Year: 1864


Willard. in 1853, borrowed from the
| Sinking Fund enough money to pay the
/ July interest, the Treasury at that time
being empty The new Constitution
| adopted in 1850 expressly guaranteed
the payment of the principal and interest
of this debt, and was regarded as OF itself
constituting an unalterable appropriation
until the principal of the debt should be
| finally paid. 1t is true that in 1859 and
1861 the Legislature made special ap-
preparations for the payment OF this IN
terest, but so it did also for the payment
| of salaries of all the State officers the pay


ment of the State Printer, and for several
/ others. all of which are now paid out of
/ the State Treasury, without specific APP


preparations. These appropriations were
without significance, because no question
| had been or was then raised as to the
sufiiciency of the original appropriations
to pay the interest on the State debt.


Justice to Mr. Brett, the Treasurer of
the State, requires it to be said that he
did OF enter readily into this scheme of
reputation, and frequently expressed
his entire disapprobation OF It, To
secure the co operation of Mr. Brett, and
to stem the current of public Indignation


which was setting in strongly against
the parties to this scheme, 1T was deter
mined in May to procure an opinion from
the Supreme Court, by which Brett could
be coerced, and under which Ristine and
his co adjutors could be sheltered. Ac


cordiuglv, in Nav, Hon. w. Fl. Talbot,
the President of the Sinking Fund, and
who, it was well understood was one of
Ristine's advisers in this scheme of re-
/ pudiation commenced suit against Ris


tine in the Circuit Court of Marion
+ County, asking for mandamus against
/ Ristine to compel him to issue a war
rant upon the Treasurer for an amount
of money sufficient to pay the APPROACH
/ ing July interest. The Sinking Fund
was the holder of large amount of our
State stocks, upon which it was the duty
of Talbot to collect the interest and the
bringing of this suit was apparently in
/ the performance of his duty. 1t was
/ obvious, however, that if such a suit was
4 brought it would be a mere sham, con-
1 cocted thing to consummate the original
i scheme of reputation. The history of
the case in its progress through the
Circuit and Supreme Courts clearly es-
tablish the truth of this opinion. The
history of the case in the Circuit Court


is set forth in a card of Mr.. Smock, the
Deputy Clerk of that Court, which l will
read:


s.INDIANAPoLIs, May 16, 1868.


'sIn the case entitled The State of In
diana on the relation of the Commission
| ers Of the Sinking Fund VS.. Joseph Ris-
/ tine, Auditor of State, the papers were
I first presented to me by Mr.. Hord the
4 Attorney General, on Monday the 18th
day of May, with a request that the en-
try prepared should at once be entered
of record, and transcript made out and
and certified for the Supreme Court.
| This was my first knowledge of the case.
Mr.. Hord stated that the case had been
passed upon by the Court The papers
consisted of q complaint, demurrer to
complaint, answer and demurrer to
answer, and of an entry in the hand
writing of the Attorney General, reciting
the overruling of the demurrer to the
complaint, the sustaining of the demur
rer to the answer, and the judgement of
the Court that q writ of mandate issue in
conformity with the prayer of the COM
plaint. The Attorney General wanted me
to quit nv other work and make the entry
in the order book immediately, which l
refused. and told him that the transcript
could not be made unless it was from the
original papers, and before the entry was
made in the order book. Mr.. Hord replied
that he would take it in that way.
supposed it was all right, and that every
thing had been ordered by the Court.


THE papers were then taken to the
Clerks office and from them transcript
was made out and certified before any
step in the case had been entered upon the
order book and before the minutes had
been read or signed. As soon as the
transcript could be completed in this
mode, it was handed to the ATTORNEY
General, who was waiting at the Clerk
office for it. he said as he received it that
he hoped to get decision in the Supreme
Court in q few days, and that the costs
! would be paid.


After this the entry was recorded
When Judge Finch read the entry he re-
marked that he had not been informed of
what it contained-that it had not been
read to him, and if he had known its
character it should not have been recor
ded. He struck the entry from the order
book with his own hand. and before the
minutes for the day had been signed.


''W- c. SMoCK, Deputy Clerk
This certainly beats judicial time on
record. The summary proceedings of
the Police Courts of New York or of
Old Baily in London cannot approach it.
Here the pleadings on both sides had
been prepared out of Court in advance
including the opinion and judgement of
| the Court, a record of the case procured
and filed in the Supreme Court before the
minutes in the Court below had been
read or signed; without the character of
the case having been brought to the
knowledge of the Judge of the Circuit
Court, who, upon being informed of
what had been done. struck out the entry
/ upon the Order book with his own hand.
and as learn from another source, sent
| q communication to the Clerk of the
supreme Court, stating that the record
filed with him had been improperly OBJ
tanned, and that he had not decided any
such case He then took up an examin-
ed the original complaint and decided it
invalid. upon the ground that the pro-
ceedings were wholly premature. the time
not having arrived when any action could
be had upon the subject From this last
decision Talbot appealed to the Supreme
Conrt- The Supreme Court received and
retained both records, and then the case
presented the very novel aspect of
two appeals pent1ino in tha Supreme