Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-12-04

| Qulfeu Dy iIlc ACT IOi WlIlllIlG up buc jain
against all its officers who drew pay 10
their services after 9th of May, 1861, ant
ali others who drew anything from thu
bank directly or indirectly, to aid the re
belllon. The Supreme Court of our State
has recently decided that bank officers were
entitled to their pay for services rendered
MT O " Il he State after 9th Nav, 1851
but also while South.
If had brought the suits required they
would therefore have beenunsuccessful. The
| suits to be brought under this section would
have amounted not only to hundreds, bul
to thousands, and the saving TO the Bank by
not bringing them has been estimated by
judicious lawyers of Nashville as high as
$4,000, and in addition to this saving,
secured the good will of the old bank OIL
GERS in winding up its affairs, and their III
formation has often been of very great
| value to me.
By an exchange at the right time of South
| Carolina State bonds for Tennessee State
bonds, | saved for the creditors of the Bank
about $4,000, and by the exchange in 1871
of S15, $50 of coupons which bore no in
terest, for bonds bearing interest, | have
added 5000 annually to the assets of the
Bank for the benefit of its creditors.
All the real estate of the bank of much
value that was turned over to me, has been
sold, excepting the Banking House at Nash
vile. And the prices obtained for it has
been such as every creditor of the bank will
be not only satisfied with, but gratifed at.
The prices obtained for some of the
property were unprecedented. The pro-
ceeds of all these sales have been accounted
| for, and entered upon our books.
The expense account of the Bank OF
| Tennessee has not been larger than that of
other banks of the State that are being
wound up, and the salaries of its officers
are less.
The amount paid for attorney fees is
| large. The removal of the bank South and
the civil war which it has passed through,
have involved the bank i'll much larger
amount of litigation than any other bank
has ever been involved in. The questions
! that have arisen have been of the greatest
Importance, and the amount at stake in
many cases has been in each case more
than one half million of dollars. LAWYERS
fees were, therefore, necessarily high. But
| these fees have been uniformity fixed by
| the Chancery Court, and am not response
bic for their amount.
The committee found all the valuable
assets of the bank safe and secure in its
vaults. They found there STE, 900 of Ten
nessee State bonds, $4,000 of County
bonds, the Bank Of Tennessee money
which had collected, excepting what had
been burned, all the notes given for real
estate or money loaned, excepting some for
property sold that had not yet been turned
over to me, and two or three which were in
the hands of agents for collection, and | am
not aware that the committee found that
any of the assets of the bank has been lost
by my careless, unfaithful, or injudicious
management. | know of no loss that has
been sustained unless it may be where |
have refused compromises that have been
offered.
1t is stated that the legislative committee
adjourned because was not ready with the
necessary documents for them. / was occu-
pied with the committee some weeks in the
examination of witnesses, and had almost
our entire books written over to furnish the
committee with information. / then in
formed the committee that it was impOSSi-
bic for me to give them any more of my
time until l could complete my report to
our ChanceTy Court, which the rules of the
court required me to have ready by 10Th
November. II was this that caused the adj
jOulnment of the committee: for | am sure
that there is not one member of the com
mittee who will say that [ had any hest
fancy in showing my books or any dOcu-
ment in my possession that they desired to
see. And they will say that 1 cheerfully
complied with every call upon me for in
formation with regard to the affairs of the
bank, until | was compelled to give my
70 t1,o
Chancery Court.
Something has been said with regard to
the burning of notes of the Bank of Ten
nessee. In pursuance of an act passed by
the Legislature, there has been burned Of
notes of the Bank Of Tennessee received by
me 81 ,O79, 75S.10 of the old issue and $780,
PA of the new issue, which new issue was
returned to me with the assets of the Bank.
Every dollar of this money was counted by
the Clerk of the Chancery Court at Nash
vile, Mr.. NJ. B. Howell, committee Of
the Senate and House of Representatives Of
the State, by part of our Board of Direc-
tors, and by the Governor of the State, and
it was burned in their presence and hold
their certificate to the above facts, which
facts were reported to the Chancery Court
at Nashville and to the Legislature of the
State. \ large amount of the issues Of the
Bank, upwards of one million Of dollars,
has been burned by the State, for which |
have no responsibility.
The Fayetteville Express speaks of the
gold of the bank.
This did not come into my possession. A
large amount of gold was taken South by
the mother bank, and quite large amount
by cashiers Of some of the branches. \
portion Of this gold in the hands of some
Of these cashiers has not been returned, and
where it has gone to, has yet to be made
known. S. WATSON,
Trustee of the Bank of Tennessee.