Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-14
WASHINGTON.
Important Report of the Trans
pOrtati0n Committee.
Chief Justice Waite's Maiden
Opinion.

OpInIOn.
NOn-Resident Bank Owners Can be
Taxed I'm Any state Where the Bank
is Located.
WASHINGTON, April 13.-The Chief
Justice delivered his first opinion on the
bench Of the Supreme Court to-day in
case from Illinois touching the right of the
State to tax nonresident National Bank
Shareholders at the residence of the bank.
The members of the bar who heard il and his
brethren on the bench speak OF it In eulo-
CYSTIC terms. Reverdy johnson is compli-
mentary in his remarks both as to the mer-
its of the opinion and the manner of de-
livery. The case was that Mr.. Taphan,
collector Of taxes in Chicago, against the
Merchants National Bank of Chicago, from
the Circuit Court of Illinois; presenting the
question whether the Legislature of Hi
nois could in 1857 provide for taxation of
the owners Of shares Of the capital stock Of
a National Bank in that State, al the place
within the State where the bank was
located, without regard to their places of
residences. The court below decided that
the tax could not be thus laid, and the de-
cree was against the collector. That de-
cree is here reyersed, the court holding that
shares of stock in National banks are per-
sonal property underline national banking
act. They are species of personal prop.
erty, say the court, which is in one sense
intangible and incorporal, but the law
which creates them may separate them
from the person of the owner for purposes
of taxation.
rte Trade I'm Contracts.
The District of Columbia Investigating
Committee examined several witnesses this
morning. J. w. Hopkins testified that he
never offered to get any contracts for
Quimby as the latter had testified before
the committee.
A. Nj. Gibson, correspondent of the Nel1
York Sun, said last spring he heard Hop
kins ask c. II. Parson if he wanted any
contracts, that if he did, being the Su-
perintendent ofthe Board Of Public Works
for the eastern division of the city would
control them.
Counsel Harrington, for the district
government, gave notice that he desired to
cross examine Gibson at length to morrow.
More SanbOrns-An Ex-COngressman
in Ghe Business.
Ex-COngressman Kelsey, recently con-
nected with the contracts TO collect derelict
taxes, similar to the Sanborn contracts, was
the only witness that was examined this
morning bY the Committee on Ways and
Means. He drafted the clause il the Ap-
preparation Bill, under which the various
contracts were made. He had spoken on
the subject to various members of the
House Committee on Appropriations
Dawes, Beck, Niblack, and Hall, of Maine
but had received no sort of encourage
ment from them. He had then spoken to
Senators Cole. and Logan, and he thought
Sawyer, all being membefs Of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. He thought
that some of them favored the proposition,
and he was not sure but all did. He lid
not recollect speaking to any one of that
committee who did not favor it.
Witness did not believe th.t a proper
construction of law would author1ze a CON
tract to collect legacy aD3i succession taxes,
because they were mG.Cters of record in the
SurOgates' Court, md the law only con-
templated the employment Of three persons
TO assist in tie discovery and collection Of
taxes. These taxes could not be said TO be
discovered, as they were already matters of
recorJ.
A Curious Construction.
He testified also that before the passage
of the law of 1872 he had gone to tie
Treasury Department and made inquiries
as to whether pTe-existing law to collect
abandoned and direlict property in the
South could be construed as to be made to
apply 10 the collection of direiict taxes all
over the United States. The parties to
whom he transferred his contract, Camp
bell, Elbert & Class, we're of the opinion
tlet this might be done either by the in
sertiOn or omission of comma. Although
he did not agree with them, he went at
their request to inquire about it, and had
met Sawyer (then Senator) in the Secre-
tary's office, and Sawyer and himself had
gone to the Solicitors Office to get his
opinion of the subject, but the Solicitors
opinion, like their own, was adverse to it.
IL was after that that the law of 1872 was
got up.
Report Of the Transportation Conn.,
nittee.
NEW YORK, April ia dispatch from
Washington says the Select Committee on
Transportation Routes to the Seaboard will
meet Tuesday night, and Senator Window,
chairman, expects TO submit the report this
week. The Senator will take this posi-
tiOa: Cheap transportation is to be obtain
ed only though competition, and the. COM
petition TO be effective must operate through
cheaper channels of commerce than are
now provided. and must be governed by a
power with which combination is impOssi-
BILE. The committee have passed over the
idea of obtaining cheap transportation by
the regulation of freights, and it may be set
down cOnclusively that as between the two
alternatives of freight national road and
water lines, the committee viii favor water
lines.
1t is estimated by the engineers who
have concluded the SURVEYS that an expen-
diture of S7,000,000 would connect the
Mississippi with the lakes and the required
Improvement of the Erie canal to a state of
magnitude corresponding with the con-
templated grand connections would require
about Sl0.000,0O0, while about Sl2,OO0,0eO
would connect lake Champlain with deep
waters on the Hudson, securing ship
canal capable of passing vessels OF one
Thousand tons.
Mr.. Richard c. Parsons, member OF Con-
gress from the Cleveland (OhiO) district,
appeared before the District Of Columbia
Investigating Committee to-day and testi-
fed that he was retained by Chittenden as
a lawyer on behalf of the firm of DeGOl-
yer & Mcclellan, Chicago, to argue before
the Board of Public Works at Washington
the question of superiority of this patent
for wooden pavement. He appeared before
the Board and made argument in favor of
the DetIolyer patent. His cOnnectiOnwith
the case was purely professional and such
dlo hpulN lldNN bCNh bNtoAC saAAg SOtisb
in the country. Before the Board made a
final award he was called home to Cleve-
land, AID being desirous of securing his
fees, called upon Gen. Garfield, gave him his
story Of the case, ard asked him. as Con-
gress would adjourn in a few days, if he
would act Tor him. He at first refused,
but fanaily assented, and said as soon as
Congress adjourned, he would prepare an
opinion as to the merits of the patent, and
attend to the case. He told Gen. Garfield
he would be glad to share fees in the case
with him, and when he received money
from his client at Chicago, some time
after, be deposited Gartield's share to his
credit in bank, and so wrote him. Gar
fields being retained was purely accident
al, he consenting to act merely to obGge
him as an old friend.
Mr.. Cook, book-keeper for the late firm
of Degolyer & Mcclellan, was recalled.
He referred to entries on the books which
had been forwarded from Chicago. In the
transit account, covering the $4,000 he
said Parsons received $40 land one Brown
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