| Richmond June 5, 1863 |
| |
| Hon. Secty of the Treasury |
| |
| Sir, |
| The undersigned on behalf of the Ala.
& Fla. R. R. Co. (of Fla.) having a warrant upon the Treasury for
$273,752.36 asks that the amount, as near as may be, be paid in 8 per
cent Bonds of the Confederate States for these reasons. |
| This amount has been forwarded by the
proper officers, on account of Rail Road iron, the property of the
Ala. & Fla. R. R. Co., impressed for the purpose of completing the
connection between Selma, Ala. and Meridian, Miss. -- and for Mobile
defenses. |
| This iron was taken up by agents of the
Government in May 1862 -- carried into Ala. -- and there deposited. |
| It was removed from a road in operation,
in opposition to the ??? of the Board of Directors of the Company. |
| By the destruction of the road the company
was deprived of their ??? resource for meeting the interest on their
Bond indebtedness. |
| Although the iron was removed from the
road in May 1862, the agent of the Government did not give receipt for
it until after it was taken away from the place of deposit -- hence
the last receipt was obtained by the company until about the 6th April
1863. |
| In settling with the Government, the
Sect'y of War required the Auditor to go back to May 1862, as being
the time at which the Gov't came into possession of the iron -- and
take testimony regarding the value of iron at that time -- thus
throwing upon the Company all loss from depreciation of the currency
and giving no opportunity for gain on increases in price of all Rail
Road materials. |
| As soon as the proper vouchers could be
had -- the undersigned hurried to Richmond with the view of obtaining
a settlement before the 22d April that 8 per cent Bond might be
obtained. On arriving here he found that Dr. Griffin, the Prest of one
of the roads which our iron had been used, in making the Selma &
Meridian connection, had been allowed to settle with the Gov't at a
price for the iron, which had been fixed upon, without any
consultation with any representative of the Ala. & Fla. RRoad
interest. |
| As this price was clearly not the market
value, even as far back as the time when the iron was seizes, the
Secretary of War decided that Dr. Griffin should have an opportunity
to be heard, before a settlement could be had with the Ala. & Fla.
R. R. Co. |
| It was not until the 25th May 1863 that
Dr. Griffin's reply to the communication sent him by the Qr. Mr. Genl.
was received. From that time to the present, the undersigned has been
indefatigable in his efforts to have this claim brought to its present
shape. |
| We now submit the property having passed
into the possession of the Govt in May 1862 -- the company deprived of
its use and therefore of its resources, and unable to obtain the whole
of the vouchers for a settlement on account of the action of the
Government agent until April 6th 1863, and then delayed further on
account of the acts, if the Govt agents in settling with Dr. Griffin
-- whether he ought not for an amount found due obtain from Govt Bonds
receiving 8 percent interest, this being the note to which he would
have been entitled had he been able to effect a settlement at the time
when he was deprived of the possession of the property. |
| Very Respectfully submitted |
| O. M. Avery |
| Prest Ala. & Fla. R. R. Co. (of Fla.) |