Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-01
SCHOOL FUNDs AND RADICAL EN-
TRAVAGANCE.

Inc remnant OF the ScnOOI lunu ShNeu
from the Tennessee National Bank was
deposited in the Bank of the Republic in
New York, upon precisely the same con-
ditions as in the former, but without the
security required in the act of February,
1866 1t NAV be perfectly safe in that
bank, but would it not have been equally
as safe in either Of the banks in this cityf
Why 60 so far out of the State to deposit
this fund when it could have been kept
with equal safety here ? And why was
1.-THE security required by law exacted ?
This fund was received from the fennes
see National Bank by committee of the
Legislature, and by that committee turned
over to the acting Comptroller, and by
him deposited in the Bank of the Repub
lie, and that bank received and uses the
fund upon the same conditions that the
Tennessee National Bank did That fund
is subject to the draft Of the Comptroller,
Notwithstanding the law of February,
1866, makes the Treasurer of the State
its custodian. The Governor in his mes
sage Of October 3, 1865, calls
the attention of the Legislature
to the fact that the constitution declares
the school fund to be apermanent fund.-
never to be diminished by legislative
appropriation, nor the interest devoted
to any other use than the support and en-
cOuragement of comm on schools. Yet
when the extravaganza of his government
had exhausted the revenues of the State
he directed this fund, held by the State
in sacred trust" to be drawn upon to as
sst in paying the January interest on the
State debt To what extent it was drawn
upon for this purpose, we have no means
Of ascertaining; but we hazard little in
predicting that, be it much or little, it has
not yet been replaced And the people
of Tennessee would like to know, in this
connection, whether the payment of in.
terest on the State debt is the only pur-
pose for which this SACRED fund has
been drawn upon Does Gov Brownlow
possess any knowledge upon this subject
We do not.like to be considered importu-
nate or impertinent, but for the sake of
the people of Tennessee, we should like
to have him answer that question after
full and frank conference with the
Radical officers of the State government
Gan act to amend the revenue laws IF
the State, was passed on the 24th of
May, 1865. This law levied taxes suffi-
cient, in the estimation Of the Legisla-
ture, to meet all the expenses, ordinary
and extraordinary, of the State, together
with the interest on the State debt, and
also "the sum Of eight hundred thousand
dollars to be applied to common school
purposes, in addition to what is now
allowed by law for said purposes" SO
extravagsnt has been the State govern
ment that not only was the eight hundred |
thousand dollars specially provided for
not set aside, but that now allowed by |
law" which has been levied and collected,
has been diverted from its legitimate
object to meet the extravaganza of the
State government If the taxes levied |
by the act of May, 1865, produced as
much revenue as the Legislature antici-
pated, it is clear that the expenses of the
Radical State government have been more
than million greater than the liberal
provision Of the Legislature Notwith-
standing the vaunted sacredness of school
funds, we find that they disappear under
Radical rule as ice under the rays Of the
summer sim