Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-12-29
BROAD RIVER r. r. BONDS.

BROAD RIVER r. r. BONDS.
Does it mean the beginning of an
other suit to establish the validity of
the $4,000 worth of bonds that Broad
River township voted in aid of the
Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago
railroad?
That is the question that was raised
when a s7O interest coupon was pre-
sented at the cashiers window at the
treasurer's office one day last week.
The bond from which the coupon
was clipped was of the denomination Of
81, 900, and Of the Broad River issue Of
1887, due January 1, 1897. The coupon
was presented by the Peoples Bank and
Trust company having come to that
institution from a bank in Charleston,
and to the Charleston bank frorn some
bank in the west.
Treasurer Neil turned the coupon
down fiat, informing the bank that it
was mo good" and it goes back to the
holder with notation to that effect.
The circumstance of the presentation
raises the question as to whether, this
coupon is the property Of some inno-
cent holder who is unacquainted with
the status of that $4,000 issue or
does it mean the beginning Of new
campaign of litigation to make Broad
River pay?
The $4,000 bond issue in question
was subscribed by Broad River town
ship on a vote of the people in aid of
the Charles ,on, Cincinnati and Chica-
go railroad, with the understanding
that it was to become the property
Of the raiload company on the compile
ton of the railroad through the town.
ship.
This was in May 1887. The road not
having yet been completed, the issue
was placed in the hands Of the Boston
Safe Deposit and Trust company, pend
ing the fulfllment of the railroads part
of the contract.
In November, 1883, while the bonds
were still in the hands Of the Trust
company, the supreme court filed de-
cree in an Abbeville case in which it
held that the legislature could not au-
thorize a township that was not cloth
ed with corporate purpose to invest
in the stock of a railroad company.
The decision At the case Of the Brpad
River township bonds, and the Boston
Safe Deposit and Trust company was
requested to hold on to the securities.
In December following, however, the
Legislature passed an act providing for
the payment Of the bonds issued In aid
of railroads in this state, and this act
having been held constitutional by the
supreme court, the Massachusetts, and
Southern Construction company ap-
piled to the United States circuit court
at Charleston and procured an order
directing that the Boston Safe Deposit
and Trust company turn the bonds
over
This order of the court was complied
with in 1890; but as the decree in no
way attempted to pass on the validity
of the bonds, the county commissioners
refused to levy a tax to pay the in
terest.
AS the next step in the procedure, r.
NJ Morse, claiming to hold due and un-
paid coupons, petitioned the supreme
court to mandamus the county commits
sioners of York county to levy the nec-
essary tax.
The commissioners responded with a
showing that the assessed valuation of
the taxable property of the township
of the time Of the validation act, De-
cember 20, 1888, was only $271,S5O, and
that the bonds were no good because
$4,000, the aggregate amount Of them,
was in excess of s per cent Of the as
sessed valuation Of all the taxable
property in the township.
Article 9 of Section Z Of the consti-
tuition of 1868, which governed at the
time, prohibited the state or any mu-
nicipal subdivision thereof to issue
bonds in excess of per cent Of the as
sessed taxable valuation thereof
This contention has been upheld by
the state supreme court, by the United
States circuit court, and by the United
States circuit court of appeals.