Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-07-27
is TIE CERTIFICATE
$1,000 Bond of the Mechanics
Loan Association
OWNED BY new CASTLE COUNTY
Cannot Be Found After a Dill
gent Search.
1t Came Into the Possession of the Aims
house Property Trustees. and by Them
WAS Turned Over TO John T. Diokey,
Late Treasurer, Who Receipted for 1t.

Was Turned Over TO John t. Diokey, |
Late Treasurer, Who Reoeipted for 1t.
One of the questions suggested by
the recent report of John ii. Dandy
and John s. Rossel, the committee on
the county finances, is as to the
whereabouts of a certificate Of in
debtodness of the Mechanics Loan
Association for $1,000, which is entered
as among the assets of the county.
With reference to this, the auditors
say, in their report: 1--WE found no
record of it on the books, but learned
from the county treasurer's receipt to
the trustees for the sale of the aims
house property that it was duly trans
ferred by them to the county, on May
18th, 1885, Neither the comptroller
nor treaurer could give us any further
information concerning the matter"
In the absence of any record on the
county's books, in itself one of the
evidences of looseness, the discovery of
the existence of this asset was acct.
dentally made. On the books of the
Mechanics Loan Association, a certain
certificate of Indebtedness was in the
name of the trustees of the almshouse
property, and the settlement Of the
affairs of that association resulted in
informationS being sent to Joseph l..
Carpenter, Jr. one of the trustees.
From that developed the fact that the
trustees had turned the certificate over
to John I. Dickey, who was receiver
of taxes and county treasurer at the
time.
The trustees Of the almshouse
property were Henry G. Banning,
Edward 7. Bellah, Joseph L. Car
penter, Jr., William q. Lodge and
Willard Salisbury, Jr. They acted
under the authority of legislative act,
and in May, 1887, sold the square of
land between Front and Second streets,
on the west side of Broome street to
A. S. Reed and Iilghman Johnston.
From them, the trustees took the
certificate of Indebtedness as part pay
ment for the lot. At that time, those
certificates were selling at par and
interest everywhere. The certificate
represented five shares of matured
stock.
Before the trustees disposed of the
certificate, the Mechanics Loan Asso-
4 citation got into bad condition, and the
association went into the hands of
| receiver.
when we finally disposed of all the
A property" said Mr.. Carpenter in
speaking to the writer, 1.-THE certificate
. remained in our hands, and in order to
settle we turned it over to the county
treasurer with the balance of cash,
. which was sl3,6s3 90. We made our
settlement May 10th, 1895. We had
sold everything else and cancelled
bonds to the amount of $l21, 000."
Following is COPY of that portion
of the receipt given by Mr.. Dickey,
referring especially to the certificate in
1 question:
"And also certain certificate dated
January LIST, 1885, for the sum of one
thousand dollars, issued to one Sidney
Hayes by the Mechanics Loan Asso-
citation, transferred by said Sidney
Hayes on the Odd day of April, 1887,
to one Tilghman Johnston and by him
transferred unto Joseph L. Carpenter,
Jr., ON the Sd day of September, 1887,
as a part payment to the said Joseph
L. Carpenter, Dr., treasurer of said
board of trustees, of portion OF the
purchase money of certain lands sold
by the said, trustees to said Johnston
and A. S. Reed, which l hereby
acknowledge to be in full and final
q settlement of said trustees as shown by
81 their account of balances due from
them as trustees to New Castle county
n or to me as receiver of taxes for New
Fl CASTLE county, pursuant to the last
n mentioned supplement- "
81 Mr.. DicSey was asked Friday evening
X with reference to the certificate. He
81 said that although he gave a receipt for
"a it and for the cancelled sbonds. yet he
had no recollection of ever having seen
the paper. He supposed it might have
81 been among the papers turned over to
q him by the trustees. He saw the pos
sibility of his having put the certiti-
81 cate in such a safe place as not to be
~ able to find it, but as already said, had
"A no recollection concerning it, He had
searched for it without success. Ii it
is lost, Mr.. Dickey indicated that there
s. would be no trouble in getting a new
certificate issued in place of it.
IA Mr. Carpenter had also said that it
81 was preferred certificate. and the
- stockholders of the loan association
M would be liable to assessment to pay it.
W As to the issuance of another certlfi-
cate for the one lost, it is held to be a
Z matter of some trouble, for an applica-
ton must be made, and, in some cases
where certificates are lost, an indemni-
flying bond is required before another
can be issued. A reason for such a
thing in the present case would be that
the certificate is negotiable, and unless
the association protected itself, it might
have to pay not only the Levy Court
for the duplicate, but also an innocent
holder of the original, which might
happen to turn up.
e The only information that the present
Il county treasurer and receiver of taxes,
III Horace G. Rettew, has about the. GER
a tificate, is that he found Mr.. Dickey'
+ receipt for it among some cancelled
bonds, but never saw the certificate
itself.
To sum up, then, this county asset, q
negotiable paper, the existence Of
which was accidentally discovered,
which was never entered upon the
+ books Of the county, is lost, and it may
be necessary for the Levy Court tC
issue an indemnifying bond before So
+. curing duplicate of it.
A Great Opportunity
We give away, absolutely free of cost