TENNESSEE. 



787 



Chief-Justice Deadrick, in pronouncing the 

 dissenting opinion, said : 



1. I am of opinion that the title of the act, " to 

 compromise ana settle the bonded indebtedness of the 

 State of Tennessee," sufficiently expresses the subject 

 thereof; that it contains but one subject, the several 

 sections of the act being pertinent to the object ex- 

 pressed in the title, and therefore it is not void, as be- 

 ing repugnant to section 17 of Article II of the Con- 

 stitution of Tennessee. 



2. I am further of opinion that the courts of the 

 State have no power to review or reverse the legisla- 

 tive action of the General Assembly, except for the 

 reason that such action is violation of the Constitu- 

 tion ; and that such action, if within their constitu- 

 tional power, can not be questioned by the courts of 

 the State upon allegations of fraud and bribery. 



3. I am also of opinion that tax-paying citizens may 

 file their bill to protect themselves from the injurious 

 operation of a threatened and impending act wnich is 

 alleged to be unconstitutional, although such act is 

 about to be performed under the apparent authority 

 of the State. The court may inquire if there exists 

 legal authority for the act ; if so, it will not impede or 

 obstruct it. On the other hand, if it appears it is pro- 

 hibited by the fundamental law, it should restrain it 

 upon the ground that the injurious act about to be 

 done is unauthorized by law. 



4. I am, therefore, or the opinion that the constitu- 

 tionality of the act is fairly presented to this court for 

 its decision and that the question for our deliberation 

 is, Had the Legislature the power to pass it ? And in 

 my opinion it had the power there being no exhi- 

 bition or restraint in the Constitution to prevent it 

 from doing so. 



I, therefore, concur with Judge Ewing hi holding 

 that the act is constitutional and valid, and that the 

 Chancellor's decree dismissing the bill should be af- 

 firmed. 



The General Assembly which passed the 

 100-3 act, was convened by Governor Haw- 

 kins in extraordinary session, for the express 

 purpose of adjusting the debt, and passed an 

 act on May 19, 1882, known as the " 60-6 act," 

 authorizing the funding of the debt by issuing 

 new bonds for sixty cents on the dollar, bear- 

 ing 3 per cent interest for the first two years, 

 4 per cent for the next two years, 5 per cent 

 for the next two years, and 6 per cent there- 

 after, and declaring that the funding under this 

 act should cease after January 1, 1883. The 

 necessary steps were taken to execute this law 

 immediately after its passage, but at the close 

 of the year the Comptroller reports that the 

 holders of more than half of the outstanding 

 bonds had declined to avail themselves of its 

 provisions. It is reported that, under this act, 

 only $13,706,812.77 of the old bonds and ac- 

 crued interest have been funded, that is, at 40 

 per cent off, new bonds for $8,226,540 have 

 been issued, leaving upward of $14,000,000, 

 bonds and overdue interest, still unfunded. 

 This act was passed in acceptance of the prop- 

 osition made by Mr. Eugene Kelly, of New 

 York, as the chairman of the bondholders' 

 committee, and as authorized to act in their 

 behalf by a reported majority in numbers and 

 amount of the holders of Tennessee bonds. 

 The failure of all the bondholders to avail 

 themselves of the compromise offered by this 

 act within the specified time, left the question 

 of the debt still as a bone of contention be- 



tween those who favored the full payment of 

 the debt, and were opposed to the compro- 

 mise, and those who advocated the payment 

 of a much smaller proportion of it than the 

 act contemplated, and it consequently became 

 a leading party issue in the canvass preceding 

 the fall elections. The Democrats were di- 

 vided into two parties, the " State-Credit " and 

 the " Low-Tax " parties, and the Republicans 

 expected, by alliance with the " State-Credit " 

 Democrats, to carry the State, and obtain the 

 power and patronage of the government. 



The total bonded debt, as reported by the 



Comptroller on April 1, 1882, was $20,206,800 Op 



The accrued interest amounted to 8,188,551 50 



Total liability April 1, 1882 $28,889,851~50 



The Eepublican State Convention met May 

 3d, at Nashville, and nominated Alvin Haw- 

 kins for re-election as Governor. 



The Democratic Convention, representing 

 both wings of the party, met on June 20th, 

 and on the fifth ballot nominated General W. 

 B. Bate as the Democratic candidate for Gov- 

 ernor. The nomination was afterward made 

 unanimous. The division of opinion on the 

 question of the State debt caused a protracted 

 discussion on the majority and three minority 

 reports of the committee on resolutions and 

 platforms, resulting in the adoption of the ma- 

 jority report, which is as follows : 



The Democracy of Tennessee, in State Convention 

 assembled, declare : 



1. That the Democrats of Tennessee, with their ma- 

 jority of the popular vote, are the rightful guardians 

 of the honor and good name of the State, and that 

 they willingly accept the duty and responsibility of 

 preserving them from taint or suspicion, and that it 

 is equally their right and duty to settle its indebted- 

 ness. 



2. That while we accord to all an honest difference 

 of opinion, we regard the enactment of the 60-3-4-5-6 

 as unwise, because it is, in our opinion, not in accord 

 with the views of the people. 



3. That there is a portion of the State debt, such as 

 the bonds issued for the building of our Capitol, for 

 the purchase of the Hermitage, etc., and commonly 

 known as the State debt proper, with accrued inter- 

 est, the validity of which has never been disputed by 

 any portion of our party, we consider as a valid and 

 sacred obligation of the State, and favor the payment 

 of the same in full, leSs war interest. 



4. That we tender to our creditors a settlement of 

 the remainder of the State debt, by paying one-half 

 the principal and accrued interest by issuing the 

 bonds of the State bearing interest at the rate of 3 per 

 cent per annum for the first ten years, and 4 per cent 

 interest from thence to their maturity. 



5. That we are unalterably opposed to every species 

 of monopoly as destructive of liberty and the best in- 

 terest of the people, and to this end we favor the es- 

 tablishment of a commission, the object of which 

 shall be to regulate the tariffs charged by the railroads 

 of the State so as to put an end to the unjust discrim- 

 ination by said roads in favor of througn as against 

 local freights. 



6. That wo favor the time-honored doctrine of in- 

 struction, and recognize the right of the people at all 

 times and upon all questions to communicate their 

 views to their representatives. 



7. That we favor an efficient public-school system, 

 and the liberal education of all the children of the 

 State. 



8. We arraign the Kepublican party for its venality 



