New-York tribune., 1879-09-16
TENNESSEE.

X.
TENNESSEE.
The debt OF Tennessee in 1850. accord n1 - The
Financial Chronicle Of November Is, 1868. was
SIG. GAS, ,GG7 OF which s12 10000 was classed us
contingent indebtedness OH account OF railroads ana
other internal improvements, The assets Of the
State were estimated nj $3.744.S47. According TO
another statement tho debt In 1850 amounted to
$2O.1OJ, 600, of which $i0,2l1 900 had been con-
tracted OH account of internal Improvements. AT
the close of the war the total debt and liabilities
not including debt of about -. 100000 contracted
in aid of the Rebellion, were estimated at
S28.777 3f7. This included 81 100000 lestmatedl
of Tennessee State bank notes. fer which the faith
Of the State was pledged. and which, under sub
scquent judicial decision, she has been required 10
recognize as part of her debt. The poicyof grant
ing aid to railroads. which had been adopted before
the war began, continued after IL ended, and was
approved by both political parties. The interest
which had accumulated during the war was funded
nndcr the Act of 1866, and that which accrued IN
1866 and 1877 was funded under the Act of 1865
On January ]. 1872, the total debt was estimated
10 be S34 100000 This amount included the
bonded and floating debt, overdue interest aud nll
other liabilities so far as they could be aseertaned
The ratc of taxation, which had been raised To SIX
mills in 1871, was again reduced to four mills IN
1872.
Under the operation Of this law the creditors suf-
f,reI loss estimated at 81 20C, ,OO0 The law pro-
vided that per cent ten-forty bonds should be
substituted for all recognized Indebtedness Hold
ers Of the old bonds were required to pay 81 for
each bond excnnnged. In July, 1874, "A partial
payment of interest the funded bonds was
made. and the interest which fell due January /.
1874, was also paid, by the help of loan Of
$500 900. In 1876 the Of interest for 1874
and 1873 paid. The debt appears TO have
been gradually reduced by tho payment by the rail
roads, in Sta bonds. OF portions of their Indebted
ness In June, 1877. the principal of the debt
amounted. according to The Financial Chronicle, to
S2l. .32s. 600. an apparent decrease Of more than
O.O0O, 900 in about five years.
Before this. however, the sentment of rcpudIa-
ion had been strong enough to force several meas
nrcs through the Legislature two Of them over tne
Governors veto. The first act Of the Legislature
which met in January, 1873, was TO repeal the
third section of the funding law, which required
the State Treasurer TO set apart 20 much of the
revenue rs mght be necessary 10 pay the interest
on the public debt. On January 8, 1877. the Legs
laturc passed joint resolution suspcnding the pay
ment of intercs: the public debt until otherwise
ordered month later February II the House
passed a resolution for the appointment of special
committee to ascertain and report the amount Of
interest which accrued during the Rebellion. and
the amount thereof which had been funded The
purpose of this resolution was fully shown by the
preamble. which reads "a followsi
heres, 1t Is general rule OF the law that bonds and
do IOt bear legal interest du;ing the time Vf war
g1eas T. i. believed that large amount Of interest
tocruluE the bonds OF the State was by mistaIe
wrongiIlly charged and funded under the provisions
oi tnc act known the Funding bill passed In 1873
On the 2lth of the same month the Legislature
repealed IAN net to increase the revenue of the
state and encourage wool growing Tins act I'M
posed a tax on dogs. la 1875 it yietded the State
p revenue If 1896, G,sl7. and in 1870 OF S2l1,5O2.
On March 20 the section Of the funding law which
provided that bonds maturing after 1874 might be
funded at the option Of the State. was repealed.
week later the Legislature passed two acts over
the veto of the Governor. One abolished the tax
rate of four mills on the dollars the other fixed the
tax rate % one mill on the dollar and provided that
the revenue thus raised should be used to pay the
ordinary current expenses OF the State only. This
action proved that the Legislature was bent on
pudia ion. ior Governor Porter had shown that the
moderate tax Of five mills the dollar would yield
sufficient revenue to paw the interest on the public
debt, and also, with fair degree of economy. the
other ssary expenses of the State Government.
While the Tennessee legislature was spending the
Winter of 1877 in discussing and passing measures
to cheat the creditors the state the holders of the
securities Of that and other defanlting Southern
States were engaged in eifors to bring about set
Element By which they might save something The
financial condition OF the south had attra tca ee
eral attention. and Oh the 25th of January, 1877
public meeting WAS held in Ne~-i0rk % consider
the subject and t. devise. if possible
OF relief At this meeting william Cullen Bryant
preside,, and mad a short address. Speeches were
made by several other prominent citizns. All were
inspired by the most generous AID liberal spirit to-
ward the SOUTH who's, claims on account OF poverty
aud inability to pay in full were thoughtiully re-
garded. committee of arbtlatOrs VIA chosen To
mediate between the defaultins States and their
creditors. The members of this committee were
fnan icrs Of National reputation, who were not per
onaly interested ~ holders o. the bonds III dispute
or default They accepted tie difficult charge under
the influence of the most patriotic motives. On the
sth of March, 1877. these gentlemen met In confer
ence with committee OF the Iennesso l. cgislature
which had been sent to New-iorA with instructions
10 as ,ertain how much loss the bonlholders could
be induced to suffer. his committee made up
# both " state credit and slow tax" men, and one
Of them explained that a "low tax" man was one
who opposed any tax to rails, money to pay the in-
t.rest or principal of the public debt.
On the part Of the tennessee Committee IL was