Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-01-05

people VIII uSN6f TeE1ttItCtCS the QeDI
of the State. 1t has been boastingly
stated that the people will take this
matter in hand and that they must
settle this question. For one / do
not fear the people of Tennessee.
Sir, / was born among and rocked
in the very lap of the people, and /
know them well and have studied
their character, and, if / have not
entirely mistaken that character,
their intelligence and their patriot
ism, they will never consent that
the high standard of Tennessee shall
be lowered or that its good name,
made illustrious by such men as
Jackson, Polk, Grundy, Johnson
and others, shall be dishonored by
the foul blot which Reputation
would bring upon it. He who pla-
ces his hope for future honors on
that foundation will find himself
greatly mistaken.
1t has been well known that l was
in favor of paying the whole debt,
because | believed it was an honest,
valid and subsisting obligation
against the State; but when the
creditors proposed to receive sixty
cents | was in favor of accepting
their offer, and since they have now
lowered their offer. to fifty cents
am in favor of that. [ never will
vote to force our creditors to receive
any sum j will never vote for any
bill which would be an offer from
the State to its creditors. We can
receive, but not make propositions
to them.
Mr.. Tolley-Would the bond
holders have lowered their PROPOSE
tion except by compulsion
Mr.. Smith, have no idea they
would have changed their PROPOSE
ton from sixty to fifty cents if they
had not believed there was no hope
of the Legislature accepting sixty
cents. They, presume, are business
men, and men of sense, and saw the
improbability of settlement at sixty
and, preferring to have the matter
settled at fifty cents, they made the
change in their offer. / presume
that such is the fact. | know no
more about lhe facts than the gen.
tleman himself, but | presume the
facts are about that way.
If the bond-hOlders should make
any other proposition should give
it the same respectful consideration
that ] have given the one under
consideration. If they should pro-
pose to take forty cents | would ac-
cept their offer; but their PROPOSE
ton is to my mind as reasonable as
anyone could ask or desire.
The gentleman from Shelby (Mr.
Peters) in a speech delivered in this
Housea few days ago says his county
is in a terrible condition that the
people of that section of the State
are in great financial distress, and
drew q picture of their condition
which gave me, for a time, sincere
trouble. | was very much perplexed
and supposed that that once prosper
Gus county and that formerlyWealthy
city of Memphis were about ready
to be counted among the things that
were. The gentleman insisted that
his people were in no condition to
pay anything like six per cent. on
fifty cents of our debt. Four per
cent, / believe, is his rate on fifty
cents. Well, | could not forget our
last winter session when that gen.
tleman and, l believe, every enc of
the Memphis and Shelby delegation
came to me one afternoon and told
me that aS | was a member of the
Finance Committee they wished
me to go up from my hotel to the
capitol and meet witiYthat commit
tee to consider matter in which
Memphis was deeply interested. 1
at last concluded to go, because re-
ally was personally strongly attached
to those gentlemen, and was anxious
to do anything could for them. So
| went through the snow, and when
| got there found they had a me-
mortal from the merchants and bus
mess men of Memphis, transmitted
to the Legislature through their
Chamber of Commerce, asking the
Legislature not to repeal the ten per
cent. interest law. They even had
with thems an especial friend of
mine, now a merchant at Memphis,
to electioneer with me to vote against
the repeal Of that law. l told them
they could not afford to pay ten per
cent. interest; that they could not
only not afford to pay that interest,
but that they did not have any
money to lend, They said that their
people had plenty of money, and
that they could lend it out at ten per
cent, and that their people could at
ford to pay it. j told them that /
had a difficulty Notwithstanding
all those things because of the fact
that l knew Of a bill which was in
trOduced into the Legislature, and
was pending at that time, to repeal
the charter of the city of Memphis
and turn it out in the woods. also |
reminded them that their Mayor
was then in Nashville, and that the
city OF Memphis then had bill be- |
fore the Legislature, which was af-
forwards passed, asking permission |
of the Legislature to compromise |
the bonded debt of Memphis, |
to about six millions of |
dollars, by issuing to the holders of |
their bonds other bonds at the rate |
of fifty cents to the dollar with sic
per cent. interest coupons, the coupons |
to be geoeirdbGe, for 0H tdGeS and dues
to the city Of Memphis. Their bill |
was almost exactly the same as the |
bill known as the FriersOn bill to
settle the State debt. They assured |
me those things were all right, and |
that they wanted to settle their great |
bonded debt, and could do so no
other way. So l voted against re-
pedtiRg the ten per cent. tar, and also
for the act allowing the city of Mem
phiS to compromise on the very
terms that our creditors now offer
the State; but now the gentleman
says that the people Of Tennessee
cannot pay six per cent. on half their
He and his people
wished a law to authorize them to
lend money at ten per cent, but
when they come to act for the State
they say they will give only four
per cent. They make their own
bonds bear interest at six per cent.
AMI the coupons receivable for taxes.
If had known they were in as bad
4 fix as they now say, l do not think
[ could have voted with them; but
[ am not satisfied that Memphis is
rs badly Offas the gentleman seems to
-hink. Certainly he can have no
official data upon which he reaches
such conclusions. / like Memphis
md am partial towards its people,
because | was born in West Tennes-
zee and know the Memphis people
Ire worthy of my good opinion, and
or these reasons / have put myself,
Is the friend to MemDhiS. to the