Sentinel of the valley. [volume], December 23, 1847, Image 1

About Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848

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VOL. XXVIII..f
WOODSTOCK, VIRG
THE VALLE V
DECEMBER 23, 1847.
> NUMBER a4.
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE.
To the General Assembly if.lirginhi:
Gentlemen:—Another year has passed,
Tyttl we'Sre again convened to suggest, consid
er and adopt such measures as, in our jud'E.
'rrmnt, will promote the prosperity and advance
‘the happiness of otirheloved Commonwealth.
It is with unalloyed satisfaction, that I am
able to congratulate you upon tho auspicious
‘circumstances under Which we commence this
■p*easamtyet important duty. 'Ve are bless
ed with unusual health; our granaries were
•emptied during the past year to feed the star
ving millions of foreign lands, but have again
■been replenished bv our recent abundant bar.
'v -sts; our revenues are ample,- our laws are
firmly yet quietly enforced; our industry is
increasing her stores, and improving the
Whole aspect of oiir State,- and all the arts
and comforts of’civilized life are multiplying
among every Class and condition of the peo
•pie. It is under such crctimstapces that you
commence your career of official duty cir
cumstances well calculated to stimulate your
^^^erttons, and to fill .your hearts with cheer
;-^fctoess and l ope. *
On the 1st day of October. 1846, the bal
-'Slice in the Treasury was $137,433. After
■meeting all demands upon the Treasury, ma
ny of which were entirely contingent in char
acter and of large amount, there was in the
’’Treasury at the close Cf the last fi ical year,
the sum of $127,114 02. This sum ami the
ordinary receip's into the Treasury during
the present fiscal year, will pay all ordinary
demands thereon, including $274,343 75,
the-interest on the .public debt, $95,381 66,op
account of the Southwestern and other pub
lie roads, and still have an estimated surplus
•tlf about-# 144,000,a sum which it is presumed,
when appropriated, will enable the Hoard of
ftitblic Works to meet *11 demands upon
■them during the present fiscal year, without
•resorting to‘loans— a resort which cannot be
too cautiously made, especially as a large is
sue of State bonds was directed by the last
5,egislattire to be made to the Alexandria
Canal Company, and to the James River and
Kanawha Comnanv,
The Legislature at then- fast session passed
acts which may increase the liabilities of the
.State te the sum of 887,800. Of this sum
about one fifth has been, and a very large
portion of the residue will have to be incurr
•ed. 4n addi'ion to this large amount, there
was paid from the treasury during the past
fiscal year $78,614 >4, and there will be paid
during the present one. under appropria
trens lieretofore made, the snm of $95,o81
€1, 'for and on account of roads and bridges.
In this connection 1 respectfully refer you to
the secanri auditor’s report, in which you may
'art a glance see the amount of crti1* existing
and prospective liabilities. When to these
shall be added those which veil may direct
at your present session, it is manifest that a
moderate enlargement of our reveue may be
•necessary to maintain our public credit, in
tliat high estimation in which it has for years
been held.
It has long been a mooted point whether
the living .generation has a light to create a
iflelbt and ieave it to posterity for payment.
However this right may have been question
ed, it lias ever been exercised; and certainly
object Vows ««* he urged w,th less force to
that debt which may he incurred for internal
improvement than "to any other in the whole
list of public expenditure. Debts thus crea
ted and invested, enhance the value of prop
ertv. They are expended without charge,
and confer a lasting and perennial benefit on
those who succeed us. Still, the disposition
to spend when we do not expect to pay, is so
striking a characteristic in man, that I hold it
to be our duty to interpose safe and healthy
restraints to control it.
England, after repeated but partial acts of
repudiation, is mow groaning under an enor
mous debt of about four thousand millions of
dollars. France owes about one thousand
millions; and Austria, deeply embarrassed,
m 1811 repudiated and expunged $400,000,
000 of her debt, and in 1813 $150,000,000
more of it. Although nothing exists in the
history of our Union, or of any one of the
members thereof, at all approaching, even by
comparison, this stupendous and mischievous
prodigality, vet enough has occurred to im
press upon us the duty of observing the most
guarded circumspection and care.
it m»v suicir - —- . ,
termination of Virginia to carry on those im
nrovements which are requisite to develope ;
and secure the resources and advantages for ]
which she is so remarkably distinguished. It !
is a uolicy eminently patriotic and wise, and;
addresses itself with a force, not to be resist j
ed to that pride and affection which we all
feel for our native land, and which induce us
to look forward with anxiety and hope, to
that dav when Virginia will be as physically
c*reat a* she is now illustrious, tor^all the
high moral and intellectual qualitses which
elevate and adorn our race. .
, In support of these views, ! regard it as of
the greatest importance that you should es
tablish, at an early day of your session, a max
imum annual limit of expenditure, by which
the second auditor shall be regulated and
f controlled, and which your appropriations
shall, under no circumstances, transcend.—
Such a regulation would satisfy the prudent
ami timid friends of internal improvement
silence some heretofore opposed to it, and
give confidence to all. I am aware that the
Regulation suggested will not impose a legal
restraint, even upon yourselves, and, of
course, not upon yonr successors; but 1 am
fullv satisfied that the high moral obligation
it will create will command general respect,
and ensure for it a scrupulous and honorable
observance.
What is the limit we shall prescribe, which
will neither unreasonably burden ourselves
nor our posterity, and yet accomplish within
a reasonable time the great enterprise we
have in view ?
I have given to this subject the most care
fill consideration, and I have attained the
conclusion that we can and ought annually to
expend, within the views I have presented,
the sum of six hundred thousand dollars.
I look to the. treasury for one moiety, and
to loan* for the other moiety of this amount.
The treasury can be easily put in a comli
tion to meet this demand. As I have before
stated, the probable surplus in tl.e treasury
on the 1st of October nexK will be * 145,000,
and but for the appropriation to the South
western road and other roads and bridges, it
would be upwards of *240,000, leaving only
the sum of *60,000 to be provided by new
and additional taxation. This sum, so incou
siderable in amount, and for an object so lau
dable and patriotic, would (or 1 much mir
' uke fny fellow-citizens,) be paid without a
murmur. For the subjects from which, prin
einally, I recommend this tax to be collected,
i ' f.. you to my former message. Of all the
* * a _m._ inaof'io* and All
form* of property, money inactive and*
hand, it least entitled to^ faror, and _will,
: trust, be no longer exerr.pt from Fa'r and etpial
contributions to the State. The high credit
1 of Virginia, both abroad and at home, and
the avidity with which investments ate
sought i t her boards, ie'ive no doubt of bin
ability, annually, to raise the sum stated, in
the manner [ have proposed. Indeed, t en
tertaih but little doubt, that a large portion
, of the contemplated loans will be made by
i our own citizens. Of our public debt, a
, mounting to $6,447,445 69, the sum of $>,
799,189 48 is held within our own State,
contributing by the expenditure of the in
cortte thereof in no slight degree to our pros
; But it is vain to provide means to dsvelope
: and secure the great advantages within our
j reach, unless we devote our resources exclu
sively to the complet ion of one or at most tvo
great enterprises To reach the navigable
j waters of the Ohio, is an object of the first
! importance. It is the great enterprise of
! several of the Northern States, and w.H when
i accomplished by us, I entertain h >t a doubt,
i furnish the means to thoroughly renovate and
j improve our beloved State. 1 will ask no
I other proof, in support of this conclusion.
J than the recent ‘report of the Baltimore and
! Ohio railroad cothpahy. By that report it is
seen that the income of‘heir road for the
! past year is $l 101,916 58; and of this sum
they expended $590,822 98, in repairs an.l
i improvement, leaving $511,197 60, efjuiva
j lent to‘7 1-2 per cent. Upon the capital ex
j pended. This road is only 176 miles long,
land terminates at the foot of the Alleghany.
: It carried 288,674 passengers within the past
j year, an increase of 8410 within a single
j year. If such be the magnitude of its opera
! tions in its present unfinished state, it will be
| difficult to e.-kim.ite it when it shall reach the
i Ohio. And yet we have a more favorable
j route, with the immense advantage of touch
iii^ that river at a snore Southern point.
As to the route to be selected, that is of
great but yet secondary importance. In il
lustration of this subject, T respectfully sub
mit to yoar consideration. Doc. No- 17, em
bracihg seven different rentes from this city
to the falls of Kanawha, compiled from an
nual surveys and other data, in the substan
tial accuracy of which confidence may be res
It will not, gentlemen. escape your obser
vation, that the three first named routes pass
up the valley of James Iliver to Pattonsburg:
Whilst it is yonv great duty promptly to be
gin and vigorously 'to prosecute our connec
tion with the Ohio river, it is equally your
duty to Secure all local advantages not incon
sistent with the main design. In locating
this route, we ought to have an eye to the
country it will develope, and are bound by
every consideration of public duty to give
that the preference which will secure to our
State the largest good. Happily, the inven
tion of railroads has relieved us of all depen
dence upon water ofor our intercommunica
tions, and we can now prosecute them ill al
most every direction that our interests or poli
; cv may prescribe.
'Idle James River valley has long been re
garded as the natural channel of connection
with the great West. In the prosecution of
this design we have been engaged 63 years,
, and have expended already about $8,000,000.
The canal has Been completed to Lynchburg,
land soon will be to Pattonsburg; affording to
i this noble valley and the contiguous country
J an improvement of unsurpassed cheapness Si
| safety. Shall, then, additional millions be
: expended in the construction of a railroad
! along this valley ? Should other sections of
| the State, now languishing for facilities be
overlooked, and their wants disregarded?—
| Would it be just, or wise, or politic? For
, these important considerations, I respectfully
! recommend the rejection of this route.—
Route No. 4. by Staunton, is also objectiona
J ble. It will annihilate the Rivanna Naviga
tion Company, and the Staunton and James
, River Turnpike Company,from each of which
j the State is deriving annual dividends of
j about 5 per cent. It will alto destroy them
j as important tributaries to the James River
i and Kanawha Company. Nor is this all. By
I act of March 1st, 1847, the State agreed to
j loan to the James River and Kanawha ^ Com
i pany her bonds to the amount of $1,230,000,
i upon condition, however, that said company
j should give security “conditioned, that if the
j gross amount of tolls upon the whole line of
i the canal between Richmond and Buchanan,”
1 after a particular period and event, for five
years, "snail Ian ueiuw me average arnuumui i
260,000 dollars per annum,” then said securi
ties shall make good such deficiency. These
securities have been given, and will, in my
opinion, be discharged, if your legislation
should deprive this company ot any of then
usual sources of revenue. This route, more
over, is without peculiar local advantages
from which to increase the wealth and
business of the State. For these consul
eratious I recommend its rejection, ltoute
No. 5, to which I ask your attention, is the
one which passes by Harrisonburg, Coving
ton, ££c. It is precisely of the same length
with its predecessor, free fiom all the objec
tions which attach to those I have considered,
enters at once into a country suirering for
such improvements, increases the wealth and
business of the State by reclaiming a valuable
trade, which now fosters a distant, city, ap
proaches an important section of our State,
which should be kept constantly and steadily
in view, and affords as many facilities in
reaching the Western waters as any route that
has been named. A difficulty in the passage
of the Blue Bulge has been recently stated;
but as it is conceded that it can be overcome
by an expenditure ot 390,000 dollars, I do
not regard the objection as entitled to the
smallest consideration.
The two next routes, covering the same
ground for about 220 miles, will be regarded
together. They possess the same ground as
No. 5, as far as Harrisonburg, and, of course,
have all the advantages to tins point of that
route. This route then passes to the head
waters of the Greenbrier, at which point the
line will divide, one branch proceeding to
Guyandotte and the other to Parkersburg,
In opening the great arteries of the State,
high political considerations cannot, with pro
priety be overlooked, This route, in that as-,
pect, addresses itself with irresistible force
to every Virginian, while it is powerfully
sustained by all other considerations proper
to be regarded. It ii our duty to afford to
distant sections of our State those improve
ments requisite to develope their internal
wealth, which would otherwise remain for
ever unavailing. This is especially our du
ty ’when, by so doing, we can alii secure
a great political object, that of attaching to
the mass of the State an important section by
the ties of interest. By the proposed route
you press far into the North Wes., and give
assurance that, at an early day, this great
improvement will penetrate that region, and
reposo upon the shores of the Ohio.
This route is recommended also, by the
consideration that it may in a great extent,
I carry out tlie improvement to Guyandolte
I tlms affording a common stem to two greal
I objects, and saving1 a large expenditure toilu
j State, fills "scheme jvill effectually secure
Virgihih'to herself, anil realise ottr long-cher
ished hopes and expectations
The adoption of this route, so highly com
mended by "the feelings, the pride, the duties
and interests of Virginia, is resisted upon the
ground of its assumed impracticability. Phv
sical difficulties, insurmountable in character,
are alleged ts intervene. That these dilficul
ties are great will not be denied; but that
they are insurmountable is not the fact. I
am thoroughly satisfied that they can he ov
ercome at a reasonable cost, and that that
cost should be incurred. An eye to our
Northern neighbors will dissipate all doubt.
The Baltimore and Ohio railroad Oompa-iiv
are prosecuting a similar work with energy
and zeal. They have already expended, in
the completion of 178 miles of their road,
$8,948,509; making an aggregate of $15,630..
030 for the completion of their work, inferior
in many great and important advantages to
the one proposed. Massachusetts has con
necter! Boston and Lowell by railroad only
25$ miles in extent, at at) expense of $75.
336 04 per mile, though those cities were
previous1)'connected through the Middlesex
canal. She has connected Boston with Prov
idence by railroad, at a cost of $51,449 88
pet mile, and also with Albany by railroad,
44 1 2 miles of which cost $78,419 82, and
156 miles, 52,473 dollars per mile. New
York is connecting Albany with her great
city by two railroads,one throughout its whole
extent, coterminous with her noMe Hudson,
encountering enormous difficulties in its con
struction, which dwindle before her enter
prise and will. She will also sot r. connect
the same city with Buffalo bv a railroad now
rapidly proceeding to co npletinn, although
the connexion already exists by the finest nat
ural and artificial improvements of the age.
-Pennsylvania is also in motion, and arduous
ly engaged in effecting the connection be
tween tier great Eastern and Western cities,
by a contiguous railroad,, and her efforts will
soon be crowned with success. Such efforts
judiciously conducted, have ever resulted in
■wealth and power. 1 Will not ask what we
'have been doing,for I am not content to make
mv answer fioin the past. But I will ask
what shall we do-? Let us adopt the Northern
route I have mentioned, and oush it with en
ergy and zeal to its completion. It will pro
tect us against the Further intrusion of North
ern enterprise—secrtre the business and at
tachments of our Northwestern counties—
give us wealth—arrest depopulation-, and
sustain, strengthen and elevate'tlte name of
which we boast. Shall we be deterred from
undertaking the task of securing these great
results by the phantom apprehension of phys
ical difficulties—difficulties so unworthy of
regard, and inconsiderable in amount, "that
they can be subdued at an expense of $10,
000 a mile—a sum not one half the cost per
mile of several Northern roads?
I have, gentlemen, deemed it my impera
1 tive duty to ptesent these views for your
consideration, and so urgently reconnnen 1
i them for adoption. If I have one master pas
1 sion, it is love of my native State,- but in this
case, the promptings of patriotic devotion
| are, I humbly hope, happily blended with the
1 conclusions of enlightened wisdom
I cannot pass over in silence the great ques
tion which I discussed somewhat at large in
my last message. I mean the project of a
railroad from the town of Buchanan, through
the Southwestern portion of our State, to the
Tennessee line. It is difficult to estimate the
internal wealth which this imporvemeut will
develope. Penetrating, as it does, from its
start, a country rich in all agricultural pro •
ducts, with almost every contiguous mountain
a bank of minerals, uniting with these local
and inestimable advantages a most impor
tant connection with other "States, it will be
difficult to estimate its real and intrinsic val
ue. I repeat the confident opinion, that the
first ten miles of this road will support itself,
and, apart from great public considerations,
this enterprise will be fully justified as a
mere pecuniary investment.
Ill selecting Buchanan as the point of com
1 mencemeut of this work, I look to the char
| acter of the country through which it passes,
i affording, as it pre eminently does, all the ele
ments of support so important and essential
to the James Itiver and Kant W ia Company
In this company the State has already, direct
ly or indirectly, invested $5,615,224 69, to
which win dc aaueci, in me course ui m**
next two years, under an act passed at your j
last session, the sum of §988,000, making a
sum total of $6,603,224 69 Nor is it to he j
overlooked that the State Isas had to advance
since the 1st January, 1843, the sum of $233,
431 88, to complete the payment of the cur
rent interest due upon bonds endorsed by her
for said company, and that there can be but i
little doubt that we shall have similar claims
upon us, unless we promptly adopt a wise and
vigorous policy. It is then clearly -our duty
to foster and sustain the important work, anil
to make productive the very heavy capital we
have embarked in it. Nothing can accom
plish this important work so effectually as
the proposed imp-ovement. This great road
will cost less money if commenced' at the
point proposed than at any other that can be
be selected,- and thus profit and economy
combine to commend it to your favorable con
sideration, especially as it will descend the
valley to its intersection with the extension oi
the Louisa Jlailroad on th< line I have recom
mended, and which l hope, will receive your
■ early and favorable action; t therefore
earnestly recommend the construction of a
raiiroad from Buchanan, through South-wes
tern Virgina, to the Tennessee line
I am happy to inform you that the James
river and Kanawha company will complete
its canal to its terminus at Buchanan within
the estimates. I deem it unnecessary to
comment upon this report, which will be laid
before you, as it is merely speculative and
asks no rteW legislation- [See Hoc. No. 15 ]
On the 8th of March, 1847, the Legislature
passed an act for the extension of the Louisa
railroad, the first section whereof author zes
said company to increase its capital stock the
sum of $250,000, for the purposes therein ex
pressed. Understanding that said company
claimed the fight of adopting any route it
might prefer, and that it was probably inten
ded to adopt the route by Charlottsville, the
Board of Public Works deemed it their duty
to intimate strongly an Lclearly their opinion
against the right of said company to take that
direction. Thisetep was taken, not only to
carry out the supposed policy and intentions
of the General Assemby, but also to operate
as notice to said company and to private
stockholders that they need not expect the
co-operation of the Board of Public Works,
and that they might truly understand their
relation to this question, the Board and the
Legislature. ... ,
On the 23d of September last, the atoek
holders in a ganera! meeting assembled at Lou
| isa Court House,"an'd, as was feared, addptSi
! tlie route by Charlottesville. On the ila;
j o| November, the president of said company
j submitted an application to the Board of Pub
j lie Works for a subscription to the stock of sail
i company; which, after due consideration,, was
■ declined, upon the ground that they had ni
| authority of law to m'ake such subscription, ap
j prised officially as they were of the route wliioll
j had been selected for the extension of said
' work. There had been a previous ad.vertis
! ineut of said company, that fourteen tniies of
j said extension would be let on the 23d of No
vember, anti bids Were invited accordingly.—
1 Notwithstanding the refusal of the Board to
subscribe to said company,—notwithstanding
the president thereof was informed that the
J difficulty sltotiW be-referred to the GeifCfti!
j Assembly, he proceeded iitit only to let'diil'the
J part advertised, but five miles, as I am in
I iortned, in addition thereto. This extraordi
nary baste under the circumstances, followed
j by an immediate commencement of the work.
( was designed to acquire, as I learn, a vested
! right to the State subscription. To cap the
subscription. To cap
j climax df this marvellous conduct-, a notice
| was duly served on the Board of Public
j Works, calling upoh that body to show cause,
on the 3l)th ult., why a maclamus should not
be awarded against them, which is still pend
\ ing anii undetermined, and in relation to which
it may be requisite for you to take sortie ac
tion. This proceeding is the highest moral
evidence that this company is conscious, that
in their selection of the route, they have de
parted from the spirit and intention of the law,
as well as the true intent and meaning of the
General Assembly; tha't they have nothing to
hope from your favor, and that their only
chance of obtaining the co-operation of the
State is through the judgment of a Court of
The Boar-.l of Public Works, throughout
this whole difficulty, have had no other desire
than to perform their duty and to execute the
law. They gave this subject an early and
•they believed a thorough axamination; some of
their members patiently listened to the views
of distinguished men, and the Board finally
called for the assistance of the Attorney Gen
eral. To all the views and information thus
collected, they gave the most careful consider
ation, and their con-clasion \Vas that fhCy had
no authority of law to make the required sub
scription.
vvitnont, However, dwelling upon tins suo
ject, I respectfully refer you to the report of
the Board of Publie works; wherein will be
found', if I do not greatly err, a full and tom
plele vindication of that body against unjust
aspersions, as well as ample evidence of a firm
and faithful adherence to their trusts and du
As to myself, I have long felt a deep inter
est iii the extension of the Louisa Railroad on
the line indicated in its charter. When in the
Senate of Virginia, I aided in the legislation
in furtherance of this object; and, when honor
| ed with the Chief Magistracy of my State, ad
hering to this policy, I availed myself of the
first opportunity to press and enlarge upon it.
I eould not, therefore, without concern, wit
ness the efforts that were making to pervert
; the law, and to sink one of the most important
enterprises of the State into a mere h»oai im
provement, and I felt bound to eXcrt all the in
i fluence at my command to defeat this design,
and to overthrow the exceptionable and un
patriotic struggles which were making for its
accomplishment.
j The Board of Public Works was created by
law for the purpose of carrying out the views
j of the General Assembly, and whenever a dif
1 ference of opinion arises as to those views, the
power to settle it should be reserved to you a
: lone. The proceeding on the part of the Louisa
; Railroad Company is the first that has been
i undertaken in this State, and I trust you will,
i by the requisite legislation, provide that it
■ shall be the last of its kind that shall be enter
i tained'in a court of justice.
By an act of the last session, passed March
i'22d, 1847, it is made the duly of the Board of
Public Works, in appointing State Directors,
j to select such as are bona fide stockhold
i ers. I respectfully recommend that this sec
! lion be repealed. Such Directors are design
ed to represent the State Stock in such com
; patties, and are selected under the belief that
] they will faithfully represent that interest. I
| can see no reason for adding- to this obligation
the influence of private interest, producing
I thereby, possibly, a conflict of opposing intef
interests. The requirement also restricts the
J range of selection, not unfreqnently, to the
The last General Assembly directed the
Board of Public Works to subscribe to sundry
internal improvements then in contemplation.
It is known that large sums will be needed to
meet such engagements, in anticipation where
of, and to provide the means promptly to meet
them, the law authorises the Second Auditor to
make sale, as may be requisite, of the State
Bonds. But as this provision may prove in
adequate to maintain the public faith inviolate,
and as no reliance can be placed on the 13lh
section of “an act to create a fund for internal
improvement,” which authorises a sale of our
roid stocks for reinvestment, I deem additional
legislation necessary, and therafore respectful
ly°recontmend the passage of a law authorizing
the- Board of Public Works to dispose of the
Bank Stock at not less than par, now held by
them, when necessary to meet their pay
ments.
I communicate herewith a Preamble and
Resolutions adopted by the Baltimore and 0
hio Railroad Company, on the 25th of August
last, [Doc. No. 18,1 accepting an act, entitled
“an act to authorize the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company to construct the extension of
their railroad through the territory of Vifgin*
is,” passed the 6th March, 1847. The boon
conferred upon this company is a great one.—
By it we divide advantages of incalculable val
ue, of which we never could have been de
prived, and give forever to a rival company
wealth and power. I Cannot feel indifferent to
these consequences, to which I can only, in
some degree, be reconciled, by the reflection,
that they secure local advantages for a portion
of our fellow-citizens, probably beyond the
reach of a similar improvement of our own. I
trust, however, that further concessions are at
an end; and that the grant will not be enlarge
ed.no matter how earnestly or eloquently
pressed. I recommend this line of conduct in
no spirit of hostility to this Company; for 1 ad
mire their spirit and energy, and would rejoice
to see it emulated here.
On the 30th of September last our peniten
tiary contained 211 convicts, a diminution of
15 within the year. Of this number 131 are
whites, and 80 are negrotfs. Of the whites
99 are Virginians; of the blacks 75 wers born
within oar State. By comparison with the
! I'jtfecsding'ypar, the number of white convicts
born in Virginia lias been reduced 8 in num
: ber.
j The free negroes, althntfgh numbering by
■ Itie census of 1840 only forty-nine thotts.md
: eighthuridred and forty-two, perpetuate nearly
' two lift Its of the crime of the State, although
' we have therein seven hundred and forty
j thousand nine hundred andsiVty-eijrnt whites,
j and four hundred 'krill 'fortV;figlit thousand
j nine hurftfred ^nd eighty-seven slaves. This
i is a mournful demonstration. It proves beyond
! human doubt that fteedom to the negro is a
j curse, and his presence in our midst an evil of
: the most fearful magnitude. Essentially and
J hopelessly degraded, he corrupts the slave
I with whom he habitually-associates, arid'f‘e
|'conies (he ready instrument of the unprinci
j pled while mail, and too frequently his shield.
And is there tm remedy? Are we bound to
f hear this cancer in our besom, and see its'Slow
I hut fatal p> ison diffuse itself, without an effort
! to remove it?
i The right of self preservation is'ftniVrrsally
j conceded to every comnumitv. It is'the fnun
) d:ttit>n upon which rests all '(to]ice regulations,
i and by which alone they can he justified.—
The subjects nr citizens of a heiltgereirt'po wer
at war with the country in which they are tem
porarily'residing may be removt d therefrom or
to the inlet ior tl.'ere f at pleasure. No enquiry
is made whether such persons are act’kg an un
friendly part. The general suspicion which
atiatches to them as aliens is a full justifica
tion of this exercise of power, however person
ally i p: r stive or destructive to priva e fortune.
Even 'in pettce this power can be and ‘frequent
ly lias been exercised. In 'Prigg; v the Com
monwealth of Pcnnttjh'nnia, decidtd bv the
! Supreme Court of tne U. Slates at their Jatt
: uary te’frti 1842, Chief Justice Taney rectig
! nizes the right of a State, in the exercifce of her
i powers over her internal police, “to remove
| from her territory disorderly and evil (Itsposed
persons, o'r those who, from the nature of her
institutions, are daugeroits 'to b'ir peace and
j tranquility.” And Mr. Justice Story iti de
| livering the opinion of the Court referring to
the free States, says, “the Court entertain no
doubt whatsoever, that the States, in virtue of
their general police power, posess full jurisdic
tion to arrest and restrain runaway slaves, and
^ to'remove them from their bonders, and olher
| wise to secure themsetves against their depre
! datitms and evil example, as thev certainly may
j do in ease of idlers, vagabonds and paupers.”
, Within onr own State we have frequently ap
1 jailed this police prifiCipie to ecit free negtoe's.
It is embodied in many of onr statutes, and
indeed in relation to them constitutes ourgene
| ral policy. Why are free negroes from other
i States prohibited from settling here? Why is
it that when they do venture within onr limits
I the law sternly demands their immediate re
moval? Why is it,that, since 1806,those who
! may be manumitted and remain within our
I State over twelve months,are soid iuto slavery?
! Why is it that we do not allow them to be
i taught to read and write, to possess weapons,
j to bear arms, to give evidence against a white
; man, to intermarry with whites, to vote, anrl
j to teach the word of God to their own race in
public assemblies? It is because long expeli
' ence has taught ns that they are evil disposed
’ and degraded. Idlers, vagabonds and paupers,
j In 1831 and 1832, the citizens of Northampton
• county petitioned the Legislature for leave to
! remove theit free negroes, and that body passed
i the requisite law, pteceded by a preamble, in
! which it is recited, “it satisfactorily appears
j that it is absolutely necessary not only to the
, Correct government or their Slaves, but also to
i the peace and safety of their society, that the
j free people of color should be promptly removed
| from their county.” Can then the right, I re
1 peat the word, the right to deport our free ne
; groeS, be questioned? Is it nttt based on the
1 universal law, fully recognised in this regard
by the Supreme Court, and the solemn and
j the oft-repeated act oF the General Assembly ?
J It cannot be denied, the right unequivocally
• exists; the question is, shall it now be eXef
fn presenting my views Upon this subject. I
must again call your attention to the painful &
distressing fact, exhibited in our criminal sta
tistics, that the free negroes. Constituting about
one twenty -fifth of out entire population, per
| petrate about two-fifths of the crimes of the
1 Siate. Does not this establish the fact that the
I free negroes are disorderly and evil-disposed
I persons, and as such dangerous to our peace &
tranquility, to whom a general suspicion atta
ches, and whose deportation is called for by the
highest considerations of public duty ? I be
lieve that this statement of the relative propor
i tion of crime is in favor of the free negro. His
social position—his nocturnal habits—the inter
ested influences which are too frequently bro’t
to operate in the concealment oferimes in which
he participate*, prevent a large proportion of
offences from being exposed bud brought under
judicial investigation. The existence of a class
among us so extensively demoralised, is well
known. Can we therefore delay undertaking
to remove them ? In the emphatic language
of the preamble to the Northampton act, is it
not called for by out regard for the correct gov
ernment of our slaves and the peace and safety
of our society ?
The removal of this unhappy race id Called
for by other considerations. It is well known,
gentlemen, to you all, that .this race is idle,
f thriftless and unproductiveness ; that as a gen
; eral rule they labor only from necessity, content
J to put up with the most meagre supply of their
indispensable wants; and, not content with
their own labor in pursuits ot honest industry,
i they prowl in the dead hour of night and filch
j the labor of others. Again, they perform a
I thousand little menial services to the exclusion
! of the while man,preferred hy their employers,
j because of the authority itndcohlrol which they
i can exercise, and frequently because of the ease
and facility With Which they can remunerate
such services. I venture the opinion that a
larger emigration of oltr white laborers is pro
duced by our free negroes than hy the institu
tion of slavery.
But it is objected by some that the rCttioVal
of our free negroes would be crilel and inhuman,
and offensive to the benevolent feelings of the
age. I will briefly examine this objection.—
The free negfo is a mere denlSctl, not entitled
to the fights of the ditiien. lie is the object
of a peculiar and rigid legislation. Even if lie
resent insult at the hands of a white man, lie
is liable to severe punishment. The intelli
gent and enlightened being of proper feelings
and spirit would instantly abandon A communi
ty of which he is the subject of so marked a
discrimination ; yet the free negro clings to his
birth-place. Can he therefore he regarded as
a competent judge of his true Interest? And
ought his feelings to be allowed to tule that po*
licy by which those interests will be promoted?
la it cruel and inhuman to permit the tree mk
wrojo Ifarn io read and write, to vole, to besfr
arms,‘to resent, insult, in short, to exercise'Hr
the rights and privileges of thp whitia'hiah?—
Sure! v not. Yet our •poiidV 'Will licit allow iilHi
these hint, privilege's. And if there 0e;Hi'hi\
naitiral'dlftt'racter theVlemenis to make Hihn V
great and a good man, it is’hopeless tq’ex'pedt
that they will ever be developed under our pd
i liny - The iiilttiinaniiy tHen'cdhsfsfs'not lh^sdh
iding them from our State, but in retaitiittfr
them among us. It is to me unadcdUtjiabl?
' how there should be a drSeredce df dpitiidh
| on this question. Here tlie free negro tsde
; graded by onr policy—a policy which we'chh
1 not relax,add’It is in dur power to Send lilfn lb
’other "countries where education, sOeietV, arill
' all 'the Agencies that contribute, to the advtfripe
i rnent and imp'rovement of mankind, are 'With
in his reach, and we are to be deterred ‘froth
this benevolent undertaking by the cries of
those who affect an overwrought ti ■ Jcrnesk
humanity ! 1 say to fhose who sympathise
with llie npgro, w ho tnourn his moral degrada
tion, and look forward with hope to the day
when-Kb vyifl be elevated ih the scale of hu
manity1, and placed iiti a ’foofftfjr'b'f Tsdcfe'leq u aT
ty with the white man. that their hdpes. Wish
es arid sympathies can never be gratified hers.
I consider, then, that it is cfuelatld 'irihh'niah
not to send the free negro away. We ate
bound to do it as benevolent men, ami as faith
old Commonwealth. Thoroughly dtinViricda
that this is a w ise policy, arid is called for hV
the best dictates (if humanity, that it will lie k
blessing to the negro and to our State, I ear'h
estly recorriftfrend immediate steps to be takch
to effect this important purj>osfe.
1 recommend the passagfesof a latv providing
that the fiee negroes shall be removed by 'ddorif
ties. In removing them by cdtiotTes, ho social
or domestic tie wiThbe broken. That ft;bepro
vided T'na't when a Taw acts upon a‘county'dr
counties, it |hal! be final hud complete-; 'rib
free hegre ever thereafter to be alloWed to re
side therein. That they be sent at the public
expense to the countries MfeVe Slavery 'doe's
not exist, as passengers in merchant Ve'ssel'9',
and particularly to Liberia, if acceptable to herr
authorities. Such a law, provided with ‘thfb
proper details, would be perfectly (easy 'of exar
ch tT on, and would not'cost the Slate, 1 am sat
isfied, a sum per year greater tlrah that which
was for many years appropriated in aid of out
colonization society. Indeed, I have friceiveA
an informal proposition from the islarfd oi Trin
idad that she w ill pay half th'e exipenVeS of all
that may be sent to her, as well as assurance's
from other quarters that they would ■cheerfully
receive them-.
1 he penitentiary institution is not produc
tive, it seems to me, as it sho'uld be. It is diffi
cult to understand why 211 'convicts, coarsely
fed, OWth'ed and kept at hard labor without re
ceiving any remuneration, should not pay ‘A
profit. Yet such is the fact: they are a charge
to the State, and have been-, 1 believe, froWi tm
foundation of the institution. After some exant
ination I find that the penitentiary cost in its
erection, from the 6th of May, 1797-, to the 1st
of Oct. 1806, the sum of $135,546 11, and
from Oct. 181 (j, to Oct. 1885, the sum or $68,
336 09, an aggregate of .$203,883 40. 1 have
not been able to find any Charts 6n Account of
the building's for the ten years from 18Ut> TO
1816. The total disbursements on account of
this institution charged to th'e penitentiary
from 1816 to 1847, after deducting the items
charged within that period for buildings, is
$750,756 55, while the receipts are only $319-,
1823 8, showing a loss of $431,033 47. This
enormous and alarming result does not present
the sum total of out loss, the period from 1806
to 1816 not being embraced in this stiienieht-.
Every year this balance is increasing. Nor IS
this all. The necessary security in this insti
tution calls for a standing guard of thirteen sol
diers from the armory, equivalent to one-sikth
of the dispusable part of the whole Command.
In the Slates of New Hampshire And Massa
chusetts a practice prevails, attended with
highly beneficial results, of renting out thp
different workshops And hands to the highest
bidder. 1 entertain but little doubt thAt it could
be done here to great advantage. Indeed, t
have stfong reason to believe that our institution
could be rented out for ten thousand dollars
per annum,retaining its present police and sup^
erintendence. As something must be done to
prevent this continual tax upon the treasury, t
hope you will Adopt some early and efficient
reform-.
i l cun no; pari irom missuojeci wunoui again
calling your attention to the practice which
i prevails in this institution of Uniting black anti
! white in one common association. It can be
i productive of nothing els but mischief; it neC
| essarilv makes the negro insolent, and debased
! the white man; it is offensive to oUr habits and
j prejudices as well as to ottr feelings and policy-,
, and ought to be discontinued. Such persona
j are separated by law in the Common jail* of
I the country where imprisonment is necessarily
| of short duration* and why a similar policy
i should not be a adopted in the penitentiary
I whpre confinement is to endure for years* it is
! difficult to perceive. In my judgment no frcd
i negro should be sent to the penitentiary. It
i is a punishment but lightly regarded by him*
j involving no loss of character or comfort. I
earnestly recommend this whole subject td
yon r consideration. (See £)oc. No. 8.)
In my last message I apprised yoU of seVef
al small parcels of public property daily di
j minishing in value and of no phblic Use* Stid
i recommended that a law should be passed dj3
; rccting their sale. I again respectfully call
! your attention to ihe subject.
Onr usury laws are* in my jiidgmeni, irri3
! moral in their tendency, and ci r ainly injurious
j to the business interesis of Society, ind otaght
j therefore to be repealed; Laws Cahhot pre
1 vent dealings in Usury, as is attested by uni
i versal experience. The needy will borfotv*
! the usurious will lend* and the certain effects
; of attaching pains and penalties to such tt&hs
i actions, are to swell the premium paid by tbN
borrower, and to tempt him to become a dis3
I honest man.
I Why should a price be n*ed by lav* Bn iitoh
! eyl It is property, precisely as is a bale ol
j cotton or a hogshead of sugar, and fluctuates al
I they do in val,ies . . ,
About i\Vn years ago, money was furnished
! by the Bank of England at about three pef
cent., and she was, by the last advices, asking
[and receiving for it eight per cent, per annum*
A short time since money was abundant irt
New York* but now it is scarce* and good pa-»
per ean be had in the Street at a discount bf bile
and a quarter per Cent* per month* In fact*
money is mote sensitive and fluctuating than
other descriptions of property* and is the Iasi
to which a price should be afiijed by law. M
| wrest is I compound of two ingredients, the
inconvenience of parting With a given Mm of
| money and the hazard of losing it aJtofehte#*-==