Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-10

cuse, taken from you, and turned over 10
an individual, and this, gentlemen, is a
full and fair statement of the whole case.
In it the Governor has either been over
reached or bought. The proof viii show
that somebody, other than Mr.. Galloway.
shared in this profit.
ANOTHER JoB-THE PENITENTIARY LEASE.
Another item is worth mentioning in
this connection. The Legislature author
lied the leasing of the State Penitentiary,
and Commissioners were appointed for
this purpose. This institution, as you must
know, is vast workshop, an extensive
manufacturing establishment, erected by
and with the means of the State. Upon
what terms do you suppose this property,
with the labor of the convicts, has been
leased They are there; the State furn-
ishes the Penitentiary with all its prison.
ers, tools and machinery, feeds and clothes
the conviets pays all physicians bills,
furnishes guards, and gets forty three cents
per day for such as may be able to labor
This contract runs for several years, will
cost the State from one to tieO hundred thou
sand dollars per daHanl, out of the Treasury,
and yield as much or greater profit
to the lessees. Fifty-fye thousand dol
lars was appropriated by the Legislature
at its last session, to meet the deficiency of
the last six months. Other responsible
bidders proposed to take it on more faVora-
bic terms to the State-one at sixty-fiYe
and another at sixty-three cents per day;
but by some hoeus poctts not understood by
outsiders, perhaps by misconception of
the law, the contract was awarded TO those
who had bid the least Other outrageous
frauds upon the public funds might be
mentioned, but have nottime to enumer-
ate and make them all understood. Suf-
fee il to say that they have occurred too
frequently to have resulted from any other
cause than design. They have not been
ferreted out, and exposed and checked up,
either by the Executive or by the Legisla-
ture, az correct notions Of official duty de-
manded. Many of the members of the
Legislature, too, are supposed to be in some
way connected with these speculations.
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE naPLI-
GATED.
Mr.. Rutter, President of the little bank
which shared so largely in the spoils, told
Senator johnson that he had let members
Of the Legislature have some money that
he had let Mr. Arnell have ten thousand
dollars, in a business rag! To Mr.. Cole
man recently, while on the way from
Memphis to Nashville, as | understand,
he said that he had let twelve MEM
bers have money, and if they did not
quit pressing him so hard he would dis
close all the facts upon them. We do
know the fact that some of the members OF
the Legislature have been recently hand
ling money beyond their ordinary means;
that while the country has been growing
poorer, they have been apparently grow
ing rich. We know, too, that after the
fact of his clandestine obtainment of this
bank fund, and after his inability to repay,
it was developed, a further deposit of pub
lie money was made with Mr.. Rutter, and
an effort made by a portion of the Legis-
lature TO return to his custody the fund
which had been recovered from him. But
this movement, which cannot be accounted
for except upon the supposition of colu
sion between some portion of the Legisla.
ture and himself, was too bold, and conse-
quently had TO be abandoned
RECKLESS EXPENDITURE.
Furthermore, an examination will show
general recklessness in the financial
affairs of the State, under Governor Brown
lows administration, in every branch of
the public service. The present Legisla-
ture has cost the people more than
double the amount of any pre-
ceding General Assembly = 1896, 900
more than the Legislature which held four
sessions in 1859 and 1860. And of this,
$64 900 is illegal pay voted by the mem
bers in the face of the constitutional pro-
hibition, as increased per diem to them
selves. The property of the State, depre-
ciated one-half by the war, and by the inef-
ficiency and corruption of the present State
government, which was taxed about $780,
GOO before the war, is now taxed nearly |
s., 100000. The current expenses of the |
State have been doubled, and among other |
items the Governors staff-a luxury not |
heretofore INDUCED in-has cost you $685.
SOC SO, and this, too, when economy in the |
expenditure of public money is demanded |
by every consideration of justice and nece.- |
sity; when the industry and general bust. |
ness of the State is depressed beyond any |
former precedent. But, gentlemen, the |
story is not half told. The spirit of pecu-
lation grows upon that which it feeds The |
Bank of Tennessee fund is nearly exhaust
ed. Estimating it upon currency basis, |
over 100000 have been appropriated by |
these plunderers of the public tzea-
sury, and Sl,600000 of annual rev.
enue Wrltng from the languishing |
and unprotected property of the State, is
inadequate to the necessities of the Brown
low party. A great deal of dirty service is
required at their hands, and they will not
perform it without continued supply of
spoils; and though deficient in everything
which pertains to good government, they
have displayed considerable enterprise in
reaching out for new and unheard-of
sources for the wanted supply. They seek
by violence and unauthorized legislation to
seize everything.
METROPOLITAN POLICE.
Under the name of metropolitan po-
lice" an attempt has been made to place
the government of youf principal cities |
under the control of your Governor. This
new system, if honestly administered, may
be as good as the old The objection to it |
is, not that it might not, under honest man
agement, insure the same protection to per-
Sons and property as the old, but it is that
it withdraws the government of your cities
from the people who own the property, who
pay the taxes, and who are most interested
in the preservation of peace and good or
der, and centers their powers in the hands
Of the Governor, to be by him handed over
10 his unprincipled parasites, who have no
interest in the business Of the city
Or in the preservation OF society,
or otherwise, and who, accord
ing to all the information obtained, resort
10 the most dishonest practices wrong and
an abuse of their prerogatives, to enrich
themselves.
THE ATTEMPT TO SEIZE THE RAILROADS.
But still holder strike was made by
our Legislature few days before the recent
adjournment of that august body. II was
o seize and appropriate to the party every
railroad in the State. In contempt of the |
vested chartered rights of the corporators,
he Governor, by act Of Assembly, il au-
horized TO appoint an increased number of
State directors in each and every company,
md this the Governor was not slow TO I'M
iertake to do. Claiming to act under this
tatute he has, ] learn, appointed as many
IS twenty-seven directors in one company.
This law, and the Governors action under
I, is an undiguised eneroachment upon
he vested rights of the railroad companies.
/ is intended TO convert the railroad i'm
of the State, built at an ex-
,ense of over forty million dollars, into
'arty engines, for party ends, to provide