The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-01-15

the work of years of Legislative ex-
pertinent"
While, as stated, the court decided all
questions for petitioners, it dismissed
the suits, mainly on the ground that the
railroads had signified their willingness
to pay the taxes as assessed Ca fact ac-
cruing after suit had been brought), and
because nearly three months of the
year had expired (the case had been
pending in the Supreme Court about
two months)
These things could not have occurred
had the Assessors followed the law as
declared by the cOuIt and as the Attor-
ney General should have advised them,
instead of becoming their employed at
tOrney and advocate, thereby seriously
affecting public interest in defeating
the statute.
That the Legislature may have the
benefit of the history of the case and
the law governing it, | file, as part of
this message, the opinion of the court.
The suit was a proper and necessary
one, and, while it failed for the col
lateral reasons stated by the court, and
arising after suit was brought, it
establishes important principles that
will be of much service to the State in
the future.
| The Board of Examiners employed
Messrs. Vertrees Il Vertrees to repre-
sent the State, and | now ask that n
reasonable fee be allowed them for their
services.
Finances.
| have seen nothing to change my
opinion as expressed in message to the
second extraordinary session Of the
| Forty-Ninth General Assembly. | adj
here to the opinion therein expressed
/ a n Il Az thnrn ha in
vestigation by you of the condition of
the treasury, deem it unnecessary to
! further discuss the matter
In circular letters the Comptroller
claims there is money in the treasury
to pay costs in criminal prosecutions
that because of my failure to authorize
it in the call for special session, the
Legislature did not authorize him to
! pay such costs.
This was the first intimatiOn that
had of claim on the part of the Comp
troller that the money was on hand,
and all that was necessary was an act
authorizing its application to the pay
ment of costs.
In no communication or interview did
he ever hint at the presence of funds
sufficient for the purpose, nor did he
call attention of the Legislature to the
fact so far as | know or heard. The call
did, in my opinion, clearly embrace all
legislation necessary to take care Of the
credit and honor of the State, and meet
its Indebtedness and expenses, and if it
had been thought the money to pay
such obligation was in the treasury the
Legislature could and would have APP
propriated it for the purpose. But was
the money there? Certainly not.
! In his letter to me of April 3, 1896
Comptroller Harris says:
"The criminal prosecution account
has been for years Overdrawn, but be.
cause of the alertness Of revenue agents
and the new system of auditing adopted
in my Office, the results of which will be
more strongly felt this year than they
could have been last year, we will be
enabled to keep the expenses on that
account for the year 1896 down to $780,
0OO"
On his estimated disbursements for
five months ending December 81, 1876
he puts State prosecutions at $3,34O36.
If he succeeded in keeping this eX-
pense account down to 100000 that
would make the monthly costs of prose
cutiOns Sl6,666.662a, or for the five
months SS3, $685. and to say nothing
of the unpaid costs for the first seven
months of the year and applying every
dollar of the claimed surplus of S73,371
to the criminal costs and not paying
anything on other Indebtedness would
leave a deficit of $9,962 i'm excess of hi
estimated surplus on Januaay |, 1897
with difference between his estimated
disbursement on that account and the
actual amount due by his own figures
of about $4,000.
None of these costs have been paid fol
several months and how much is due
from the State can only be ascertained
by investigation of COmptrOller's anC
Treasurer's accounts.
The efforts OF the COMPTROLLER NAV
have enabled us to meet the interest on
the bonded Indebtedness, but still there
will be deficits on criminal costs, chart
ties and other home obligations.
\ deficit from any cause is calculated
to injure the credit of the State, no mat
ter how the deficit comes.
The obligations at home are as sacred
and binding as those abroad.
As is my duty | urge upon you tie
necessity of making such revenue and
other laws as will as soon as possible
pay off our Indebtedness and preserve
our honorable standing as a State.
We can only pay debts through taxa.
ton and economical expenditures
therefore we should so far cut down eX
penses and increase taxation as vii
meet the present financial condition
and protect our credit and honor.
PETER TURNEY,
Governor.