Year: 1873

nome for the benefit of himself and
other tax. payers of the county aga!nst
the Board Of Supervisors; the oOJect
Of which is to restrain the issue OIL
certain bonds of the county, which
Tare authorized to be issued at your
i,st session held on the lst and I'd of
INV last. [ am employed by him and
over two hundred other taxpayers
who are associated with him in the
prosecution Of that action. You have
requested him to appear before you at
this time mis- counsel, and state h's
objections to the issuing Of these
bonds. In compliance with that re-
quest and by the desire Of Mr.. Blake
and his associates, I now come before
YOU for that purpose, and IN his behalf
and that of his associates, l thank you
for the consideration you have shown
for the feelings Of those who are op-
nosed to the proposed issue OF bonds,
as also for the disposition which your
re,assembling exhibits to obtain all
the light which C; be shed, and all
information which can be obtained
upon the matter under consideration.


Permit me in advance, to request
YOU to bear in mind the distinction
between the individual expressing his
individual opinions as citizen, and
the counsel who is expressing the
reasons which influence his client In
his action, and e)ucidating the argu-
menfs in favor Of that action. Ibis
is highly proper; because as the in-
dividual opinions of the counsel,
expressed upon another occasion, and
probably Under different circumstances,
would not and ought rot, because they
were coincident with those now ex-
pressed as counsel; to aGd any weight
to reasons aud arguments now advanced;
SO on the other hand Individual oplnl-
ons, expressed on other occasions and
under different circumstances, III con-
1ict with those now expressed as
councsl, would not and ought not to
detract from the force of any reasons
and arguments now presented. 1t IS
TO be presumed that every member OF
this board is anxiously desirous OF
arriving at the true considerations
which ought to influence his conduct.
That he will seek and endeavor to be
influenced by truth, and to Danish
prediudice and all personal feelings
from his mind, and that even the laud-
able desire to avoid the appearance Of
inconsistency, will yield to the higher
and nobler motive Of being guided by
the dictates of truth. 1t would be
foul aspersion upon the character of
any member of this board to say that
because at the last meeting, with the
information then before him, his vote
was recorded one way or another upon
the proposition to issue county bonds,
he could not now with new light, and
with information he did not then pos
sess, consistently reconsider his action,
and now vote differently.


7 think it proper to make these
remarks because at different times and
under, different circumstances L have
expressed opinions and advised action,
which if considered without regard to
the surrounding circumstances would
seem to be SO inconsistent, that the
opinions could not possibly be honest,
nor the advice sincere. TO illustrate
In 1853 and 1854, acting as President
of the Mineral Point Railroad Co.,
and in pursuance Of what I regarded
as my official duty, L labored zealously
to obtain the issue eff 100000 of
Iowa county bonds, and was successful.
l thought the county was amply seoare.
7 also endeavored to negotiate the
bonds to the best of my ability, and
did not hesitate to represent that they
were valid and legal debt against the
county, and that the principle and
interest would be paid promptly at
maturity. None of the bonds however
had been sold during my official con-
nection with the Company, although
some had been pledged as security for
loans and when I resigned the Presi-
dency of the Company, all of the
county Bonds were within its control
upon payment of the debts for which
they were pledged, which debts were
afterwards paid by Mr.. Beecher, and
the bonds redeemed.


Subsequently, in 1859-if my mem
orv serves mel made a formal
application IN writing to the Board of
Supervisors, to have the r. r. bonds
which the county had received exs
changed for the county bonds, This
| felt confident, and am now certain
could have been done. But other
counsels prevailed and the board re-
fused to listen to my suggestions
They also refused to set up Their claims
under the Jansen mortgage, until
they were estopped by the foreclosure
ofanother, and finally learned when it
was too late, that they had sacrificed
and lost substantial and adequate
security for their liabilities in the vain
attempt to grasp at the shadow of a
worthless defense against them.


Still later and while the suit to
fcreclose the jansen mortgage was
proceeding, at public meeting held
at the Court House in Dodgeville, Mr.,
Beecher attempted to get up feeling
in favor Of paying the county Bonds,
by making some proposition for the
extension of the Mineral Point Rail
road. / attended that meeting. Some
of its proceedings were very acrimon-
ious, and | then advised against all