TENNESSEE. 



755 



standard of the people, and I intend to fight the bat- 

 tle out for them. (A voice : " Yes, that's right. 

 Ain't that so, major?") 



The Republican State Convention assembled 

 in Nashville, September llth, and, during an 

 harmonious session, nominated A. A. Freeman 

 for Governor, Horace Maynard for Congress- 

 man for the State at large, and Alvin Hawkins 

 as elector for the State at large. Its platform 

 has failed to reach us. 



The contest among the candidates for Con- 

 gressman at large, General Cheatham, Horace 

 Maynard, and ex-President Johnson, was very 

 spirited, and was watched with interest 

 throughout the country. The election resulted 

 in the choice of Mr. Maynard, who received 

 80,825 votes out of a total vote of 183,913 ; 

 General Cheatham received 65,188, and ex- 

 President Johnson 37,900. Mr. Maynard's 

 majority over the next highest candidate was, 

 therefore, 15,637. The whole number of votes 

 cast for President, was 178,046, of which 94,391 

 were for Greeley, and 83,655 for Grant, giving 

 to the former a majority of 10,736. The gu- 

 bernatorial election resulted in favor of John 

 C. Brown, who was elected by a majority of 

 13,589, having 97,689 out of 181,789 .votes. 

 The State government for 1873 is composed 

 as follows : Governor, John 0. Brown, Dem- 

 ocrat ; Secretary of State, Thomas H. Butler, 

 Democrat; Comptroller, Edwin R. Penneba- 

 ker, Democrat; Treasurer, William Morrow, 

 Democrat. 



In his message to the Legislature, dated 

 January 9, 1873, Governor Brown devotes 

 much space to the consideration of the financial 

 interests of the State, which he thinks are not 

 entirely free from embarrassment, although 

 the last three years have witnessed a great re- 

 duction in the bonded debt, and a perceptible 

 improvement in the value of Tennessee secu- 

 rities in the money-markets. The Governor 

 remarks that the debt is still large, and the 

 quotations of the bonds are far below that of 

 other States of equal indebtedness, and with 

 inferior resources. The bonded debt with the 

 unpaid coupons added to the 1st of January, 

 1873, according to the Comptroller's report, 

 is $30,632,200.76. The State lien upon solvent 

 railroads, and the proceeds of the sale of de- 

 linquent roads, will reduce the actual debt to 

 $21, 362,654.31, which can be paid alone through 

 the instrumentality of taxation. Of this latter 

 sum, about $4,000,000 is unpaid over-due cou- 

 pons; and the debt will continue to increase 

 at the rate of about $1,000,000 per annum, 

 until the payment of interest is resumed. 



No interest on the public debt has been paid 

 for more than three years, nor has any provi- 

 sion been made for it. "Now the question," 



says the Governor, "what shall be done with 

 pur past-due coupons and bonds and the accru- 

 ing interest cannot, upon any pretext, justifi- 

 able either before the world or before the en- 

 lightened public sentiment of Tennessee, be 

 longer postponed. It is a question that can- 

 not be trifled with. If this General Assembly 

 fails to make provision for the debt, two years 

 hence your successors may quail before a debt 

 increased about $2,000,000 by accrued inter- 

 est. And we may well ask ourselves whether 

 the country will be better prepared to meet 

 the present debt, increased by $2,000,000, than 

 we are now to meet the existing debt. Noth- 

 ing gives such a promise." As a practical so- 

 lution of the problem, he recommended the 

 funding of the entire bonded debt of the State, 

 including the past-due coupons, in a new series 

 of bonds to mature in forty years, bearing in- 

 terest at the rate of six per cent, per annum, 

 payable in January and July of each year. 

 Two reasons are assigned for this policy: 

 "1. If there be outstanding bonds issued with- 

 out authority of law, they can and will be de- 

 tected, and thrown aside. "VVe ought not to 

 pay the principal or interest of such bonds, 

 and this is the only practicable mode of detect- 

 ing them. 2. In the issue of a new series of 

 bonds, running forty years, taking up all the 

 old bonds, a system of registration not hereto- 

 fore adopted in Tennessee would always show 

 precisely our bonded debt. The work of fund- 

 ing would be accomplished under one law, and 

 probably within a year after the passage of the 

 act. The confusion always incident to a fre- 

 quent issue of bonds, under different acts, to 

 take up obligations constantly maturing, would 

 be altogethar avoided, and our financial sys- 

 tem would be greatly simplified. It is be- 

 lieved that the expenses incident to funding 

 should be borne by the holders of our securi- 

 ties, and, under an assurance and provision for 

 an early resumption of the payment of inter- 

 est, it is believed that the bondholder would 

 cheerfully comply with such a provision." It 

 was further recommended that interest be paid 

 only upon the funded debt, and that provision 

 be made for such payment, to commence as 

 early as may not be oppressive to the tax-pay- 

 ers. This measure, if adopted, should provide 

 also for the funding of all well-ascertained lia- 

 bilities of the State, other than what is recog- 

 nized as the floating debt, and the repeal of all 

 existing laws authorizing the funding or nova- 

 tion of bonds and coupons is advised. 



The financial embarrassment of the State 

 very forcibly suggests the necessity of seeking 

 new sources of revenue. The attention of the 

 Legislature is called to the fact that while the 

 capital stock of Tennessee railroads is, by their 

 charters, perpetually exempted from taxation, 

 the shares of stock in the corporation in the 

 hands of individual stockholders, according to 

 a decision of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 

 are not so exempted, and the General Assem- 

 bly are reminded that they are left without 



