The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-05-14


amounts held by the task over and /
Ibove tie value Of the security be at /
nee Withdrawn.
Treasurer Collins is carrying IS cash
hree Marion county past due school
warrants Of S., 900 each. he claims to |
nave loaned the school board OF Ma
ron county this sum. The school
board, however, claims never to have
the money. or at least only
part, and repudiates partof the loan,
II not the entire amount.
Your committee begs leave to state
that the foregoing portion Of this re-
port has reference particularly to the
general accounts and funds of the
treasurer, and the following portion
refers to the accounts, transactions,
etc. of Treasurer Collins with the de-
funct yerchants' National bank OF
Ocala and the tax certificate redempt-
ion fund. According to the books OF
Treasurer Collins, and the date Of sns-
pension Of the Merchants National
bank Of Ocala thst bank was indebted
To the state In the sum Of 80, 927.0
The books of said bank, by certified
copy Of Treasurer Collins account,
show that the state WA indebted to
the bank at the date Of is suspension
T. -, .,,,,, oF II 0gs f.s
Your committee has lad copies o
the account kept By Treasurer Coiiins
wilh said hauk, and the account
sid bank win Treasurer Eo5l.ls AM
the monthly staten Mt OF his account
furnished Treasurer Collins by ra'
bank. but the said accounts have ne'i
so irreguiariy ard Improperly kep
aud there are 20 many apparent ficti'
tious entries mad on the bank books.
and irregular entries made on Treas
urer Collius' book, and so many items
and vouches of credit missing, and
figures iuggIed in sucn manner, that
il has been impossible TO fully and
completely reconcile the account kept
by Treasurer with said bank ana your
committee have had to rely entirely
on the amounts which the comptroller
certified to US be should have had on
hand belonging 10 the tax certificate
redemption fund.
Your committee further reports that
on October y, 1896, Treasurer Collins
drew check for S22,09O on the Mer-
chants National Bank of Ocala, in
favor Of the National Bank of the
State OF Florida, and sent said check
to ]. n. c. Stockton as president of
the said bank, with instructions to
collect the same in cash, and II said
Merchants National bank could not
pay the check to accept such credits
a. could be procured; that said Stock
ton, acting as trustee for Treasurer
Collins was compelled to, and did ac-
cept securities of the supposed valu-
alton of about $4,000. Referring es-
pecially to the testimony of W. IL.
Baker your committee reports that
the securities are supposed To be worth
about Sl5, 900, end thot said Stockton
holds such securities to secure the
loan OF $4,000 hereinbefore referred
to, leaving the item of So 900 totally
unsecured.
Your committee would report, as
more fully shown oy the testimony of
G. B. Collins, that as shown by the ac-
counts kept by Treasurer with the
Merchants National Bank of Ocala,
at the time of its failure, was actually
due the state of Florida So, 927.0l, sup
posedly for the tax certificate redempt-
ion fund deposited therein. The act
ual shortage of said redemption fund
is SS4, $3.50 for which the state has
no security, leaving shortage of S.
$40 to personally accounted for by
Treasurer Collins.
Your cOmmitte further reports that
Treasurer Collins claims that the tax
certificates redemption fund paid in
to his hands for the quarter ending
september 80, 1876, and December 81,
1896, and q balance due for The q4Arter
ending June 80, 1896, asgregating the
sum of s3i 967, were moueys lost in
the defunct Merchants Ma ional bank
of Ocala by reason Of lis failure, but
your committee are forced 10 conclude
from Treasurer Collins sworn state
ment, that said tax certificate redelnp-
ion money was not in the bank at
the time Of its failure, but other gem
eral funds of the state aggregating in
amount S34,9 67, or greater part there
of, were used AMI deposited in said
bank and the tax certificate redemp-
ton fund for the quarters ending as
above referred to, were used by Treas.
urer Collins to reimburse funds which
had beef distracted from the general
funds of the state, and deposited in
said bank.
Your committee also reports that
Treasurer Collins received SIS, 40 96
as the states proportion Of the tax
fund for the quarter ending June 80,
1896, and which he claims was held by
in cash in the treasury, until April 8,
1897, and for that reason your COM
mittee are unable to say whether
these funds are properly disbursed
from the tax certificate fund or MOI.
THE DANGER.