Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-25
THE CREDIT OF THE STATE.
SPEECH OF HON. EDMUND COOPER

SPEECH OF HON. EDMUND COOPER
I'm che Senate, Nov. "a, 1869, ON ths
Bill TO sustain the Credit of thg
state.
| Mr.. SPEAKER The most unpleasant
duty of a Legislator l have undertaken
to perform. 1t is to furnish to the people
of the State truthful statement of the
condition of the treasury, and to demon
strate to the Senators that the issue is up
on US, of either confessing to the holders
OF the bonds of the State, comptroler's
warrants in the treasury, and the notes OF
the Bank of Tennessee our inability to
pay and satisfy their just demands, and our
unwillingness toprovide the means so to do:
or, on the other hand, admitting our ina
| bility to pay now, manifest our desire so
to do, at as early day as practicable,
looking to the impoverished condition of
the people, and the heavy burdens i'm
posed upon them through the carelessness,
incapacity or venality of their Legisla-
tors-thOse in whose hands, since the
close of the war, the destinies of the State
have been confded by trusting constitu-
ency.
Either view of the subject is full of
gloom; yet we must be true to ourselves,
TO the people of the State, and
the holders of its obligations, and act in
accordance with the dictates of a sound
practical judgment, controlled by a com
nonsense view of the subject.
A heavy debt is upon us-one that to
the statesman, previous to the late civil
war, would have been startling Yet the
public mind has become so much accus-
toned to the computation of huge sums
that to-day millions are canyassed as free
ly, and with as little regard to the conse-
quences of such an Indebtedness
as thousands were previous to
the war. Ii, however, is upon us.
and the Comptroller of the Treasury in
his official report, publicly announces the
condition of the Treasury, showing the
amount on hand, subject to immediate
use on the S0th day of September, 1859,
to be $28, 649 40, and the Treasurer of
the State informs us that
'The calls for payment of claims are
many and urgent, and the Treasury is
unable to satisfy these claims, without
there is money in the Treasury. Some
provision should be made to place the
Treasury in a paying condition, very
little money being received, while war
rants are being constantly issued on the
Treasury"
1t is not my purpose, Mr.. Speaker, to
review the action of our predecessors,
showing how and in what way this finan-
cial condition has been brought about.
No good can be now gained by such 4
cOurce of argument. The facts are what
| wish to deal with, and to 1eave for some
future time the more careful analysis of our
present enormous debt, and to show how
and in what way created, and at whose
door the crime should be charged.
Ii is sufficient for me here to state that
we have now outstanding against the
treasury of the State the sum of |
the treasury to liquidate the same,
and that there will be due 10 the holders of |
the bondsO the State, and to heholders of |
warrants on the treasury, and of the notes of |
the Bank of Tennessee on the 1st day of |
October, 1870. the SUM of Sc, $50, 900 90, !
without including the current expenses of |
the State government for the present fiscal |
year, and the sum of $51l, $50 90 |
cIaimed by the United States, as due to it |
under act of May "a, 1856, for the Edge
field and Kentucky and Memphis, Clarks- |
vile and Louisville Railroad Companies,
and without including the amount of the
State debt proper maturing during the
year 1870, which, according to the report |
Of the Comptroller of the Treasury |
amounts to 1926, $50 90, and will
show outstanding against the treasury of |
the State on the 1st day of October, 1870, |
the sum of IS, 1898, 80 90.
These details are dry. Figures always are.
The difficulty is to get the, lRhIlif mini mini
One thing however the merest tyro can
and that is, if you have in |
your treasury only certain sum, you can |
only pay a certain sum. If the amount /
you owe exceeds what you have ON hand, |
you cannot pay. If you desire to pay
you must make some provision to furnish
the treasury with the means to pay.
This cannot be done by resolu-
tons. We cannot suppose that
the debt can be liquidated, other than by
payment. Itcan only be paid with money.
Money can only be collected by taxes
and taxes have to be paid by the people
our taxes now are heavy, enormous and
Oppressiye-yet from them enough is not
realized to pay our current expenses, and
the interest on our debt What must we
do! What ought we to dOl What can
we do These are the questions. They
address themselves directly TO our iudg- /
ment, our sympathies, and our honor
| send to the Clerks table, and ask to
have read u communication addressed to |
me by one of the first men of the State
a gentleman of established reputation as q
skillful and accurate financier-and ask |
of the Senate a careful consideration of |
the facts, figures and views therein sug-
gested.
Hon. f. CoOPER-By reference to the report of |
the Comptroller OF the Treasury just submitted to
your honorable body, and few outside items, We |
learn the following facts in relation to the financial
condition OF our State, for the fiscal year ending
Oct. 80, 1869:
That on the Both of October, 1869, there
was in the Treasury ...............S 1890 a |
And that the liabilities against the
Treasury due now and TO become due
before the end Of the present fiscal
year, Oct 30, 1870, are about as fol
loNh5 VIZ
Interest on State debt due 1st July
1863 LOO, OO0 %
Outstanding warrants Oct. 30, 1869. Gee 100000 20
Borrowed money. Observation-Disclosures. 100000 %
Messrs. Ward & Briggs, peuitentiary 100000 90
Interest State debt due Jan. !, 1870 100000 90
Interest State debt due July J. 1870 100 900 %
Bank Of Tennessee notes now receivable
for State taxes. ......... ......... 100000 90
Making in all Sc, 900 900 10
From this deduct amount in Treasury
as above. .............-........... 2S,G49 ~
Making aggregate liabilities to 30th
October 1870 .................. e.. S6,031, $50 SO
The Legislature having declared with commend
able zeal and great unanimity against reputation
and the State being abundantly able 10 pay, the
only question about which there should be any diff
ference of opinion is, TO how the payment is to
be made To that end We propose to make few
suggestions: First, then let the pruning knife be
used freely in looping of items Of expenses
against the treasury until the annual expenditures
Of the State shall not amount TO more than three
four hundred thousand dollars SECONDLY in