Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1869-02-26
From the Memphis Appeal, Feb. ie.1
HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL FUND


NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Tue elnDOrate res
ports of legislative committees, the
/ proclamationsofG Gov. Brownlow. and
the statements of such newspapers as
the Press and Times, of Nashville,
the matter of the school fund is not
lyet understood by the Spublic. The
truth is tlfatthe S61S, 900 stolen frof,
the Tennessee National Bank was
not part fthe original school fund.
but was really a remnant of the cap.
ital of the State Bank, representing
not'morc than two thirds the amount
returned to Brownlow by the escort
under Maj. Gen. Upton. That officer
thinks the gold receipted for rbv him
to Mr.. Fisher, at Augusta, amounted
to $3.50, 900, which, If invested In G COS
ut the time of its delivery in, Nash
vile, would have made the snug sum
of S942, 500, instead of S'6lS, $50 report
ed by Brownlow and his Legislature.
and which was stolen by their Radi.
cal CONDUCTORS. SO that after all.
nearly one million dollars was filched
from the State by the party in power.
This much by way of preliminary.
In 1888 the Bank of Tennessee was
chartered. In the "Acts" for that
year we find in Chap. evil, San act
} to establish State Bank, to raise a
: fund for internal improvement and
aid i'm the establishment of system
fof education" the second section OF
which reads as follows
"The whole of the School Fund,
. whether the same is vested in the
present banks in the State or I'M the
hands of the superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction, or in the hands of the
. County Agents or other persons, ex-
cept so much as may have been vested
in any works of internal improvement
as well as the proceeds of the Ocoee
! lands, shall constitute q part of the
capital OF the Bank of TENNESSEE
Shortly after the passage of this
act the bank went into operation. Up
to 1913 there was no very thorough
investigation Of its affairs. In the
latter year committee of the I,egis-
. lature disappointed for that purpose,
whose researches Were extended over
several weeks, and resulted in the
hnding of some mistakes in its man
: agement. A report in accordance
! herewith was made, when the Leg
islature ordered that the Bank should
enter up the sum of 81 10000 to the
credit of the school fund and deposit
with the State Treasurer a certificate
to that effect. From the "Codeu we
extract the following paragraphs
bearing upon this:
"946. The whole of the Common
: School Fund shall continue In the
Bank OF Tennessee whereit is by law
invested.
"947. This fund consists, |. Ofone
million five hundred thousand dol
lars, deposited in the Bank of Ten
nessee, for which certificate of de-
post is filed with the Treasurer, AZ
Superintendent of Public Instluc.
J tion.u
And in this condition the fund re-
manned up to the time of the evac-
uation of Nashville, on the 23d OF
February, 1862, when the bank assets
were removed and finally carried "a
Augusta, Georgia, where, a few weeks
after the surrender, COPY of the fol-
lowing note reached the Cashier in
charge, Mr.. John A. Fisher, who al
once made ready and turned over to
; Gen. Upton the school fund and ar
. chives of the bank, and $650,0OC
IN possession of the institution when
1t evacuated its premises in Nashville,
and all that was left to represent its
active capital.
20 r-f [corY.]
i GRENADA, MISS, Nav s, 1885.
F James Il. Dunlap, Comptroller, Joel
-. Battle, Treasurer, John IL. A.
Ray, Secretary of State of the State
of tennessee: You will return the
archives of the State to the Canitol
at Nashville, the earliest day prac-
ticable. You will also inform the
: officers of the Bank of Tennessee that
my advice to them is to return the
assets of the bank to the banking
house in Nashville at once. The as
sets of the bank are the property OF
the people of Tennessee, and / ardent
y desire that they should be restored
to them. .a
lsHAM G. HARRIS, Governor.
OF the $3.50, 900 in gold thus return
ed TO the State Authorities by the adj.
} vice of Gov. Harris, Nothing was
, heard until the message of Brownlow
of October, 1866, Several months af-
ter the receipt of the money! an
nounced that "a careful examination
J of the assets captured Ia straightout
falsehood) in Georgia, made by a com
mittee of competent men, showed
the fund in coin to be only S446, 10 20.
just S203, $50 30 less than the sum
actually receipted for. -
This was the first loss of the hanl,
funds of which we have any account:
but of which there has not been the
least investigation. In addition 10
which there was, it is believed. ms
part of the bank assets, State bonds
amounting to more than 1900. 600
! representing the bona fde school
fund of the State, of which no me-.
count has ever been rendered, max
ing the frauds more gigantic than
was at first supposed.
The S446, 7l9 20, in gold, reported Inv
Brownlow, was, by his suggestion. or.
dered soldand the proceeds invested in
$50 bonds, which (6lS, 25O) was after
ward deposited in the Tennessee M
tional Bank, hocus Focused from The
people and into Radical pockets-oll
except $500, 600 i'm currency. used In,
a usurping order of Brownlow IL
payment of the interest on the State
! debt.
From this we learn that the report
of Senator Il. V. >. Lindsey, as to
the school fund, Is correct; that the
statements and reports of Governor
Brownlow,. first, last and all the
Time, are incorrect; that The legisla-
ture is befogged as to the school fund,
and that the Press and Times
charges against the Democracy and
Gov. Harris are without foundation
in fact or reason, We also lind thot
tbesides the sums stolen from the Tnn,
nessee National Bank, and that maid
out ms interest on the State debt
more than 100000 in gold has heen
made way with, together with STATE