, the whole list of |
them, remember, gentlemen there were hone |
of them recorded as assigned to this company: |
they are sworn to ps as the absolute property |
OF this company but not QUE oi them held |
by trustees ~ they were. many OF them their |
own mortgages, certainly not safe way OF |
DOING business. but none OF them assigned, |
You will iiud at the date of the last of these
alleged libelOus articles that these mortgages,
sworn to III 1871 as the absolute property OF
the company fr-e and clear ui I'LL liens
were not put on record, H. assigned In this
county, until JANUARY 10th, 1853, and this
Kent county mortgage was not tlved for
record until Ianlldry 18th, 1880 ami pre-
sumo the other Kent county mort Suges were
Q
place VIZ base the presumption that when II
mortgage is assigned and kept within the
asSsnees CONTROL the assignment not put
upon record AMI not attached t1 the mort
gage even, the presumption Is there is sUnle-
thing rotten about 1t. aud 90 1t appears i'll
this ease there WAS OHly those Of Evans
and Hawkins, for about $500 each, appeared
on record before that time.
| lun are told IN the evidence of two persons
why these mortgages were not put On record.
| Ihe officers Of tue company stated that they
| did M want to put them on record becatHe
sometimes they wanted to change the mort
| cages. These were the absolute and uuquall-
| he'd prupertn OF the company and yet they
| were kept of the records Ia order that those
| who held them might change them if they
| wished. That was what occurred at the inter
view between Commissioner McEee aud Mr..
! Mulr and these gentleman,
The last date with winch We are charged
| with criticism was February 2jth. l57J. Prior
to that the only mortgages really owned by
| the company We're those of HIwkius and
| Evans, amounting to sl,250.
We nave no more evidence about assets
until january 8, 1879. the date uf the publica-
ton OF tue report of Mr.. Carpenter aud he
says not much about anything else except the
| bills receivable, which lie places at about
S2j.0b0. But, there Is not one of Won. gen
tlemen, who could think for ii moment of
holding lis an Investment for another person
Nf.fN rt fur Fh..i ~ -
| corporation are always trustees, such prop
| erty as this There never any such cor
| poration, that | ever heard Of holding such
paper These notes had no ind lrsetnent: no
collateral They were not paid OH. and they
| were III the possession ut their makers. We
are told they were peripatetic asret4, going
from house to house Mr. Carpenter = COM
mlttee met at the office of the company one
night and had the assets all there. At MIR.
johnson : house another night the assets
we're all there, and at MIR. Bright house the
third night the assets We're all there. Just
think ui condition OF things like this
lhelr securities golIg from huu,u to house;
assignments luose from the mortgages; the
notes of these very men at their HOUSES All
such people would have to say the Lord
irIyer especially tue pDrtl1u-"Lead lis not
into temptation -aDuut -lX times Il dAy.
BECAUSE II would be- pretty heavy strain for
any man To stand Would not care To he III
that position. | don't believe any honest
man would.
Now. geutlemcn, in regard to these notes.
with res cct tp ull of them, vas 1t not shown to
yuu here by ,lr. Muir. whom there was some
attempt to contradict bnt whom not une man
on this jury would disbe,ieve; te.tilylug. as
lie was. in IL matter IN which iie had no
interest whatever. and opposed by the icsti-
, nDnv of men who stated ,lmply til II they dill
not hcAr "a certain conversation, the proof
, lhut thing did occur is always stronger than
the proof of Il he 5atlVe Mr. Nuir showed to
you the real character ot these notes when
he said to Mr Bright: "lf you satisfy Mr.
McifeG that they are worth their face and
were given Tor proper consideration al a
proper transaction, | Will recommend Mr..
McIee to allow them lint that proposition
, was not responded to. We know 1t vas not
responded to, ncchuse they were not allowed
i by Mr. Mctcu, If my note Is made TO my
order AMI YOU md it, after Il is due i'll my
possession, the presumption will he that the
note has been paid; ind ii wOnld be very hard
, to collect 1t from me. That is tue ordinary
, presumption of every man who has done
btlsluess as naturally us Is the presumption
that the sun will rise tho next morning when
1t goes down Mt night.
, Now, to cunsidrr briefly the several iuyesti-
cations lna,le into the condition of TIN, com
pany. In tine ilrat place there was the in-ur
ance committee appointed hv the three home
l. companies. that could haze no possible CON
} Germ or interest in keeping ont another
t mutual company, for. after u mutual com
piuy has sn.iittcut business to reduce its
I rates and pay lta members dividend, II mas uu
i interest III keeping anybody else from doing
Oll Insurance business, BesldcS Nuu knpW
: these men, and yuu know there is not III the
t GJnuty of New Castle or the State OF Della
| ware Il more sincere. upright, straightforward
. man than GEORGE Richardson. not an obliquits
/ i'll him. These gentlemen examined into this
r. company spent about SIX months in DONG 1t
4 .Nl.t