Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1907-06-27

Mau hiborne County. who, in
the ort Of his life protested
against making the State banker
as violative Of the constitution of the
United States which forbade States
emitting bills Of credit and as fraud
upon the people Of mississippi; in
iquity that ought to be rebuked. And
warning the Legislature that the peo-
|ple would resist any tax to pay those
bonds, Reputation then was not an
after thought. 1t is due to Judge
Maury and many other opponents Of
the Supplemental Bill to say that they
afterwards earnestly urged the pay
ment of the bonds. not that their
views of the fraud and unconstitu-
tionality Of the act had charged, but
because these bonds had found their
way into the markets of the world and
1t would damage the credit of Missis-
sippi and her citizens more to repudi-
ate than to pay the tax.
The bonds were issued under the
original law and commissioners were
appointed to negotiate their sale. The
charter required the bonds to be sold
at par, but the commissioners sold
them to Mr.. Biddle on. credit, though
the coupons for interest bore date
from SALE In this Mr.. Biddle was very
sharp but did he not know that an
agent cannot exceed his authority, and
did he not have the constitution of
Mississippi before him, the original
charter pledging the faith, the Sup
Elemental Bill changing the whole and
striking at the very essence of the
faith pledged-the failure to refer the
perverted scheme to the people for
endorsement and the State Journal
showing all this? If he did not he
was not as sharp as we old United
States Bank men thought he was.
Technically his Philadelphia law
yerv might assure him the people of
Mississippi were firmly tapped and
tired down by their agents. but before
| the court of conscience and jury of
plain unsophisticated farmers was he
not party to the deception practiced
on the honest yeomanry of Mississippi
and did he not purchase in his own
wrong?
When the first credit allowed Mr..
Biddle expired and the first coupon
was due, the Union Bank was author
lied to sell Northern exchange on his
bank in Philadelphia. Not one cent
went in the State treasury With this
capital in the Union Bank began to
discount notes and bills receivable
ranging from $1,000 to over 100000.
Few could obtain discounts except
those whose property was in the hands
of marshals and sheriffs AS soon as
the property of those lucky Rag Bar
ons was cleared from judgments and
executions by those loans--in very
many instances the personal property
was made to take "a bee line to ST
bine' and by the autumn of 1870 1.
was known to the world that the 81
100000 dollars was gone where the
woodbine twineth
The people were now aroused to a
realization of the magnitude of the de
ception and held the issuers and the
purchasers of the bonds equally faint
ed with the fraud, and by the fall cleo
ton of 1841 storm OF Indignation
swept over the State prostrating the
leaders and participants and filled the
Legislature with members pledged to
instant reputation and prompt notice
to the wrold not to trade or traffic in
the ''unclean things" Suits were
brought in the State court, and the
Supreme Court looking through the
generated spectacles of Sir William
Blackstone's stern and unyielding
technicalities, decided the bonds lie
gal claim against the State. Under this
decision the bond-holders shelter them
selves. bowed with profound defer
ence to the better judgment Of thai
pure and enlightened court. | had vot
ed against the Supplemental Bill as {
fraud upon the peoples will and un
lderstanding Of the terms upon which
they gave their consent. had point
ed in the effort to endorsement ORE
lection of the perversion as RICH
secured to them under the State con
stitution. had voted against repudi
tation as involve questions or direfu
importance to the general interest ant
welfare Of the people of Mississippi
| but have never to this day been abb,
to discover that legal, moral, or equit
able. obligation Of the people of Mis-
sissippi to honor those bondsoutsid
that decision.
/ Mr.. Biddle must have known tina