The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1882-03-29

Orr attention has been called to

the New orleans 1Imes-Dem0craI,
which IS going the rounds of the press,
North and South. signed 7. c. N. to b
1 found in another column. It is a com.
ment upon published remark of Gov.
Lowry to an in erviewer that the entire
bonded deb of Mississippi is s51S. $50
and thai the bends are al par, andcould
be Cancelled at once, but that the value
placed upon them is SO high that they
cannot be obtained at a reasonable rate.
The writer Of the communication says
! that ''this statement is variance with
the facts as understood by others" He
refers to the Planters Bank Bonds, and
lin contradiction of the Governors state
ment, quotes the language of the illus
trious philanthropist, George Peabody,
in his bequest of fund for educational
purposes in the Southern States.
The criticism of the writer on the
Language of Governor Lowry, is to say
the least, disingenous. The Governor
was applied to for information as to the
recognized debt of the State. In his
official capacity he can know no claim
as binding obligation which is barred
by the Constitution he is sworn to sup
port. For the purposes of the inter-
| -. :. 4o,,,,,,+ va, I;+araIIxz and
strictly true. The payment of the
Planters as well as the Union Bank
bonds are prohibited by the following
amendment to the present Constitution
inserted in 1876:
Nor shall the State assume, redeem, secure,
| or paw any Indebtedness, or pretended indebt-
edness, claimed 70 be due by the State OF Mis-
| sssippi to any person, association, or corpora
ton whatsoever claiming the tme as owners,
| holders or assignees of any bono, or bonds,
now generally known as Union Bank bonds,
or Planters Bank bonds.
For the information of oul Northern
friends who imagine that everything
what they regard as evil, has come
from the Democratic party in the State,
we will mention that the foregoing
amendment wrs adopted and submitted
by Republican Legislature. 1t was
however, engrafted upon the Constitu
ton by the Democratic Legislature that
succeeded the downfall of the Republi-
can regime.
Though the payment of the interest
on the debt, had been suspended for
some years before the war, the Planters
Bank bonds had never before been di-
rectly repudiated by the people of the
State. 1t was done in 1874 when the
people had been bankrupted by the war,
and after the colored element, poor and
unused to the responsibilities of gov
eminent. had become part Of the body
polite Nearly all the Sou hern States
we're eitheropenly repudiating or seal
ing their debts, some of the prosperous
Northern States having set the exam
pie Candor compels the admission
that we know Of no reason beyond that
of adverse for une and inability, to JUS
tify the reputation of the Planters
Bank bonds. As Mr.. Peabody says
they must not be conf3unded with the
Union Bank bonds Their validity
rests upon a wholly difaren basis.
The very clause in the Constitution Of
1882, which was the supreme law Of the
State until it was superseded in 1869 by
the present Constitution, that forbade
the passage of law pledging the faith
of the State for the payment of any loan
or debt, except on the conditions therein
named, and which were palpably viola
ted in the case of the Union Banks
bonds-contained the following pro-
vision:
Provided, That nothing in this section shall
be so construed as to prevent the Legislature
from negotiating further loan OF one and
half millions of dollars and vesting the same
in stock secured to the State by the charter OF
the Planters Bank of Mississippi.
1t was upon the faith of this express
sion of the sovereign will of the people.
engrafted upon their organic law, that
the loan was obtained, and upon which |
the interest was regularly paid for a
number of years, as stated by Mr..
Peabody. True the people, under the
conditions of restitution and bankruptcy
occasioned by the war, amended the
Constitution so as to prohibit the Leg
stature from taking any step whatever
for the settlement of the debt, but this
does not necessarily put an end to the
question. The same sovereign power
that passed the amendment can revoke
it, if it choose. The generation that
created the debt has long since passed
away; aud other generations have
come upon the stage of action but the
State lives though under altered cir
cumstances. Whether the debt will
be ultimately settled upon terms honor
able to the State and satisfac tory TO
the holders of the bonds, under the
condition of affairs, is a ques-
ton we will not undertake to decide.
It has been drug in the market for
years and some of the present creditors
no doubt obtained their share of it, at a
very low figure, and could afford to be
l.
very reasonable in their requirements.
Meantime. let those who carry large
notes in their own eyes not fret about
the beam in the eyes of their neighbor.
Some of them live in glass houses, and
plenty of stones are at hand. There
S faint Of reputation on the escutch-1 /
con of Pennsylvania. The Massachusetts {
refuses to redeem her obi
cations with the Troy and Greenfield :
Company. Minnesota repudi-
tied her securities for money to build {
.eads which are running prosperously. I