Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-09-07

and they ind that the registration Of the notes Of
ihe B4nk 0i Trenton has been 50 imperfect that
nothing al al be told frOm She books to the
amount Tcgisersd, as there is 10 registration of
the letters aud size Of ths bills And they find
likewise that the notes Of the Bank Of Knox
vile have not been registered in full Mr.. CRozIER
resigned his Office to take effect January oath, 1856,
and the last entry Of date in the circulation book
Of the Bank Of Knoxville in January LIST, 1s54-a |
ehasm Of Two years. Are net these sufficient evil
dences that the books of the GomptrOler's Office
have not been properly kept? Yet We are prepared
to point to other evidences if need be. Mr. CRoEER
says totally wrong in the statement that the
interest paid on State Bonds within the eight years
from 1850 to 1857 inclusive, amounts to 81, 2O4
0S and that the interest falling due within that
time was but 81 $685. s2I CO., apparent Oyerplus 48,e
SsS,0s. Our statement Of interest pad is neeessa~
riIy taken from the ComproIlers books just as the
books show t. fezoept We deduct commissions at the
end OF thscalcuaLion and our statement OF Interest
due is made upon careful calculation Of the inter
est aeeruiug upon the outstanding bonds. We at
frus- calculation is correct, If we had been
guided by the ComptTolleFa books and retained and
CHARGED commissions it would have sWelled the de-
hcIt TO S.. As 10 TIC SVAlOA oNSONAANs 80
CRozFER says there are coupons not in the books
which the Committee have never seen. The facts
are simply these: The Committee compared and
cancelled the coupons returned BY the Railroad Com
panies. also compared the coupons paidi in pbisdel
pbia and New York with the bank eecounl--ihls
great mass or bulk of coupons We cancelled, but
there we're few very small packages presented to
ma which had been paid by the Bank in Nashville,
+ and which had been charged and not paid at the
/ Treasury, which we did not cancel, because we
/ 1ookaa Gpon them as vouchers Of the Bank. The
number of coupons in the small packages We know
az the same was marked thereon. WeWere Of necess;
ty compelled to count the coupons, as reference to
4 table "Ep and annual interest accounts will show
We did not charge, as Mr., CFozrBR seems TO inti>
mate, that the S48, 1888 08 vas all purloined nor
have we ever said that Dir. CRozmR took either
bonds or coupons ---.-- 49,
As to the seveniy-fve bonds he alludes TO- he very
we'll knows that the Committee while showing the alb
surdity Of Mr. SHEEoEs claim to l28 bonds, stated,
in substance, IF he had lost them, 70 Of the num-
1 her were lost While Mr. CRoztER was Comptroller,
butthat he had not in the opinion Of the COMMITTEES
lost any bonds at all As to the coupons, the CONS
mttes expressly said, they " find it matter Of i'm
possibility 10 report the precise amount Of Interest
paid upon coupon bonds, for the reasons then fully
set cut; among others, they say that the "holders
Of coupons often delay their presentation for pay
ent for one or two years. which causes the interest
account to vary much yearly" But We we're salts
fed, nevertheless "that coupons had been purlODed
by some one, presented again to the Comptroller
/ and again paid BY him - The testimony was con-
n. re 10 bna I'd
ComptroIler. both uader Mr.. CRozIEn and Mr.. LUT
raELL, had been dealing in coupons, selling them
both in Nashville and New York. We find Also that
on LIST April, 1885, Comptroller LUTTRELL issued War
rant No $685. for $50 intereston elpiol bonds drec!
to THOMAS F. MosBY, aud thereis power Of attorny
or order fled with the warrant, according to the
custom of the Office, showing that he received the
interest as agent. Again, on 18th October 1856,
by Warrant No. GIL, AfosBT received $685. interest
on capitol bonds and on the 10th January, 1857,
Warrant, No. 1858, he received on renewed bonds
S84l 25, and there is nothing with these warrants
showing that he (dosBY) was acting as the agent Of
auv other person. Each Of these warrants Il
signed by Mr. LUrTRKLL. If any person desires tC
satisfy himself the warrants can be seen in the
Treasurer's ofoeb reference to the above numbers
Mr.. LUrrREGL TOLD the Committee he was satisfied
Mr.. MosBY had distracted coupons, but he stated a
the time he believed they we're taken from the boze
of the free banks. The coupons after being pai'
and not cancelled had been loosely kept in ciga'
box in the Office We leave the public to draw thei
own inference from these facts
In regard to the prepayment Of interest We feel
constrained to say that even II the interest due s1
ceeded interest paid, We would still be compelled,
from the fact that many bona fie holders OF coupons
due in one year, may not present them for payDen
until the nezt gear, TO entertain The opinion that
large amonnt of coupons have been abstraced OF
eOunterfeted and presentation payment and if tn
Comptroller had properly cancelled and paste the
coupons on books opposite the corresponding nun
bers, this could not have occurred.
The proof was clear, even by MosBY's own confes
sions, that he had distracted o! the bonds be
longing to free banks, and applied them TO his owl
use. 1t was proven before the Committee ly III
statement of Mr. MosBY, and the admission Of Mr.
CRozIER, that after Mr.. MosBYs Acknowledgment
that he had taken the bonds, Mr. CRozIaR had an in
terview with him and advised him, d" IT WOULD b
BEST FOR HIM TO LEAVE" 1t was admitted in evi
dence by Mr. CRozrER, that he ,CRozrER) while act
ing as Comptroller, bought in partnership with Mr.
DoRTcH, free bank, the Traders Bank. While tn
free banking law does not prohibit the Comptrolle
from being interested in free banks, yet it arreste
the attention Of the Committee as improper that
public officer entrusted with the States interests
such large transactions with free banks should him
self become q free banker. The day before thu
Committee adjourned, Mr.. LUTTREIL stated that Nh
CRozrRR had also been interested while COmptrOlle
-, tba Rank of Paris
As to the cases in which bonds that had been de
posted had been taken out by Mr.. CROzrER an
Mr.. LUrrRELL, and others substituted in their place
? the Committee simply gave the facts as proved b
Mr. C. W. JACKSON, neither charging or intimatin
that any improper motive had led to it, though i
each case it was done without the consent and sgsnG
the wishes of the officers of the Bank Of Middl
, Tennessee.
In all things they fOrebOre from doing NOR
than was necessary to give fair reflex of the ties
timony adduccd If the ComptrOller's books hav
been go improperly kept that it was impossible full
: " to comprehend the great difficulties which hav
grown up between the Treasury and free banks
surely the committee ought not to be blamed 70
frankly disclosing the fact. We were really Q
. opipion that Mr. CRozIER seemed more anxious t
overreach US than any other person. but we di
not state this fact. He seemed quite anxious I