Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-10
THE CONVENTION.
DAY.

| OF the Jewish reform society
MAYORS OF EDGEFIELD AND NASHVILLE 0.
TAXATION.
| Mr.. Brown of Davidson, presented th,
following memorial;
To the Constitutional Convention of the State o
| Tennessee:
| Your memorialists would respectfully
represent to your honorable body, tina
circumstances have led them TO examine
the municipal laws of this State, in com
parison with that of other States, on the
subject of taxation and the sources oil
| municipal revenue. We are satisfied thai
municipal corporations ought to have the
| power to discriminate in their selection oil
the species of property to be taxed, anC
should have authority to exempt Ger.
tain property taxed by the State from
taxation by themselves, and also with priv
leges. But by section IS of the Constitu.
ton, Article II, call property is to be
taxed according to its value, and no spe.
cies of property from which tax may be
collected shall be taxed higher than any
other species of property of equal value >
The consequence is that every species OF
property the State taxes the corporation
taxes BY section 1859 of the Code,
subsection II, it will be seen that all
property and privileges within its limits
which are subject TO taxation by the State
must be taxed by the corporation; and 80
it is the case in all municipal corporations
| granted since the adoption of the COnsti-
| tuition.
Now, what we desire is, that existing
| corporations shall have the power to tax
one species of property and exempt an
| other, or put lower rate on the other;
and that the Legislature should be en-
powered to grant charters allowing dis
| examinations; that existing municipal
corporations shall have the power to levy
general tax on the city or town for
corporation purposes, and make a special
assessment upon the property fronting on
| a street for the improvement of the street,
| and shall have power to issue bonds for
any particular corporation purpose Pro-
yided, they are authorized to do so by a
majority of two-thirds of the voters of
said corporation at an election held for
that purpose; and that they may levy
tax or not, as they may see proper; and
that in all municipal elections a receipt
for his pOll-tax shall be exhibited and
shown TO the judges of said election by
the voter to entitle him TO vote
X. J. MORRIS,
Mayor of Nashville.
J. i. WHITE,
H.. Mayor of Edgefeld.
VISIT OF RESPECT.
The committee appointed to wait on
Mrs. Judge CatrOn, to ascertain when it
would be convenient for her to receive a
visit of respect from the Convention, re-
ported that they had performed the duty
assigned them, and that it would be con-
venient and agreeable TO Mrs. CatrOn to
received the delegates of the Convention
on Friday, the 18th inst, at Il o'clock
P. NJ.
The following resolution, offered by
Mr.. Netherland, was adopted:
Resolved, That this Convention, in a
body, call on Mrs. CatrOn at the time indi
Gated in the report.
NEW COUNTIES AND COUNTY LINES.
The following report was made by the
Committee on New Counties and County
Lines.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON NEW COUNTIES
AND COUNTY LIMBS.
The Committee on New Counties and
County Lines, 10 whom were referred
sundry propositions and memorials for the
amendment of the existing Constitution
relating to said subjects, have had the
same under consideration, and have unan-
imously instructed me to report the fol-
loving amendments and recommend their
adoption:
Taking up article Y, am instructed
to recommend that said article be amend
ed as follows:
Sec. f. Strike out the words ''thrce
hundred and fifty" in the second line and
insert the words 1.-TWO hundred and fifty"
Strike out all Of said section after the
word "miles" in the twelfth line and in
scrt the following in lieu thereof: Pro
Uiclcd, however, that the following eX-
ccptions be made to the foregoing pro-
visions, viz: New counties may be cs-
tablished by the present or any succeed
ing Legislature out Of the following ter
ritory, to-wit:
''Out of that portion of ObiOn county
which lies west of low water mark of
Reel Foot Lake.
"Out of territory made up of fractions
of Sumner, Macon and Smith counties,
but no line of such county shall approach
the Courthouse of Sumner county nearer
than ten miles; nor shall any line thereof
include any territory of Macon county,
lying within nine and a-half miles of the
Courthouse of Macon county, nor shall
more than twenty square miles he taken
from Macon county, nor shall the area of
Sumner or Smith counties he reduced be-
low four hundred square miles in the for
nation of said new county.
''Out of territory made up of fractions
of Jackson and OvertOn counties, but no
line of such county shall approach the
court house of Jackson county or Over
ton county nearer than ten miles.
'Out Oi territory made up of fractions
of Granger and JackOn counties, but no
line of such county shall approach the
court house of Granger county nearerthan
the HolstOn River at the point nearest
| said court house, nor shall any line thereof
approach the court house of Jefferson
county nearer than eleven miles.
"Out of territory made up of fractions
of Roane, Monroe and BlOunt counties,
but no line of such new county shall ap-
proach the towns of Maryvillc, Kingston
and Madisonyille, nearer than eleven
miles
"Thc counties Of Chatham and Sc
| QuatChie rs now established by legislative
enactments are hereby declared to be con-
stitutional counties. Provided, that no
other territory of BledsOe county shall he
taken to form new county or any part
thereof, or attached to any adjoining
county"
The committee further instruct me to
report that in the opinion of the commit
| tee, the memorials from the counties of
Dyer, Gibson, Haywood and Madison, and
Fayette, Hardeman and McNairy, and of
| Henderson, Madison, Carroll and Gibson,
and of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford,
Marshall and Bedford are responsible and
entitled to favorable consideration by this
| body; these, together with the memorials
| from the counties of Benton, Decatur,
| Henderson and Carroll, and Obion, Dyer,
Carroll and Weakley, and Henderson,
Madison, McNairy and Henderson, and
Weakley, Carroll and Henry, and Lincoln,
Bedford and Franklin counties, and the
memorial from citizens of Marion county,
asking to be attached to Grundy county,
have each been fully and fairly investi
gated by the committee, and the commit
| tee have instructed me to report said me-
| MORALS back and recommend them TO the
respectful consideration of the Convention,
believing them to be entitled to such by
this body.
The Committee recommend no amend
/ e Ill Il.