Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-02-02

TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE.
SENATE
WHDNEsDAx, February ], 1860.
TIE Senate was called to order az sine O'Clock By
The Speaker
Mr MINIS presented petition from Charles
Foster and Patteraoa B. West, praying to be re
essed from certain bail, which was referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
REPORT FROM COMMITTEE ON BANKS.
Mr.. LANE, from the Committee on Banks. re-
turned House bill No 2SS, to protect the note-hsld-
ere OF the BANK Of Claiborne, with the recommend
alton Of majority Of the Committee that it pass.
BILLS INTRODUCED.
By Mr.. NASH; No 256-To provide oompenss-
lion for certain guards employed by the Sheriff of
Campbell county. Passed frst reading and referred
to the Committee the Judiciary
By Mr. HORN: No 257-'rO amend sec ion 4, 3Os
of the Code Of Tennessee. Passed first reading
aud referred 20 the Comm tee the Judiciary
By Mr. TRIMBLE: No. 258-To save costa Pass
ed first reading and referred 70 the Committee on
the Judieisry
By Mr. TRIMBLE: No. 259-To amend The rev
enue laws Of the State. Passed first reading AMI
referred 90 the c lnmittes on the Judisary
By Mr. TRIMBLE: No. 260--fo define the du-
tics Of the Comptroller in certain cases. Passed
frs. reading and referred 10 the Committee on the
Judiciary.
HOUSE BILL os SECOND READING.
No. 2S3 70 PROJECT ths aote-holders Of the Bank
of Bld6orue.
Mr LIEN offered 40 amsudment 10 tue bill
giving he nots-h1dzr5 Of The Bauk Of Claiborne four
months Rlthia which to present the notes - the
Comptroller for redemption, which vas adopted. and
:heu
The bill as thas aneadsd passed its second read
HOUSE Bttrs ON Third READING
No. 852-Fo extend me Tins for the knoxville
and Kentucky Railroad Conpany 10 complete the
first section If their road. Passed, ayes l5 noes
4, as follow:
Ayes-Messrs Allen, Boyd Bradford, Hildreth,
Horn, Hunter, johnson, Lane. MINIS Mcclellan,
Nssh Richardson, stanton, stOAely &nd Primble
is.
Noes-Me srs. BumPass, s.Ovan, Thompson aud
Speaker NeHman-4
No I57-Fo incorporate the Lsgardo aud Spen-
GERS Lick Turnpike Company, and for other pur-
poses. Passed
SENATE FILLS on SECOND READISG.
Nc. 252-For the relief Of Mrs. Anna Maria Nc
Marry, widow and exeoulrix Of Royd MeNairy, de-
ceased. Psssed
for the relief Of the securities Of Thomas HAmil-
ton, late tax collector Of Upton county, which was
adopted, and then
The bill as thus amended passed its second
reading, and was referred to the COMMITTEES on Ways
and Means.
No 25S-To erect monument to Andrew Jack
son on Capitol Hill, in the City Of Nashville Pass
ed.
No. 254-TO repeal a pJrtiDn Ct 40 aot passed
I5Lb NJ arcp 1853. Passed.
No 255-To give the citizens OF Morgan county
the right to vote upon the removal Of their court
house from Montgomery to Wartourg. Passed.
FOR BENEFIT OF CERTAIN RAILROADS
Mr.. STOKELY called up his notion eu,ered yes
e1day to reconsider the vote passing House bill NJ.
$780, to amend the charter Of the Memphis Clarks-
Vile and Louisville Railroad Company aud for other
purposes, OF its third reading.
The vote passing the bill was then reo0nsld-
cred.
Mr.. MINIS offered an ansndusnt - the Il for
the beueft Of t1e Cincinnati, CUm3erIand Gap
and Charleston Railroad Company, which was
adopted.
The bill as thu, amended then passed its third
reading ayes, 49, noes 5, as follows:
Agss-Messrs Allen, Boyd, Bradford Hildreth,
Horn, Hunter Johnson, Mickey, MINIS, McCle-
Ian, MeNei:ly, Nash Stanton, 5toksly aud Trmb e
-I5.
Noes-MessrJ Bumpass, Lane, S,oval, ThOmps IN
and Speaker Newmsn-5.
SENATE BILLS on THIRD READIaG
No l29-For the relief Of a. P. Smith, trustee of
John Goodrich, deceased, and j. C.5Goodrleb, sd-
ministrator Of said deceased
Mr. NEWMAN Mr.. SrovALL in the chair,) hal
carefully read the reports of the maj Jry and tai
nority OF C0muuee the JudIci cry, after having
fully Investigated the subject. aad he could not
see that the relief asked OR by the bill under
siderat:on was in violation Of be Constitution The
bill did not ask that the prOpery5Of the deceased
be given his wife and children, bu. simply that
the executor be allowed credit for tue amount
(sbout ST 000) he had advanced to the wife sad
children in accordance with the provisions Of the
will Of the deceased He referred TO ina'sn-
ces Wheee the Legislature had refunded eseheated
properly to the heics of deceased persons and also
to the fact that the Legislature Of 1865 had sp
proprialed about one Thousand dollars ouj Of
cheated properly in Washington @ unity, t. enclose
and cree. a mouuuen. over The grave ct fOrei gner
who had died III that county vi. hJdt heirs, aai
whose estate, to the value Of four or five hou,aud
dollars, had escheated 10 The S;a'e. He thought
there vas both power ami rr. cedeut FIR he Sena,e
to act favorably upol the bill
Mr. STOKES could not vol for the bill lie
would like 10 do So il was a case that apI called
to his sympathcs, bat he regardei ine constitution
as al insurmouutabie barrier 10 the passage Of the
bill. The minority report admitted; the Senator
from Franklin }lr Newman) would admit; every
Senator would admit, Ga It tae property # George
Gee Ia escheated to the State imuei lv ely upon
MS death Thi, beng 50, be elutenled thsl tge
Legislature had no control Whatever over it. Toe
tenth section Of the eleventh article Of be c5usr
tuition was plain aud explicit upon this point. IL
provides that the common school fund shall re
main q perpetual fund the principal whereof shall
never be dImicished ~ Legislative appropriation"
and that "uo law shall be made authorship said
fund or any part ihereo be diverted any her
Al. q 49,,
moa schools" Q son the death OF Gee his proper
~ becama part uf the common school fund, add
no power in tue State had hIri'y u divert any
part CT it 70 any Or for any PurPO-e Whatever,
other than tha' designsted in the constitution
Mr.. MINNIS REGARDED ia. eleventh section Of the
eleYeuth article covering this case. In his opn-
ion, under the provisions Of tnai section, the Is
gislA ture authorised TO grHst the relief asked
That section allows heirs To receive e-cheat-d prop
er,y The word "her,," as used in that section /
did not mean legal heir5 fer they would inherit By
descent but that class of persons ESO labor under
some disability was meant, ana the Legislature Was |
clothed with discretionary power over the matter.
This section must mean just such this, or
il means nothing at all. For hims eff be had no /
doubt as TO the power Of the Legislature 10 pas5
the bill under consideration; indeed, if the bill 1
asked that the whole e5ste Of Gee be given 10 his
aifs and chillrea, he should vote for it We /
have tribunal where constitutional questions |
are settled and if Senators entertained any doubt !
as to the constitutionality Of such law tuas /
by the BILL as 1t IS case Of merit ap- |
pealing to their sJmpathieS, they could pass the /
bill and then let the Supreme Court decide the |
matter.
Mr.. TRIMBLE stated that in 1887 or 1888, II,n
by the name OF Morrison d ed in Nashville, who
had no legal heirs and whose properly esobeated TO
The State. The only relatives he had here we're
bastard son aud cousin, the latter foreigner.
He (AIr Trim6le) Attorney General for this
judicial circuit at the time, and brought suit n the
mama of the State for the recovery Of Morrisons
property. Application vas m ,de to The Legislature
% pass a law giving The property 10 the heirs men
Toned W. Z. Anderson and Geo. S. Yerger, two
If the ablcst jurists the STATE of Tennessee has
ever produced, were members Of that Legislature,
md they voted for DILL, which passed. giving the
property 10 the cousin, regarding him as having a
better right to it than bastard. lie knew OF
another case where Billy jones, free man Of cJI-
", died in Nashville, l. aTing considerable prop
,rty, and having no legal heirs bill was fled in
hancery by Francis B Fogg, Of the ablest
aWyers al the Nashville bar, and who had been
member Of the convention which framed