Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-01-23

lthe. sum Of $4,000.
,. BY six per cent. bonds,loan
led turnpike and plank road COM
Ipalies. i'.r the sum Ct %5Tse0O.
3. BIZ sixpor cent. bonds, Loan
cd railroad companies, for the
SUM. Of $E3,7 10000.
Afer the 9th Of May, 1861,
there were issued to the Rome
!, & Carthage turnpike company
six per cent. bonds amounting TO
s.. 900, ard to the Ohio 81 Mo-
bile railroad company six per
cent. bonds mounting TO $1T2,-
900. These bonds were repudi-
ated in 1866, but still the Comp
troller included them in the exc
cution of the Funding Act Of
1866, as a part Of tle.ppblic debt.
The Agricultural Bureau, a
part Of the plank road, ard tmn-
pike companies, and two Of the
railroad companies were then in
default. The whole amount Of
the bonds was Sr,335,9 bear
ing an interest of $50, 100. With
out estimating the measure Of
the default, and assuming that
no part of the interest was paid
by the principals in the debt, the
whole interest for which the State
then had to provide was $3.50, 1856;
ard after paying il all the State
esill received into the treasury,
ANNUALLY, over $1G0,O00 from its
investments in excess ofthe inter-
est it had TO pay to public credi-
tors.
/ Bat, in fact, all this debt ex-
cept SS7 900 was the debt Of the
two delinquent railroad compa-
MES, and as other roads with e.
quail debt and less business facil-
i itics continued to pay their inter-
est. il is obvious that the delin-
quency was but partial and ten
porary.
The debt recited comprehends
the entire liability Of the State
existing at the time, beth Irima-
Ty and secondary, except a con-
finger liability as endorser upon
the bonds OF certain railroad conf
panies amounting t. $2,207 600.
: Itappears, therefore, that when
: the war began, the public debt
was not only no burden upon tic
Taxpayers, but, on the contrary
The investments maze by the
State contributed to alleviate the
: burden Of taxation FOR the ordi-
/ nary purposes Of government.
Tie credit Ofthe State had been
so cautiously extended to the rail-
road companies that thePossibil-
lily Of loss was remote. The in
ternalim Improvement act of lS5E-2
with Its subsequent amendments
: not only provided abundant in
demnity for the State, if faithful
Il " adhered to, but it made tie
preparation Ct fraud upon the
State impossible. The cost of
I the railroads cf the State was
, G ,timated TO bc from $4,000 to
, $27 ,0)0 per mile. The law linn
. tied the amount for which tic
State could become surety fcl
the company to about $1,000 q
: mile for all purposes, with lien
upon the whole property and It's
, usufi'uct for its indemnity. MOI
was aid in any case to be extern
lded until the road was so fil
sccmpleted as to insure its com
pletion by the application Of the
: amount guaranteed by the State.
and to the end that tie read.
: when completed, should be Of
such value as to afford unques-
iionable indemnity to the State
and protection to the Taxpayers,
the sale CT bond under its par
I value was expressly prohibited,
: and the actual application of the
whole proceeds Of the bonds to
the sole purpose prescribed by
law was directly enjoined. BY
a positive provision Ct law the
power to issue bonds, with which
; the Governor was. clothed, was
made conditional, and in these
conditions were:
l. That there was stock sub
scribed sufficient in amount and
solvency to grade and bridge the
whole road. That a gwen
number Of miles were completed.
-3. That there was no otker lien
: upon the road. That the bonds
were to be exclusively applied to
, the purposes prescribed.-5. That
the bonds were not to be scld for
less than their par value.
The law prescribed that all of
these precedent conditions should
be made to appear to the Cover
nor by The af1idavits Of certain Of
ficers of the company, by a res
olution Cf the Board of Directors,
and by the affidavits of an En-
gineer and a Commissioner, each
appointed by the State. When
ali these conditions were shown
to exist in the mode prescribed
by law, then, and not till then,
; did the Governor have the power
to issue the bonds. To protect
the Taxpayers against fraud and