Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-03-04
OUR CRIMINAL LAWS AND STATE FINANCES

that the Administration of the Orinins
Law" in this State was unsatisfactory an
0 that the "wasteful expenditures CROWN
! cute OF it had necessitated a convention @
Judges" &c, and further, "that tn
finances of the State needed publication
AS the Democratic party had been il
power four years, we asked the question o
the Wig and Tribune and all other demo
cratic organs, how long it would take tn,
party to bring about publication. [
their leaders can not do it in four wears
how long will it take them to succeed
The Union and An1ercion was the first to
take notice. That paper lodged the issue
by insinuating that in East Tennessee
where we have Republican maiorities. we
had elected a partisan judiciary, and hence
the "wasteful expenditures complained of
by the Wing and Tribune. We considered
this an unwarranted attack on our East
Tennessee judges, and called upon the edi.
tor OF the Union and american, who is also
Comptroller of the State Treasury, to give
figures showing who and what locality
was responsible for such "wasteful expen-
dituresn No notice was ever taken of this.
and up to this time nothing has been said
in answer to our question. We presume if
Comptroller Burch could have produced
figures, showing that Republican Judges
IN Last Tennessee were responsible for
such expenditures, he would have pro-
duced them long ago, accompanied with
sensational headlines and voluminous re-
marks. The fact that he has not done so
is sufficient evidence that the facts are not
that way.
The Wing and Tribune at first didn't re-
member that it had ever made such re-
marks as We quoted. Now it does renem-
Der and rises to explain. It says we mis-
apprehended its meaning about the lad
ministration Of the criminal law being
unsatisfactory, We presume that it means
now to say that the Law itself is unsatis-
factory, and not the " administration Of
it, as before stated, a. it gees on TO saw that
the laws are "old as the Commonwealth
and with very little change have come to
Us from North Carolina We care moth
ing about this, but if that was its meaning
we would like to know what Comptroller
Burch and his convention hoped to accom-
plish: They certainly had no idea of
amending the Constitution in that way.
But it adds:
In regard to the financial condition NJ
the State, every one knows how our pres
ent embarrassments were brought about.
and who 1t was thst injected into the veins
OF the body polite the poison of which we
spoke 1t came from that fruitful source
OF al corruption and robbery in the land
Etafp OF he
In answer to this we have only to briefly
repeat what we have said divers times
through these columns and what every
one knows to be true. Up to 1860, our
State finances were in first rate condition.
The issues of the bank of Tennessee, were
equal in value to gold. Our debt was COM
paratively small and our means of pav-
meut ample. In 1860, the Democratic
leaders in the State decided to 20 into the
rebellion, and il 1861 they forced the State
out Of the Union, so far as their acts
could do such 8 thing, at the point
Of the bayenet In 1885,. they
carried off over $ll 900 600 of the assets Of
the Bank OF Tennessee, which was can
turea in 1855, when more than IS 900 coo
was missing. We leave our readers to saw
into whose pockets it had gone.
During this year the State Government
was re-organized, upon Andrew Johnson's
celebrated loyal" basis, with Hon. W.
L. BroVnlow a. Governor. The interest
on the state debt had not been met in five
years. Railroads ali over the State had
been destroyed. Without aid they could
not have been repaired, and the commerce
OF the State would have been almost III.
ined. Governor johnson had had the
State house furnished at an expense of
nearly $4,000, which amount was nm
paid The State penitentiary and
the Hospital for the Insane had been
conducted on the credit system and had |
incurred large debts. All these things had
to be met by Gov. Brownlow. A policy |
prevailed with the Legislature, following
which, large sums were appropriated chief. |
ly to Democratic Presidents of railroads.
much Of which, we are CORY to say, was
wantonly squandered and stolen, The
policy OF aiding railroads in this way is |
capable OF defense. No defense whatever,
can be offered TO the loss of 81, 900, 600 oil
the peoples money in the hands of Gov. /
Harris and his wondering cohfederates,
We might give facts and figures |
showing the reckless and corrupt /
manner in which certain delin-
quent railroads have been disposed |