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rebellion. Shall they be redeemed by a tax imposed upon the people? I know of no legal or moral obligation to redeem those notes, even if they occupied such an attitude that such an obligation could be enforced. It is known that when bank notes become uncurrent they are sold by the small holders, who are not in a condition to hold such paper, and bought up by speculators, generally at their own figures. In this way they accumulate in the hands of a few, often at prices almost nominal. The notes of the Bank of Tennessee, it is believed, are held in this way and by this class of dealers. Having lost the principal of this banking capital, and having sold these issues in small quantities at a heavy discount, shall our people be taxed to make these issues good in the hands of speculators? I confess I can see no equity in it. Doubtless instances will occur of individual hardship, and others will be pressed upon your attention, not so much by the parties themselves as by others interested in the adoption of a general policy based upon these existing cases. There remain to the bank large assets, uncollected debts, and the present liabilities of the faithless officers. Suits are understood to be pending against many of these officers of branches. The others should be held to their responsibilities. I content myself with these general suggestions, trusting in your wisdom, if you deem them practicable, to arrange the details.

The national banking system is believed on many accounts to be preferable. This would give us a circulation current all over the country, and subject our banking to more correct principles of finance. Other States are adopting the national banking sytem, and I recommend the same to the legislature of Tennessee. Such an institution could be used profitably as the fiscal agent of the State, and if you can secure the means, one in each of the other grand divisions of the State would work to advantage.

The qualification of voters, and other limitations of the elective franchise, have been intrusted to you by the people. This delicate responsibility will devolve upon you a heavy task, and merits your whole attention. That there should be some additional limitations prescribed few will deny. Many persons in the State, by every act of which they were capable have disfranchised themselves. Probably they neither expected or desired the privilege of again voting, and would not exercise it if granted them. Many others have committed acts deserving disfranchisement, who nevertheless will resist it, and strive for every civil right they enjoyed before the war, and before their treason had involved the State in so much suffering. While I would not recommend you to give way to the impulse of vengeance any more than to the appeals of sympathy and pity, I would urge you to guard the ballot-box faithfully and effectually against the approach of treason, no matter in what character it may come. The loyal people of the State who sent you here expect you to act decisively in the matter, and have no child's play in determining the qualification of voters. The subject has been considered by several of our sister States, whose reform was not any more loudly called for than with us. It is quite probable that this action and its effects may assist you in deciding what to accept and what to avoid.

As you are aware, upon the approach of the national forces and their occupation of our country, the government took possession of our railroads, in most of which the State is a large stockholder. The State is deeply interested in her internal improvements, as she has indorsed bonds at the rate of ten thousand dollars per mile, for nearly all the railroads in Tennessee. And as most of these bonds are held by guardians for the benefit, in many instances, of minors and widows, I think it nothing more than simple justice to pay them the interest already due them.

The Nashville and Chattanooga railroad was taken possession of by the federal authorities on the 7th of March, 1862, and has been held and used ever since, and, regarded as a military necessity, it was proper and right. Presum

ing the government to have kept the account strictly, she is now about ready to make a settlement. My information is that certain officers of the company visited Washington on two different occasions for the purpose of obtaining a settlement with the quartermaster general. They failed in their efforts, though the President of the United States, who was present on both occasions, expressed his views verbally as favoring the payment of the company for the use of the road. You should now call upon the proper authorities at Washington for payment to this and other companies, requiring the money received to be applied to the payment of interest on their bonds. The amount indorsed by the State for the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company is $1,535,000, and the interest accrued thereon is now nearly $300,000. It is believed that upon a just settlement the government will owe the company largely over that amount. This road cost the company $3,846,900, including its equipments and depots.

The other roads in the State are similarly situated and demand your attention. Those officers of roads and stockholders who fled south, carrying with them the rolling stock and funds, should be held to a strict accountability, and their property and stock should be made in part to atone for these losses to the State and country. The case of the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad and its faithless president requires our special attention.

It is believed the time has now come for the companies again to use their roads for the government, if need be, under even a military superintendentthereby effecting a vast saving to the government, asking only the same pay for freights and passengers they are now paying to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company. As this war is for the benefit of the whole nation, it is not believed that the general government intends that Tennessee shall pay more than her just proportion of the war debt.

Your attention is called to the fact that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company is running a portion of that road in this State, say about sixty miles, with another branch from Bowling Green to Clarksville, and for all that portion of road in our State the government pays the Kentucky company as if the road were in any other loyal State. The information I have is to the effect that the Kentucky company treats with indifference the claims of Tennessee upon that road. It is your duty to let that company know, in decided but respectful terms, what your rights are, and that you dare assert and maintain them.

The duty devolves upon you at this session of electing two senators to the Congress of the United States, and of re-districting the State, so as, without delay, to provide for the election of eight representatives to the next Congress. It is with profound regret that I have observed several republican journals, and some leading politicians of ability and influence are opposed to the admission of senators and representatives from Tennessee. They take the ground that the State should be treated as a Territory and continued under military government, subject to the arbitrary orders of military rule. If their dangerous and revolutionary doctrine is adhered to by any considerable portion of senators and representatives in Congress I shall, for one, dread the consequences. My confidence in the wisdom and patriotism of senators and representatives leads me to believe they will discard, indignantly, any such proposition. The loyal people of Tennessee have resolved through the ballott-box to rule themselves under the federal flag; taking the ground that the State has never been out of the Union, and boldly denying that the unconstitutional and treasonable acts of those in rebellion ever carried them out of the Union. Besides, the inauguration of the Vice-President from this State, and the withdrawal of a military governor to give place to civil authority, fix the status of Tennessee in the estimation of the federal authorities proper. And to your good sense and unyielding firmness I submit this grave question, not doubting that your action

will be correct.

Your attention is called to the condition of affairs in the State prison, full and specific details of which are given in the report of the officer who is in charge of that institution. I have every confidence that the legislature will look into the wants of the institution, and do for it what, in the judgment of members, may seem proper. Meanwhile, I suggest the establishment of branches of the penitentiary in the western district and in East Tennessee. The cost of building on a moderate scale would be saved to the State in fifteen or twenty years in the single item of a cash market, in each end of the State, for provisions to sustain, and raw material to keep the convicts employed in manufacturing such as lumber, marble, iron, coal, leather, &c. The erection of buildings would furnish employment and cash wages to a number of mechanics; and, as there are several salaried officers attached to such an institution, it would distribute the patronage of the State in her three natural divisions. If this be not done, an enlargement of the State prison will be required. The demoralized condition of both our white and colored population will cause scores to be sent to the penitentiary as our courts go into operation.

The Tennessee hospital for the insane, one of the charitable institutions of the State, located in this vicinity, deserves your attention and your aid. The prosperity and success of that noble State charity were all that its friends and the friends of humanity could desire at the breaking out of this wicked rebellion; but the institution has struggled hard to keep above the waves of oblivion for four years past. It kept its deposits in the Bank of Tennessee, and my information is, that when the faithless officers of the bank fled, on the approach of the national flag, they carried with them some $30,000 belonging to the institution. For the details in regard to its past operations and present necessities I refer you to the report of the superintendent and chief surgeon, a faithful and intelligent citizen.

The Tennessee blind school, a State institution in this city, has been utterly destroyed by the federal forces, and the unfortunate pupils, some forty in number, are distributed among their friends and the friends of humanity. It was not a military necessity that called for the destruction of the institution, but it was the work of recklessness; and if this general assembly will present the subject to the government at Washington in this light, it is believed that proper steps will be taken to restore this noble charity. The hopes of those pupils at best are blasted and their cup of bitterness is full when we have done all that lies in our power. We look out upon the world and we know it by its visible beauty; we know our wives by their affectionate looks, our children by their smiles and features, our neighbors by their faces and manner of address; but these, and all other earthly things, are to these blind people shrouded in darkness, and friends, children, and the world are lost to them forever.

The Tennessee deaf and dum school, located at Knoxville, merits your attention, as it is one of the charitable institutions of the State. The exciting events which are daily transpiring in the country should not induce us to lose sight of those whose misfortunes so strongly appeal to us for aid and comfort. The buildings and grounds, erected and purchased at a heavy expense by the State, are now used for hospital purposes by our army. Of the fourteen trustees, nine of them went into the rebellion, and most of them fled south. An equal proportion of the officers and teachers of the school proved to be rebels. An early organization of the institution upon a loyal basis is called for, and it is hoped will attract your attention.

The East Tennessee university, located at Knoxville, is a time-honored institution, and was chartered and endowed by the State in 1807. It has been almost destroyed by the federal army. The library, furniture, and fixtures are hopelessly destroyed. The main buildings are standing, and it is but just to the educational interests of the most loyal portion of the State that the government should place that institution on as good a footing as it found it. A

majority of the board of trustees turned out to be rebels, and their places should be filled with loyal men.

There are doubtless other institutions in the State which deserve the attention of this general assembly, but I am not informed as to their situations. The members representing all the counties will be able to look after their interests, and should feel that the duty devolves upon them.

Having thus fully placed before you the information requisite to enable you to judge of the condition of the State, the evils which environ us, and the measures of legislation needed for averting them and ridding ourselves of them, it remains for me but to invoke your attention to the consideration of those means by which, above all others, we may hope to restore order and prosperity to our country. And if one be more prominent than another, it is the necessity for earnest and cordial co-operation between the State and federal government. To you especially, as senators and representatives, do the loyal people of Tennessee look for encouragement and counsel. And to your action in the halls of legislation will all eyes be turned-not only in Tennessee, but in other States-for examples of what is befitting loyal men. I feel full confidence that you will prove yourselves equal to the emergency, and meet expectations both at home and abroad. I feel assured that, being united in a common and holy cause, you will rise above all selfish considerations, and, bowing submissively to the Divine will, you will unite with all good men in reverently invoking the blessings of our Heavenly Father upon all we say and do while in the service of the State. It is, perhaps, proper for me to state that since writing this message important facts have come to my knowledge, and upon unquestionable authority, relating to the use of a portion of the funds of the Bank of Tennessee, that may require me to send you, at no distant day, a special message. The interests of the State, and the just rights of the people, should be sacredly and vigilantly guarded, no matter who suffers ruin and disgrace.

WILLIAM G. BROWNLOW.

Public acts of the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, passed at the first session of the thirty-fourth general assembly, which was begun and held at Nashville on Monday, the third day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.

CHAPTER L

AN ACT to regulate the county court of Shelby county.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, That in the county of Shelby, in case of vacancy, removal, or when the county judge shall, from any cause whatever, fail to hold his court, and a majority of the magistrates shall fail to appear and elect a chairman, as is now provided by law, the clerk of said court shall give notice, in writing, to any judge or chancellor of said county, who shall have full power to hold said county court and discharge all the duties as the judge or chairman could do by law. SEC. 2. This act to take effect from and after its passage.

WILLIAM HEISKELL,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SAMUEL R. RODGERS.
Speaker of the Senate.

Passed April 28, 1865.

CHAPTER II.

AN ACT to increase the compensation of judges.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, That section 4538 of the code of this State be so amended that each of the judges of the supreme court of this State, hereafter appointed or elected, shall be entitled to a salary of three thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly out of the State treasury.

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SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That section 4539 of the code of this State be so amended that each chancellor, circuit, and criminal judge of this State, except county judges and judges of special courts, hereafter appointed or elected, shall be entitled to a salary of two thousand dollars per annum.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect from and after its passage.
WILLIAM HEISKELL,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SAMUEL R. RODGERS,

Passed May 8, 1865.

CHAPTER III.

Speaker of the Senate.]]

AN ACT to increase the pay of public printer.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, That the public printer be paid an advance of fifty per cent. on the prices now allowed by law. SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect from and after its passage.

WILLIAM HEISKELL,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SAMUEL R. RODGERS,

Passed May 10, 1865.

CHAPTER IV.

Speaker of the Senate.

AN ACT to punish all armed prowlers, guerillas, brigands, and highway robbers, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, That every man or squad of men, who may hereafter make inroads for plunder upon the peaceable inhabitants of this State, and by force deprive them of their property, or endeavor so to deprive them, by the alarm caused by their being armed, when in fact he or they were not at the time part of any organized army and sharing continuously in its duties, but who sometimes return to their homes, with the assumption of the semblance of peaceful pursuits, divesting him or themselves of the appearance and character of soldiers, are hereby declared guerillas and highway robbers and brigands, and upon his or their conviction shall suffer death by hanging. SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That scouts or single soldiers, if disguised in the dress of the country, or clothed in the uniform of either army, who shall wilfully, maliciously and forcibly take from the possession or person of the peaceful citizens of the State their property by threats of violence, or the actual use of force and violence and under the terror of arms, shall, upon conviction, suffer death by hanging.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That all armed prowlers, by whatever name they may be called, who shall willfully, maliciously and forcibly make an attack upon any one of the peaceable citizens of this State for the purpose of robbing him or her, or of stealing his or her property, or of killing him or her, shall, on conviction, suffer death by hanging.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That all persons who shall knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily feed any such person or persons as described in the previous sections of this act, or furnish them information for the purpose of aiding and assisting them in their unlawful and illegal objects, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for a period of not less than five years nor more than twenty-one years.

SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect from and after its passage.

WILLIAM HEISKELL. Speaker of the House of Representatives. SAMUEL R. RODGERS, Speaker of the Senate.

Passed May 17, 1865.

CHAPTER V.

AN ACT to amend the criminal laws of the State of Tennessee.

SECTION 1. Be it enaoted by the general assembly of the State of Tennessee, That whoever shall feloniously take or steal any horse, mule, or ass, shall, on conviction thereof, suffer death by hanging: Provided, The jury before whom the offence is tried shall, if they think proper, commute the punishment to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the period of not less than ten nor more than twenty-one years.

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