Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1873-01-23

just dispatch of business, to cul-
livate economy in the eXpendi.
ture of the revenues. And it af-
lords me pleasure to say that my
Efforts in this behalf have been
seconded by the other officers of
the Executive Department.
Considerable labor has been
bestowed upon the archives in the
! Executive Office to place them in
condition TO be examined by par
ties interested in them, and TO
prevent their decay. . a
This work was done under au-
thority of Chapter XVII of the
acts of the special session, passed
March 80, 1872. Under my d.
rectioDs John s. Wilkes, my Pri-
vate Secretary, has most efficient
ly performed the service. e
FINANCE AND CREDIT. IS
The fruits of the legislation of
the last three years, are most ap-
parent, in the immense reduction
of our bonded debt, and the per-
C -ptible Improvement in the value
of our securities in the money
markets. Our debt is still large,
aud the. quotations Of cur bonds
are far below that Of other States
Of equal Indebtedness, and with
inferior resources.
/ Our bonded debt, with the un-
paid coupons added to the Ist of
January, 1873, according to the
/ ComptroIIer'S report, is S30,632,
2O076.
/ But the State lien upon solvent
railroads, and the proceeds of the
sale OF delinquent roads will re
duce the actual debt to $2l, ,352,-
654.3I, which can be paid alone
+ through the instrumentality of
taxation You will perceive that
Of thislatter sum about 81 100000
is unpaid past due coupons And
the debt will continue to increase
at the rate of about Sl.000,000
per annum until the payment of
interest is resumed. Many Of
these bonds are now past due, and
many more will soon become due.
For more than three years the
people have been in power, and
yet no Interest on the public debt
has been paid, nor has any pro-
vision been made for it. A sufli-
cient answer heretofore has been
that there was a very large float
ing debt, that could not be disposed
OF except by payment out of the
current revenue. This floating
debt, consisting of old issue of the
Bank of Tennessee and outstaDd-
ing Treasury warrants, amount
ing altogether to near $3,000,000,
has, together with the current ex-
penses, been paid or provided for.
NV the question, what shall be
done with our past due coupons
and bonds and the accruing inter
est cannot, upon any preteXt,
justlfiable either before the world
or before the enlightened public
sentiment of Tennessee, be Ion.
ger postponed. 1t is question
that cannot be trifled with. If
this General Assembly fails to
make provision for the debt, two
years hence your successors may
quail before n debt increased a.
bout S2.000,000 by accrued inter
est. Aud we may well ask our
selves whether the country will
be better prepared to meet the
present debt, increased by s. 000,-
600, than we are now to meet the
existing debt? Nothing gives
such promise.
Feeling assured that you are
determined TO provide for this
debt, the practical inquiry is, how
shall it be dnne? r. 1.yy
No one, | presume, will insist
that the past due, as well as the
acciuing coupons, shall be paid
at once out of the revenues. This
would Cypress the people, and Sc
riouSly retard the growth and
prosperity of the State.
Respectfully suggest that you
fund the entire debt of the State,
including of course, the past due
coupons in a new series of bonds
running forty years to maturity,
be ring interest at the rate Of six
per cent per annum, payable in
January and July of each year.
The reason for funding the en-
tire bonded debt Of the State in a
new series of bonds is two fold:
lst. If there be outstanding
bonds, issued without authority of
law. they can, and will -be-detec-
ted, and thrown aside. We ought
not to pay the principle or inter-
est of such bonds, and this is the
only practicable mode OF detect