18 



ALABAMA. 



jrere reqeired to return to the 



bos* eight milHon* of indorsed ^''u.V.eTiou. before', are of course" enl 



doe msmy years hence, and in IbTSwTd money circles. We are .till .uffcnng 



Bern to receive the same from the eriaia commenced over two yean since, in 



nine millions of Indorsed "jlro . main y ^y ro ^ M of jonnruction.'could 



and UM But* gave up its first-mortgage " , in ' Ure , t ,, the bond* iwued to build it, ha. 



f^JrosTproWKty Which Ithdd Kn .he.. u> be bias; and thi. failure of the ra.1- 



. .... . , . i te nay interest M |k< bon.l., i; > ed bj tbe 



&JSSzezsi w5te*&~fc*E* 



I security wbloh she held, in the Etsmint of taxe.. The St.ti ha. been in default m 

 first mortgage on all the railroad tin p TmeD t O f interest on some of thete indorsed 

 and took taueo of it an agreement bond, '.ince January, 1870. 



- sS?S:5taji3 aHEf-SSSa 



, bat Without making any material rit ^. ^ nndf } ]otnr ineradicable except at great 

 A bill also BiriTll UM Senate, Horifles, and eventually to render her bond* unsala- 

 ble at rates that could be entertained. 



It was hoped by thi. Department that the pr 

 pavment of the intere.t on the bond, pf the State, 

 negotiated for ita own loan., would keep that line 

 of securities on a footing of recognised value, and 

 afford the mean* of paying the put-due coupon* on 

 the indorsed bond., until a bitter dy would dawn 

 on the railroad, themselves, and thus tide over our 

 difficulties. But Wall Street refused to recognire a 

 compliance by the State with her financial obliga- 

 tion* aa long a* any coupon of an indorsed bond of 

 the St.te wa. not provided for on maturity. 



Tbe whole of the last issue of State bond, could 

 have been .old for eighty-five cent* on the dollar, to 

 parties Interested in the indorsed bonds of the rail- 

 road*, provided all put-due coupon* were paid. Bnt 



_4ed Oeo. E. Spencer to represent the State tnc g ute did not have a sufficiency of bond* to dii- 

 UM fltsjita of the United States. At the charge all the.c coupon., and pay the interest on the 



r.nitnl direct bond, of the State. If the act of the Legis *- 

 ture entitled "An act to maintain the credit ol Ala- 



ktowa as the Civil Rig>U Bill, which eetab- 

 by law the Intermixture of vUtM and 



,Ueii on railroeda. steamboats, and all pub- 

 lie traveling conveyances, and in inns and 

 MtaasT-boosM em the lines of the railroads m 

 thedtoto. Thta bill foiled to pass in 

 Lower House. A Urge number of other acte, 

 chiefly of a local nature, were paaaed. and the 

 Legislator* adjourned on the SSd of April. 



JLnsonf UM sets passed by tbe body which 

 UMaiilil to UM Court-Honse, M heretofore, 

 WM one aathuruing tbe issue of Stete bonds 

 to UM amount of 13,000.000. Tbe same body 



i tine tbe body assembled in the Capitol 



alaelad a AUen by the name of Sykes. 



Each election WM held on a day previous to 

 the one designated by the act of Congress. 

 Who* the day thus designated arrived, the 

 majority to the new legislative body adjourned 

 over without taking an/ steps to hold an elec- 

 tion. Those who were opposed to the iatoe 

 bonds, and to the election of Spencer. 

 took the position that lx*h acte were nnll and 

 void, b*eeo*e the Court-Ilouso body was not 



Ufa! and cooUitutional legislative House ; 

 the aasetlna WM brought before the Supremo 

 he State, and decided to favor of the 

 legality of the Conrt-Honae body, M above 

 stated. This decision gar* a validity to Its 

 arts. The bonds were subsequently sold In 

 New York. Whe Spenoer appeared to take 

 hie seat to UM United States Senate, Sykes 

 al appeared to contest his right the 

 Hut the 9 te.sU gave the seal to Spencer. 

 The laeoeial condition of the Stete became 

 r during the latter part of the 

 snry WM comparatively 

 been a failure t 



the interest dne on tnanv of the bonds of the . 

 State The debt of theSute was rtated with ' 

 grsrf MKerteinty, according M the direct and 

 (dlrMtobUgiKUoM were estimated. Tl 

 of the Ooremor, David P. Lewis, were thus 

 ", to his address to the Legislature on 



m 



,:.,, , : . 



irrynlfTaMing during t 

 yasv. The Htete Treasury 

 Mpty, MM! there had bee 



bama," approved February 25. 1878, had authorized 

 the la*ue of two millions of bonds, there would have 

 been a .ufflclency of funds at the command of thi* 

 Department to have paid off nil the interest pa.t 

 due and accruing on both the direct and indorsed 

 bond* of the State, during the fln.ncin! year ju*l 

 closed. But, the Legislature having authorized the 

 isiueof an amount inadequate to meet all the 

 est debt of the State, no sale could be made of the 

 bond* *uthorixed to be issued. This Deportment Ins 

 m.ble to sell for money onvof the Stnte bonds, 

 during the present administration, being forced to 

 follow In the footstep* of its predecessor, in raising 

 money bv the hypothecation of the aecuritie* of the 

 State, a* it bent could. 



In order to redeem the bonds of the State 

 already hypothecated, the Governor reci'in- 

 iin nded a new issue, redeemable at the pleas- 

 ure of tin- State, within ten years, and hearing 

 interest at eight per cent., the coupons to he 

 receivable in all does to the Stnte. in s-mns 

 of one hundred dollars or more. He further 

 suggested that all trustees should he author- 

 ized to invent fiduciary funds in these bonds, 

 and that auditors' warrants should no longer 

 be received in payment of taxes, and that the 

 past-due coupons of the Alabama & Chat- 

 tanooga road, together with the approaching 

 Jaminrv interest, should he funded in bonds 



Tks 



T:.. 



of the- Sintc, together with the jmosafre of all 

 ouch arts a* might l.e necessary to accomplish 

 the adjustment of the outstanding interest. 



It was urged that an increase in the rate 

 of taxation was necessary to meet the wants 

 of the Treasury. Two years have elapsed since 



