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| George Frisbie Hoar. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, November 30, 1898.
SENATOR HOAR SPEAKS.
Does Not Believe the United States Wants to Buy Sovereignty.
WORCESTER, Mass., Nov. 30.—Senator Hoar to-day announced himself as positively opposed to the treaty which would acquire the Philippines. In a communication to the Gazette he says:
"We have not, so far, any news which is absolutely trustworthy of what they are doing in Paris. But if the report is true that it is proposed to buy of Spain the sovereignty of the Philippine Islands, and to pay $20,000,000 for it, I do not believe that such a treaty will be agreed to and I do not believe it ought to be agreed to. Spain has very little sovereignty in the Philippines to sell just now, and I do not think the people of the United States are in the market to buy sovereignty just now, or that the constitution has conferred upon anybody the right to buy any such commodity. The constitution was framed upon the theory that sovereignty is not a salable article. The people of the United States have conferred upon nobody the power to make such purchases in their behalf. We have acquired territory either vacant or so sparsely settled that there was no people capable of governing it and no germ of a national life. We have also in one recent case acquired a territory where the original germ of national life had perished. But neither of these precedents applies to the Philippine archipelago with its millions of inhabitants."
PHILIPPINE EVENTS.
Loyal legion Banquet—Reinforcements Arrive—Natives Cannot Agree.
MANILA, Nov. 30.—At the Loyal legion banquet here there were 64 guests present. Nearly every commandery was represented. General Anderson presided and Rear Admiral Dewey was received by a guard of honor from the Oregonians. The speakers were Generals Anderson, Harrison, Grey, Otis, Reeve, King and MacArthur; Captains Glass and Coghlan, and Colonel Hawkins.
The steamer Culgoa has arrived here from Sydney, N. S. W., with supplies. She has been transferred to the American flag. The transport Zelandia has arrived here with reinforcements. Three other transports are expected daily.
It is reported that a section of the insurgents, called the Guards of Honor, who are opposed to Aguinaldo, have captured San Ignacio, in the province of Pangasinan, island of Luzon, at the instance of the Spanish priests.
The Caseno Espanol here has donated $40 to each Spanish officer and $10 to each private held in captivity by the insurgents.
The Filipino papers are demanding good roads into the interior for the transportation of produce which is now wasted.
Charles McKinnon of the Oregonians died of smallpox.
Advices from Iloilo say the natives of the Visayas islands have established a republic independent of Luzon.
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| Emilio Aguinaldo. |
ATTITUDE OF AGUINALDO.
A Possibility That the Insurgents May Yet Have to He Dealt With.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.—The apprehension which manifested itself some time ago over the attitude of Aguinaldo and the Philippine insurgents has not entirely disappeared, though the administration believe they will accept the situation without any conflict with the United States. The matter was discussed at the meeting of the cabinet and some of the views expressed indicated a possibility that the insurgents may yet have to be dealt with. On the whole, however, the president expects that serious trouble with Aguinaldo will be avoided, but at the same time has guarded against an outbreak by taking precautionary measures.
The American force already in occupancy of part of the Philippines is regarded as altogether adequate to cope with any emergency that arises. The future government of the islands came up incidentally and Secretary Alger made some suggestions as to details of a military government of the islands.
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| Captain General Ramon Blanco. |
HAVANA HAPPENINGS.
Money Received Prom Madrid—Cuban Assembly Meet—Evacuation.
HAVANA, Nov. 30.—Colonel Pagliery, late chief of police, will accompany Marshal Blanco to Spain as his aide-de-camp. Consequently Pagliery has resigned his office in favor of Domingo Martinez Gonzales, the former inspector.
The treasury here received cable transfers from Madrid amounting to 1,840,000 pesos, to be applied to military and civil requirements and back pay.
The Cuban assembly has established headquarters at the farm of El Carmen, a mile from Playa de Marianao, where the members are to hold a session and discuss routine matters.
Upon the completion of the evacuation of Pinar del Rio the Havana division of the Spanish army will embark. The evacuation will be ended with the embarkation of the Las Villas division.
ANOTHER BIG STORM.
Raging on the Massachusetts Coast—Heavy Wind Blowing.
BOSTON, Nov. 30.—Another heavy northeast snowstorm started in here just before 7 o'clock this morning and an hour later had settled down to its work in a way that promised several inches of snow at least. A brisk wind of twenty miles an hour was blowing from northeast. These conditions will greatly interfere with the work that is being done at points where vessels were wrecked as the sea is running high and the snow is thick on the water. The weather bureau officials state that the storm probably will continue all day.
Out in the Storm.
Mr. M. H. Yale [of Cortland] has received a letter from Mrs. Yale who with her son, William T. Yale, sailed from New York Saturday afternoon for Norfolk, Va. The letter is dated at Norfolk. Mrs. Yale says they were out in the teeth of the whole storm which was considered the worst one in twenty years at that place. Their steamer arrived several hours late, but they were glad to get in at any time. They were so sick, however, that they could not have raised their heads from their berths had the steamer been on the point of going to the bottom, and their condition did not differ materially from that of every passenger on board.
Taken to the Hospital.
Mrs. K. C. Munro of Baldwinsvllle, the mother of Miss Mary Elizabeth Munro, the Normal student who died at the residence of Mrs. S. P. Bulkley, 38 East Court-st. Monday night with typhoid fever, was herself taken to the hospital yesterday afternoon ill with the same disease. Mrs. Munro came to Cortland to care for her daughter, and the constant attendance brought on her illness. Mrs. Munro is a sister of Mrs. Bulkley. The remains of Miss Munro were taken to Baldwinsville yesterday afternoon, and the funeral will be held to-morrow.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
Proceedings of Cortland County's Lawmakers and Financiers.
Thirteenth Day, Tuesday, Nov. 29, P. M.
The annual report of County Treasurer William H. Foster was read by the clerk, and showed a balance in his hands of $2,733.48. The report was received and with it the report of the committee on settling with the county treasurer, which was adopted.
Mr. Wallace, chairman of the committee on miscellaneous bills, recommended that the bill for fuel for heating the county clerk's office building be made a county charge. The board adopted the recommendation.
The report of the committee on equalization is in full as follows:
Fourteenth Day, Wednesday. Nov. 30.
At the opening of the session, the clerk read a communication from a majority of the Republican members of the board designating the Homer Republican as one of the papers to publish the session laws during the coming year.
Mr. O'Donnell, chairman of the committee on jurisprudence, rendered his report, which was adopted and ordered on file.
Mr. DeLong, chairman of the committee on constables' bills, presented his report, allowing $254.41 on claims amounting to $312.11. The report was adopted and referred to the committee on appropriations.
Chairman Hunt of the committee on coroner's bills reported the allowance of $299 out of claims of $303, and the same was referred to the committee on appropriations.
On motion of Mr. Crosley,
Resolved, That the Cortland semi-weekly STANDARD and Cortland Democrat be designated to publish the election notices for the ensuing year.
On motion of Mr. Kinyon,
Resolved, That the clerk of the board be directed to have the notices of the next annual session of the board published in the Cortland STANDARD, the Cortland Democrat, the Cincinnatus Times and the Marathon Independent.
Mr. Tuttle moved that the report of the committee on equalization be taken from the table and adopted. Mr. Patrick moved to amend, that the report be reconsidered. The amendment was not seconded. On the rollcall the report was adopted by a vote of 11 to 4, those opposed being Messrs. Kinyon, Patrick, Robinson and Coe.
Mr. Patrick offered a resolution amending the committee's report just adopted by deducting from the acreage of Cuyler 462 acres, which are assessed to parties claiming pension money. The chairman declared the resolution not in order.
Mr. Wallace from the committee on miscellaneous bills called the board's attention to bills of three medical expert witnesses and asked instructions. The board, on Mr. Bingham's motion, ordered that the bills be cut in half. Mr. Wallace moved to amend by making it $10 per day. Carried unanimously.
The rules were suspended ad Sheriff A. B. Brainard addressed the board relative to a resolution previously adopted regarding price paid for board of prisoners. After discussion, the resolution was rescinded and the sheriff's compensation for the board of prisoners was fixed at 15 cents per meal, and no charge be made by the sheriff for lodging.
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| Lawrence Fitzgerald. |
LITIGATION ENDED.
Victory for Cortland Parties in Madison Square Bank Case.
An important and lengthy litigation has just been terminated in which several Cortland parties were interested. In August, 1898, the Madison Square bank doing business in the city of New York suspended business. An investigation disclosed the fact it was insolvent and receivers were appointed to wind up its affairs.
This was a surprise to the public and especially to its stockholders who had paid $1.50 upon the dollar for their stock in 1891. The Madison Square bank was not a bank of issue and at the time the stockholders purchased their stock there was no law making them liable for the debts of the bank. In 1892 a law was passed by the legislature of this state making stockholders in state banks liable to the creditors of the bank in an amount equal to the stock held by them in addition to the amount invested in such shares of stock.
Messrs. L. J. Fitzgerald, Hugh Duffey, F. C. Straat and R. T. Peck of this village and William Fitts of Moravia, were stockholders in said bank.
Mr. Fitzgerald was vice-president and a director of the bank up to May, 1892, when he resigned as vice-president and director for the reason that he was so far away that he was unable to attend the meetings and give the affairs of the bank the attention it required without neglecting his other business. At that time the bank was doing a prosperous business and its stock was selling at a large premium.
After the failure of the bank its receivers brought an action at law against all of the directors of the bank to recover $700,000 damages alleged to have been sustained by the bank by reason of the negligence of the directors and made Mr. Fitzgerald a party defendant with the other directors. He employed Kellogg & Van Hoesen of this village to defend the action for him. They demurred to the complaint of the plaintiff upon the ground that the complaint did not state a cause of action against the defendant Fitzgerald and that each director was only responsible for his own negligence which constituted a separate cause of action and that these causes of action could not be joined in one action. The demurrer came on for hearing at a special term in the city of New York. The demurrer was overruled and the defendant appealed to the general term which affirmed the order.
The defendant applied for permission to appeal to the court of appeals on account of the importance of the case and of the questions involved. The application was granted and an appeal taken to the court of appeals which reversed the decisions of the lower courts and sustained the demurrer.
The receivers' attorneys then applied for leave to amend their complaint upon payment of costs so as to set forth a cause of action in equity against the defendants. The application was granted. The attorneys for the receivers set forth an action in equity against the defendants demanding an accounting for the damages sustained by the bank. The defendant Fitzgerald again demurred to the complaint upon the ground that it did set forth a cause of action in equity against him and that in a suit in equity separate causes of action against different directors could not be joined in the same action. The demurrer again went to the court of appeals and was sustained; thus practically relieving Mr. Fitzgerald from liability, as it was not claimed that the bank sustained any damage by reason of any personal act of Mr. Fitzgerald, and an order was entered discontinuing the action as to him.
The receivers of the bank also caused another action to be brought by Jacob Hirchfield, a depositor of the bank, against all its stockholders to enforce the personal liability of the stockholders, in his own behalf and in behalf of all other creditors of the Madison Square bank. The defendants demurred to the complaint of the plaintiff upon the ground that it did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. The court of appeals sustained the demurrer and held that the provisions of the stock corporation law applied to an action brought against a stockholder of a bank to enforce his personal liability.
The plaintiff then paid the costs and amended his complaint so as to set forth a cause of action under the stock corporation law.
Among the other provisions of the stock corporation law it is provided that a stockholder shall not be held liable on a claim after two years "from the time he ceased to be a stockholder'' The defendants' attorneys then waited until the day after the two years had expired and, as no other creditor had intervened or become a party to the action, then went to New York City and made an arrangement whereby the plaintiffs claim which was small was paid and an assignment taken to a friendly party who immediately released the defendants Fitzgerald, Duffey, Straat, Peck and Fitts for a nominal consideration from all liability upon the cause of action set forth in the complaint.
Defendants' attorneys then made a motion for leave to serve a supplemental answer setting forth the release as a defense. Mr. Kellogg of the firm of Kellogg & Van Hoesen went to New York and argued this motion before Hon. Leslie W. Russell, then holding court in New York City. The motion was granted, the answer served and the receivers appealed to the appellate division which affirmed the order. After several preliminary motions the case came on for trial before Hon. M. L. Stover. He held that the defense set forth of the release was a valid defense and dismissed the plaintiffs' complaint. The attorneys for the receivers appealed to the appellate division and it reversed the decision of Judge Stover and ordered a new trial.
The defendants, Fitzgerald, Duffey, Straat, Peck and Fitts appealed to the court of appeals. The case was argued there in October last and on Tuesday of last week the court of appeals handed down a decision reversing the decision of the appellate division and affirming the decision of Judge Stover, with costs in all courts, thus terminating the litigation so far as these defendants are concerned and relieving them from all liability.
Kellogg & Van Hoesen, Edwin Duffey and Franklin Pierce were the attorneys for the defendants. Guggeinheimer, Untemyer & Marshall were the attorneys for the plaintiff and receivers.
BREVITIES.
—An important rehearsal of the Choral club will be this evening at the Conservatory of Music.
—New display advertisements to-day are—Derr Fritz, Seeing miracles performed, page 7; Angell & McFall, Groceries, page 5; Bingham Bros. & Miller, Style, quality, make and price, page 8.
—Friends of Mr. J. D. F. Woolston will be interested in the dispatch which appears in another column giving a list of gubernatorial appointments of delegates to the national farmers' congress.
—The present prospect is that the Third regiment, New York Vols., of which Corporal Harry Oday of Cortland is a member, will not be mustered out of the service at present, but will be retained for further service.
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