Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-02-23


trustee He said that before Chamberlain
would undertake to build any of the roads he
insisted upon having the privilege of naming
the engineer who was to make the estimates of
work done, and that was why Mr.. Chamber
lain got bonds for work never done. Mr.. Buck
read from the report of j. s. Sewall, c. E.,
who made estimates in behalf of the State
showing that only about 80 per cent. of the
work was actually done which the State had
paid for in bonds. The condition upon which
the bonds were issued was that the roads
should be completed with the cars running
thereon. The companies who received the
bonds never built the roads. They violated
their part of the contract, and the State was
not liable. He knew of no rule which would
say the State should pay upon
an obligation which could not be
enforced against an individual. He read one
of the bonds and showed that the bond was
commercial paper with notice, and hence no
one could be considered an innocent purchaser.
Chamberlain's bonds were not issued to him,
but were issued to the Cedar Valley road, the
st. Paul & Pacific and the Southern Mime
sofa, and Chamberlain knew their condition
at the time he obtained them Mr.. Chamber
lain had always been a heavy stakeholder in
these roads, and was before the Legislature and
got the very lands which were pledged as Sc
curity for the bonds, and he, at least, ought to
be estopped from claiming any further pay
ment. Mr.. Buck was astOnished that our big
hearted governor should have taken the ground
in his message that adjudication had been
had against the State, when the State
had never been heard in court. He then read
from Judge Dillon, and showed that the de
cision was that it would be unjust to give Mr.
Chamberlain the bonds after they had been
given to railroad companies in which Mr..
Chamberlain was interested and which he had
assisted to get granted to them. The only
equitable claim which the bondholders had
upon the State was for the roadbed. Cham
berlain had more than his share out of the
lands, and if anything was to be paid it should
be to those who did the work and furnished
merchandise to aid in construction. Mr.. Buck
paid his respects to Hon. Gordon E. Cole,
saying that Mr.. Cole was the first to raise
the cry of Reputation and thai he rode into
the office of attorney general upon that plat
form. He considered Coles speech at
the first of the session as perfectly
Infamous. He alluded to the course taken by
the churches, saying that bonds had been do
mated to some of them, but that they might
preach and pray for years without showing
the power of conversion which Mr.. Chamber
lain could perform in five minutes.
Senator Kinds was quickly upon the floor
and said he would gladly waive his right to
the floor to any Senator who wished to speak
upon the question on either side, and was only
on the floor to maintain the rights of the
minority, but if no one else wished to debate
the question he would continue his remarks.
He reiterated his statement made in yesterdays
holders even more than they had pro-
posed to take, and insisted that this
legislature could do nothing that future gen.
erations would more gratefully look back
upon them to adopt the proposition to give
the lands for the bonds and wipe them out
forever.
The Senator then turned his attention to the
amendments offered by him at the morning
session.
The first amendment was a lengthy pre-.
amble reciting the history of the bonds from
their inception to the present time.
The second amendment provides that all
bonds which were II sed as basis for banking,
should receive no more than the people re-
ceived for their bills, and also allows the at
torney general assistance in defending the
State.
The third amendment proposes to reduce
the rate of interest to four per cent.
The next proposition is to strike out sec
ton six relating to claims for labor performed,
etc.
The next proposition is to strike ont section
seven. Mr.. Kinds made extended remarks
upon this section, saying that under this Sec
ton any one who held claims against the con-
IrdcGOTS cOulu Comc Ill anu sauule Ile uept
upon the State. He then considered the
aspect of the section with reference to the
provisions of the constitution prohibit
ing the contraction Of n public
debt He then said that the friends of the
bond bills should not strike it out, for if they
would not pass bill perfectly fair, and for
the best interests of the State, they must keep
the unconstitutional provision in the bill,
which he believed they would pass.
w.t. inY,r TO cfriI- #
ton eight, providing for the appointment of
a commission of three jursts from outside the
State.
The next amendment provides that the
whole question shall be submitted to a vote of
the people.
The next proposition, inserting proviso
after section eight, that claims for material
and work done should come out of the bonds,
so that the same claims shall not be paid twice.
The next proposition was an additional pro-
viso that judgments in favor of sub-contract-
ors should be paid out of the bonds.
The fifteenth amendment is new section,
and provides that no member of the legisla-
ture, no State officer or member of the judici-
airy, should have any of the benefits of this
act.
The sixteenth amendment provides that any
holder of bonds who received them in fraud
ulent manner should not receive anything.
The Senator then asked an opportunity to
consider matters which he thought were of
vital importance, saying that if time was con-
sumed it was the fault of the majority in
thrusting upon the Senate question like this.
If the measure was a fair one, meeting the
general approval of the people, it needed no
time. An hour or two would be amply suf-
ficient for an honest proposition to pass.
Senator Castle considered it humorous al
fusion when Mr.. Kinds spoke of having been
choked off, after having spoken for four NOR
tai hours upon the question yesterday and re-
peating the same speech to-day with varia-
tons He answered the charge that the legis-
lature was not elected upon this issue, saying
that for near a quarter of century the bonds
have been a mooted question, and it was
known that the State was a repudiator. In
eloquent language, he compared the condition
of Minnesota with Louisiana, which had a
debt of 100000 of carpet-bag bonds, most
of which were issued without con-
sideration, and spoke of that States inability
to pay the bonds in full, but that it had sig
nified its willingness to pay what it could. He
then alluded to the danger of the bonds be-
ing transferred in the near future to some 9th
er State for the purpose of suing the State of
Minnesota in the federal courts, and the prob
ability of a judgment being had for the whole
amount of the bonds and interest. He then
read Judge DilloH's opinion, and said he only
wanted to put the opinion of that high au-
thority on the one hand, and the opinions of the
puny pigmies on the other. The Senator read
from the constitution of the State the provis-
ions made for the issue of the bonds, and he