Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-03-16

Goodlett, of Nashville, for ooe hundred and
| To- ty-six dollars.
SeHate.-At eleven o'clock Mr.. Wilson
took the floor, reiterating the points made n
| his argument the day previous. de stated
that he honored the rulers of the State whom
the majority report is charged with seeking
| to defame. He secuted the very utteranccs
upon which that report was grounded as to
the iuegularity of the issuance Of many OF
the State bonds. He held up letter OF a
former railroad president-RobertsOn IoPp-
who had said that the internal improvement
act was a practical absurdity, and that the
railroad companies did NOT observe 1t. An
drew Johnson had declared the issuance OF
| the bonds unconstitutional, aud that fraud
| had been perpetrated il the sale OF them.
He called Senator ClaPD's attention to the
| report OF the Judiciary committee OF the
| legislature Of IS69-70, whic h was Itself vim
dication of the majority report.
Mr.. Clapp SAID ne indOrsed every word OF
| that judiciary committees report.
Mr.. Wilson said, all right. Then you
say IN effect yourself that the roads got no
| title to their bonds. He then cited, among
other legal authorities in support of the posi-
! tons of the majority report, decision from
| 10Th Wallace, page 6U, by Judge Fields,
aud asked the senators to read the majority
report ID connection with the decision. He
asked to be shown any law for the governor
of Tennessee to make any contract de was
aware that recent opinions OF the supreme
court were in conflict with his position, but
| his friend from Shelby no more agreed
with the opinions of the same court as affect
ing the bill to abolish the charter Of Mem
phis. He would rather take the
opinion of Judge M'Farland than
| those of an eight-by-seven tribunal,
and cited the case Of Hawkins
county as. the Rogersvie railroad. Some
senator from Shelby had said the charge OF
fraudulent issue in the majority report was
without any Judicial authority. He held up
| a record from the supreme court and of the
chancery court in Franklin county in the
cases of Martin Shea rs. Joe Mabry aud
Davenport rs. Davenport. The latter was
| decision Of the present governor of Tennes-
see; but he said no lawyer would assume that
a political investigation could preserve the
| judicial method OF the courts. He appre-
| hended that political plunderers would be
very glad to introduce this principle into
| the political Jurisprudence of investigation.
| He said that Brownlow never signed the
| bonds issued IN his name; some were signed
| in New York, and some here, 10y his private
| secretary. He appealed to the bondholders
| and to the railroads not TO go before
| the people on the legality of these bonds.
| He was not afraid of the threatened upheaval
| of popular Indignation that was to over
| whelm US. He was much more fearful Of an
| upheaval the other way that would bear him
on its surface. Although the debt was
! illegal, he was willing to settle it on the
| grounds of wise public policy. He was
| willing to settle it on such basis as the last
| nickel would warrant; If you don't you place
| the people IN an attitude of conscious dis
| honesty. Who Is to determine how much
must be levied to meet, after the current ex-
penses, the amount the people were able TO
paw in interest? He referred to the use of
newspapers at Memphis to deprecate bonds
to within quarter Of fifteen per cent, only
to show the methods by which railroads pro-
ceeded. Mr. and Mrs. Brownlow were not
corrupt but the proof showed that five rail-
road presidents were willing to spend five
thousand dollars to influence legislation. He
said he knew tge ,jority OF court opinions
were against him, bat the major portion
of the Judicial thought OF the times was on
his side of the question.
MIR. Hanson said he was sensible of the re-
sponsibilty of the position he occupied
standing In an almost hopeless minority IN
the committee. The arguments he mad heard
in defense of the majority report of the debt
investigating committee would seem that we
! had come into this hall for the special pur-
pose nt indicating political parties and the
records oS certain gentlemen. This was a
matter that ha,, nothing to do With the bills
under consideration. qe gave the investl-
eating committee full creG.t Tor zeal ana
sincerity In their researches, but the report
was a mere detailed statement of the methods
bonds had been issued. 1t the gentle
men mean to say that their judlcl-
airy is so corrupt that they dare not submit
this question to them, it would seem to be
better to dispense with that coordinate de-
partment OF the government and the legIs-
lature. If you come here to say that the
people are lighter than their representa-
tiSes or their courts, and that right aud JUS
tlce is but question OF muscle and num-
bers, you might as well dispense with laws
and legislation. The senators from Warren,
Sumner and Lincoln, have assured Us that
the question is resolved to q wager OF battle
between might and right, and one OF the gem
temen admitted that the courts of the coun-
try are against him. The opinion cited from
10th Walton had no analogy with the ques-
ton before them. The constitution of 1884
advocated a well. directed system Of internal
Improvements. Both the old political parties
from that time down had advocated them, and
Anurew Johnson at the command of his party
advocated them. James G. Jones was one of
the founders of the railroad. Only the cross
roads politicians OF 1876 and 1877 had dis
covered that 1t was a vicious policy. he
warned the senate against these appeals to
higher law 1t was most unfortunate that
the Democratic platform had introduced such
principles into its platform. SneerS at judi
cal authorities through mention of eight
by-seven tribunals and JetfrIes on the Ueuch
were simply challenge to battle, III which
the strongest should prevail, regardless OF
honor refinement, civilization, Justice and
order When that principle was announced
he had almost concluded he would not
open his mouth on the subject. What
night had they to discriminate be-
tween creditors? What right t0 pay
the capital bonds and reject others? What
right to erect this palace IN a pauper State?
If we are to have a general law OF bankrupt
cy for the State, why not for the people indl-
vidually? 1t was the basest dishonor to
shield a wrong behind the cloak of sover-
eighty. He challen- ed the gentlemen that
if they found fraud in the bonds to submit
the question to their own courts, and if afraid
to trust their courts, to invite IN the chief
justices of contiguous neighboring States
and constitute them a tribunal. Let the peo-
pie come here and examine the records in
their senate journal, and see how under the
various technicalities the seit-styled cham
pions of the dear people refuse to vote tor
measure to relieve the tax payers, and by
adroit parliamentary tactics of shrewd.
sharp record makers avoid record
for themselves by preventing the ayes and
noes. A man might as well thrust has finger
into the eye of a member of the senate as to
hope, by any sort Of fair argument, to get
one of them TO vote against the salaries of
the magistrates and clerks-the captains OF
hundreds who return them seals In the legls-
ture. He was IN favor OF protecting the
honor anu interest Of the people at any
hazard, and, to int end, was ready to settle
with their creditors upon the best terms they
could give. If they would take away from
the municipalities and county courts the
power to levy one dollar Of the taxes and
give one half of that to the State, there need
be no doubt OF the States ability to pay.
For himself referring to the humiliation
visited upon Mississippi which sOe could
never outlive), he you'd ascend the glib
bet with the enthusiasm Of a religious
martyr, sooner than bequeath 10 ms children
an inheritance of shame and disgrace. The
sef-styled low-credit champion, instead of
offerir 2 counter terms to the bondholders rep
resentative Hon. Roger A. Pryor rejected
his proposition brusquely. Their finance
committee got together huriedly one morn
ing before the opening of the session ia one
corner OF this chamber and unceremonlously |
kicked the offer of the abatement from the |
bondholders out of the senate chamber, with |
ont even submitting it to the dear people. |
Do senator's think the people send them up |
here to trade among themselves. Inc
citizens of Tennessee did not send