Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-11-04


per cent. bonds Of the State of Tennee-
see outstanding" etc. None of the State
officials have since the passage of this
act received from any railroad company
bonds that were fra0dulently issued
The bonds reported upon by these com.
mittees have ever since stood discarded
and disowned upon tine market =; ;n rna
! worid: state otfitccssais certainly knew it,
These fraudulent bonds show on their
face TO which road they were issued, and
are In the hands OF the holders; still a
prior lien on these roads and these hold.
ers can enforce their liens and collect
their money. The act allowing the
roads to pay these bonds into the treas.
ury in express terms releases only the
lien which the State holds, but does not
release the lien of the bondholder,
Then, when the roads have paid, they
will have 8 claim against the State for
the amount they paid for the deprecated
State bonds which they returned to the
treasury. So, In this way, the taxpayer,
instead of the railroad company, would
get the benefit Of the deprecated State
credit, and the company would be made
to disgorge the fruits Of this legislation.
/ would here call attention to another
fact: These bonds were sold at time
when the currency was inflated, and
when sixty cents paid for bond was
not worth what twenty cents is to-day.
The Tennessee Radical party, with Gov
ernor w. g. Brownlow, Arnel, PrOsser,
General George Nancy, Hon. Thomas
A. Hamilton and others in control are
the direct cause Of this immense fraudu.
lent debt upon Tennessee which sOmuch
embarssses us, and the national Repub.
lican party, by Its "specie resumption"
and currency policy, have increased it
threefold because 1t takes three times
as much property to pay it now as it did
when contracted); and we are asked
now to return this same party to power
that is the author Of all Of these wrongs
in order that they may relieve us-tO
give up the control of the State govern.
ment to the very men who caused all Of
our trouble and distress. Have the peo-
pie any hope Of low-taxes, honest gov
ernment and relief from the Radical
party in Tennessee? II that party has
a party policy it is for high taxes. When
have tLey given the people OF Ten
of honest government? Te the tax
payer I put the question, can
you safely look to the Republican
party in Tennessee for reforms and
cheap government? When the Repub-
lican party retired from power In this
State, the current expenses of the State
government had reached the unprece-
dented sum of nearly one million OF dol
lars. Democratic rule has r5duced the
cost OF the State government until it is
now not half the sum expended by Re-
publican prohigacy and extravaganza;
1t is fact that the current expenses Of
your s :ate government, as now admin.
istered, are less in proportion to popula-
tioc than those Of any State in the
Union. You owe this economy to the
Democracy. What, then, have you to
gain by turning that party out? Moth.
ing. The change would be for the worse.
AS you value your true interest and wei.
fare, warn you not to be deceived upon
this point. Change will bring curses,
not blessir gs.
Remarks of George B. Peters.
Mr.. George B. Peters was next intro.
duced, and referred to the fact that he
had served one term in the legislature.
Mr.. Peters discuss sed the financial ques.
tions and the bad policy of the Republi-
cans in creating the enormous State
debt, which, at the expiration OF the
Brownlow administration, amounted to
$44, 100000 He wanted tie Republi.
cans, who asked for the popular suf
frsges, to tell how they had run up the
annual expenditures from $35O,0O0 to
almost $l,0O0,000. The Democratic
party, when it got control of the legis.
latuTe, favored reduction of salaries and
economy of administration. The Dem.
ocratic party had not, as charged by the
Republicans, acted In bad faith. Mr..
Peters alluded to the acts of the last
Democratic legislature-the adjustment
of county taX-collector, and making the
duties OF this office incumbent upon the
trustee, thereby simplifying the machin.
cry Of government, and saving to the
people over $l95, 900 annually. The ad-
vertisements in newspapers, and ex.
penses incident thereto, relative to de.
linquent taxes, cost Shelby county an
nuaIly $11, ,920. The Democratic legis.
lature abolished this law, and also
two courts in Shelby county. The Judi
cial system OF Tennessee was too cum.
brous and complicated. After careful
investigation they had concluded to
abolish these courts, and the constitu-
tionality of the act had been affirmed
by the supreme court. The lawyers of
| the Memphis bar who signed the petit
had requested him (Peters) to say that
the act was wise and judicious, for not
even the judges of the two courts OBJ
jected to 1t. Another law of the Demo.
crstic legislature, OF which he was q
member, repealed the law increasing the
feed Of prisoners from forty to sixty
cents per caput daily. This legislature
also enacted the law taxing railroads,
whereby the State receives a revenue Of
$40, 600 annually. Mr.. Peters next ad-
vocated what he conceived to be the
blessings and benefits of the new city
charter Of Memphis as an instrument of
real reform and bona fde retrenchment
He compared the present expenses
with past years, and said the same now
amounts to one.half less than formerly.
The present State debt is, In round num-
bers, about $28, ,000, GOO. To-day Tennes-
see collects more revenue in one year
than she did in two years in 1850. II q
compromise of the State debt has to be
made, he wanted the people to say how
it should bs done. At present Tonnes
see Is unable to pay her Indebtedness,
but will do 80 when her prosperity re.
turns. To say Tennessee favOrs repudia-
ton is base libel upon Democracy, al
though she is at present unable TO do 3d.
We have, Mr.. Peters said, precedents
for compromising the debt. England
compromised her debt in the time of
Charles /; SO did France and the United
States; also Virginia, ,and Massachusetts,
while colony in 1649. Alsbsms, under
the wise ststesmanahip Of Gov
ernor Houston and an sble
legislature, compromised to-day her
debt Of $50, ,O000, 900 to $10,000,-
600. The Democratic State convention
at Nashville only limited the taxation to
forty cents, and the county convention
Of Shelby expressed its sentiment in
favor Of twenty cents. He would stand
on the county platform. The eleventh
all bonds accruing between June, 1874,
and June, 1874, should be funded at the
option of the State, etc. He opposed
this section, as it increased the burdens
Of the people, and in the last legislature
introduced an act to repeal this section.
His act, however, was rejecUed, and he
now favors the repeal of the entire
i eleventh section. He would also advo-
cate the repeal of the law allowing the
State officers to borrow money, q law
enacted by Republican legislature.
The constitution Of Tennessee says that
the power Of the State to raise money is
by the legislature, and it should not be
| by this dangerous power. In Comp
tToller Burch's able report, page third, it
is stated that the State loan is paying
ten per cent. interest. Governor Porter
says he has abandoned the idea of bor.
rowing money, and will, he is salts.
fed, cooperate with the legislature
In repeating this obnoxious law. He,
with the rest Of the Democratic nomi-
nees, think they have enough to do in
| tho alaofion Of tho 0Ouornor q fbou baya