Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1873-01-09
immigration.


The following is the memorial from the
Knoxville Board of Trade to the Tennes.
see Legislature, of which we made men.
ton yesterday:
70 The Honorable, the General assembly o.
Tennessee
The undersigned, a committee appointed
by the Board of Trade of the city of Knox.
vile, to memorabilia your honorable body
upon the subject of immigration, would
respectfully represent that Tennessee, pos
sessing, as it does, superior advantages in
climate, soil and mineral wealth to almost
any State or Territory in the American
Union, is, nevertheless, far behind, in pro-
gressive development, many Of its younger
sisters, hewn from the bosom of the for.
ests, long since it assumed the proud char
acter Of great State. 1t would be unnec-
essary to give anything like detailed
account of the undeveloped resources of
wealth with which our State abounds.
Everything to supply the wants of an
advanced and an advancing civilization
lies embedded in its bosom, exists in its
soil and pervades its mountains. From its
coal beds in the East to its bOuntiful pro-
auctions of the agricultural and planting
staples of the Middle and Western sections
is found all that is necessary to complete
our prosperity.
Notwithstanding all this, we are weighed
down our energies are crippled; ourco
mercial interests are paraly zed, and our
agricultural Development retarded. Arti-
eles of industry produced on the farm and
in the workshop command low prices. A
market is wanted in which To sell and
money with which to compensate the la
borer for his toll. The times are hard, and
the people, what few we have,-are strug-
Cling with monetary oppression.
Why are these things SO? There must
be cause. Does it not lie at our own
doorss Is itnot attributable to our own
,supineness? Have we estimated in this
matter the true value of energetic andre
bust action And have we not magnif1ed
our evils until now they loom up like i'm
surmountable barriers? In all the States
of the 'tgreat IVest," whose territory is so
rapidly filling up, and whose weaithsis ex-
banding throughout their borders, their
respective Legislatures have provided IA
cilities for promoting the work of IMNII-
GRAFTON. Bureaus of Immigration have
been established, commissioners have been
appointed, agents have been sent forth to
advertise their resources, and money free
ly appropriated to meet all necessary ex-
penses. What has been the result? Let
the present condition of those States ans
wer.
We need not remark that population
makes wealth, and that wealth reduces
taxation. 1t would be an insult to the in
telligence of your honorable. body to re-
inforce this proposition with additional
arguments. The more people there are,
the greater the aggregate property and
money value of the commonwealth, And
the greater the property and money to be
taxed, the less the. individual taxation.
And it may also be remarked that in pro-
portion to the increase in population, SO
in like proportion will general prosperity
abound. Hence the thrift and financial
prosperity of the States alluded to-.
We presume these propositions will be
accepted as self-evident truths, and that
the only way by which Tennessee can
hope for relief from its present embarrass-
ed condition, and to tighten the load of
taxation is the adoption of a policy that
will induce immigration on large scale,
and thus increase its population, its pro-
ductive and consuming force, develop its
wealth and lessen its rate of taxation.
Your immediate predecessors seem to have
concured in these views and to have antic-
ipated some of the blessings of in,migrd-
ton. On page 70, chap. "a, acts of 1871
will be found the following preamble /:
Whereas, the only enlarged and perma-
nent prosperity OF, the State depends upon
more full and perfect development of
ment is not possible without the aid and
Influences of inanaigrettion.n There follows
the act of the General Assembly, the first
section of which provides for the appoint
ment of three Commissioners of Immigra-
ton for the State-One for East Tennessee,
one for Middle Tennessee and one for West
Tennessee, with their respective head
quarters at Knoxville, Nashville and
Memphis. The second section. and the
last deemed necessary to be noticed in this
connection, defines the duties and powers
of the Commissioners, which we conceive
to be ample for the purposes expressed (;
but, unfortunately, the Board of Immigra-
ton is clothed with powers and burdened
with duties without placing any money OF
| other resources at its command. by which
| to defray the necessary expenses in carry
| ing out the purposes of its creation. It's
| true the Fifth section of the act clothes the
| Commissioners with authority to solicit
| subscriptions and charitable donations to
enable them to foster the interests and
promote the welfare of the State by sys-
tenn of immigration. hr51 ~
We would submit, however, that there
is little hope for that charity which fails
| to receive the encouragement of the
/ -
should not voluntarily, at least, place her.
self upon the pauper list, and appeal to the
charitable sensibilities of her own people
to help her out of her difficulties. The
State whose resources were to be develop
| ed, whose credit was to be raised in the
money market, and whose wealth and
! general prosperity were to be increased, re-
fused to invest in its own enterprise, and
the entire scheme allowed to go by default
We would not hastily criticise the conduct
of your predecessors, in this matter. Per
haps they did the very best they could un.
der all the circumstances. At any rate, lei
us hope so.
Now the practical question which we
desire to submit to your consideration, is,
Will you leave the work of your prede
cessors dead letter upon the pages of the
statute?p We confidently believe tha
you will answer this important question
by the appropriation of sufficient sun
of the peoples money to practically en-
force the provisions of the act of the Gen
| eral A ssemblv .nassed December 9th 1871