Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-01-28
CONFEDERATE GOLD IN ENG.
LAND NON EST.

Hon. Judah p. Benjamin, @. c.,
and Secretary of State of the late
Southern Confederacy in letter to
Mr.. Barlow, prominent lawyer of
New York City, in regard to the
alleged vast sums of money depos-
tied in the Bank of England and
elsewhere in Europe, completely
knocks the wild dreams of the re-
centpurchasers of Confederate bonds
in the head. Mr.. Benjamin, as
Secretary of State of the defunct
Confederacy and since that time
one of the most prominent lawyers
in England, is certainly in position
to know whereof he speaks, and the
report which has been going the
rounds ever since the war about
these enormous sums in the Bank
of England is now proved to be all
false and unfounded. Mr.. Benja-
min says:
The Confederate Government
never had but tw'I means of raising
money in Europe. One was by the
export of cotton, all of which was con
signed to the house of Fraser, Tren-
holm & Co., of Liverpool the other
was by the loan effected through
Messr5. Erlanger q Co., and SchrOe-
| der d Co., the prOcee, Is of which
were all received by Colin J.. Mac
/ Rae, the financial agent of the Gov
eminent.
At the close of the war the United
States Government, claiming the
right to receive the entire assets of
| the Confederate Government, insti-
tuted suits against Fraser, Trenholm
& Co. and against MacRae. After
determined and prOtracted littiga-
ton, Fraser, Trenholm d Co. were
driven into bankruptcy, as their
whole business was destroyed and
their credit broken by the appre-
I tensions created in the mercantile
world of the result of the enormous
claims hanging over them when they
really owed little or nothing, and /
think the United States ultimately
recovered a few thousand dollars as
compromise. MacRae proved in
his case that he had rendered a full
and faithful account to the COnfed
crate Government of the entire pro-
ceeds of the loan in payment of
supplies and munitions of war to
the VariOnS cOmmisSariat and quar-
! terrnaSters' officers in this country
and o. the coupons on the bonds,
but he was ready to render his ae-
counts over again if the United
I fnr GI hErF h
any balance found due in his favor.
/ This was declined. Poor MacRae,
/ in shattered health and with few
! hundred pounds, the wreck of his
! fortunes, emigrated to Spanish
Honduras, where he sought to earn
a support on a small stock-farm, but
he died in extremely reduced cir
cumstances. The last payment of
coupons on the Confederate loan
was only effected after great effort
by means of cotton sold through
| Fraser, Trenholm & Co., as all the
proceeds of the loan had long pre-
viously been exhausted. The United
! States Government also recovered
some supplies, machinery and sew
eral vessels, in fact everything that
remained from the wreck, and do
not believe that one penny is to be
found anywhere in Europe of the
assets of the defunct Confederacy.
If anything can ever be recovered
by the bond-holders, it can only be
by Government action in the
United States, and you can judge
better than / can if there is the re-
motest hope of any such action.
Yours faithfully,
j. p. BENJAMIN.
London, Nov. %. 1881.