Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-12-08
LET THE QUESTION BE DEIDED.

LET THE QUESTION BE DEIDED.
A year ago, when the Legislature
met. it was found that the House of
Representatives was nearly equally
divided between the two political par
ties. and it was evident there would
be hot contest between the Repub
licans and Democrats as to which
party should organize the House.
And it was still more evident that a
fierce contest was about to take place
between the parties over the election
of a United States Senator. The fact
that the United States Senate was
equally divided, and that the result of
an election in Tennessee would pros
badly decide which political party
should control the Senate, intensified
the interest in that election, and at
tracted the attention of the whole
country to the contest.
Now, our readers will remember
that there was a contest from Polk
County as to whether Foute, a Re
publican, or Stewart, a Democrat,
was entitled to seat in the Legis-
lature. In political point of view
all could see how important it was to
the two political parties as to
which of these men should be seated,
and seated early enough to partici-
pate in the organization of the
House of Representatives and the
election of United States Senator.
It will be remembered that the case
went to the Supreme Court on a
petition for a mandamus, and that
the court came promptly to the front
and advanced it upon the docket,
taking up the case which had been
cut and dried for the purpose, put
ting aside all other suitors, many of
whom had been begging for years to
have their cases tried and their rights
adiudicated. It was taken up with
out delay. The court. decided, not only
to take it up at once and out of its
place; but with the least possible de~
lay decided that Stewart was entitled
to certificate of election. He got
his seat and voted with his party
in the election for United States
Senator Now it is not our
object to especially criticise
this action of the Supreme Court,
though we are prepared to say that
there are many good lawyers in the
State who were surprised at that de-
eision, and who still believe that the
executive authority of the State are
under our Constitution given the ex-
elusive power of settling who are en-
titled to certificates of election, and
upon failure or refusal to settle that
question, that the Legislature alone
has jurisdiction of the question. Nor
have the legal profession ever been
able to reconcile the decision made
by that court in the Foute-Stewart
case, with a prior decision made by
the same court on similar question.
Again the Supreme Court is in ses
sion at Nashville. There is upon the
docket case involving the execution
OF the laws passed at the last
session to settle the State debt. No
clse was ever before court in this
state where so much that was ma
terial to every citizen of the State,
especially to every taxpayer was at
stake. The interest on the State
debt as it now stands is about four
teen hundred thousand dollars pei
annum, in round numbers. The car.
rying into effect of the law passed to
settle the debt, or, in other words
the taking up and decision of the
case now pending before the Su
preme Court, if decided one way,
viii reduce the amount of interest
one half, or about seven hundred
thousand dollars per annum. The
State gets a uew loan, or rather
further time on her debt and get.
the rate of interest reduced from
SIX to three per cent.
Nor is this all We learn tha
there is now about two millions O
dollars collected from the people b,
taxation, which wnen levied by tn,