718 



TENNESSEE. 



ground, as was imagined, was removed farther 

 south, and an extra amount of cable expended ; 

 they have since remained in good working or- 

 der. The onlj other Atlantic interruption 

 occurred on the Duxbury section of the French 

 Atlantic cable, which was soon repaired. 



The repairs to the Lisbon and Gibraltar sec- 

 tion occupied some time, and they not only 

 included the removal of a portion of the cable 

 from bad ground to a better place nearer the 

 shore, but also laying a duplicate cable from 

 Gibraltar, some little distance above the coast 

 toward Lisbon. 



Of the other lines, no interruptions have oc- 

 curred except to the Great Northern (China) 

 and Japan extensions, the Hong-Kong cable 

 having to be repaired, and to the Japan section, 

 which is now again in working order. 



The Spanish Government have had their 

 connection with the Balearic Isles renewed, 

 and the Dutch Government have had a cable 

 laid in the Straits of Sunda. The traffic from 

 the West Indies to America has been found 

 sufficient to allow of the duplication of the In- 

 ternational Ocean Company's line from Key 

 West to Punta Eossa (Florida). 



TENNESSEE. The last legislative session 

 held in this State under the old constitution 

 was closed on the 10th of February, 1871, and 

 the first one under the new opened on the 2d 

 of October following. 



In the Senate a resolution was introduced 

 and adopted, " instructing the Judiciary Com- 

 mittee to inquire and report whether it is in- 

 cumbent on the members of this body to take 

 the oath depriving duellists, their aiders and 

 abettors, from holding any office of honor or 

 profit in the State." The committee reported 

 on the 5th of October, that " it is not incum- 

 bent on the members of the Senate to take the 

 anti-duelling oath." 



As the new constitution provided that " no 

 member of the General Assembly shall be en- 

 titled to draw his pay per diem, except for 

 such days as he is present," a motion was of- 

 fered in the House of Kepresentatives, on the 

 3d of October, that " hereafter all members 

 who are not present at roll-call shall be con- 

 sidered absent for the day ; " which motion 

 was carried. 



On the 3d, the two Houses met in conven- 

 tion for the purpose of counting the votes for 

 Governor, and announcing the result. They 

 found " that at the late election John 0. Brown 

 received 78,979 votes, and that Mr. II. Wisner 

 received 41,500 votes." 



The amount of the State liabilities, com- 

 posed of railroad and turnpike-road in- 

 debtedness, with interest to January 1, 



1371, is $31,300,417 14 



State debt proper 4,083,991 28 



Interest funded on the same 735,553 00 



Bonds indorsed by the State 2,172,000 00 



Interest funded on the same, June 1, 1871. . 25,000 00 



Brought forward $40,194,989 4S 



FLOATING DEBT. 



Tennessee money (old issue) un- 

 redeemed $710,000 00 



Treasury warrants outstanding 752,417 27 



Loan account 206,000 00 1,668,417 27 



Interest to January, 1, 1S72., 



$40,194,989 48 



Total $41,863,400 G9 



The reliable assets and securities of the 

 State, other than taxes levied and uncollected, 

 to the amount of about $1,200,000, are reck- 

 oned in the aggregate at $20,701,825.76, 

 which, deducted from the gross indebtedness, 

 as above set down, leaves a balance of actual 

 debt of $21,161,590.93. 



This amount is composed of $15,000,000 

 balance of the bonded debt without interest ; 

 $4,493,173.66, accumulated interest on the 

 same up to January 1, 1872 ; and $1,668,417.27 

 floating debt, as before mentioned. 



The whole of the floating debt, together 

 with $250,000 unpaid expenses of 1871, $600,- 

 000, current expenses for 1872, and $100,000, 

 unexpended appropriation for the capitol- 

 grounds, making a total of $2,618,417.27, 

 Governor Brown suggests to pay off within 

 the year 1872. He would apply to this end the 

 $1,750,000 estimated revenues for 1872, and 

 $868,417.27 out of the $1,200,000 estimated 

 amount of past taxes uncollected. The balance 

 of $331,582.73 then remaining in the Treasury, 

 he says, would cover such appropriations as 

 may be made by the present Legislature ; the 

 unascertained expenses incurred for selling the 

 delinquent railroads, and certain claims of the 

 Federal Government against the State, which 

 are now in course of adjustment. 



As to the bonded debt, the Governor pro- 

 poses to fund its whole interest accrued and 

 to accrue up to the 1st of July, 1873 ; and re- 

 sume the regular half-yearly payments of the 

 interest from that date. The entire bonded 

 debt would thereby amount to $21,320,590, 

 and its annual interest to $1,879,204.44. The 

 periodical recurrence of this payment would 

 be almost fully met with the $1,300,000 net 

 State tax, and the $450,000 net tax on mer- 

 chandise and privileges. To cover the remain- 

 ing deficit of $129,204.44, and leave the State 

 Treasurer with a considerable sum on hand 

 besides, he suggests the repeal of the act of 

 March 1, 1869, exempting county and corpora- 

 tion bonds, in the hands of the citizens in the 

 State, from taxation, such exemption being con- 

 trary to express provisions of the constitution. 

 He suggests further, not only to continue the 

 tax on all suits, appeals, writs of error, pre- 

 sentments, and indictments in courts of error, 

 which "it has been the policy of the State for 

 a great many years to tax," but to impose a 

 suitable one on litigations before justices of the 



Seace, of whom there are three thousand un- 

 er commission in the State. He points also 

 to some other things that should be moderate- 

 ly taxed, as a considerable amount of revenue 

 would flow from this source into the State 

 Treasury, without yet giving the people any 

 reasonable cause for complaint. 



