Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-29
GOV. BROWNLOW AND TREAsURER
HTANFORD.
The Knoxville Wing of the 26th inst,
contains the followiug.

lac knoXNlile nag OF the -pth inst
contains the following.
KNOXVILLE Dec. oath, IS66-R. $.
Stafford, Treasure, de- have your letter
resigning the Office Of Treasurer Of the
State, which resignation / accept, and /
have instructed the Comptroller TO settle
with you as the law directs. This accep-
lance Of your resignation, as a matter Of
course, docs not eXonerate Won OF your Sc
eurities from future liabilities, should any
portion Of the school fund be lost.
IL is not my business 10 say wheihor your
defense Of yourself is complete OF not. Tins
delicate task will be performed by the
members Of the General Assembly, when
they re-asseniblc next month, as they are
the BODY Who elected YOU. II will be for
them to say whether you had any authority
to remove that sacred fund 20 any point
whatever. and whether the money was not
as safe Of Nashville as il could possible be
III Memphis. Thd body NAV further
question the pr0pricty Of your taking two
receipts for the fmd--One requiring the
| fund in United States $50 Treasury notes
| of the same series: and another, Of a later
date, requiring it to he paid in greenbackF.
And the same General Assembly will Judge
Of the morality or immortality OF your hay
| ing pawnod ont so large a fund of money
| fer a consideration.
Regretting that you should have com
/ United so fatal an error, and thereby caused
/ reflection on the State government am,
etc, W. G. BRowNLow,
Governor Of Tennessee.
It was supposed that under the cir
cumstances the Governor would not ac,
cept the resignation Of the treasurer, but
refer the matter to the Legislature, which
will be in session in so short period,
when that body could elect his predeces.
sor and take such action in the premises
as might be necessary. The Code pro-
vides in section 227:
Whenever the Office Of Treasurer be.
comes vacant by death, resignation, OF
! otherwise, during the recess Of the General
! Assembly, the Governor shall Immediately
ill il, by appointing some person qualified
TO discharge its duties And he shall, be-
fore he enters upon the duties Of the office
enter into bonds with such sureties as shall
be approved by the Governor, in the pen
atty Of one hundred thousand dollars and
he shall take the same oath, perform all
the duties, and be liable 10 the same penal
ties, and receive the same corporation as
the Treasurer appointed by the General
Assembly"
1t was hardly contemplated when this
section was enacted that a Treasurer
would resign during a brief recess Of the
Legislature, but the Governor having ac'
cepted Dr. Stanford's resignation, viii o.
course appoint his successor, and the ap
pointee may, and we presume will hold
on for the remainder Of the term Had
the Governor referred the matter Of ae'
ceptance and settlement to the Legisla
ture, which will be in session in the course
Of twenty days the whole responsibility
would have been placed where tproperly
belongs The Code provides that "pre'
yious to the election Of Treasurer, the
Legislature shall carefully examine th'
accounts and vouchers and settle with Ia,
incumbent 1t is, true, the Code ais,
provides that the Comptroller shall "settl,
the accounts Of deceased resigned, o.
removed Treasurer Bear in mind, It'll
the Comptroller and no other person who
is to make this settlement with the 1rea'
surer Now the Comptroller has not beer
in Nashville for months, and it is not a
all likely that he will be here until after
the Legislature meets, if then, for his
health is such, we hear, as to forbid hi!
coming to the city. How then is this
settlement to be made and the proper
evidence thereof executed in the absence
| of the Comptroller