“_Whereas_, The General Assembly has with pleasure received, through the message of his Excellency the Governor, the communications of certain gentlemen, holders of bonds of the State, and representatives of holders of bonds, asking for a conference looking to a permanent and equitable adjustment and compromise of the claims held by them against the State; therefore, be it “_Resolved_, By the General Assembly, that the Governor be requested to communicate by telegram, or by letter, with the gentlemen holding securities of the State, mentioned in his message, and request them to submit, on the earliest day possible, through him, to the General Assembly any proposition of adjustment and compromise, which they may desire.” As the result of this resolution, a committee of the Legislature and a committee of the bondholders met and agreed to the following proposition: “That arrearages of interest to July 1, 1877, be added to the bonds, and that new ones for sixty per cent. of the total amount be issued, made to bear interest at six per cent., and to fall due in thirty years.” It was naturally expected that the Legislature would ratify the action of its committee. Much to the surprise of every one concerned, it not only rejected the proposition, but decreased the tax rate from forty to ten cents per hundred dollars, and thus made the payment of interest absolutely impossible. Later in the year the bondholders presented a second proposition, in which they agreed to a scaling of the debt fifty per cent., but this was also rejected by the Legislature. In 1879 a committee was appointed by both Houses of the Legislature to investigate and report upon the State debt. This committee, after taking a great amount of evidence, presented an elaborate report. Acting upon this report the Legislature passed a second bill, March 31st. It provided for the issue of bonds bearing four per cent. interest to be exchanged for outstanding bonds with the interest accrued thereon, at the rate of fifty per cent. on the dollar. It was not to become a law until approved by a vote of the people, and two thirds of the bondholders. The consent of the bondholders was readily obtained, but the measure was defeated at the polls.