Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-01-13

To ba auce ............,... 1863 II
T,nli......o,.......... S26s5,U5O s s2'sS O5g %
The state hc'ds in tru,t for the s'uluor
'nud .l22 co., and for the sch ol fund II DjS-
10. making th sum Of :2u31lOO Gli uf waIca
.pid tOrds me t2', and may unw he redeemed
IS five yeGra have eIApacd since tlCir issue.
rha educational fu'Hs uf the -tRte arc priuoi.
pally inyo ted in J~2J bond,. cannot raCJm-
mend any course by which those funds shall
b impaired Or their revenues be diminish, d..
10 reduce tho tGtc Of interest or 10 Tei We T
(Which can only be done by paying prCmium)
lie Emnuht in any bonds of this state, viii
riouEly impair the revenue Of these fund-,
4ud will not believe, till sbai. hear It SO
hvswed, ttRt anyone cnrGidereteiy dleirea to
impair the school fuuGs or to diminish their
ucomc. OF tic state bonds, proper,
uutstGndiDE, there grc @l31, coo
which may 30 I.G .Cmod ut this
tiIne, as the lcgiala'urc provided for their e.
deinptiOn Aftor the expiration If twenty years.
uutil recent examination 1t was believed
they were not rejCcmabl- till 1883 Rud wcro
10 reported; the residue of tha' series of bonds
are rodeemable in 1882 and 1883 and there
ere "a 600 of bonds of tha North Missouri rail-
road wnich will fall duo il 1855 No bonds
will fall duo iu this year aui whatever bonds
may be redeemed must be cslled from tho
option bonds.
ISpEBIEDSEss Oh TIE STATE
Not including the 81 ,0U00yO Of bonds Of the
state loaned to the Hannibal and 81. Jos ph
Railroad company, on which that company
has promptly psid tho interest, the bonded
indebtedness OF the state on the lst Of January
of this year wa flG 2jg0OJ This amount
docs not include few bonds which arc past
duo and havo been outstanding for several
years. money was placed in New York for the
redemption Of those bonds, al the time they
Beverally fell duo, and from the dato the mon
ey was so placed by the fund commissioners,
they havo been regarded ~ paid. Tho state
holda in trust for the public school fund and
for the seminary fund sS ,03l 600, which bonds
have been defSced so as to destroy their ne
gOtiahility, in accordance with law of the
last Legislature. This leaves in circulation
only 3l3,29s, coo of state bonds, and the an
nual interest is only 1915 $40. This does not
include the temporary loan of $3.50 600 which
will fall duo next June.
Tue MAsIIN DEFICIT.
Tho state treasurer, in January, 1870, re-
ported balance of tho money in tho treasury
was deposited and held" az fullowB:
National baaf Of stato.. BOi5 ~
Jhe Mastin back. Observation-Disclosures. 2S6,lSI Se
Red and Chrisman.. ...... ...........'. o wv "
Clinton county bonds in vault .........., 1900 W
The deposits aud investments Of tho moneys
herein stated we're made without tho consent
OF the attorney general and the governor, aud
whatever security the treasurer may have had
was not submitted to the attorney general
| nor to the governor, to learn whether or not
| it was satisfactory. In brief, the deposits OF
said moneys were made entirely on the re-
sponsibility of the treasurer, and without the
advice or consent of any state officer empow.
cred to pass on that question. In the month
of NAV, 1879, there was paid to Col. Gates
| IS 92l SO ON account of dividend due to him
1873, tho sum Of 5000, dc.
positcd with Reid and Chrisman, and the
$40 COO Of Clinton county bonds disappear
from the tressurers statement. II those
bonds belonged to the state, then tho money
received on the two semi.annual coupons on
each bond, should have been paid into the
treasury. In December, 1870, the Mastin
bank deficit is diminished S33, ,694 OF, and in
the treasurers annual report. made to me in
January, 1880, for the year 1879, II is stated he
has renlizl d the last named sum from his of.
ficial bondsmen, for which he has assigned
to them q like amount of my (his) claim
against the Mastin bank Another reduction
OF tho Mastin bank deficit took place in June
1880 of $4,000, said to have been received
from one of the suretieB upon tho bond given
by the Mastin bank to Col. Gates for safe
| kcping and return of his deposits, aud paid IN
consideration that this bondsman shall be held
to no further liability on that account In the
month of July last, the further sum Of t43,
200 55 was deducted from said deficit, which
Was received from the assignee of said bank ss
a dividend on claim allowed in favor Of Dol
Gates against it. From time to time, the
amount of money deposited with the National
bank of the state of Missouri was diminished,
IL l.. 10 s.alx ltaaN
| I'D from the treasurer's report. There ia now
the sum Of $l83, 622.65, aA claimed by Col
Gates, held by the Mastin bank, Promises
have been made to me that this sum should
be paid before the meeting of the legislature,
but those promisos have not yet been redeem
cd. No settlement was approved by the legis-
lature of tho treasurer for the first two years of
his term OF Office, nor was settlement of his
accounts made at the time Of giving his new
bond. The laws did not permit nor authorize
n suit 10 bo brought against Col. Gates and
his bondsmen; and the hrst time asuit can be
| brought on his official bond will
be when ho shall fail to deliver to
bis successor the funds which have been
entrusted to his care aud safo keeping, Ii
there shall be no dcficit--it oil the money with
which he stands charged shall bo legally ac-
counted for and paid to his sucoessor-then
no suit onn be maintained. But IL, on the
contrary, he does not lawfully account for all
the money which came to his hands, and pay
to his successor tho balance (if any there shall
be) he and his bondsmsn will be liable on his
bond for the deficiency. But IT is claimed the
state has priority Of payment over all other
creditors in cases Of Insolvency, and that this
principle of law is applicable to the case OF
the Mastn bank. That the state, by express
statutory enactment, has priority Of payment
over all demands-exoept funeral expenses
md expenses OF last sickness In case Of the
estatee Of deceased persons-and also priority
of payment Of taxes asaeased on real estate,
10 true. But doca this priority OF payment