The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-10-17

lode OF Tennnerseo " Governor |
Harris laws.
M "A few days ago the State Comptroller,
by instruction of Governor johnson,
49, issued the following notice to the Clerk
'' OF the Davidson County Court, and to
the County Tax Collectors
49,. You are hereby directed TO receive in
4. payment Of taxes such money as is lndi-
y. stcaied in chapter COB of the Code Of Ten
.eE nesee. Yours respectfully,
- .fI 81 JOS. S. FOWLER,
10000 yseti rf Comptroller.
lm On last Thursday, the Dispatch of this
city, contained an editorial in reference
to this order which we extract in full:
-saf A NEW ORDER IN REGARD TO TAXES.
s.Iii. The laws of Tennessee provide that
moneys due TO the State may be paid in
g she issues of the Bank Of Tennessee, and
.rl such has been the practice for years In
addition 10 this, the Legislature OF 1850
81, enacted (see act of July j, 1861
nthat all officers of the State are author
lied TO receive in payment Of moneys
due the State and the several counties
thereof, the circulation of the banks Of
this State, which conform to the Bank
Code Of Tennessee, and the acts amend
~ atOry thereof"
We were informed yesterday that Gov.
johnson has instructed the officers of
the State in ibis county, and perhaps in
other counties, TO receive only the legal
tender notes of the United States in pay
, ment of moneys due to the State. This
~ order is made, we understand, in conseA
~. quence of the heavy depreciation that
has taken place during the last two
49, months in Tennessee money, rendering it
impossible 10 meet the current expenses
of the State with this deprecated cur
~ renOy.
s4ss II may be asked by what authority
nj Governor johnson makes this order.
y. We answer, by virtue of his authority as
~ Military Governor Of the State. or
course, if civil authority were restored
such an order could not be enforced, and
-. il will become imperative Immediately
upon the restoration of civil authority.
t4 We have reference TO the fact that the
laws of the State make the issuesof the
~ Bank of Tennessee q legal tender in
f,. payment Of moneys due the State, and
MN In this connection, we may state that
lawyer who has thoroughly Investigated
g the subject, informs us that the State is,
beyond all question, responsible for every
dollar issued by the Bank of Tennessee
49, previous 10 the removal from Nashville.
but Reputation, and we feel sure Ten
nesseans will never agree to tarnish the
fair fame Of their State with repudia-
ton.
There are several statements in the
Dispatoh's editorial which we are at loss
to conceive how any intelligent man
could venture to make, who knew any
thing OF the laws of Tennessee in refer
~ ence to the revenue. The first three
asblines of this article, namely: "The laws
Of Tennessee provide that moneys due
of lag.nl,ka at.ta nav Ia Maid in tho iaanes of
"a tbs Bank Of Tennessee" are singularly at
Hss variance with the express provisions Of
the Code. of Tennessee in reference to
lsoia the State revenue. This Code was drawn
up by Hon. r. J. Meigs and w. +. Cooper,
asstwo Of the ablest and most distinguish
ed lawyers Of our State, and was adop-
ted by the Legislature Of 1878. Un-
der title 5, chapter 9, Art 2, the Code
contains the following section;
6O3. The Collector shall receive in
discharge of public taxes, and other
t dues to the State, BESIDES The constitutional
and laa0ful cuyyeacyef 6e United States
i. Such bank notes as are CURRENT AND
a. PASSING AT PAR IN THIS STATE
2. Warrants issued by the Comptrol.
Ter.
8. Certificates from the County Court
~ for killing wild cat, when offered in
heb payment Of the poll tax of the person to
~ whom such certificate is given
The language of the Code is clear And
definite; it expressly declares that the
a1r Tax Collector shall receive only the Con-
u stitatiOnal and lawful currency of the
United States, and current and par bank
sl notes and the Code of 1918 being the
latest enactment Of the State, is certain
oodly the present law of the State For
l over two years the notes Of the Bank OF
Tennessee have been passing al heavy
rate Of discount, and for some time they
have been quoted AT 90 per cent dis
count as the columns of the Dispatch
will show. tits idle to argue that such
deprecated paper must be accepted by
the State in payment of her revenues
II is easy TO see that even II the law pro-
sd vided that these notes should be receiv-
ed for such purposes, II would be neces-
sAry TO increase the expenses of the
State one hundred per cent. beyond her
e. revenues and the deficit thus produced
would have TO be made up by taxing the
people. How could the State pay her
debts with paper, which the extraordi
nary efforts of business men have been
unable 10 keep ahOAt Of which no living
man, except Gov Harris and his fugitive
bank officers know the value and
which many of our best ilnAnoiers regard
asworthlessS The creditors Of the State
would not accept the notes Of the Bank
of Tennessee in payment Of their dues, il
the State should receive them in payment
Of her revenues; her Treasury would Of
course be filed with nothing but cur
renoy, which nobody would take from