Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-09
RESOLUTIONS.

RESOLUTIONS.
BY Mr.. Merritt: Instructing the repre-
sentatives of the State in Congress to use
their influence to extend the present system
of meteorological observation. -G a 9
~ BY Mr.. Warren: To abolish the office of
Assistant Clerk Of the Senate.
HOUSE BILLS ON THIRD READING.
10 To.amend section 4,639 of the Code, so
as to make the offence of Obstructing rail
roads where death ensues, murder in the
Fss first degree. Rejected. ,
- ~ To amend the act to confer criminal Juris
diction on Hamilton County Court and for
other purposes. Passed. 80.
-lsll To change the time of holding the Chan
=. Gerry Court of Fayette. Passed. FL
RI To change the time of holding the Crimi-
nal Court of Rutherford county. Passed
To amend the act establishing the Crimi
nal Court of Hamilton county. Passed.
ara HOUSE BILLS on SECOND HEADING. .
To change the line between the counties
OF Hardin and Decatur. Passed.
To authorize the Judge or Chairman of
County Courts to cancel county warrants.
Passed. - '-
HOUSE BILLS on FIRST RE ADISG.'
To amend an "aet to amend an act for
the sale of the States interest in delinquent
railroads." Passed. .Ea
To change the line between the counties
of Bedford and Rutherford. Passed.
To change the name of the Holston river.
Passed. .-.-.-
To make persons q years of age eligible
to corporation offices. Passed.
SENATE BILLS ON THIRD BEADING. ,
To fix the license on retail liquor dealers.
POSTPONED till Tuesday of next week.
-., To provide for an attorney to represent
the States interest In the Bank of Tennes-
see and branches. rrs- -r--TgE .
Mr. Warren offered in lieu a bill Gas
speedily as possible to disembarrass the
revenue Of outstanding issues of the Bank
of Tennessee and to assert at law the rights
of The State in the assets ofthe bank"
Mr.. Warren explained that joint resolu-
ton had been adopted by the last General
Assembly identical with the bill he now in
troduced. He read the following legal opin-
ion by J. c. Thompson on the subject:
The obligation of the State to receive the
notes of the Bank of Tennessee, is created
10 bvsec. u of the act by which the bank
was chartered, passed 18th Jan, 1888. That
section provides that the notes of the bank
''Shau be receivable at the Treasury Of The
State, and 5y all the Tar Collectors and
other public officers in all payments for
torres and other moneys due the State"
Odd. & consequence of this obligation assumed
Nby the Stale, is (since the insolvency of the
not a legal-tender for anything else, they
are legal-tender to the State for all debts
due the State. II follows that the State is
practically without revenue so long as there
is any issue of the bank outstanding; for
80 people will of course continue TO pay their
taxes in that deprecated currency.
But the note-holders being in law the pre-
ferred creditors of the bank, entitled to be
first satisfied out of its assets, it follows that
. to the extent that the State is compelled to
take up the banks notes, she becomes the
first creditor of the bank. And being thus
the largest creditor the State is necessarily
I'm an al.tagonistic position to the trustee,
whose duty it IS to represent the bank
against all creditors.
This makes il necessary that the State
shall be represented in court by an attor-
ney, whose duty it shall be to obtain de-
cree against the trustee, compelling him TO
recognize the State as the first creditor OF
the bank to the extent that she has been
compelled to retire the bank notes. "a
The bank being now administered in
Chancery at Nashville, the attorney, asapart
of said decree, should obtain an order OF
court that the trustee shall at once and
without delay, sell all the real and personal
property of the bank at public sale, the pur-
chasers in every instance TO pay for the
same in old issue of the Bank of Tennessee.
This would retire great part, If not al
the Old issue of the bank, which would at
once relieve the revenue of the State.
Thetrustee should also be required by such
decree to sue and take judgment on all the
old debts of the bank; and where such
judgments cannot be collected, they should
be sold TO the highest bidder; always, how
ever, taking in payment the outstanding
old issue of the bank.
Such sale of the assets of the bank viii
have the effect to free the revenue of the
State The depositors, and the holders Of
the new issue, can continue their litigation
with the trustee, and have all their RENE
dies against the State, as well after as before
the old issue has been absorbed by the sale
of the assets If the bank. They can, il
successful in their litigation, compel the
State to acknowledge her obligation.
1t will be seen That until such decree is
obtained the Trustee, Iwho is custodian OF
the assets and also representative Of the
deposItors AMI stockholders occupies po
sition wholly irreconcilable with that of the
first creditor of the bank, seeking by iudg
ment Of cuurt TO subject the funds of tht
bauk to the satisfaction of its prior claim
Both bills, with proposed amendments
were re-committed 10 the Judiciary Com
mittee.
THE PUBLIC PRINTING.
Senate bill to regulate public printing AM
prevent overcharging for composition wa
taken up on its third reading.
hIr. Coulter offered the amendment Q
which he gave notice yesterday-to provid
for the payment of ten cents per thousan'
ems for all standing type transferred tro1
the original form for the Journals or al
rcldices in the public printing.
Mr.. Gibson oiIe ed an amendfnentto pro
We that, in aSceTtaining the cost OF paper
80 y e ...,,,-,,.,tl Inn lAn allnd 10 IL