Clarksville evening tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1890, 1890-03-08
COUNTY FINANCES.
Why Has the Financial Agent
Given No Boudp
The Law On the Question What Is the
Expert ForP

To the Tobacco Leaf-Chroniele:
/ have been asked if the Judge of
county court is required to execute
any bond. In reply to this 1 give
the copy of an act passed in 1879
and carried into the code On. & w
Sec. 4S2.
All chairmen and judges of the
County court, shall, before entering
upon the discharge of their duties,
enter into bond with good and suffi-
cient sureties, to be approved by the
Quarterly court in such penal sums
as said courts may fix, payable to the
the State of Tennessee, for the use of
their respective counties, conditions
for the faithful discharge of their
duties as accounting officers and
general agents of their counties dur
ing their official term.
In compliance with this statute our
county judge gave bond in Sept.
1879. This bond only covers his
action for his then unexpired term.
He was reelected in 1886, and it is
my information that no bond has
been given by the judge, nor has
one been required of him by the
Quarterly court, at any time since
his present term of Office began
This seems strange, in view of the
fact of the imperative requirement
of the statute, "Before entering on
the discharge of his duties he shall
enter into bond"
Who is responsible for this neglect
of duty, the judge or the quarterly
court, or both? The court neglects
to require of him a bond, and he de-
clines to execute one unless so re-
quired, and so the law is dead let
ter.
The court appointed a committee
to buy a lot and build a new court
house. After expanding some sew
enty-five or eighty thousand dollars
all of the committee except the
county judge resign and leave him
to finish up the job. He has never
made a report showing what the
courthouse cost. The quarterly
court does not require him to make
a report. The lot was bought in
1878 and we find him paying out
money on the original purchase in
1890. Who can tell how much it
cost or where the money came from
to build it? Who is responsible for
this state of affairs
So much has been said about his
keeping the accounts of the money
collected for county purposes and
about his making reports, that ! give
the law bearing on these two ques'
tons, Sec. 483.
Sub. Section 8, On. & w provides :
"The county judge shall enter in a
suitable book an account of the re-
ceipts and expenditures of the county
50 as to show clearly the assets of the
county and the debts payable to and
by it.
Sub Sec. 10. He shall report in
writing to the County court semi-an-
nually all money received and paid
out, and a complete statement of the
financial condition of the county,
and he shall settle his accounts once
every year"
If he has made a report since the
one made to the January term, 1880,
it has escaped my observation. If
there is a man in the county that
can tell how our finances stand
| do not know who he is, but if the
law had been complied with, las above
provided, any one interested could
ascertain in a few minutes. The
question naturally arises in ones
mind, why this reckless disregard Of
the law?
If the court whose duty it is to re
quire the bond and the report,
neglects Its duty is there no other
forum to which the taxpayers can go
to have their rights protected? VIII
they be forced to this extremity? If
so, the sooner it is known the better.
l have been told that the Quarterly
court at its January term authorized
the judge to employ an expert.
What for? Is he to examine a re.
port that is not reported, or is 1t
expected of him to make a report
that the judge will not make and
which the law requires to be made?
Verify it looks like trifling with
the patience of the taxpayers If the
judge has kept an account of the
receipts and expenditures as required
by Sub Sec. 8, above quoted, why
does he not throw open the doors and
let the public eye see what DISPOSE
ton has been made of the taxes that
have been collected and thereby allay
the uneasiness that prevails? Are
these books, that the law requires to
be kept, not public property? Patience
ceases to be a virtue when too long
ii. G. MERRITT.
A Big Deal in Arlington Stock.