| Office Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad
Co. |
| Columbia, S. C. January 4th 1864 |
| |
| To His Excellency |
| Governor Bonham |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| Your favor in regard to the 50
bales of cotton was received last week but owing to my absence and the
pressure of other matters I have been unable to answer its contents
until the present. |
| As Col. Duncan was the agent
of this company for shipping cotton from Wilmington, before writing you
the note of Octo 31st I called to see him, to ascertain whether by
loaning 50 bales for some weeks, I would cause him to violate any
engagements he had made with shippers. Upon his reply that it would not
I proceeded to the depot and wrote you hurriedly the note referred to.
From that day I have not had one word of correspondence with Col Duncan
on this subject. His letter to you states explicitly that you were to
"replace the cotton as soon as convenient." I have received no
acknowledgement of my note except as contained in your last, to this
date. Nor was I aware that my offer to place the 50 bales at your
disposal had been accepted, until through Col. Coldwell. You asked me
for "cost & charges. |
| Mr. Kerrison represented that
the shipping had been engaged and that the emergency was to get the
cotton promptly to Wilmington for the State. This induced me to state
that I would place the 50 bales of cotton at your disposal for the
State. It would appear to warrant the inferences of a loan, as readily
as a sale. I had not been asked to sell cotton to the State and Mr.
Kerrison in his statement which you enclosed, states especially that "he
replied that the company required all the cotton they had in
Wilmington." Your own witness expressly states that the company had no
cotton to sell. Besides, had I intended a sale, it would have been the
most simple and natural mode to have said so in my note. I sell you 50
bales of cotton to be in Wilmington &c &c. Would have been natural
expression of a sale. Mr. Kerrison's statement, Col Duncan's letter, and
the fact that the company needed all its cotton in Wilmington for and
had been denied by the So. Ca. Rail Road the right to send its trains
with its own cotton down to Kingsville. I presume that no road in the
State would hesitate to transport 50 bales over it for the State, and
that you could easily replace it which this company could not do, nor
would I as the President of this Company have parted with it under a
different idea. Indeed I had no right to do so, since 75c per lb. would
not compensate the company for the cotton in Wilmington. |
| It appears that on the 22nd of
Novr., before the cotton was delivered, Col. Duncan by letter advised
you that "you could replace the cotton" as soon as convenient." This
letter written before a bale was delivered. (The last 25 bales were
delivered nearly a month after, to wit 21st Dec) yet the cotton was used
after Express Notice of the terms of delivery and one half of it nearly
a month after notice from Col Duncan and myself both. Surely after this
you would not insist that it was not received after Express endorsed
loading that it was to be replaced (see my letter of about the 29th Nov) |
| I regret that there should be
any diversity of opinion on this subject and hope you will view it as I
do in my officialduty. |
| I am Very Respectfully |
| Your obt Servt. |
| Wm Johnston |
| Prest. |
|