Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-02

fected upon the general charge Of ,irregu-
larity, frand and corruption. -
A specific reference to the proof taken
under this view of the case Is, perhaps, I'M
necessary. except 50 far as it touches upon
the price Of the paper charged by Jones,
furlls q 20. agalnst the State. s.tg
The proof shows that the paper contained
IN the several volumes of printed inatter
was furnished to Jones. Purvis& Co. by the
respective firms of j. O. Griffith & Co. and
Roberts a. Puryis. The proof further shows
that the paper was taken from the paper
rooms Of these respective firms as i was
needed in the printing room, and as II IS Inn
possible to show from what particular lot Of
paper the paper Of any particular volume
was taken, so it is impossible to show the
original cost of the paper at the manutac-
ttlrers. Hence the committee was forced TO
rely upon the judgment Of witnesses given
upon an inspection Of the paper as it appears
in the volume. The witnesses have almost
uniformly said it was nearly, if not quite,
impossible TO tell the, quality or price of pa
per after it has been wet down, printed upon
and then compressed In a book; and the
committee recognize the difficulty in weigh
ing the testimony of witnesses upon the
subject. Upon the other hand, the parties
themselves show that tn Slad great diff
ficulty in arriving at the price which should
be placed upon the paper. On account of
the depreciation Of State warrants, in which
they were paid for their labor, they were
forced to rely upon the supplies of paper
furnished by J. o. Griffith & Co. and Rob-
erts Il Purls, who received from them in
payment therefor the warrants of the
Co M . Oller upon the Treasurer of the
State.
The cost Of transportation, the Waskge,
the insurance and the discount upon State
warrants are all matters taken into account
by Jones, Purvis g. Co., and in the opinion
Of the committee, properly so, in ascertain
ing the charge that should be made for the
paper. .a
An analysis of the proof will show that
in some instances they have charged more
for the paper that went into the Legislative
journals and appendices than they should
have done, while in other instances, and
especially in referenceto the paper contained
in the Supreme Court Reports and the new
constitution, they have charged less than
they were entitled to. And your commit
tee are of opinion that Just and impartial
balancing of accounts will leave discrep-
ency so small in amount that it viii be i'm
possible to conclude that Jones, Purvis &
Co. have done, or intended to do anything
. TO defraud the State, but upon the contrary,
that they have been reasonable in, their
charges and just in their demands.
There is one fact which appears in the
proof which in justice to Jones, Purvis &
Co. should be mentioned before this report
ic ha 10 hat fl,s D,th "a
Printer shall furnish TO the State within
twenty days after the adjournment of the
Legislature three hundred and fifty pamph-
let copies of the public acts. Adherence to
the accounts of the predecessors of the pre-
sent Public Printers will show that they
have charged for composition in furnishing
these acts, while, upon the contrary, the &C
counts of Jones, Purvis & Co. show that
they have not charged for it. If they had
included this item in their account, as other
printers have done, it is believed it would
have made difference of as much as, or
more than, one thousand dollars.
Your committee respectfully submit this
report, with the accompanying proof, and
ask to be discharged from further duty.
j. J. DUBosE,
JAMES A. RIDLEY,
On the part of the Senate.
w. j. Cliff,
A. b. MARTIN,
w. d. LUMPKIN,
JOHN BLEvINs,
/. G. THOMAS,
On the part Of the House.
Mr.. Gibson then read a report signed by
himself, as a member of the committee,
after which the cOnmittaa'S renOrt was
adopted.
Mr.. Gibson moved to print the report OF
the Committee and his own report.
Mr. Mcconnell moved to print five hun
bred copies of both, with the testimony be,
fore the committee. rI|
After debate the motions were tabled by
a vote of IA to 5.
Adjourned till 10 A. NJ, tomorrow.