The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-03-03

NASHVILLE, March 2.-The Legislative
Committee to investigate the validity Of
the Tennessee bonded debt reported to.
day. The report says the outstanding
bonds which have been registered and re.
ceived number 20, O,2l9; outstanding bonds
not registered and received $50. There
are outstanding of all the bonds issued be-
fore the war and constituting the debt pro.
per S2,l05,0OO. The remainder Of the 2l,-
200 bonds outstanding are as follows: 49,.
9O3 are bonds issued before and since the
war in aid Of railroads. OF the Outstand.
ing bonds there are over SIC, ,0OO, 900 Of post
bellum bonds.
The Committee says that in the issuance
OF the ll,22l bonds in nearly every in
stance the condition OF the law was not
observed; also that the greater part OF the
present debt is the result OF corrupt legis-
lation, superinduced by corporate bodies
seeking State aid. The Committee ven
lures no legal opinion as 10 the litigation
between certain OF the bondholders and
railroads to enforce the lien OF the former,
but declares that the sale Of the roads was
secured in order that the property might
be obtained at heavy sacrifice.
To the inquiry II any bonds were issued
in violation Of the law, the Committee re-
ply that at least seven OF the conditions
OF the law were not complied with.
The funding act OF 1873 provides that only
legally issued bonds shall bU funded.
The COMMITTEE on Claims reported that
$ll ,220, 600, issued before and since the
war, were issued or sold in violation OF
law, hence their adjustment should not
rest on any assumption OF a legally au.
thoriZed contract. An act to fund the in
terest accruing during the war was passed
when passion and Generalization were
prevalent. The largest number OF bonds
outstanding, OF the issues under the fund.
ing act OF 1873, embrace either directly, or
through result OF legislation, the trans.
mutation Of interest or principal OF bonds
issued to railroads under the act OF 1852.
The committee further charge that the
conditions Ofthe law were not observed in
the issue Of bonds to tunpikes. In 1865
when the people were allowed no voice
in the State Government four million nine
hundred and forty.one thousand were
illegally added tothe Statedeht, Tho year
following FIVE million more were corruptly
added to the debt. One man OF influence
with the Government got sos bonds with.
out warrant OF law. A tabular statement
submitted with the report shows dis.
proportion between the number OF bonds
received by the many railroads and the
number they were entitled to, as well as
the small amount Of private stock sub.
scribed as official demonstration OF fraud.
Thatthe act Of 1860 when roads were allow
ed to retire the Indebtedness operates MS
an estoppel against the people as to the
outstanding debt Is denied.
Legislative investigation OF that year
discloses frauds in the issuance Of bonds
to railroads. Efforts to reject the fraud.
ulent issue then were paralized BY threats
OF reconstruction. The report did not
concur In the assertion that ante and poa
war bonds were sold and purchased with
out distinction. The report is signed by
1--we Of the committee, the other two,
Senator Clapp and Representative Smith,
Of Memphis, will submit minority report
dissenting from some Of the legal points
advanced by the majority.