Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1858-03-12


sse- Our readers are aware that Com |
mittee was appointed, some two months
ago, to investigate the affairs of the Bank
of Tennessee and to report thereon to the
Legislature. In the meantime, a bill is
introduced, to authorize an increase of the
Capital of the Bank, one million and
quarter, and that sum to be raised by the
sale of State bonds. When we remember
that the Legislature is democratic (; that
that party has standing declaration of
war against banks when it is remembered
that the President of the State bank once
reported in favor of winding it up, and now
favors the above increase of capital and an
addition oftwo Branches, this proposition,
and the failure Of the Directors to answer
the questions put by the investigating
Committee assume signifcancy and an
importance that should rivet the attention
of the people Of the State. Why was the
Committee appointed Because charges
of corruption, Encouragement and viola
lions of its charter have been preferred
against the Bank and that the reader may
see the character ofsome Of these charges,
we subjoin the following remarks of Mr..
Thompson, democrat and member of the
Committee st
"Every body knows that it has been
charged that the Bank of Tennessee receiv-
ed and circulated the issues of the Bank of
East Tennessee that it has been charged
that the School Fund of various counties
has been defrauded by being paid in funds
of the Bank of East Tennessee that it has
been charged that the State Bank agreed
TO sustain the currency of the Bank of
East Tennessee, by swapping notes with
her, and one of our interrogatories is to
this point /; another is, have you sustained
the credit of any bank? We found there
a note of N. Hobson for thirty thousand
dollars. How comes it that the Bank of
Nashville was indebted TO that bank thirty
thousand dollars? Again, we found that
the Bank of Tennessee has loaned bonds
to other banks to enable them to carry on
their operations. Would it be right for us
70 report till such questions as those could
be answered. Another question is, have
you not time and again violated your char.
ter by discounting more bills than notes?
Is not that pertinent question? / am OF
the same opinion with the gentleman from
Sumner, that if there were nothing rotten
in Denmark, the directory could have an
swered every one of our questions before
this time. There is not one in the list that
will require month TO answer. One OF
them is what has been the profits of the
bank since 1874 and the answer to that
was reported to the Governor and laid on
our table on yesterday evening. I never
deal in innuendoes. / ask for facts only
and all of us know that it has been charged
that the Bank Of Tennessee has sustained
bank after bank, and sustained and given
credit to the Bank, of East Tennessee, and
so defrauded thousands"
Now, these charges have been preferred
and the Committee have propounded ques
tons to the Directory which give them an
admirable opportunity to refute them and
to vindicate the management of the Bank
why do they not answer? Because they
are guilty, and will not bear testimony
against themselves. And yet, whilst the
bank is thus accused, and silent when cal
led on for its defence, democratic Legis-
lature is gravley discussing the propriety
Of giving to this swindling corporation an
additional sum of a million anda quartz,
OF the peoples money to be squanderet
and misapplied.
During the last canvass, we heard i
gravely stated, and once by prominent
democrat, that the influence of the Stat,
Bank was good for five thousand votes
Of course, the statement will be denied
but let us look at the probabilities that %
to prove its truth. BY reference to tn,
Governors Message, of the End inst, W,
shall find some facts of startling import
and even if they do not tend to fix corrupt
ion upon the Bank, they will conclusiyel,
prove its gross management, and its utter
restitution of all claim to the confdeno,
manifested by the proposition to increas,
its Capital.
From the statement made to tho Cover
nor, by the Bank, and by him, reported I,
the Legislature, on the End inst. it appear
that the Bank has lost s76l, O74,9 90 of it
capital or about one fourth of the who'll
amount and that the peoples money il
that bank, put out at six per cent anuum
would actually have yielded $3.50, 443. 2!
more than the bank has made out of II
Nav put these two items together, and W,
have sl,Oll,5lsI2l, clear loss to the Stat
by the mismanagemont ofthe bank. Tn,
hrst item is set down.to the account of bat
debtsT-a loss of $1,000 per annum, on al
average, All banks are liable 10 losse