Loudon free press. (Loudon, Tenn.) 1852-1855, 1854-01-23
From Nashville Union and American.

From Nashville Union and American
The issuance OF BONDS TO THE EAST Ten
NEssEE AND GEORGIA RAILRoAD.-We do no
resume this subject with the idea that Governo
JoHNsoN's course in issuing the bonds in cues
ton needs any defence. The opinion of tn,
Attorney General will convince every body.whC
does not 90 "outsde of the act" of the propri
ETY. Of the action of the Governor. 1t is be
cause the Banner has opened discussion
'outside of the act" which was alone Governor
JoHNsoN's guide, that we deem il proper to pur
sue the matter little farther, and to add few
thoughts to our article Of yesterday.
1t has been observed, Of course, that the Ban
ner bases its chief arguments upon the con
struction which has been given TO the act Of
1852 oy the Governor and Attorney General
upon facts ''outside of the act ITSELF" The
most important Of these facts, in the estimation
Of the BdRHe-, Is that communicated to the ed
itor ty some one acquainted with the action OF
the Internal improvement Committee Of the
aast General Assembly, to the effect that the
! fa- ;7 sIsvis-s
member from the Western Division of the State
! solely for the Memphis and Charleston CO.. AS
we have said before, we know not how this is.
or from what source the Banner derives its in
/ formation upon the subject; but we are quite
! sure it does not proceed from any one entitled
to be styled "a lawyer and Judge" as no one
coming up to point worthy of such designation
would advise the Banner to rely upon such fact
outside the act Of ITSELF as a guide in arriving
at a proper construction Of the act. But assum,
ing it to be true that the "fact outside of the act
ITSELF is a tact, it becomes important to know
whether Gov CAMPBELL, in constituting the sta
tue, at the time the Memphis and Charleston
Company applied for bonds, assumed the posi-
ton nor takeG by the Banner, that this pr0viso
was inserted ''S0lely for the benefit of the Mem
phis and Charleston Company" IF Governor
CAMPBELL SO believed, he would of course have
required that company to exhibit and verify the
amount expended by the company to show that
the iron and equipments purchased or contract
ed for amounted in value to $4,000 per mile; for
it is positive requirement of the statue that the
company shall have no more bonds than are
necessary to procure, or, if they have been pro-
cured, to pay for the iron rails, equipments, &C.
But Gov. CAMPBELL, as we said yesterday made
no such requirements of the company, and issu-
ed no bonds under the 10Th section. He did is
sue, as we have said, whether properly or i'm
properly we are not now called upon to saw to
that company the bonds of the State to the
amount Of $4,000 for the first thirty miles;
and on the day of the issuance of the bonds re-
quired Gen. MILLS, the President and agent of
the company, to take and subscribe the follow
ing affidavit:
STATE OF TENNESSEE.
DAVIDSON COUNTY.
personally appeared bofo,e me, the undersigned,
one Of the judges of the Circuit Court for the State
aforesaid, Arclbald T. Mills, Esq, President of the
Memphis Charleston Railroad Company, and
Agent appointed by said Company to receive the
bonds to be issued by the Governor of the State ac-
cording to an act passed lIth February 1852 enti-
tied AN act to establish system Of internal improve
ments in this State, who makes oath that the bonds
he IS about to receive from the Governor under the
purpose than II procuring the iron rails, chairs,
spikes and equipments for the section for which the
bonds are issued, and for putting down said iron
rails. A. E. MILLS, President
and Agent NJ. & C. r. r. Co."
Sworn to before me- October 4th, 1882
W. w. PEPPER, Judge, &c.
Now, from the foregoing it will be seen that
Gov. CAMPBELL imposed upon Gen. MILLS the
necessity of swearing that the $4,000 should
only be used-rotto to pay Jor-for the purpose
of PROCURING the iron rails, &c. The affidavit
is the strict compliance with the second section
of the act relating to the issuance Of the bonds
under the general provisions Of the law. Thus
it is made to appear that Gov. CANPBELL's &C
ton is in direct conflict with the 'act outside of
the act ITSELF" upon which the Banner has reli
ed with so much confidence as a means Of in
teroreting the statue 1t is so palpable that
Gov. CAMPBELL did not believe that the Mem
phis and Charleston Company was restricted in
its application by the proviso which was ''inser-
ted solely for its benefit" that it is surprising
the Banner will persist in stating "the facts ont
side of the act itself" 1t cannot be, as we said
that Gov. CAMPBELL repelled the Z.
Tennessee and Georgia Company upon the
ground that the proviso to the 10Th section
twas intended solely for the benefit of the Mem
phis and Charleston Company" and yet when
that company applied for bonds Of the State,
issued them bonds-not to pay for, or because
of their purchase Of iron and equipments, but
to PROCURE iron rails, &c. AND "FoR NO
OTHER PURPOSE" "a lawyer and a Judge"
would not do this. Taking it, then, as establish
ed that Gov. CAMPBELL did not construe the
proviso as controlling the issuance Of bonds to
the Memphis and Charleston Company, and
him to be right in this it follows that
the proviSo was inserted with special reference
to the fact, as stated in DIR. RAMsEY's report,
that the East Tennessee and Georgia Company
had purchased iron and equipments Of value
greater than the $350,OO0 of bonds issued un
der the act Of IS49-50.
But the Banner, in its article of the 9th in
stant, goes into history Of the East Tennes-
see Company for the purpose Of showing that
before the passage Of the acts of 1919 so and
Ie5I ., Che State han ISSUED tv-,l'o Yv".Pr'Iy
bonds amounting to $650,O0O, and to this is ad-
ded the bonds already issued and provided to
be issued, in order to swell the amount OF State
aid to that Company to something more
than million Of dollars. Does not the
Banner know that this $650,O0O of bonds
was issued to the company to pay for the stock
by the State in the old Hiwassee COM
pany, and under that policy by which nearly
two millions of dollars of bonds were issued to
our own section ofthe State for the construc-
ton Of the turnpike roads now leading into our
CITY? And does not the Banner further know,
that notwithstanding the stock Of the State and
that of the stockholders was reduced by an act
passed several years since, the State now has
more stock in the East Tennessee and Georgia
road than the company realized by a sale 6 the
$65O.OOO of bonds-they being per cent.
bonds and issued, many Of them, at time
when they commanded only sixty cents ln tie
dollar. and the State was then receiving the
stock of the company upon the assumption
that the bonds were worth the nominal value?
Does not the Banner further know that the
East Tennessee and Georgia company were
constrained to offer their bonds in the market,
in order to raise means to prosecute this work,
and that. in consequence ofthe State leln, these
nonds conld ha sold at not more than so per