Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-05-15
=. W Il kNELL,
Chairman House Committee
LETTER FROM MAYOR BROWN.

PROM MAYOR Brown.
Mr. Arnel read the following letter from Mayor
Brown. The House. however had previously lis
tened to the majority and minority reports, and
| had decided to take action thereon:
IF action on Senate's amendment may be de-
! ferred until next Wednesday, it is our purpose in
the meantime to take steps to test the sense of the
| people Of Nashville on the question now before
! the General Assembly. We are very anxious that
| the sense of our people be fully understood.
| ascertained in an unquestionable manner. before
| w MATT. Brown, Mayor"
Mr.. Moss. from minority of the Committee.
made the following report:
We, minority of the JOINT Special Committee
to whom was referred the Senate amendment by
which the cities of Nashville and Chattanooga are
| placed under Metropolitan police regulations,
| beg leave to make the following report:
They would first state that they have considered
| well the memorials ard evidence adduced on be
hall OF the present city police system of Nash
| VILE and Chattanooga, aud the memorials of to
! change and lnaugurate a new system 3t police of
said places, and find
First, That the desire for a change is confined
TO small minority of the inhabitants of the city
of Nashville and Chattanooga, in the absence of
any well attested cause of complaint against the
present system, orthe efficiency of the persons now
entrusted with its execution.
Second That that the good of the city of Nash
vile has under its existing charter since the adj
mlnlstratlon of the police of the city turned
over by the military authorities, secured all the
citizens as I'll and ample protection would prob
ably be afforded to them under any other system
of government.
Third, That no serious outbreak of any kind
has occurred, and such violations rs have occur
red have been promptly punished under the pro-
Fourth. That such violations of law as have oc-
CURED, have been of kind character aS would
probably occur under any system of municipal
government.
Fifth. That the city of Nashville has now for
two generations or more been under substantially
the same system of municipal government, and
that during this whole period no city in the whole
Union has probably been better governed.
sixth. That there Is nothing 20 warrant the con
he hlNT Of n,f
tennessee can impose upon the cities of Nashville
and Chattanooga municipal laws by which greater
good may be accomplished than has been and still
may be accomplished by such as they have adopt
ed or may hereafter adopt for themselves.
Seventh. The condition of the people of
France, i'll which it has been proved impossible to
sustain a Republican form of government, should
admOnlsh us of the extreme danger of the meas
ure under consideration. In that country the
municipal governments have, for centuries, been
appointed by the Central Government, in Paris,
aud the sequel has been, and is, that these muni-
opal governments here become considered organs
OF centralized GeSpotism and the ability OF the
people crushed out in toto. On the other hand,
the government of the cities and towns in England
have been permitted to choose their own forms of
government. and the result has been that these
cities and towns have uniformly been bulwarks
for the preservation of liberty whenever it was
lmPerled, through the citizens thus habituated to
self government.
We. therefore. cannot admit that such a radical
change should be imposed upon the cities of Nash
VILE and Chattanooga without their consent, in
the absence of any serious objections TO the pre-
sent police system. GEO. ID. FoSrRR.
A. W. Moss
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The consideration of the Metropolitan Police
Bill was resumed. Mr.. Elliott offered the fol-
lowing amendment: That the right to adopt the
provisions Of the foregoing AGA for the govern
ment OF the city of Nashville. shall be submitted
to the legally qualified voters under the franchise
law, on the first SATURDAY. IN January. 1867, and
that the Mayor shall give the lawful notice, and
have the election held IN the usual way.
After a couple of hours of speech making had
been INDUCED ia, very little Of which had any
reference whatever to the subject under eOnside-
ration.
Mr.. Arnetl moved that the amendment of Mr.
Elliott 10 llih on the table. Carried; ayes 50,
noes %.
The question on the adoption of the majority
report of the Joint Select Committee, favoring the
hill being extended to Nashville and CHATTANOOGA
was put and carried by the following vote:
AYES Messrs. Anderson, Arnel. Donaldson
howdy, Doughty, Dugsan. Fdson, Gilmer Hud-
son, Hale lnman, Jones, of Claiborne kerehival,
Mason, Maxwell. Morris, Mullins. Mulloy, Muir
ply, Num-, Patton, Porter, of Wayne, Pickett,
Raulston, Richards, Sheppard. Sinclair ShultZ,
smith, of Hardeman, Smith. of 0biOD. SnOdder-
Iy, Thornburgh, Underwood, Waters Walker,
ech, Wines W OodcOck, Woods and Mr.. Speak
er NOrman-i0.
NOEs-McSsrs. Brown, Baker, Biggs. Clinsham,
Coward, Elliott, Foster. Grove, Jarvis Jones of
Greene. Marable, Martin, Melton, Moss, Over
street, Porter of Henry, Symmetry, Stcgald, War
rem and Williams-2O.
The question of cOncurring with the Senate
amendments then Put and carried by ex-
actiy the same vote as the preceding one.
On motion. the House adjourned until nine |
O'Clock tomorrow morninf.