Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1890-03-01
THE TREASURY MIDDLE.
A Card from senator Geo. G. billiard
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
SENATE CHAMBER.

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE,
SENATE CHAMBER.
JACKSON. Miss, Feb. "a, 1880.
To the Editor Of Commonwealth
I felt 1t my duty a few days since tFeb'y
24th say }. while discussing in the senate a
bill which provided for the immediate pay
ment out of the treasury. of 1896, 900 In cash
to inform the senate that the late treasurer
had not settled with the present incumbent,
I stated in effect. that it appeared from the
books of the treasurer's office that Of the
balance Of Si55, ts0,es which the late treas
urer reported he had on January |, 1890, he
had only paid over the sum Of Seao.S2S,@,
g., leaving him luo the state the sum Of $780,
lse.l3.
IN all my conversations with Maj. Evans,
he had never intlmated that Col. Heming-
| way claimed credit for old bonds or cou'
pons. looked upon It as q ease OF procras.
t~ination. 1t was the bill to repeal the in
| surancc deposit law. which was anxious
to have pass: but, as chairman of the finance
| committee. | felt constrained to propose to
amend by providing tor the act to go into
| effect Jsn'y l. 1891. because Of the uncer-
| certainty about this balance Of over S300.000
! The senate having voted down the amend.
ment. | voted against the bill, because |
| feared II would embarrass the treasury,
/ acted on the lights before me and it is
| due myself and to the public, as well as TO
all concerned, that my motives should not
be misrepresented.
knew that the state had no fiscal agent
that all her moneys are by law 10 be kept
| I'm the treasury vaults, and | could not see
! WHY the late treasurer should have delayed
so long in opning the vaults an . counting
out the moneys therein to the new treasur.
err.
believed as Governor Lowry. Governor
stone and all the people Of the state be-
lIeved. that the treasury balance, Of Sa1o,-
5000, shown by Col. Iiemingway's report,
to be in the treasury, vasIS MONEY. Com
mittces of the " houses In 1884, 1886, 1855
had counted the treasury balances, and
never had head that 1t was in part made
up of bonds. A committee oil h~oldins-ofer
senator's were appointed for that purpose
and did count the treasury balance Janua-
nv /, 1857, and that committee, Dean, Love
and Buchanan reported to the senate III
lSsS that they had counted the balance In
the preceding January, and their report
was that they found and counted in the
treasury so much gold, so much silver anu
30 much United States currency, making
the exact amount which the treasurer's re-
port called for. So how could | conceive
but that the late treasurer was dereilc IN
not adjusting the remaining 100000 with
the new treasurer.
If that balance was not all in y the
people of the state have been under a great
misrepresentation and | think this calls for
an explanation.
| also explained to the senate that the
debt statement on page 10 Of the treasurer's
report showed that S254, l0l .GG was due and
payable on Jan /, 1890, which, ifpaid, woud
only leave, of The moneys paid over by Col
Oncl Hemingway. the sum Of Sl,222.4.
And now If the theory be correct that the
balance was made up in part of $500, l26, l2,in
unsaleable bonds, ii follows that in.place OF
the sum OF sj53,4jO. OF being in the treasury
Jan. /, 1890, there would only have been 81,
300. 24ifthe debt due that day had been paid.
must furthermore. be allowed to express
my unqualified belief that the treasury
balance wa. and i. made up ofmoney only;
aud that leaving out Of consideration what
Col. Hemingway received and paid out dur,
Ing the four days in January, while he held
that office after the close of his report, | be-
lieyc Col. Hemingway now owes the state
$500, l28.l II. And L behave | can demon
strate it. Let us suppose there was no cash
in the treasury on January |, 1888. and let
us take the receipts and expenditures for
lsSs and 1859.