Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-07-22
WHAT We CHARGED AND WHAT We CAN
\ q PROVE

Quite 4 furry has been produced in The Know
Nothing ranks, by the circulation Of camPign do
cumentheaded, ~ MR. HATToE AS A LEGIst AToR."
Their CHEAT complaint sesns be that it does not
show where printed, or By whom it was cOpped.--
We hope We satisfied them on this point yesterday.
They well Know mat every thing it contained Tex
cept few PREDATORY remarks had appeared as edi-
torials in this paper and that fact therein had
been successfully cOntroyerted. As this document
is now attracting attentiOn,we viii recapitulate the
principal charges which axes, every of which
is sustained BY proof and upon which we challenge
successful contradiction. irUhSrges T.
l. That when Mr.. Hatt6h, the present Know
Nothing esndidatefor Goternof, entered the Legs-
lature in 1885, the actual and prospective liability of
the State principally for railroad PURPOSES amount
ed to about t1osRty.our millions Of dollars. That,
though this was not directly an Indebtedness of the
State it was toqn and the tender of the loan, of
State bonds for Internal Improvement purposes,
which as seriously involved her credit if it not
oan and the State was the real proprietor of the
roads, THAT these bonds were being Issued daily,
and finding no sufficient market at home were glut-
ting the markets abroad That as consequence,
inquiry was being made by capitalists at distance
on whom we had to rely for their sac, if there was
no limit to their issuance, and whether not the
old would have priority over the nsv. That, a
consequence, dstrust was being created in the mind
of the buyers, aid bonds gradually declining An,
of which facts were withinthe reach Of Mr., Hatten
and were told to kim on the floor of the House.
That the Governor had Informed the Legisla-,
ture by his written message to that body, that it
would have to provide for the payment of one han
dred and serenity Ve tE0tah4 dollars Of the Stste in
debtedne.s, that would soon be maturing. That
State Stocks were large discount and could not
be sold without a heavy sacrifice That the
Comptroller, in addition to the foregoing, had
reported that it would also devOlve on the
Legislature to provide some means Of raising
the further sum of one hundred and eighteen tous-
and dollars to supply deficiency in the Treasury,
Oocasioned by the disbursements of the two previous
years having exceeded the receipts by that amount
We charged ~ Il. .s- ra asaa.r -a.-les .-i 81
. That, in view of these facts,-showing the ne
cessity Ofrgid economy and the srictes caution
Mr.. Hatton pursued the widest and most extreme
course by favOring all of internal improve
ment schemes and going the farthest inadyo-
eating those measures. That he was not satisfied
for the time, in view of surrounding circumstances
to 60 and complete the large number of roads
already chartered, but voted to give aid to number
of additional roads That he was not willing to
confne his Iberality to works of State character
but voted to the general credit for works local
in their nature more for the benefit of individuals
than the public at large. That he would not stop
here, but voted all manner Of bridge aid, thus Gre
ating another source of heavy liability. a..
We further charged .....-.s
3. Thatafter having voted to loanthebonds ofthe
State upon scsieso liberal he also voted in favor
Of making the State eHdorSer of different Com
pauy bonds to the amount of hundreds of thous-
ands.s ta- ' TO- . d. ia
We further charged
4. That he not only voted to give one of the old
companies more than s l6,O0e per mfle-to give
charters and aid 10 oOmpanies--to secure them.
thousands upon thousands as bridge money-and to
endorse their Company bonds, but that he actually
voted for and advocated the policy of giving in adj
dition TO all this $4,000 per mile to all the side
tracks, switches and turn-outs, which would have
amounted to from to two millions of dollars
We further charged ...s.,. ar. ..- .-..
5. That he EOtedto make appropriations to vari-
Gus turnpkes and river improvements, many of
them local in their character, and for various other
propositions which heavily taxed the faith and cred
II OF the state H-
6. That whilst showing such unbounded liberali-
ty to these corporations, and in view of the cond-
ton of our finances, hazarding the credit of the
State he proved himself unwilling to protect the
people against having to pay these debts when they
should begin to fall due, and voted in the meagre
minority of tUo against requiring these Companies
simply to create sinking fund of two per cent to
meet these bonds as they should mature ....
We charged Furthermore ........... .t..--
7. That, judging him by his record, Mr.. Hatton
was devoted lriend to corporations and exclusive
privileges, when we find it embraced in our Bill of
Rights that g Perpetuities and monopclies are con-
trary to the genius of free State and ought not
to be allowed" and that all corporations partake
of this nature they only authorised blythe Con-
stitutioh in such cases as are expedient for the
public good' r'-
g. That while Mr.. Hatton showed a Willingness
to go to as dangerous extreme uponthis question
as upon Internal improvements, he also manifested
uHIpRRgRessin this in hat instance to throw
such restrictions around them as would protect the
publicEand guard against frand and injury. That
in evidence of this, he voted against insertinga pro-
vision in these charters 10 the effect that nothing
contained therein should be construed as to pre.
vent the Legislature from amending or repeating the
same, when it should, become manifest that the pub
lie good requires it, and not otherwise, That he
voted against inserting provision that the indvid
ual property of the incorporated companies should
be liable for any debts contingencies that might
accrue against them an proprietor 10 the amount of
stock OCned .. 81 I'D a. ID. .--....-. .......
We charged--- .f.r.t.-....
9. That Mr.. Hatton continued his signal devotion
to an extent which the Supreme Court OF our State
has since declared " as GIlrmg7 70 epery enLa6,nsd
mind" and voted that, when the Legislature sbould
adjourn, and could grant no more corporations a
local tribunal in each county in the State amount-
ing to seventy-odd should be invested Hitb mower
to continue granting them ad nfnituu. That this
law which Mr. Hatton favored and voted for has
since been decided by the Supreme Court to tran
scend the power of the Legislature, and is therefore
unconstitutional and void; and by way of showing
the reckless and odiOus provisions Of the act, we
copied that portion of the opinion Of the Supreme
Court in which they say: s-rrs a' 80 ass ssa.
A remarkable feature of the aotis. that the per-
sons seeking TO be Incorporated, are at liberty to
claim and prescribe for themselves &C n matter If