Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-03-06

was very strong effort being made py ran ~
road men TO secure an act to allow Ihen " S
nav off their State debts in any seIIe' "a
State bonds. n Rv.PDEE
[Signedl n ~
IA. HUNTINGTON.
Clothier, Nashville, deposeE InSt n ~
han ENGAGED In business IN NashVlile Ior
Deen ehgafS ,eo ,ears: that during the ses-
Yen Vi NJ Gsneral Assembly IN lS6S-69
sl11 S 01 ~ furnished q large amount of
ana ~ n :, Gen. Jos. A. Mabry that
.h .,5re VINO were strangers, but whether
I,II Tue Maid for the clothing, or the stran-
@ he did not know. However, Mabry
!s@metimos got goods for other people.
P. W. LOWE.
Deposition of P. w. Lowe, before a SUBJ
Committee of the Forty-First General
Assembly of Tennessee, composed of
Senator Smith and Representative j. NJ.
Driver, taken at Cleveland, Tenn, Feb.
10th, 1879.
Question. Please state if you have any
knowledge, directly and indirectly, of any
improper means used to influence legis-
lstion in 1873. If so, detail the informa-
tiOn2
Answer. / have no direct personal in
formation. Previous to the session of the
Legislature of 1873, A s. Tate, a member
of that Legislature, from Granger County,
was indebted to me on account. During
the session l wrote to him, asking for
settlement. After the close of the session,
Tate returned home and said to me by way
of explaining why he had not paid me,
that pending the passage OF the Funding
bill, Mai. OCOnner called upon him, and
told him to use his influence to pass the |
bill, and to pay over to him (OConner) |
what money he had, and after the Dill was |
passed, he (OConner) would buy bonds |
and they would divide the profits; and that
he (Tate) done so, and lost his money.
CUES. Do you know how much work
was done on the turnpike road leading
from Ooltewah to Kincannan's ferry, and
what amount of money was expended
therefor?
Ans. Near one mile only is graded and
graveledi don't know how much money
mas been expended.
Cues Please state any other statement
Tate made with reference to this purchase
of bonds.
Ans That as soon as the bill passed,
OCOnner was to telegraph TO New York
and purchase the bonds before rise in
such stocks or bonds.
CUES. Do you know of the sale at less
than par of any bonds of the State to rail-
roads or turnpike companies
Ans. Not of my personal knowledge |
A common rumOr prevailed in the county |
that the certificates of stock granted as aid
New Market were being sold at about 30
cents.
[Signedl P. w. LOWE.
JACOB I. THOMAS.
The deposition of Jacob l.. Thomas was
taken February IA, at Knoxville, in re-
gard to a claim which he held against
j. NJ. ClementsOn, and upon being ques.
toned testified as follows:
Clementson was a member of the Leg
stature but of what year do not pre-.
cisely remember. / presented the claim
which held against him, to him for paw /
ment at Athens, East Tennessee. The ex- {
act amount of the claim I do not remem-
Der. He told me that he was not able to
pay it, and didn't know when he could pay
it; that if he could get a claim which Col.
McGhee owed him, which was contracted
pay my account and that if he could get 6
said claim from McGhee il would relieve
him. If he stated the amount of his claim r
against McGhee, / have forgotten it. |
asked him if he had note or any written
evidence of the claim, thinking if L could
get an order on McGhee it would be all
right, but he said he had none. The nat
lre of his claim against McGhee no did 4
1t state / asked him if McGhee &C
kDOwledged the claim, and he said, the
ast time he saw him he did. Clementson
was then engaged in business at RiceVille. !
His financial condition was not good, |
though We did not know it then or at the
time the goods were sold to him. The n
amount of my account against him was
several hundred dollars. think he owed
other accounts at the same time 4
$. J. MARTIN.
The deposition of S. j. Martin, taken be-
fore the committee at Nashville, Feb. Z, n
1873. The witness being sworn, deponed
as follows:
Q. Were you a member of the Legisla-
ure of Tennessee of 1882
A. |. was, from Monroe and Loudon n
Counties.
Q. Do you remember the funding act
passed by that Legislature
A. Yes, sir 1 have vivid remem- Y
)rAnce of that act
q Do you remember any leading, repre-
tentative member of that body who then J..
uddenly changed in its fsvor7 4
A. ! es, sir think do, at least some q
nat regarded IS leading members 4
Y. Please name them.
A. / will name l.. @. Houk as one,
Squire Magill, of McMinn, as another. q
hat regarded as opposed to it at first
Oarded and roOmed with him. i don't
now, however, that he was classed as q
member. The same might
70 said of Allen ), Tate, of Granger: | {
lao roo ned with him. also understood, 4
t first, that Mr.. Mcfarland was opposed
o it. He afterwards advocated it voted d
or it on its final passage. had no private L
conversation with Mcfarland about it. I
10 was regarded as a leading mem Der. =
Ehers we're others who at first, from hear :,
say, were opposed to it, but L can not now !.
recall their names.
z. Did you ever hear Houk, or either
If the other gentlemen mentioned, say
anything in regard to said act, and that
Nancy could or would be, or had been,
lsed to secure its passage, or anything of h
his kind7 !
A. l perhaps may have had conversa- u
ions with other men, but / remember of
having a conversation with Judge Houk. 1t
occurred in this way and under these cir
umstances: One night he and / were go Al
ng down from the Capitol from attendance i
N caucus of the Republican members. !
hr. Mcconnell, in the caucus, had urged n
be passage of the funding act from a moral j
'oint of view, saying that we ought to pay | !
" fund. Houk, in the caucus, made the =
lest speech ] had ever heard him make 2
gsinst the measure, and as we were walk
ng down from the Capitol, l remarked: v
Judge, don't think we are morally or
egslly bound to pay these bonds, for
ave examined the laws, and they require
be bonds to be sold for par, and if the par
L. Il, lAA IL 1