Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-03-09

ferred to by the committee, had been
complied with ?
The bonds were intended as means
of raising money for immediate use
they were made payable to bearer; in
order to protect the credit of the State
they were required, by the act of 1854,
to be cold at par; they were expected
20 be sold in distant market, as there
was not home capital to invest in
them.
Now, can it be possible that under
these circumstances the Legislature
intended to fetter them with restric.
tions and conditions that would neces-
sarily have entirely destroyed their
market value?
Could it be supposed that purchaser
in New York or London would have
negotiated at par, or when any terms
for paper encountered with eight con-
ditions, the performance of which was
essential to the validity, the literal
fulfillment of which he Yves bound
"at his peril" as the committee re-
port, to inquire into it distance of
thousands of miles, and ihe then i'm
perfect and dilatOry means of aCquir-
ing such Information
To suppose that the Legislature
passing the act of Feb. IL, 1852, meant
this to stultify that body.
Thee conditions il Tefe enc TO the
issuance of the bonds were evidently
intended as security tn the Safe
against the railroads aud ur' to afitCt
third persons, who mig b, csmt h0ld-
ers of the bonds, and in proof of This
section Is of the act Of Feb. II, 1852.
provides tina if the Governor ascer-
tanned 'that any RAILROAD company
shall have frauduientlv obtained the
issuance Of the bonds OF The State, or
shall nave obtained any Of said bonds
contrary to the provisions of the act.
he shall notify the Attorney General
of this State, whose du'y i shall be
hwith to institute, III the name OF
the State, a suit in he CT cult or Chan
Gerry Court Of the county Of the place
of business of the company, setting
for the facts" and if the fraud is
established, ths act goes on farther 10
provide, not that the bands shall be 0d-
jud9ed VOid by the court, but that the
road, with all the assets and property
of the company, shall be sold and the
proceeds paid into the treasury, and
the stockholders Of the company are
made individually liable for the pay
ment Of the bonds so Ob'aiued.
3 y
by the committee against the ,aIidiy
Of the bonds is that the LeSisia ure in
l869-7O instituted inquiries into the
5 under which the bonds
Of the State were issued viii view
to eliminating aud declaring invalid
those that were tainted with fIaud and
were deferred from doing 81 by appre-
hensiOns of recOns rue ion aud men
ac' on the part of tie Feds raj Gov
trUment amounting TO a duress.
The proof on this point shows that
during the 6 sion, 166970, several
inv tigatiDg tJmmitte~9 were APP
pointed TO examine and report upon
various alleged lIauds, and amongst
others was a joint com mittee for in
v sfigating railroads, Consisting of J.
NJ. CIement,on, p. 2. &. Nelson, John
l. Hart, w. II. Hall, II. Townsend,
Atha Thomas, John NJ. Fleming,
James l. Re son and A l. Spears.
The report of this commit, VI !
the accompanying t~5tlmODy fl a
peDdiX to the Senate j bufnai # mat
: ion, and the House sDi enc TX, and
show that they Investigated some
twelve or more railIO'd-, aud exam
ined over 100 witne, , and yet | .
live / speak b, The record when say
that in TegaF4 TO two only of them
". any suggestion MADE as to The |
uvaliGiiy Of the State bonds Issued TO |
hem, viz: The Mineral Home, a. 10 |
" hich JUDICIAL proceedings were 10
stitu;ed and the bonds recovered or |
provided for, and the TennC Bsce and !
Pacific, IS to which similar proceed |
ngs would have been igs;Hu.o". - |
stated in the deposition OF AHA
Thomas, member o. he Committee,
ont before a bill could be gotten
through the Legislature TO direct such
to be had, the bends held
Oy the company were paid into the
ate Treasury by another company 20
which they had been turned 'ver for
hat purpose.
Is to the alleged fact that this com
nittee was deferred from adopting any
looking 10 the reputation
pr invalidating of the bonds by fear of
construction, it may be remarked
hat quite number of witnesses We're
nterIOgated on this point, and, wi n
aspect to the committee, very leading
questions propOuuded, ss viii be seen
)y reference to the testimony. The
,uIy witnesses whose dispositions are
IF any particular significance are Dor
ey B Thomas, Clay Roberts, AHA
Thomas, NJ. ID. Bearden and john r.
3aber. The last three speak only Of
JUNIORS and fears Atha Thomas also
peaks only of rumOr-, and says, an.
Wer Is, that the action aged upon
~ the railroad Investigating commit
ee, of which, as stated, he was a mem
Der, was to direct the proper officers of
he State not to recognize the bonds i'm
properly issued to the rods above
mentioned in any transactions of the
State, and allow the roads by proper
cti0n in the courts by suit against the
state to establish their validity, if they (
ould. and that this policy was abans
Oned for two reasons, the most prom
nent one being fear of reoOnstruc,
ion, and the other that if a bill was
in regard to the bonds
legally issued to any road, the bonds {
you'd be paid to the State and the {
tempt to impeach their validity
hwarted. l
The Legislature had, it appears, taken a t
ecess from the 9Th OF March to the Bird Of {
lay, to enable the Investigating Commit 6
,e to discharge the duties assigned them, {
I'D during the interval Mr.. Clay Roberts,
rst, and then Mr.. Dorsey B. Thomas,
zen Speaker of the Senate, and w N. t
erkins, then Speaker of the House, went T
Washington to use their efforts to pre- 7
9nt reconstruction ny the Congress then t
session. They accomplished Che object l
their mission, it would seem, and re- d
rned early in March. The Investigating r
appears in the meantime, to S
ave been very industriously employed, t
Id made that vOluminous report to the z
aglslature, 1t appears, about the oath of | r