Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1890-04-18
MR.. ARCyfEES ARREST AND SUB
SEOUENT BAIL.

The officials of Maryland disturbed, ger
haps, by rumor that State Treasurer
Archer, the deiaulter. was TO he removed
from the State, seemed to be at last awaken
ed to realizing sense of their duty and
had MIR. Archer PLACED under arrest
BESIDES the criminal snit civil emit will
at once he instituted to recover his bond OF
indemnify There is NO doubt a. 10 the result
Of the criminal trial, but 10 the civil suit
Archer's bondsmen will enter the defense
that the oversight Of the Governor To per-
form his duty under the State constitution
by making mn annual examination Of the
State Treasurer's account has vitiated their
bond.
The point is an interesting one. Ordina-
rilly it takes very little TO annul bond OF
indemnify ANY change in the conditions
Of which the bondsmen are not informed and
which operates to alter the contract which
they have made, will usually put an end to
their responsibility. An extension Of time
granted by the holder of q note to the
maker relieves the surety. In Archer's case
thc,bondsmen will maintain that part of their
contract was the understanding that the
Governor would make the periodical ex-
animation required They will probably
claim that The State constitution must be
considered as part of their contract and that
the failure OF the Governor to comply with
its terms relieves them Of responsibility and
that his annual message and the apparent
enforcement of the Treasurers accounts
was an alteration oil the conditions made
which deceived them into responsibility
which would have been terminated nj once
had the true conditions been known, Ms they
would have been known had Governor
jackson not overlooked the requirement o
the State constitution as ~ the same Or
the other hand, such bond is different il
its nature irDn security given for the pay
meht of money loaned. The difference il
parallel TO that between the failure Of ar
honest man, through business compica
tons, to pay his debts. and the irand com
mitted by one who gets another's money
into his possession with no other idea thar
thai Of making off with il The security
given by Archers bondsmen was intended
10 protect the State from loss in case that tn,
Treasurer committed a crime His bonds
men made themselves liable for his gooc
behavior and il would seem like failure o
justice il, because he was given chance t.
steal, the State should not be able to re
cover FROM the men who were bound onl,
TO make the loss good IN case he did steal.
If the State RECEIVERS from Archer's bonds
men they may consider that there is ground
for suit against Governor jackson. who il
is claimed by many has made himself in
some degree personally responsible by hi;
failure 10 comply with the law aud the CON
seqnent deception which was practiced up
on Archer's sureties. Whichever way Law
aud justice lean, prolonged litigation is
promised as the result Of Archer's crime
and before II is ended the people are likely
TO know what went with the stolen money
On Saturday Mr.. Archer's friends fur
nished the required bail, $25 900, and the
unfortunate man remains in the seclnsion
of his once bright and happy homo.