Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-06-01

bonds. The third installment was one.
hundred and fifty bonds, issued on the
| 9TH day of June, 1869, under the act
| passed Dec. 16, 1868; the first section
of which act provides that the sd section
| of San act entitled an act to incorporate
| the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad Com
pany, and for other purposes, is hereby
| amended so as to allow the East Tennes
sec and Western North Carolina Railroad
| Company to use and draw from the State
ten thousand dollars, per mile, heretofore
appropriated, to iron and equip said road,
| as follows, to wit ''Ten thousand dol
! lars per mile, when the road shall be
| graded to the town of ElizabethtOn, for
that portion of said road; from Elizabeth
ton to Doe River Cove, the same amount
| per mile; and the same amount, per mile,
| for the section of said road from Doe
| River Cove to Grab Orchard" Cd
The said 32d section of the act above
! referred to, and which is provision of
| the charter of the East Tennessee and
West North Carolina Railroad, provides
| that upon its beisg satisfactorily shown to
the Governor of the State, that there has
been sufficient amount of bona fde
| and good and solvent subscription of capt.
tai stock to an amount sufficient to grade,
| bridge and prepare for the iron rails, the
/ whole extent of the main trunk line pro-
| posed to be constructed by, the foregoing
company, and hence graded the entire
route in Tennessee of the road for the
! iron, the Governor is authorized to issue
| to the company coupon bonds of the
I Gfafa 70 On nvp1nffinO ton
thousand dollars per mile.
1t will here be seen that the first sec
ton of the act of Dec. 16, 1868, amends
| the thirty second section of the act of May
/ "a, 1866, only SO far as to change the
amount of road required TO be graded,
and instead of being required to grade
the entire route IN Tennessee before the
bonds can issue, they are authorized to be
| issued, as the differentsectiOns are graded,
that is, the first section to Elizabethton,
i the section from EliZabethtOn to Doc
1 River Cove, and the third section from
Doe River to Crab Orchard; but the pro-
visions of the thirty second section of the
| act above referred to, which requires ga
sufficient amount of bona tide and good
and solvent subscriptions of capital
stock, to an amount sufficient to grade,
bridge and prepare for the iron rails the
| whole exteut of the main trunk line, )"
| still renamed in force, and, in the Opin-
! ion of the committee, was one of the con-
| ditions imposed by the law that applied
| to the issuance of this third and last in
| stallment of one hundred and fifty bonds.
The committee find, from the testimony
| oil E. Symmetry, that he has been Presi-
dent of said road from its organization
in July, 1868, to the present time, and
| that he received from the State the four
| hundred thousand dollars in bonds; that he
| had $50, 900 of said bonds on hand when
his deposition was taken; that he sold
| $3.50, 600 at from "a to III cents on the
dollar; that he sold 500, 600 al 50 cents
on the dollar; that he sold $3.50, 900 at
| 50 cents on the dollar, that he sold $780,
| 600 at from 81 to 54}{ cents on the dollar,
| He states that the proceeds were used
| to purchase railroad iron, chairs and
| spikes; he paid $4,000 in cash of the
| proceeds to the State as interest on the
| bonds; that tho. company owes interest on
| S4OO. 600 bonds from Jan. l, 1859 10 the
| present time; that the company stock OF
said road is $40, 900; he stated that he
| would present the vouchers showing the
disbursements of $3.50, 600 in bonds sod,
and the cash on hand, to the committee,
but as vet he has not done so; he states
| that the only knowledge he had Ia regard
| to the character of the work done, he had
from his engineer.
The committee find from the testimony
| of c.. A, Nee, that he is Chief Engineer
| of said road; that fifteen (15) miles of
said road is graded; that the bridges across
Buffalo aDd Turkey Greeks are completed,
| that the masonry for the other bridges is
! COMPLETED, and that the iron and timber
to finish them are ON hand. and paid for;
that the road is 30I miles long, that the
road las, so far as the work has pro-
1 crossed, cost something less than $40, 900
per mile.
The committee find on file in the Office
| of the Secretary of State a resolution
/ adopted by the Board of Directors of said
company, on the 9th day of April, 1868,
authorizing the President, E. Symmetry,
to draw the 100 bonds appropriated by the
&C. passed Dec 10, 1866; also a resolution
| of the Board authorizing the President to
| draw the 100 bonds appropriated to build
| bridges. This resolution was adopted by
the Board of Directors, Jan. Q, 1868.
The foregoing are all the papers the
| committee have been able to find on file.
| The committee, in concluding their re-
mort upon the East Tennessee and West
! ern North Carolina Railroad, would res
pectfully submit, that it is clearly evident,
! that the Executive OF the State, in issuing
the bonds to said road, has construed the
various acts appropriating the sum, as not
being affected by the various conditions,
limitations and restrictions imposed by
the Internal Improvement laws OF the
State and the construction placed upon
said acts by the Governor, if correct, can
only the more forcibly illustrate how un-
wise has been the policy that departed
from the rule laid down by the Legisla-
ture that first created law authorizing
the issuance of bonds to railroads..
| The bonds issued to said road have, in
every instance, been sold for less than
par, and consequently in violationsot
law.
The S12, 900 in cash proceeds OF SAld
bonds, have been paid back to the StatC
as interest on the same, which, In the
opinion of the committee, was never the
intention of the Legislature appropriating
said bonds. The gross injustice that has
hefallen the State may be the more ap-
pareut, when it is considered that the
stock of said company is only $40, 900,
while the State has apprOpriatH $500, 0OC
in State bonds.
The committee would call tip attention
of the Legislature to the face that only
five miles of iron has been lag, and thai
only fifteen miles, of said road Shave beer
graded, and the engineer in his1estimOny
swears that the road 50 far asst has pro
gressed, has cost something less than SO,
600 per mile, which for fifteen miles
would be $3.50, 600 Yet this Presiden
in bis testimony, states that he has sol'
$3.50, 600 of the bonds Of the State ant
r has but $50, coo of the same still on hand
He promised to furnish a statement of tn
: amount of cash on hand, but has not don
, | so.
The road cannot be possibly of bu
: very little value, and the. State has sub
stantially no security for the large LOAF
she has made.
: The committee would respectfully sug
| .. =. L. l. my hot