The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-01-19
The Lost Coupons.

|
the committee of the House of Delegates al.
pointed in 1880 to examine the Second Audi
tors office, we invite public attention The
meagre information shows how the peoples
business was managed by the Bourbon party
and demonstrates the necessity of a change in
the administration of the State government in
all of its departments. We are indebted to
the Wing of the 18th for what is appended:
| The report of the special committee appoint
ed in the House of Delegates in 1880 to ex-
anime the books and valuable papers in the
| Second Auditors office has been published
1t embraces three hundred and three pages.
The special committee consisted of w. H.
Turner, of Norfolk, William Lovenstein, of
Richmond, and Thomas Fl. Cross of Nanse-
mond Their work has been well performed
and presents full and complete statement of
the existing state of affairs in the Office whose
records it was their duty to examine.
OF a. report so volumnous, it is of course
impossible to give even brief extract in the
columns of a daily newspaper.
The following extract will be of interest as
having some bearing upon the missing cou-
pons, which the public have heard much men
ton
In making the examination which has led
to the discovery that $91 1856, face value, of
coupons arc missing, the committee has found
Itself without the means to trace up the ab-
straction, by whom or by what means they
have been distracted j but they feel that as the
Second Auditor is charged by law, not only
with the faithful discharge OF his duties but
is responsible for all books and valuable pa
pers of the office that the late incumbent of
that office should be required to account for
the disappearance of these valuable papers,
and should also be required to make every eff
tort to produce the party or parties who made
the abstraction. This is according to the in
variable rule of administrative and executive
trusts.
1--WE would suggest that the plates with
which the bonds of March Both, 1871, and
March 2Sth, 1879, were printed, be at once Sc
cured and retained in the hands of the Treas
urer OF the State, and that he be instructed to
secure and hold the same, subject to the &C.
ton of future legislation, and that this require
ment be valid in reference to all plates which
may be required for future use of the Com
monwealth. 1t will be seen at once that they
are less liable to be stolen or duplicated here
than in the hands of the engravers.
"Your committee has carefully reviewed the
coupon register in the Treasurers office, and
compared the lists made out with the same,
and find the register does not show a single
instance in which any coupon has been twice
yet the second use of coupons may have oc-
! Cured prior to the listing of the coupons and
the Introduction of the register.
The work OF the office in posting its FAC
counts was nine years behind hand; and it
will require additional force long time to get
| it up. Nearly all the small accounts have
been written up and balanced; but the larger
| ones, especially those of the brokers, are be-
hind hand. We find that most of the accrued
m fup6n1 inf hot hoe haov,
ed by Capt. Owen, late appointee in the
| office, should have been posted chad the books
been kept up) as far back as july 1871.
There are ten stock ledgers of interest on
public debt funded, with $50 pages each, con-
| tanning the accounts of about 10000 ndividu-
| ais or coupons-nine-tenths Of these accounts
closed on the list of July, 1871, and vet the
work Of posting these books was not COM
menced until hpnays 1885, and srcat many
accounts on the books are still open MANY
OF the original owners of the stock represent
ed on the books are dead and their stock has
been transferred to other parties, yet their ac-
counts stand open on the books. There ap-
pear many erroneous entries where stock is
credited to the wrong person, and instances
where the same stock is credited to, several
different persons, thus necessitating many era
sures and alterations of figures, all of which
is done, however, by or under the personal
supervision and instruction of Mr.. Morrison
These books display negligence and looseness,
and often nextrcable confusion of accounts
"The condition of the books, the number of
accounts of past years in an unposted condl.
ton, the numerous erasures and corrections,
and the omission of proper explanatory notes,
have rendered thorough examination of them
by this committee absolutely impossible
"Tbere is no book in the Office from which a
condensed statement of its operations can be
had, while books follow books in almost end
less succession without reaching any cOnclu-
sive end.
"The system of the office, in the opinion of
your committee, needs to be changed 80 as to
fully meet the demands of the day and the
growing needs of the State When the pres
ent system was instituted the debt of the
State was in its incipency, but now 1t is tx
tended into millions, involving many classes
of bonds leach attended with some peculiar
conditions of payment, subject to frequent ex-
change under the various funding acts) the |
coupon feature possibly never contemplated |
by the authors of the existing SYSTEM and all
tending to complication and endless embar- |
rassment.
In view of the fact that the books are so |
much in arrears, and the present system being |
so very complicated. we respectfully recon- |
mend that temporary increase in the clerical |
force OF the office be made until the work Of
the office is brought up to the present date; |
and also recommend that experts be appoint |
ed to report upon another and better system |
OF bookkeeping tor this office"
Thecommittee also compliment in very high |
terms Messrs A. M. Brownell and W. W. |
Wing, the clerks to whom they were indebted |
for very valuable assistance. /