The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-02-26

ms about the fact that these Hawkiu
ce county bonds were originally issue
~ and sold without any authority 0
be law. The County Court had no pow
Of er or right to issue bonds. Hawk
a ms county had legal right to lax
1T stock in the railroad, which she dix
le by vote of the people, but it wa
k never contemplated that bonds
l should be issued TO meet the liebil
ity. The plan was for the county
. TO take fifty thousand dollars stock
. and to pay it in five annual install
ments Of ten thousand dollars each
Two of these tnstallments we're ac
r tualIy collected from the people be.
fore the war got red-hot and stop
ped every kind OF business. After
. the war closed, and year or two
! after, the County Court, by simple
order. issued $4,000 in per cent.
bonds to pay up the unpaid stock TO
the railroad company, which was al
legged to be then due In the mean.
time the County Court had been
extravagant and imprudent in every
way. The comfy was flooded with
county paper" which had run down
until il was almost poTthless, To
get some of these county warrants
out of the hands of the people. he
County Court ordered railroad bonds
to be sold and paid for in county
paper Two thousand and six huu- /
dred dollars in warrants wera thus
taken up, and an interest-hearing
debt 10 that amount saddled on the
taxpayers. Or course these acts
were illegal, and the bonds issued
under them were void. But the
people have gone on for twelve
years and paid the interest on these
bonds. 1t is true they have COM
planned all the time, but have taken
no active step to set them aside, and
now it is presumable that the Court
will decide that although the bonds
were Illegal and void at the start,
the Taxpayers by recognizing them j
as lega! for SO long a time. have
made them valid, aud they will be
required to pay the full amount.
The bill also charges that the tax. ,
es levied on the people to meet the
interest on this debt and to furnish +
a sinking fund for the final redemp- '
tion of the bonds, has either not been t
collected from the property holders,
or has been collected and misapplied.
1t alleges that there ought to be I
twenty thousand dollars or more in
the Treasury at present, of the
Sinking Fund money, when in truth G
there is not dollar there, and even
the interest on the bonded debt has A
not been fully paid, and as evidence \
of this, it is asserted that there are r
against the county in the q
Federal Court at Knoxville and in :,
the Circuit Cont at Rogersvile for d
several thousand dollars rendered
on unpaid coupons. I
The bill also asserts that at the
line the $4,000 issued, the rail
road company owed the contractor
some $4,000 for work in grading |
The road. Fifteen thousand dollars
n bonds were taken and sold to ex-
anguish this debt. The remaining
twenty-five thousand have rever
oeen disposed of for the benefit of
he railroad company, and onght 4
therefore, to be in the county Treas \
Try The names of the parties TO
whom these bonds were delivered
re given and the Chancellor j. ask. I
ID to require them to come forward
nd give full account of all their
in the premises,
It must not be taken for granted.
ecause of the fling of this bill. that
hawkins county is seeking to re-
udiate, or that our people desire Il
. escape the responsibilities OF an
onest debt. Whatever is really
wing BY on honest man to an hon
st creditor. ought. of course, to be
aid. but if there has been eleight.
fhand work in the manipulation of
lese bonds, and those who have
cen seeking to defrauo the people
IN be found out and exposed. and tie
leir schemes defeated. it is, of Sc
purse, right to do so. we hope of
'me good will accrue to the people pr
ON the filing Of this bill We hope an
l the trnth will come out, and the
md holders Willie required TO come a
rward and show their papers. The n
,ople want TO know who are the
Vners of these bonds and how many
them are out, and what amount
money they call for. Hawkins
unity is entirely able TO pay all 4