Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-16


fully recommend that the laws be so mod
flied
l. That it shall be the duty of some per
son in each county or judicial circuit to
bid the judgments of the State upon the
land of defendants to satisfy executions in
favor Of the State when defendants have no
personal property.
2. That when land is bid in for the
State, provisions be made for obtaining pos
session and making sale of the same.
3. That provisions be made by which the
State may redeem real estate, as any other
creditor may now do.
4. That provision be made by which the
State may pay to defendants the value of
the homestead, and subject their rell es-
tate to sale 70: debt, as an individual may
DO
3. That no persoa al property should be
exempt from execution rs against the
State.
G. That the Attorneys General for the
Judicial Circuits be empowered and make
it their duty to file bills and institute all
other proceeding 10 set aside fraudulent
cOnyeyances made to defeat the collection
of demands due to the State, or to institute
any other proceeding in behalf of the State,
the same as citizen may now do in his
own behalf, and to provide a reasonable
compensation therefor, to be paid by de-
PENDANTS.
Z. That exclusive Jurisdiction lie con-
feTTed upon tie courts having criminal
jurisdiction of all suits in which the Stne
is party or may be Interest ed. exct pt such
eases Is the officers of the State may elect
10 bring in some other court.
With the notifications here suggested,
it is believed by your committee thai debts
due TO the State will be more PROMPTLY
paid, and that many thousands of dollars,
which are annually lost, will be paid into
the treasury. Respectfully submitted,
j. II. HOLMAN,
W. 5. MCLEMoRE,
VI. w. MCBMGHT,
J. b. HEISKELI..
d. X. YOUNG,
G.. II. MORGAN,
Committee.
Attorney General J. III. Holman, in pre-
senting the report Of the committee, said
that the committee had given tie suhiec.
matter of the resolution which was Sc.arreI
to them, very serious and deliberate CON
sideration. The committee are unanimous
in the opinion that the State will never
succeed in collecting her debts until the de-
fects in the Law pointed out in this report
are remeiicd.
have not the slightest doubt, NJ. PreSi-
dent, that the General Assembly at its
next session will provide the legislation
recommended in this report.
l believe it because il is right, and / be
lieye it because | think the tax PAYERS OF
the State will demand it. When the people
of Tennessee shall be made to unders. and
what becomes Of the money that is annual
ly gathered from them, and why il is that
taxes are so heavy, no Legislature can be
found bold enough to Withhold the le.isla-
ton asked for.
We are prepared to tell tie Legislature
and the people what becomes OF tho peoples
IaOney, and why the taxes are so heavy.
! have before me the report Of the Comp
troller, made to the late General Assembly,
in which find a list of delinquent revenue
officers, together with the amounts they
had failed to pay over, asgregating as fol
lows:
Dehnqaents ls'2........-........--. 90 20 Il
Deiinquents previous to IS72..... 1926 20
Ii will be seen that at the date of the re-
port that there was sufficient amount Of
money in the hands OF delinquent officers
to pay the costs of all State prosecutions in
the State for eight years, without calling Oh
the people for one dollar If il was applied
to that purpose.
And whose fault is it that these gentle
men 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 IS Off
GERS of the State, honesty and good faith de-
mands that we speak out and advise with
the State as an honest lawyer would with
his client. l believe that the Legislature
will respect the suggestion of
the, report. The attention
of the last General Assembly was called to
the defects pointed cut in the report, il was
hard, at first, 10 make the members of the
Legislature believe that such terrible de-
fects had so long existed in the law; but so
soon as they. were made to realize the facts
as they existed, they were unanimous for
passing a law to remedy them, and at the
request Of the Judiciary Committees of
both houses. drew up a bill substantially
as recommended in their report. Ii passed
the third reading in the Senate almost unan-
imously, and was sent to the House, whe
it passed two readings, but owing to the
late date at which il was introduced. the
session adjourned before it was put upon
its final passage.
The Recommendation that no personal
property be exempt from execution as
against the State, We are of opinion is
nothing more than right and lust.
Is il right that a tax collector is permitted
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 projected in not pay
ing over by the exemption laws? Is it
right that one man may violate the law and
accumulate large or small bill of cost in
consequence thereof, and exempt his prop
erty from execution to pay it, and then
levy tax upon the people TO pay it, from
which then have nothing that is exempt
from it?
IL is saving to the man who embezZles
the peoples money and to the man who
violates the law, that yOu shall be protected
from paving your debts due to the State.
by the exemption laws; and to the people,
gou shall pay the embezzler's debt, and the
debt of the violstor 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 reads as follows:
That in cases, whether felony or INSIDE
meanor, where the defendant has been con-
victed 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
Supreme Court upon certificate by them
that there is substantial error in the record
of said case.
Attorney General Heiskel strongly favor
ed the adoption Of the proposition, saying
he did not think it was right for man to
pat the State to the expense and delay Of