NORTH CAROLINA. 



687 



Borne bonds are made redeemable at 25 per 

 cent, as follows : 



Western N. 0. Railroad 



nul It. Itallroad ........................... 887,000 



Western Railroad ............................... 184,000 



Literary Board certificates ....................... 8S8.046 



ToUl .. .......................... $8161,045 



Amount payable at 25 por cent ............... $816,261.26 



Bonds on wbich it is proposed to pay 15 per 

 cent, of the principal are : 



Funding State debt ............................ $2,881,000 



u " Intereit .......................... 1,667,600 



Total... ........................... $3,988,600 



Amount payable at 15 per cent ............... S!)H,210 



Total proposed payment .................. $8,644,611.25 



The settlement is to be made by giving in 

 exchange for outstanding bonds, as above, new 

 thirty -year coupon bonds, dated July 1, 1880, 

 bearing 4 per cent, interest, payable at the 

 Treasurer's office on the first day of January 

 and July of each year thereafter. The new 

 bonds are to be of $50, $100, and $1,000 each, 

 are exempt from all State, county, or corporate 

 taxation, and the coupons are to be received 

 for all State taxes. To the payment of interest 

 on them are to be applied all State taxes col- 

 lected from professions, trades, incomes, mer- 

 chants, dealers in cigars, and three fourths of 

 all taxes collected from wholesale and retail 

 dealers in spirituous, vinous, and malt liquors. 

 If these taxes are in excess of interest to be 

 paid, the surplus is to be invested in the pur- 

 chase of the new bonds; if insufficient, the 

 Treasurer is authorized to use any funds he 

 may have, not otherwise appropriated ; if still 

 short, forty-year $500 bonds may be issued to 

 the amount of $300,000. It is made " lawful 

 for any executor, administrator, guardian, trus- 

 tee, director of any corporation, and any and 

 all other persons acting in a fiduciary capacity, 

 holding bonds of the State, to make the ex- 

 change provided for in the act, and they shall 

 be absolved from all liability on account of 

 said exchange." The Treasurer is authorized 

 to expend $5.000 for bonds, etc., and to adver- 

 tise the law in such papers as he may select. 



The bonds not provided for in this law are : 



N. 0. Railroad construction ..................... $2,794,000 



Chatham Railroad .............................. 1,030,000 



Williamston and Tarboro Railroad ............... 160,000 



Penitentiary ................................... 44,000 



Chatham Itailroad ............................. 216,000 



Western N. C. Railroad, special tax ............. 7.960,000 



W. 0. and R. Railroad, special tax .............. 8,000,000 



Williamston and Tarboro Railroad, special tax. . . 800,000 



A. T. and O. Railroad, special tax ............... 106.000 



Total ..................................... $16,699,000 



Of this amount the North Carolina Railroad 

 bonds, secured by mortgage of the State stock, 

 are provided for in the following act, as is the 

 item of $150,000 for the Williaraston and Tar- 

 boro road, leaving $12,655,000 of debt that 

 the State does not acknowledge as debt. In 

 the debt provided for by the act is an item of 

 $824,000 for bonds issued for the Albemarle 

 and Chesapeake Canal, which is also provided 

 for by separate act authorizing their redemption 

 by exchange for the State's stock in the canal. 



This act of the Legislature was so acceptable 

 to the bondholders that by August lut about 

 $4,000,000 of the old debt had been retired, 

 and was represented by only $1,120,000 in the 

 new bonds. 



On March 14th the Legislature passed an- 

 other act " to adjust and renew a portion of 

 the State debt " ; that is, to provide for the 

 redemption of the North Carolina Railroad 

 construction bonds, secured by a lien on the 

 State's stock of $3,000,000 in that road. These 

 bonds amount to $2,794,000, of which $496,- 

 000 is due on January 1, 1883 ; $481,000 on 

 July 1, 1883; $455,000 on January 1, 1884; 

 $118,000 on July 1, 1884; $305,000 on Janu- 

 ary 1, 1885 ; and $939,000 on April 1st of the 

 same year. Unpaid interest, accrued before 

 the North Carolina Railroad fell into the hands 

 of the courts, amounts to some $600,000 more. 

 Under this act, the Governor of the State is 

 authorized to appoint three commissioners, who 

 are to negotiate with the bondholders terms of 

 renewal with new bonds, subject to approval 

 by the Governor and Treasurer. They are to 

 give well-secured $50,000 bonds, and are to 

 receive from the bondholders for their services 

 one half of one per cent, commission on all the 

 bonds redeemed. For the redemption of the 

 outstanding bonds, new $50, $100, $500, $1,000 

 forty-year coupon bonds, bearing not greater 

 than six per cent, interest, are to be issued. 

 The new may be exchanged for the old, or may 

 be sold at not less than par and proceeds in- 

 vested in old bonds at rates not greater than 

 ' are allowed in the exchange. The new bonds 

 are to be exempt from any and all taxation, 

 and are to be secured as the old by the lien on 

 the State's stock in the North Carolina Rail- 

 road, the dividends on which are to be applied 

 to the payment of the coupons, which are also 

 receivable in payment of all taxes, debts, dues, 

 licenses, fines, and demands due the State of 

 every kind whatsoever. All persons acting in 

 a fiduciary character, holding any of the con- 

 struction bonds, are authorized to exchange 

 them for the new, and all such persons are also 

 authorized to invest funds in the purchase of 

 the new. The commissioners are to hold all 

 the bonds and coupons delivered to or pur- 

 chased by them " in trust for the payment 

 of the principal and interest on the said new 

 bonds, and shall collect and receive all pay- 

 ments and dividends paid and made on said 

 old bonds and coupons so held by them from 

 any person authorized to pay the same ; and 

 shall pay the amounts thus received to the Pub- 

 lic Treasurer, to be applied by him to the pay- 

 ment of the interest on the new bonds. The 

 old bonds shall not be canceled, but shall re- 

 main in force until the Governor shall direct 

 the same to be delivered to the Public Treasur- 

 er for cancellation." 



Another act for the settlement of the State 

 debt was passed on March 14th. It authorizes 

 the State Treasurer to exchange with the Al- 

 bemarle and Chesapeake Canal Company the 





