Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-06-01
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION.
The Tennessee and Pacific, and
Mineral Home Railroads.
$9S5,OOO in State Bonds De-
clared Void.

seen by reference TO our legislative re-
ports, introduced yesterday from the
joint Judiciary Committee two very I'M
portant bills accompanied by reports
explanatory of the causes which prompted
the introduction of those bills. The
object of one of those bills is to prevent
the payment by the Comptroller or Urea
surerof eighthuudred and eighty five bonds
of the State, issued to the Tennessee and
Pacific Railroad, and to prevent the pay
ment or reception in payment of State
Indebtedness of any of the coupons be-
longing to those bonds. The other bill
is introduced to accomplish the same pur-
pose with reference to one hundred bonds
with coupons issued TO the Mineral Home
Railroad.
THR TENNESSEE AND PACIFIC RAILROAD.
In relation to the bonds issued to the
Tennessee and Pacific railroad, the COM
mittee declare that:
The eight hundred and eighty five
bonds issued by the Governor of the State
of Tennessee to George Nancy, in aid of
the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad Com
pany, on the I'd day of October, 1859, on
the 9th day of October, 1869, on the 9th
day of October, 1869, and on the 9TH day
of December, 1869, were illegally issued,
and pyohibiting the Comptroller of the
Treasury and the Treasurer of the State
from voluntarily paying said bonds or the
coupons clipped from them, or from re-
ceiving them in payment of any debt due
and owing the State of Tennessee in any
way.
The committee have carefully exam
ined all of the statutes of the State, Great
ing system of internal Improvement,
and granting aidb to railroad companies or
ganized under them, as well as the &C. of
Dec. Z, 1867, entitled an "Act oamend the
internal improvement laws of the State,
passed Feb. IL, 1852, !" under which the
Executive Department informs US the
bonds were issued to the Tennessee Sand
Pacific Railroad Company, with an earn
est desire to ascertain if possible, the
| authority under which the Executive De-
partment acted in issuing the large num-
Der of bonds to the President of said
road. They are compelled however, by
a sense of their responsibility as legisla-
tors, and their duty to their constituents,
to state, that from the testimony,
of the President of the road and the: ex-
animation which they have given to the
statutes, the bonds so issued were illegally
issued, without any authority of law, in
direct conflict with the express provisions
of the act under which the additional aid
was granted to the railroad company.
The committee state that by the 9th
section of the act of December, 1867,
there was granted to the Tennessee and
Pacific Railroad Company "the additional
sum of five thousand dollars per mile, u
'Subjecting the company to the liabilities
and restrictions imposed by the internal
improvement act of February, 1852"
and by the 10th section OF the same act
it was further provided ''that these loans
shall be made in like manner and under
the same conditions imposed by the inter
nal improvement laws of the State.
The committee find that the Governor
| of the State, on the demand of George
Nancy, caused TO be issued to him SIS
President of the Tennessee and Pacific
| Railroad Company, eight hundred and
| eighty-five bonds of one thousand dollars
each in aid of said road, being five thou
sand dollars per mile on the entire road of
said compahy from Nashville to Knox
vile; they find that at the times when
said bonds were so issued, it was not sat
| isfactorily shown to the Governor by any
| evidence known to the committee that the
Tennessee and Pacific Railroad Company
had procured bona fide and good and SOL
vent subscriptions of capital stock to an
amount sufficient to grade, bridge and pre-
pare for the iron rails the whole extent of
the main trunk line proposed to be con-
structed by such company, and that they
had, in fact, at the time graded, bridged
and fully prepared thirty miles of the
road at either terminus.
They find that beyond the town
of Lebanon, a distance of about
thirty miles from Nashville, along
said road, there was not Dne foot of
said road graded, and that beyond the
town of Carthage, a distance of some
sixty miles from Nashville the line of
stAAu 1duIOou OOAhJauJ ndS~uOt, ut INC
time, even permanently located.
They find that under the general inter
nal improvement laws of the State, and
by the express provisions of the act of
Dec. 3, 1867, granting the additional aid
of five thousand dollars per mile to the
Tennessee and Pacific Railroad Company,
the evidence would have been produced
to the Governor by tie evidence of
the President, George Nancy, under oath,
satisfying him that the Tennessee and
Pacific Railroad Company, at the time,
had thirty miles of the line of said rail-
road, at enc or the other of its termini,
graded, bridged and fully prepared to re-
ceive the iron rails; and also bona tide,
good and solvent subscriptions of capital
stock, in an amount sufficient to grade,
bridge and prepare for the iron rails the
whole extent of the main trunk
line proposed to be CONSTRUCTED
end then upon such evidence and proof
msdo by affidavit by the President, bonds
in the extent of ten thousand dollars per
mile for the first thirty miles, and one
hundred thousand dollars for bridges
across certain rivers, and so on each adj
ditiOnal section of ten miles might be is
sued, and the act of Dec. Z, 1867, only
gave additional aid of five thousand dol
lars per mile, but subject to the same
conditions and restrictions as attached 10
the ten thousand dollars per mile.
Under the facts shown by the Special
Committee on Railroads, in their repor',
and the evid nee accompanying it, the
Judiciary Committee conclude that the
bonds were illegally issued, without au-
thority of law, and in direct conflict with
its express provisions-hence, that law
should at Once be introduced and passed,
prohibiting the Comptroller aud Treasur-
or from voluntarily paying the same.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
COOPER Of Bedford, Chm.
THE MINERAL HOME RAILROAD.
Relative to the bonds issued to the
Mineral Home Railroad the Committee,