Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1867-12-04
Letter from Nashville.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, Nov. 18th, 1867
al LII, 2 R.-n,rnLn

are pending before that body. The one that mos
directly concerns the loyal citizens of East Tenne
see, is the bill TO compensate loyal persons fer the
losses by the United States and Confederate rmit
during the late war to suppress the Democratic re
bellion. This measure, however, has been pract
cally abandoned. Some half adozen bills have bee
offered in lieu of the proposing to pay thos
losses by the bonds of the State But these all shit
the ssueby providing Claim Commission to audi
the claims of persons with a view of memorializni
Congress 10 appropriate money to pay them. Thi
may look we'll on paper and it may and is to b
hoped WILL prove successful in the end but tn
practical method of reaching the merits Of the cas-
would be 10 enact law by which the State SHOULD
pay this just demand Of the Union people. If thi
we're done, and the question submitted TO Congress
by the authorities Of the State there is TO be
lieve the United States would assume the debt al
has been done in regard to the States Of Ohio, In
diana and Pennsylvania.
The dust had scarcely settled in the of Johr
Inorganic cavalry before the Legislature of Ohio
had provided for the payment of all damages in
ficted by his raid upon her citizens-both Union
and Copperhead. And Congress was equally as
prompt in reimbursing the State of Ohio for the
amount thus expended. But our legislators have
such adherence of the word STAGES" and so lit
tie faith in the justice of the nation that they shrink
from doing justice themselves, and appeal to Con-
gress TO do do what they utterly refuse. Their
ton reminds one of the preacher who exhorted his
congregation not to do as be did, but as he told
them. 1t is really amusing to witness The sympa-
thy expressed for the atax payers when the claims
of loyal citizens for losses during the rebellion are
under consideration; and then when it is proposed
to redeem the issues of the State Bank of Tennes-
see to hear the same gentlemen talk Of the wicked
ness and disgrace of Republication. When loyal men
are to be paid the State is about TO become bank
rupttaxes oppressive and our credit on the de-
cline; but when giant. fraud is attempted to be
perpetrated for the benefit Of rebels and monied
aristocrats the words "moral Obligation "plighted
faith" illegally bound" etc, roll from the same
tongues like oil from The coal butts OF the Pennsyl-
vana mountains. In regard TO the question of tax
es in connection with the proposition TO indemnify
loyal citizsns &c is Sufficient TO say no Union man
cas- Dc worssed by levying a tax necessary to meet
the proposed obligation, because there is not sound
Union in the State who would not receive I'M
der the law double the amount of his taxes paid for
this purpose. Hence the loyal citizens would be
compensated for property lost by the war, while the
disloyal who caused the war and the consequent
loss and destruction property would have the en-
tire burden to bear. In plain phrase it would be
an ingenious system Of confscation--a plan by
which the rebels would be compelled to pay Union
men for causing them to be robbed by the Confede-
rates and their property to be taken and impressed
by the National forces.
The Bank Of Tennessee, as already more than in
timated, has become an important theme among the
guardians of the taxpayers of the State The House
of Representatives was startled on Friday last by
the introduction of bill, by Mr.. Doughty, provid-
ing for Ithe redemption of the issues of the State
Bank Of Tennessee. A more infamous fraud was
never attempted than the provisions of this bill con-
templated. One Of IFS bare-faced iniquites is that
although holding the State responsible to redeem
the outstanding issues of the Bank, yet they must
be presented in sums of not less than one thousand
dollars before they will be redeemed. The giant
meanness Of this scheme will be more readily per
ceived when it is remembered that the ovorwhelm-
ing portion Of the issues of said bank arc in the
hands of spectators, who bought them up at frsm
two TO thirty cents on the dollar. And now TO
intensity mammoth rascality, by aiding the specu-
lators TO make clean thing Of it, law is to be
acted by which the rich are TO grind the faces of
the poor The issues of the Bank of the State Of
Tennessee are TO be redeemed when presented in
sums of one thousand dollars or upwards Merci-
full proposition to the taxpayers indeed How ma
ny "tax-p payers have thousand dollars of these
issues True, not one out of ten thousand of the
taxpayers" of the State has or can command one
thousand dollars in these Issues. Those who held
these notes have disposed of them for nominal
prices But this honest measure, intended to pre-
serve the purity of the State and fulfill high mo-
raj obligation, is so formed as to compel the tax
payer" who may yet hold few dollars of it, TO sell
it to the speculstor who is able to buy thousand
dollars for Just such price the one thousand dol
lar man may choose to give. A poor man may
have few dollars in these issues but unless he has
one thousand dollars he is to be turned away from
the treasury of the State and directed to some
swindling machine, where he can get from two TO
thirty cents on the dollar from some ono Of the
aone thousand dollar" gentlemen. This bill should
have been entitled "AR act to enable the Rich to
SlgiAdle the Poor
It may be proper 10 remark here that the State
Bank OF Tennessee is no part of the State Govern
ment; that il was organized under charter grant
cd BY the Legislature, and the State became the
stockholder in said Bank by paying its money! and
is not responsible for the action Of the Bank Time
forbids sn argument on this point, at present. but
any good lawyer will concede, especially since the
action of the Legislature Of 1865, in repeating the
charter, that the State is not bound morally, legally
or otherwise, to redeem said money that note
holders since that time must look to the assets Of
the Bank, and not to the State and taxpayer" 1t
Is said there are two million eight hundred thou
sand dollars of this money represented in Nashville
by probably tess than fty persons and that these
fifty shylarks have resolved on pushing this measure
through, though ii cost Bittsn to succeed. These
psrties are moving Heaven and earth to get their
hands in the pockets Of the people, snd if money
can accomplish it, they viii triumph.
After mature consideration, the bill now pending
must be regarded as superlatively unjust and op-
pressive TO the mass Of the people
Our Railroads have many friends in the Legis-
lature The Senate has passed the '0mnibus Bill, p
in which the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad gets
$500, oOO) eight hundred thousand dollars, by a
final vote of Il to 2-one East Tonnesseean, Mr..
Gates. voting "No,7 and one Middle Tennesseean,
Mr.. Cary, voting mo These gentlemen were no
doubt conscientious, and no one has any right 70
reflect on them for their action. The Bill will be
acted upon by the House probably to-day There
win be struggle to defeat it, principally by those
who want Tennessee money redeemed by the State.
II viii, however, succeed. Col. Mshry i here