Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-29

Of May, 1861, which sum of $6l6, $50, Y
United States 7-30 bonds, shall be re-
timed and placed in the hands of the |
Treasurer Of the State of Tennessee, as
q part Of the said Common School fund
deposited in the Bank of Tens
AT the time il was urged that
this specie should be invested in
the bonds of the State, which were
then selling at a low price. Had
this been done more than three
fourths of the school fund would
have been replaced in security
that has since paid six per cent.
interest, while it would have ma
terially benefited the credit of the
State. But for some cause, it was
decided to invest the specie in the
bonds Of the United States. Through
the action of the Radical Legisla-
turc of 1866, about 100000 of this
fund, including accrued interest, has
been lost. 1t appears, however, that
S288, go was saved from the Ten
nessee National Bank of Memphis,
and this much of the "school
fund" has been used, not for the
benefit of "the destitute and long
neglected children" but to pay the
interest ON the State debt. The
burdens of the taxpayers were not
lessened by this DETECTING of the
school fund" from the purposes
to which the Legislature solemnly
dedicated it. They still had to
pay for the extravaganza Of
the State government in the way Of
the heaviest tax ever imposed upon
the people of this State. By whose
authority was this portion of the
school fund taken to pay the inter
est ON the debt of the State? 1t was
unquestiOnably done by authority
of Gov. Brownlow, whose language
in his message of Oct. 8, 1865, con
dennis him rs a heartless dissem-
bier. He was then exhorting the
Legislature to lay their hands upon
every dollar they could chat be
longcd to the Bank ofTennessee" ito
replace this fund, land with asolsnin
mockery declaring that the State
ought to "keep her faith with the
destitute and long neglected chill
dren, no matter who else may
suffer" Two years had scarcely
passed away afterthis exhortation to
| the Legislature, before Gov. Brown
low, in utter disregard of his teach
ing, directed that the remnant Of
| this School fund" that had been
saved from the Tennessee National
Bank of Memphis, be used to pay
the interest On the State debt. Here
was portion of the assets of the
Bank of Tennessee solemnly dedi-
Gated by an act of the Legislature,
in accordance with the recOmmen-
dation of Gov. Brownlow as " a
permanent fund" for the education
of the children of the State, never
to be diminished by Legislative ap-
preparation, nor the interest de-
voted to any other use than the
support and encouragement of com
mon schools" Now this whole
fund, accrued interest and all, is
gone, and not one dollar of it was
expended for the benefit of the
children of the State. 1t is now
proposed TO issue the bonds of the
State to the school fund for the
amount used without the sanction
of law to pay interest. The pro
position is simply this, that the
school fund is to have security
worth more than forty cents
less in the dollar than that into
which this so called "school fund"
was invested more than three years
ago. Instead of having S288, 900,
which was saved from the wreck
of the Tennessee National Bank of
Memphis, the school fund would
have a security which could be con-
verted into about $4,000, thus
sustaining a clear loss of nearly
100000 on this little matter OF
taking the children's "sacred school
fund" and applying it without au
thority to another purpose. The
whole "school fund" transaction
since Feb. 16, 1866, is the most dis
graceful chapter in the history of
the present State administration.