Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-12-03
THE RANK OF TENsEssEE rANGLE.

Ao1oC IL CfCAy pal 6tOoAoAs
THE RANK OF TENNESSEE TANGLE.
By joint resolution of the last Leg
islature, committee was appointed to
investigate the, present status of the
affairs of the old Bank of Tennessee
and "settle" with the Trustee, Judge
S. Watson The report Of this COM
mittee, consisting of Messrs. n. Smith
son, James D. Tllman and E. A.
James, on the part of the Senate, with
Horatio R. Moore and Jesse F. Brown,
on the part Of the House, has recently
been presented, and was published In
the UNION AND AMERICAN yesterday
Nearly nine years ago, Feb. Is, 1865.
the Legislature passed an act to wind
up and settle the business of thisbank,
In virtue of which, Judge Watson, the
then President Of the Bank, became its
Trustee, on May 4, and twenty days
after fled his bond for $4,000 IN the
Chancery Court of Nashville, becoming
receiver under the orders of that court.
We may remark. en- passant, that such
a bond was utterly inadequate in view
of the large assets of the bank, in the
way Of claims, mortgages and real es-
tate scattered over the State. The
matter has dragged on since from
court to court, from Legislature to
Legislature, with as little prospect as
ever for the old creditors of the bank
receiving a dividend, or the rights of
the State being adjusted.
The committee appointed by the last
Legislature met in this city Oct. 6,
1873, when a few days session devel-
oped that the Trustee was not ready to
''settle," and his accounts were IN such
shape that an intelligent investigation
was hardly possible. Judge Watson,
however, made out various exhibits at
the request of the committee. The first
of these shows the total assets of the
bank Jan. l, 1861, to have been ST.
oil, 283.90. The second shows the total
credits of the bank and branches when
turned over to the Federal authorities
In May, 1866, to have been Sl4,902,-
3l2.77, and liabilitiesIthe same amount.
The third shows the Trustees account
with the bank, the footings of which
are as follows:
Watson, Trustee, Debtor. ,s27 .75s 47
Creditor......... 1880, $50 30
Assumed balance Of notes, bills
and assets, unsettled and out
standing. 2,llS,769 o.
So far as it can be ascertained, this
last exhibits the present status of az
fairs IN a nutshell trustee under
$4,000 bond, holding assets whose par
value is over 100000. OF the sI2,-
927, 75947 that came into Mr.. Wat
sons hands as Trustee, $S,644, 391.O2
were in Confederate bonds, Confed-
crate coupons, Confederate treasury
notes, certificates of deposit on Con-
federate- Treasury. Tennessee war
bonds, and accounts against the State
Treasury and Military Board; and,
therefore. worthless and unavailable as
assets There were also Sl72, 480.23 of
notes Of the Bank of Tennessee. De-
Quoting these two sums, and Tennes-
see money burned and canoeled, and
also amount Of expenses and attorneys
fees, and also the assets now in the
hands of the Trustee, the assumed or
supposed balance Of notes, bills and
other assets, outstanding and unset
tied, is S2,11S,769.0a
This statement il Iredicated on the
statements of Judge Watson, with no
means of verifcation by the committee
beyond the counting of the assets now
on hand, which were found correct.
Among these are S175, 900 in Tennessee
bonds, $4,000 of which seem to have
been purchased with coupons cut off of
the osher bonds. No account could be
obtained of how many. or what bonds
belonged to the original assets, or from
whom the others were received or when.
The committee is of opinion that 5000
of these bonds, known as Capitol
bonds, have either beeni paid by the
State or are part of the old schoolfund.
The same disregard of ordinary
bookkeeping was found to prevail gen.
orally. The Trustee presents bill of
attorneys fees for S45,603.82, and
S92,009.06 expenses, as paid by him.
without exhibiting vouchers or details
as to whom these sums were paid and
when. The amomnt of notes, bills,
judgments and claims due the bank,
still outstanding In the hands of the
Trustees attorneys cannot be ,ascer-
tanned from his books or papers. But
few of his attorneys have made any re-
port for year past. A cash account
is filed, including old and new issues Of
the bank and United States currency
without distinction, thus wholly failing
to show the amounts Of the respective
kinds of money.
1t further seems that the Trustee, In
many cases took greenbacks in pay
ment for debts, and subse Iuently con-
verted them into Tennessee money.
In this way he explains a discrepancy
of SIS, 909, between receipts and dis
bursements. Again, In the deed of
trust executed by the bank to Watson
appear "an amount" of Union and
Planters banks notes, and $4,000
Tennessee bonds bought Of the Nash
vile and Northwestern Railroad, but
Mr.. Watson says be never received any
such notes or bonds, though H. 6.
Scovel, Director at the time, thinks
there were such notes among the as
sets.
IN regard to the notes of the old