hh coe i Sarnim: arate Mig tap a) sae ih RAG: A — HARTA pals | —_ Ee ao iy 5 ree Pre ners Center et r r_{ & ize [< “ QO ry wy —, ant Ay 1 vn bon oF THE of THE ee Caw ye F. weer OFM: af f joes =rig Tr CT een EER — = —489— legislative, question; yet our Supreme Court has been hampered by precedent, and I believe it is competent for the Legislature to pass the law which I have recommended and in the form recom- mended. To change the recommendation might be to usurp a judicial function, and this should be guarded against. I have presented this subject with elaboration, for its impor- tance can hardly be overstated. If my recommendations and the reasons therefor meet the ap- proval of your judgment, you will have taken an advanced step in putting the administration of criminal justice on a high plane, render more certain the punishment of the guilty, while taking nothing from the protection of innocence. Thousands of dollars in costs will be saved the State and coun- ties, especially in the cities, where tedious and vexatious delays in selecting jurors fill the jails with untried prisoners, and men will not be taken from their vocations to wait for days until their names are called, only to be set aside for opinions based on ru- mor or challenged for no assignable cause. I also recommend that the funds of the State, instead of being deposited, as they are now, in banks, drawing no interest, should be required by law to be loaned at a fair rate of interest. Should this be done, it will mean quite a large increase in our revenues, and there is no reason why the State’s money should not be made to earn interest while not in actual use for the pur- poses of the State. Respectfully submitted, MALCOLM R. PATTERSON, April 19, 1909, Governor, Be REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES. Mr. Puryear presented the report of the committee appointed to investigate conditions at Reelfoot Lake. The report was as follows: eSEG coh 113 Sn as To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Fifty-sixth Creneral Assembly of the State of Tennessee: Your committee appointed under Resolution No. 2 to investi- gate the conditions which have led to disturbances at Reelfoot Lake, and to ascertain the status of the legal title to the said lake property and the terms and conditions or manner under which the hunting and fishing easements might be secured by the State of Tennessee for the use and benefit of all the people, beg leave to report. Your committee of five members, three from the House and two IN STATE LISRARY AND ARCHIVES 403 Seventh Ave. North ¥ Naehvila, TN’ 8724208k9