Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-27
ASTOUNDING DEVELOPMENTS

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Report Otthe School Fund Frau
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Twenty Thousand Dollars. il
Bonds Stolen.
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Radical Rule in Tennessee ant
Corruption SynOny-
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| Mr.. SPEAKER: The Special Commit
tee, raised by Senate Joint Resolution No
| z, adopted Nov II, 1869, and sabse
quently authorized by an act passed Feb
%, 1870. to prosecute, during the recess
of the General Assembly, the alleged
frauds connected with the School Fund OF
| the State of Tennessee, having done to
the best of their ability all the duties I'M
| posed upon them, the said Committee
desire to submit this their report to the
General Assembly. The Committee were
under the impression that to systemati
cally prosecute the investigation of the
so-called School Fund it would be neces-
sary to follow the Bank of Tennessee
from the time it left the State in 1868
until the same was returned IN 1865, as
this bank was the custodian of the fund
generally known as the School Fund, and
Which was said to constitute or make up
the specie assets of the bank. 1t was
the custom of the bank to render from
time to time statements of the
condition of the affairs of the bank
and its branches. From one of
these statements, the last that
was rendered, and published at Chatta-
nooga in 1868, we find that the specie as
sets of the bank consisted of 5000, 752. So,
gold and silver. This was regarded as the
School Fund and was put up in kegs and
boxes, and sealed. From the deposition
OF H. L. Claiborne, who was for num-
Der of years principal book-keeper of the
Bank of Tennessee, we learn that there
were no sources of diminution, except the
salaries of the officers of the bank, from
the assets of the bank from the time Of
the statement referred to above, until
the bank was turned over to Gen. Upton
and brought to Nashville Pursuing the
investigation, the committee learn further
from tlfe deposition of the said Clai-
bourne, that when the assets of the bank
were deposited in the vaults of the differ
ent banks in the city of Augusta, GeoT-
gia, one keg containing about $5o, 900
was not deposited along with the other
boxes and kegs, from the fact that the
vaults would not admit of it, and was I'M
der the direction of Mr.. Fisher,
the Cashier of the Bank of
Tennessee, carried to the countingroOm of
a firm doing business in Augusta, Ga
Some time after this, the witness Clai-
bourne says he saw Mr. Fisher removing
some bags of gold from the countingroOm
of the firm referred to, and that he sup
posed the bags to contain gold taken from
the kes spoken of, and were being re-
moved to place of greater safety, and
that he heard nothing more from this keg
or bags taken from it, as he supposed.
From the deposition of Mr.. L. G. Stewart
we learn that he occupied room with
Mai. Joseph Vaulx and John A. Fisher,
at Augusta, Ga, and that a part of the
assets were deposited in this room, among
which was one key, marked $50, 600, and
contained gold; and he was informed by
Messrs. Fisher and Claibourne that $50,
900 was what the keg contained. In
1866, March or April, Mr.. Stewart left
Augusta, and upon returning, the key
marked as above was gone, where hedOes
not know, but gave the commit
tee differences and impressions that
60 materially to subStantiate the tes-
timOny of Mr.. Richard Mccain, who
informs the committee that he was in
Augusta, Ga, just before the surrender
of Gen. Lees army in 1865, and stopped
in the same room with Mr.. Fisher
short time before the assets were seized
by the United States authorities. Mr..
Mccain slept with Mr.. Fisher, the Cash
Ter, and in conversation with him he said
that ''the thing" was about gone up, IRE
ferring to the rebellion, and for fear of
there being a capture of the bank and its
officers, he would provide against any
such contingency, and would remove
certain keg of gold, said to contain $780,,
600, in order TO have something to go
on, as he said. The witness heard Mr..
Fisher tell one Riva, an Italian, to take
the keg out to his house, short distance
from the city of Augusta. The keg was
accordingly moved that night, and the
witness knows nothing further with refer
ence to its final destination, and Mr..
Fisher made no inquiry as to the where
abouts of the keg next morning. Mr..
Mccain further states that he is confident
that this keg was not turned over
to Gen. Upton or any of the United
States authorities. This Riva referred to
is, according to the best information, now
in Italy, having Immediately after the
surrender, gone to New York and from
thence to Italy, as is supposed. From
impressions derived from various sources
and the differences and circumstantial
evidence afforded the committee by the
various witnesses, they cannot .exonerate
Mr.. Fisher from any criminal connection
with the actual appropriation of any ofthis
money referred TO, though his after life from
the time of the surrender, was one char
acterized by poverty rather than riches
but the committee cannot come to any
other conclusion than that through Riva
and said Fisher, the St ate has ultimately
become loser to the amount of $4,000
in gold. Whether any action should be
taken in this case is for the Legislature
of the State to say but the committee
are of opinion that, considering all things,
ii would be wisest to allow this to go into
that general account of losses and degreda-
ton that has SO long burdened the State
The Committee were led, from the volun-
tary statement of witnesses, to prosecute
an incidental issue with reference to some
wagons and mules belonging to the Bank
of Tennessee and brought to Nashville by
one B Lanier, who says that he came
from Greensborough, Ga, to Nashville
after the surrender; that he had three
| mules of his own, and subsequently, bought
| of John A Fisher five more, making in
all eight mules, which he brought through
with him, and two wagons. Three of
these mules were seized by the Federal
forces and were never recovered by him;
the others he sold. According to the
deposition of Mr.. Mccain, Mr.. b. Laniel
owned no teams, and that the teams re-
ferred to belonged to the bank, and that
he heard Mr.. Fisher frequently speak oi
"bank teams, " and in the witness own
language he says; 81 am confident B.
Lanier owned no teams" Mr.. Stewart, il
his deposition, says the Bank of Tennessee
owned two wagons and eight mules, which
| nrern hrnnnht fhrnrrh from AuOnSta. Ga.