764 



TENNESSEE. 



TEXAS. 



We oppose the present system of assessing and 

 equalization of values of the taxable property of the 

 State, and favor such revision of the assessment laws 

 as will secure a more just and equal assessment and 

 equalization, to the end that the burdens of taxation 

 will fall equally upon all the tax -payers of the entire 

 State. 



We are opposed to the taxation of the agents of the 

 agricultural organizations of our State, and will favor 

 tiie enactment of such laws as will secure to the farm- 

 ers equal rights and privileges with all other secular 

 occupations and professions in the State. 



We again denounce the system of leasing the con- 

 victs in our Penitentiary to be worked in the mines in 

 competition with the free labor engaged in developing 

 our wonderful mineral resources. 



Late in July the Prohibitionist State Execu- 

 tive Committee announced the name of J. C. 

 Johnson as the candidate of its party. At the 

 November election, Taylor received 156,799 

 votes, Hawkins 139,014, Johnson 6,893. The 

 Legislature elected at the same time will con- 

 tain 23 Democrats and 10 Republicans in the 

 Senate, and 73 Democrats and 26 Republicans 

 in the House. Cleveland electors were chosen, 

 and Democratic Congressmen elected in all of 

 the ten districts except the First, Second, and 

 Third. In the Third District the contest was 

 close. Upon the face of the returns, it ap- 

 peared that Evans, the Republican candidate, 

 had a majority of 228 votes ; but the friends 

 of Creed F. Bates, the Democratic candidate, 

 claimed that fraud in two of the election 

 districts could be shown, sufficient to jus- 

 tify the canvassing board in rejecting the re- 

 turns from those districts. In the event of 

 such rejection, the Democratic candidate would 

 have a majority of one vote. On the repre- 

 sentation of these facts, the Governor, as the 

 head of the board of canvassers, prepared, at 

 the suggestion of Bates's friends, a certificate 

 of his election prior to the meeting of the 

 hoard, in order that, if it should find that he 

 had been duly elected, the certificate might be 

 instantly issued before an injunction could be 

 obtained by the Republican candidate. The 

 certificate was signed and sealed and delivered 

 by the Governor to the Secretary of State, with 

 orders that it was not to be considered as issued, 

 and was not to be entered or copied into the 

 records, until further directions were given. 

 "When the canvassing board met, it was found 

 that the facts would not justify the exclusion 

 of the votes in the two districts referred to, and 

 the Governor destroyed the first certificate and 

 prepared another in favor of Evans. But the 

 Secretary of State disagreed with him in his 

 conclusions regarding the frauds, and refused 

 to attest his signature to the second certificate. 

 He was also enjoined from issuing and deliver- 

 ing the certificate to Evans. The investigation 

 of the returns not only showed that Evans was 

 elected, but, even if the amended returns were 

 accepted and the two districts thrown out, still 

 Evans was elected, because an amendment from 

 Bradley County increased his majority by four 

 votes, thus overcoming Bates's majority of one 

 and leaving Evans a clear majority of three. 



Arguments in the injunction case were made 

 before Chancellor Allison in December, the 

 Governor appearing by counsel and denying 

 that the court had any jurisdiction to control 

 the Executive in the exercise of what he claimed 

 was the discretionary power of his office. The 

 Chancellor decided in favor of the Governor, 

 and an appeal was taken to the State Supreme 

 Court. 



TEXAS. State Government. The following 

 were the State officers during the year : Gov- 

 ernor, Lawrence S. Ross, Democrat; Lieuten- 

 ant -Governor, T. B Wheeler; Secretary of 

 State, J. M. Moore ; Treasurer, Frank R. Lub- 

 bock; Comptroller, John D. McCall ; Attorney- 

 General, James S. Hogg; Superintendent of 

 Public Instruction, Oscar H. Cooper ; Commis- 

 sioner of the General Land-Office, R. M. Hall ; 

 Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, Asa H. 

 Willie, who offered his resignation, to take 

 effect March 3, and was succeeded by Asso- 

 ciate Justice John W. Stayton ; Associate Jus- 

 tices, John W. Stayton, promoted as above, 

 R. R. Gaines, and Alexander H. Walker, ap- 

 pointed in March to succeed Justice Stayton. 



Legislative Session. A special session of the 

 Legislature was called to meet on April 16. 

 The more important reasons for this were, first, 

 the existence of a large and growing surplus in 

 the revenue account of the treasury, amount- 

 ing at that time to over $1,500,000, exclusive 

 of the net indemnity claim of $922,541.52, re- 

 cently received from the General Government; 

 second, a large deficiency in the school reve- 

 nues, amounting to $400,000 for the year 1886- 

 '87 and $250,000 for 1887-'88 ; third, the com- 

 pletion of the new State Capitol. The existence 

 of a large surplus revenue gave rise to various 

 extravagant measures for its expenditure, hut 

 the action of the Legislature in making appro- 

 priations was on the whole moderate, though 

 its reduction of the tax-rate from 25 cents to 

 10 cents for 1888, and 20 cents for each year 

 thereafter, proved to be ill-advised. For the 

 purpose of reducing the school-revenue defi- 

 ciency a bill was passed transferring $254,000, 

 or so much of it as should be needed, to pay 

 outstanding warrants held by the counties 

 against the available school-fund, from the 

 general revenue fund to the school-fund ; and 

 the further sum-of $250,000, which was appro- 

 priated out of the treasury as a sinking-fund to 

 pay such part of the bonded debt payable in 

 1890 and 1891 as should be held by individuals, 

 was loaned to the school-fund without interest 

 till the maturity of said bonds. The sum of 

 $504,000 was thus made available for the use of 

 the school-fund. Among the other appropria- 

 tions of the season was $150,000 for the erection 

 of two wings, for the accommodation of 400 

 patients, at the North Texas Insane Asjlum, in 

 Terrell; $140,000 for furnishing the State Capi- 

 tol and grading and fencing the grounds; $50,- 

 000 for the expenses of the session; $125,000 

 as a loan to the University of Texas, without 

 interest, payable in 1910, of which $50,000 is 



