28 



ARKANSAS. 



Real Estate Bans: $250,000, upon a pledge or hypoth- 

 ecation of the bonds referred to, which sum was to 

 be advanced by instalments and repaid at stipulated 

 periods, with interest, etc. in pursuance of this con- 

 tract, the bonds were delivered to the North Ameri- 

 can Trust and Banking Company, and it is admitted 

 that the Seal Estate Bank received, through its 

 agents, and appropriated to its use, the sum of $121,- 

 836.59. No further sum was advanced. 



About the 1st of December, 1840, the North Amer- 

 ican Trust and Banking Company pledged the same 

 bonds to James Holfora & Co., bankers, of London, 

 for a loan of $325,000. Afterward Holford became 

 the sole owner of the debt, and holder of the bonds 

 so pledged, by transfer from his partner. The North 

 American Trust and Banking Company went into 

 liquidation upon being declared insolvent. Three 

 referees, two counsellors-at-law, and one merchant, 

 were appointed by the Court to ascertain what collat- 

 eral securities had been assigned to secure surns^due 

 from the insolvent company, who, after a laborious 

 investigation, reported that among the collateral secu- 

 rities assigned to Holford by .the Trust Company 

 were the five hundred Arkansas bonds, which they 

 ascertained to be of the actual value of $425,000 on 

 the 1st of October, 1857. 



"Whence the opponents of the bill inferred, as 

 a self-evident conclusion, that these bonds, be- 

 ing affected by no other debt than the sum of 

 $121,336.59 loaned on them, and interest, what- 

 ever amount above this was now sought to 

 be funded, under the title of State debt, on ac- 

 count of the said bonds, was clearly out of ex- 

 istence ; as the State of Arkansas cannot pos- 

 sibly owe more than that amount to the present 

 holder of the bonds, who is vested with the 

 rights of the lender ; by the same reason by 

 which the Trust and Banking Company itself, 

 if it had not failed, and still held the bonds in 

 its possession, could demand of the Real Estate 

 Bank, or the State, the payment only of the 

 sum it actually advanced on the bonds and 

 interest ; as a pawnee, who gives fifty dollars 

 on a value of one thousand, deposited with him 

 as security, or his successor, cannot ask of the 

 debtor the payment of as much money as the 

 pledge is worth, and interest, but must be 

 content to receive only the fifty dollars which 

 he loaned on it, and interest. Yet the bill 

 funding the public State debt for the whole 

 amount of the said old bonds, and interest 

 thereon since 1840, passed the liouse of Rep- 

 resentatives on April 1st, by a vote of 38 to 18, 

 and the Senate on the 3d, with yeas 13, nays 

 4 ; and the Governor approved the act on the 

 6th. 



The State Board of Education held meet- 

 ings to arrange details for carrying the general 

 school law into effect as soon as practicable, 

 the most beneficial results being anticipated 

 from its execution; though there were some 

 differences of opinion as to the propriety and 

 expediency of establishing separate schools 

 for white and colored children. The Legisla- 

 ture also took commendable interest in this 

 important subject during the last session. 

 Among other provisions made tending to pro- 

 mote general instruction, they adopted a joint 

 resolution, requesting Congress, through the 

 Senators and Representatives of Arkansas at 



Washington, " to grant the State such aid in 

 lands as will enable it to establish a male and 

 female normal school ; " and passed an act "to 

 donate the property in the city of Arkadelphia, 

 formerly known as the Arkansas Blind Insti- 

 tute, to said city, for the purpose of establish- 

 ing tree high echools." They made " an ap- 

 propriation for the purchase of books for con- 

 victs in the penitentiary." 



The General Assembly also took steps " to 

 establish the Arkansas Deaf and Mute Insti- 

 tute," by amending the first four sections of an 

 act previously passed for that purpose. 



In regard to the blind, the Legislature, be- 

 sides passing a general act " for the benefit of 

 blind persons of the State," adopted a joint 

 resolution "to request Congress to grant one 

 hundred sections of land for the benefit of the 

 Blind Institute of Arkansas," and passed an 

 act " making appropriations for the Blind In- 

 stitute, for the years 1869 and 1870, and to 

 supply a deficiency for the year 1868." This 

 establishment, however, seems very well man- 

 aged and in a prosperous condition; its in- 

 mates, both male and female, being success- 

 fully taught and trained up to execute a vari- 

 ety of useful works adapted to their state. 



Internal improvements, tending to develop 

 and make available the great natural resources 

 of the State, are not neglected by the Govern- 

 ment. The various branches of agriculture 

 are attended to with success, especially the 

 growth of cotton, to the profitable cultivation 

 of which the soil of Arkansas, the river-bot- 

 tom-lands above all, is peculiarly adapted. 

 The crop of this staple in Arkansas, in 1869, 

 was estimated at "nearly 300,000 bales." 

 In order to redeem swamps and overflowed 

 lands, and restore them to cultivation, several 

 acts were passed by the Legislature, "provid- 

 ing for the building and repairing the public 

 levees of the State," and a joint resolution 

 adopted, " requesting Congress to confirm the 

 lands donated to the State by Congress, for 

 the construction of levees and drains." The 

 new public system of levees is considered about 

 the best that could be devised, and represented 

 as being now vigorously prosecuted. The 

 Arkansas Gazette of November 30, 1869, briefly 

 describes it in these words: "A majority of 

 the owners of the land to be reclaimed present 

 their petition to the county commissioner, who 

 lays it before the county court. The county 

 court may reject the petition, and, in case of 

 granting it, it is forwarded to the Superin- 

 tendent of Public Works at Little Rock. The 

 superintendent advertises the contract thirty 

 days, in which to receive bids, and gives the^ 

 work to the lowest bidder, who files an ap- 

 proved bond to the amount of the estimated 

 cost of the work, for the performance of his 

 contract. The State pays the contractors in 

 bonds of the State, due in thirty years, the 

 lands protected to pay interest thereon, being 

 taxed at a valuation of about twenty -five cents 

 an acre, from lists of said lands, contained in 



