Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-05-18

Mr.. Driver read the following report OF Tbs
Special Joint Committee appointed to in
vestigate the 50 and proposition.
The Report.
The undersigned, members of the commit
! tee appointed under the resolution intro
duced by Senator s. +. Smith, being Senate
joint resolution TO investigate and report as
| to the number of bondholders sceeding to
the so and act passed March %, 1879, be-
fore it was submitted TO the people at the
ballot box, being unable to concur in the
report of the majority OF the committee, beg
leave TO submit this minority report: Inas-
much as the the 90 and 6 proposition sub
mitted by the boDdholder5 in 1877 and the
so and 4 proposition sceeded TO by them in
1879 have both been rejected, the undersigned
have to confess their inability to perceive
the relevancy Of this inquiry or the advan-
tage to accrue therefrom to the people of the
State. Nevertheless, accepting the express
sion of the majority OF the committee, that
| the desire of the committee was really "to
offer every opportunity for throwing light on
this heretofore disputed question" and that
the real object and purpose was
"To DO JUSTICE To EVERY ONE,
whether past official or private citizen" the
| undersigned attempted TO induce the N iority
| of the committee to issue subpenas to COM
| pei the attendance of persons and the pro-
duction of papers, but they were met with a
refusal on the ground that this committee,
| which professed to be DESTROYS Of affording
| every opportunity, had No power to do so.
| Thereupon the undersigned earnestly labortd
| to induce the committee to request of the
| General Assembly that this power be con-
ferred ON them, but by majority this the
committee declined to do. The proposition
| commonly known as the
60 AND 6 PROPOSITION
was submitted during the administration of
| Governor James D. Porter. Upon its recep-
| ton the General Assembly was convened by
him TO consider il. He submitted to the
| fortieth assembly the proposition Of the bond
| holders by his message OF December 5, 1877,
along with which he submitted, as accompa-
nying documents, letters from creditors of
| Tennessee TO the number OF seven in ALL
| House and Senate Journal, extra session,
| 1877, page 10.) Three Of these letters
stated the amount of bonds reported by the
writers, but four were silent with respect
thereto. The amount, it is stated, aggre-
gated S2,741 900. In the statement of Gov
ernor Porter, now given to the committee, he,
for the first time, 30 far as the undersigned
have been able TO discover, stated the amount
of bonds held or controlled by the creditors
enumerated by him as to having
CONSENTED TO ACCEPT 60 AND 6.
1t will be found upon examination Of Gov
ernor Porter's statement, that he expressed
the opinion that nine-tentbs of the creditors
had acceded thereto. The evidence upon
which Governor p, rter based this Opinion"
or the proof or evidence upon which he pro-
ceeds to state the amount of bonds held by
the creditors enumerated by him, has not |
been furnished by him, or exhibited to the |
committee, or offered to be furnished by him. |
The undersigned do not hesitate to declare |
that the documents to be found in the public |
- -.
insufficient to justify the opinion !
expressed in said statement upon |
which the majority report is exclusively |
founded. With respect to the
so AND PROPOSITION,
the undersigned beg leave to state that after |
the passage of the act providing condition |
ally for its submission to the people at the |
ballot-box, Governor A. S. Marks finding, |
was apparent, that it was impossible for |
him to confer in person with the bondhold- |
ers of Tennessee, or to ascertain by personal !
such investigation Mr.. N. Baxter and die
Hon. B. A. Enloe, men who were
known to favor the clsfm of
the bondholders to be heard ia any ad-
justment which might be made. They |
proceeded TO New York, AID were followed |
by a committee of prominent citizens of the
same opinion touching the right of the |
bondholders to be consulted, among them be-
ing Ex-Governor Porter, of Tennessee, chair
man of the Cltiz MS Committee. On the 10Th |
of April. 1879, an informal meeting appears |
to have been held by
THE COMMITTEE AND THE BoNDHoLDERs. |
in New York, at which Mr.. Tappan, presi-
dent of the Gallatin National Bank, of New
York, said: As the representative OF the |
holders of very large amount of the bonds, |
he accepted the proposition, and it was |
unanimously resolved (the presidents OF |
seven or eight New York banks voting among |
others) to recommend the settlement to the |
bondholders for acceptance. American, April |
"a, 1879 Governor Porter was present and |
thanked the New York gentlemen for their |
presence and ex expressed his gratitude for their |
sympathy and good will (American, April |
"a, 1879. While the two committees were in |
New York april 81, 1879 Mr.. Enloe and |
Mr.. Baxter addressed letter to Governor |
Porter, as chairman OF the Citizens Commit |
tee, requesting him to give them his opinion |
as to the acceptability to the creditors of the |
PROPOSED COMPROMISE.
If is obvious to the undersigned that under |
the circumstances none of these gentlemen |
who had been such active participants in |
previous negotiations could fail to know and |
note the number of creditors whose assent
was essential before the proposition could be
submitted to ballot under the act of 1879, |
and the undersigned do not hesitate |
to declare the opinion that the |
knowledge and recollection of all the |
parties then engaged must have been !
as full and distinct then as ii is now possible |
to be. The governors COMMITTEES desired an
expression from Governor Porter then be-
cause OF his valuable assistance therein in |
the effort to secure the bondholders assent. |
(American, April %, 1879 On the same day |
Governor Porter responded that what he had |
observed justified the hope that
LARGE MAJORITY WOULD ACCEPT THE PROP
osTTIoN AT AN EARLY DAY.
(Amerisan, April 25, 1879 And he further
expressed the qualification of the Citizens |
Committee at the promising prospects which |
are about to crown your earnest and dill |
gent efforts with early success. american, |
April %, 1879 The undersigned failed to |
observe in this expression as to the probability
of success any indication that success was to
be attained only By procuring the assent OF
the nine-teuths of the creditors. of the State. |
On the "a April, 1879, L. d. Alexander & |
Co., bankers, telegraphed that enough bond |
holders seemed to have assented to make the !
proposition likely to succeed. american, |
April %, 1879 Aud the undersigned beg |
leave also to remark that Porter, ia letter |
to
MEssRs. BAXTER AND ENLoE,
declared it as his opinion that no further |
lOOkiLS ~ HlOtC AtbSI al
to the creditors would be for years to come, |
if ever. american April &c, 1871 On the |
30,h day of April, 1879, Messrs. Baxter and |
Enloe, the special commissioners of Governor |
Marks, reported TO him: ave are satisfied |
the assurances of acceptances furnished US
complies with the provisions OF the law on
this subi5ct, and they concurred in the opin- |
ion expressed by Governor Porter, that |
respectable number of holders of our securi- |
ties are not merely willing, but anxious
TO refun1 their bonds on the terms
proposed, and that they should be
afforded an opportunity for doing so" Ire |
port OF the committee, April 80, 1879, in
the American of May /, 1879 From the
documents on file in the archives of the
State, the undersigned find that many
creditors
SIGNIFIED SPECIALLY THEIR ACCEPTANCE
OF THE PROPOSED COMPROMISE.
OF these portion state themselves to hold