Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-01-24

w. -. MCLEMORE,
NJ. w. McBRIGHT,
J. B. HEIsKELL,
d. K. YoUNG,
G. H. MORGAN,
Committee.
Attorney General j. II. Holman, in
presenting the report of the committee,
said that the committee had given the
subject matter Of the resolution which
was referred to them, very serious
and deliberate consideration. The
committee are unanimous In the opin-
ion that the State will never succeed
in collecting her debts until the defects
in the law pointed out in this report
are remedied.
have not the slightest doubt, Mr..
President, that the General Assembly
at its next session will provide the leg
islation pointed out in this report.
believe it because it is right, and
/ believe it because l think the tax
payers of the State will demend it,
When the people of the State of Ten
nessee shall be made to understand
what becomes of the money that is an
nually gathered from them, and why it
is that taxes are so heavy, no Legisla-
ture can be found bold enough to with
hold the legislation asked for.
We are prepared to tell the Legisla.
ture and the people what becomes of
the peoples money, and why the taxes
are so heavy.
have before me the report of the
Comptroller, made to the late General
Assembly, in which 1 find list of de-
linquent revenue officers, together with
the amounts they had failed to pay
over, aggregating as follows:
Total ,6S6,542 90
Deilnquents ls1z.........--.....-...-. 76I,Z7o Il
Delinquents previous to ls72....... 1925 70
1t will be seen that at the date of
the report there was a sufficient amount
of money in the hands of delinquent
officers to pay the cost of all State pros
ecutions in the State for eight years,
without calling on the people for one
dollar if it was applied to that purpose.
And whose fault is it that these gen.
tlemen are not made to disgorge, and
pay the money into the treasury? The
report of the committee shows where
the fault is and where the responsibility
rests, and as officers of the State, hon
esty and good faith demands that we
speak out and advise with the State as
an honest lawyer would with his client.
| believe that the Legislature will res
pect the suggestion of the report. The
attention of the last General Assembly
was called to the defects pointed out
in the report, it was hard at first, to
make the members of the Legislature
believe that such terrible defects had
so long existed in the law; but so soon
as they were made to realize the facts
as they existed, they we're unanimous
for passing a law to remedy them. and
at the request of the Judiciary Com
mittees of both houses, / drew up a
bill substantially as recommended in
their report 1t passed the third read
ing in the Senate almost unanimously,
and was sent to the House, where it
passed the two readings, but owing to
the late date at which it was introduced,
the session adjourned before it was put
upon its final passage.
The recommendation that no per-
sonal property be exempt from execu-
ton as against the State, we are of opin-
ion is nothing more than right and Just.
Is it right that tax collector is per-
mitted to collect taxes from the people
from which there is nothing exempt
from execution, and put the money
thus collected in his own pocket, and
be protected in not paying over by the
exemption laws !? Is it right that one
man may violate the law and accumu-
late large or small billo cost in con-
sequence thereof, and exempt has prop
erty from execution to pay it, and then
levya tax upon the people to pay it,
from which they have nothing that is
exempt from it?
1t is saying to the man who embez-
zles the peoples money and to the man
who violates the law, that y0u shall be
protected from paying your debts due
to the State, by the exemption laws;
and to the people, you shall pay the
embezZler's debt, and the debt of the
violator of the law, though it take the
last piece of property you have.
The proposition offered Wednesday
by Attorney General Wright was taken
up. The proposition read as follows
That in cases, whether felony or mis-
demeanor, where the defendant has
been convicted by jury, and judgment
pronounced thereon by the Circuit or
Criminal Court, the operation of said
judgment shall not be suspended by
appeal to the Supreme Court, unless by
order of - Judges of the Supreme
Court upon certificate by them that
that there is substantial error in the
record of said case.
Attorney General Heiskell strongly
favored the adoption of the proposition
saying he did not think it was right for
a man to put the State to the expense
and delay of an appeal by simply say
ing Il appeal, when there could be no
possible doubt as to his guilt He cited
a number of cases where appeals had
been taken and the men kept iu Jail
for twelve months after the trial of their
cases.
Judge Flippen fully endorsed all that
Attorney General Heiskell said on the
subject of allowing prisoners to lay in
Jail during the penGeGSy &C an appeal.
He said that at least S12,0 900 per annum
would be saved the State if this abuse
were corrected. In the majority of
cases where jury of twelve men have
found prisoner guilty, motion for a
new trial overruled, and the case then
carried up, the judgment of the lower
court is affirmed and all the time thus
taken up is lost in the prisoners term
of sentence.
Attorney General Wright supported
his proposition in very strong argu-
ment.
Judge Guild thought that in case the
proposition were carried into effect, the
criminal judge would be led to favor
the defendant under the additional res
possibility thus put upon him. He IA
yOred the general sentiment of the prop
osition but thought it should be mod
flied.
Judge Rice said he had no patience
with the sentimentality which charae-
terizes the present age with regard to
criminals, and he thought stronger safe
guards should be thrown around law
abiding citizens.
Attorney General Welcker said that
this sympathy for murderers is so strong
that in his district, horse thieves were
generally more severely dealt with than
murderers.
Attorney General Frazier moved to
amend Mr.. Wright's proposition by
providing that it do not apply to mis-
demeanOrs and capital felonies.
Judge Frazier moved to add a pro-