)4 ftI.AR PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
XOWANDA:
Tlursday Morning, January 13, 1859^
j governor's Message.
I • . IJunorabU the Senators and Members of
] ' liaise if Representatives of Pennsylvania:
I : —Although the year just clo-
I bas been one of great depression in the
J and monetary affairs of the country,
f : , happy t0 * ,e a^'e t0 ftlinounce t0 theße
j of the People, that the finances
I ••1\ nnsylvauia are iu a most satisfactory
I jbdition.
I' j-jjg receipts at the Treasury, from all sonr-
I f or the fiscal year ending on the 30.h day
1 Vorember, 1858, were $4,139,778 35 ; and
I for all purposes, during the
J time, were $3,775,848 06, leaving an
1 of receipts, over expenditures, of $383-,
1521 29.
I This exhibit shows that there was actually
j n the Treasury, on the Ist day of December,
j ■ v -,s i the sum of $363,921 29, more than there
j was on the Ist day of December, 1857. In
! to this, amoug the expenditures for
1 the year, were :
I ..ac redeemed *3*0,306 85
1 Lief note* redeemed 41,071 00
' -,-t rrtilic.ite- redeemed 116 70
I Hsk m: of the public debt, funded and un-
I j tl i. p:\id during the year, the sum of 421,404 55
1 ■ j, uld t" this the exce-s of money on
"hand, at the end of the fiscal year, over
1 irh.it' remained in the Treasury, at the
I Niuie time last year, viz : 353,921 29
I Ac have the sum of 7*3.415 s4
I Met this is n,it all. The amount paid on the
Lii'" improvements, including damages
I laiins.during tlie fiscal years, was $311,046 50
I Y lie the amount of reveuue.from the same
I i .ur i . for the same period, was only 95,070 06
I Bit,"! an excess of expenditures over re
in. wlnch happily we will be relieved
;r"iii iu the future, of 245.966 32
T., - sum, should, also, be credited to the op
erations of the Treasury, during the year, for
[ ,i was au extraordinary expenditure, which
cannot again occur, and was, in fact, a reduc
: ii of liabilities of the Commonwealth, to
that extent.
If we add this sum to the amount of debt
mill, and the excess of cash on hand, we have
for the year a balance in favor of the receipts,
over the ordinary expenditures, amounting, in
tlie uirgregrate, "to $1,031,382 36.
Hut from this, however, should be deducted
the extraordinary receipts, which were
Tlie amount paid by the Pennsylvania
liirnad company, <>n the principal of tlie
'isst due by the said company to theCom
ni -wealth' for the purchase of the main
1,11,. $lOO,OOO 00
Ti.e amount received from tlie G.irard
Rank, fur !>>ans of the Commonwealth
Mid by fli.it hank 2h,000 00
; df T2*,OlH) 0
W iic!i, deducted from the foregoing aggre
irntc of $1,031,382 36, leaves the true balance
: the ordinary receipts over tlie ordinary ex
ilitures for the fiscal year, at $903,382 36.
The funded and unfunded debt of the Com
monwealth, on the Ist day of December,lBs7,
far a- follows :
FUNDED DEBT.
' jcr vent loan $4 41,1*0 00
j 38,773.212 52
U 3H8.200 00
,|,,i ' . . ' 100,000 00
To this should bo added 5 per cent, coupon
bonds sold bv Alirard Bank, uot before
reported 2 s .000 00
Total funded debt 39.734.595 52
UNFUNDED DEBT
PTief notes outstanding $146,421 00
ktcrest certificates outstanding 13,473 62
'• unclaimed 4.44S 3S
Domestic creditors &02 50
T u'unfunded debt 1 75,14.> 70
Mnking the entire debt of the Commonwealth,
u'. the period named, $39,909,738 22.
The funded and unfunded debtof tlie State,
st the close of the last tiscul year, December,
1, 1858, stood as follows :
FUNDED DEBT.
' per cent, loans sll.>,l*o 00
, 38,420,905 07
ij . ,i„ ....! 25N.200 00
0 d„ 100 000 00
Trtal funded debt 39.351.2 V. 07
UNFUNDED DEBT.
IMief notes outstanding $105,350 00
Interest certificates. 23,357 12
" unclaimed 4,11* 3*
Yunestic creditors 803 50
Tntal unfunded debt 133,95s oo
Making the public debt on the Ist of De
cember Inst, $30,488,243 68. Sincetheelo.se
°f the fiscal year, the Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund have redeemed of the five per
cent, loan, the sum of $220,132 51, leaving
the real debt of the Commonwealth, at this
time, funded and unfunded, $39,268,111 16.
To meet this, lresides the ordinary source of
public revenue, the State owns bonds received
tr mi the sale of the public works, and which,
1 have every reason to believe, are well sccur
'•<l, amounting to $11,000,181. Deducting this
hora the outstanding debt, it leaveß, to be oth
erwise provided for, the sum of $28,087,111 16.
It is believed that, with the existing sources
revenue, and the observance of strut tcono
ln.v i this sum may be reduced, during the cur
bmt year, at least $1,000,000.
The present would seem to be the appropri
ate time—when our nation is at peace—and
''Den health and reasonable prosperity pre
vail within our own borders—to greatly reduce
'ie public debt. We have but to carefully
j'U.-baiid our legitimate resources, avo'ding ex
avapnt and unnecessary appropriations, and
practicing a proper economy in all the depart
ments of Government, to render the entire cx
'■"piishraeut of otfr debt a fixed fact within a
r ; v brief period. To carefully guard the pub
treasury at this interesting epoch iu our fi
'miteial history, is so manifestly the duty ot the
authorities, that 1 cannot for one rao
'"' believe that any other |olicy will lie pro
E there be any, who, relying uti the
THE BRADFORD REPORTER.
improved condition of the finaucesof the State,
would encourage the adoption of new schemes
for depleting the Treasury, or would cut off
the sources of our present revenue, and thus
reduce it, let all such efforts, coming from
whatever quarter they may, be sternly resisted.
Let Pennsylvania be just before she is gener
ous. Let our good example be a light in the
pathways of our sister states, as well as an ad
monition to our own local governments. This
is due alike to the favors which Providence
has so bountifully bestowed upon us, aud to
that high character for honesty and integrity
which has ever distinguished the people of this
good old Commonwealth.
In pursuance of the act, entitled " An Act
for the sale of the State Canals," approved ou
the 21st day of April last, I did, as the Gover
nor of the Commonwealth, ou the 19th day of
May, 1858, convey to the Sunbury & Erie rail
road company, all the public works belonging
to the Commonwealth, then remaining unsold,
consisting of the Delawure division—the Up
per and Lower North Branch divisions—the
West Branch division—aud the Susquehanna
division of the Pennsylvania canal, with all the
property thereunto belonging, or in anywise
appertaining, and all the estate, right, title
and interest of this Commonwealth therein, for
the sum of three millions five hundred thousand
dollars. To secure the payment of this sum,
the Sunbury & Erie railroad company paid to
the state treasurer its bonds, secured by a
mortgage, as directed by the act, for the
amount of the purchase money The compa
ny also complied with the provisions of the act
which require it, as additional security, to exe
cute and deliver to the State Treasurer amort
gage on the Delaware division for one million
—a mortgage on the Susquehanna and West
Branch for half a million—and a mortgage on
the Upper and Lower North Branch divisions
for half a million of dollars. The deeds and
mortgages were all executed under the imme
diate supervision of the Attorney General, and
were iu strict conformity with the requirements
of the law.
After the conveyances were duly executed
and delivered, possession of the canals was giv
en to the railroad company.
The act further provided that tho Sunbury
A Erie railroad company should not resell the
canals, or any part of them, without the con
sent of the Governor ; and that if a re sale
were made for a greater sum, in the aggregate,
than three and a half millions of dollars, seven
ty five per centum of tlie excess should be paid
to the commonwealth, iu the bonds of the pur
chasers. It was also provided that upon a re
sale, the mortgages given by the Sunbury and
Erie railroad company to the Commonwealth,
upon the canals, "should be cancelled by the
State Treasurer and surrendered to the compa
ny l y the Governor,on the deposit made by the
sa'd eonipai y in the office of the State Treas
urer, of an equal amount to the bonds of their
grantees, secured by mortgage of the canal or
canals sold as aforesaid"--with a provision
that no transfer of securities should be made
until the Governor should be satisfied .hat the
new securities to be given were sufiieieiit to
protect the interest of the State ; and that his
written approval of the change should be tiled
in the office of the Secretary of the Common
wealth.
Sales were made by the Sunburv & Erie
railroad company, and reported to me, under
the oath of the President,of the different lines,
as follows :
Tin- t'|>i>er and Lower North Branch canal
to the North Branch Canal Company,
for .. $1,600,000 00
The Went Branch and Susquehanna divi
sions, to the West Branch and Susque
hanna company, for 500.000 00
The Delaware Division.to the Delaware di
vision canal company of I'enn-ylvauia,
for 1.775.000 00
In all the sum of 3,875.000 no
Upon investigation and inquiry, having be
come satisfied that these sales were made lor
fair prices, and upon such terms and to such
persons composing the various purchasing as
sociations, as to insure payment of the purchase
money, they were severally approved
After the contract for the sale of Delaware
division had been entered into, and my consent
had been verbally given, and seventy-five thou
sand dollars actually paid by the purchasers,
upon the faith on the contract, and my assent
thereto, I was informed that a higher price
had been offered by responsible persons, for
the canal But, under tlie circumstances, my
opinion was that tlie offer caine to late ; and
as the railroad company considered itself bound
to consummate the agreement by a delivery of
the deed, and possession of the property to the
first purchasers, I could not, in good faith,
withhold my assent. Tlie North Branch ca
nal company, subsequent to the purchase of
that division, sold that portion of the canal ly
ing between Wilkesbarre and Northumberland,
to the Wyoming canal company, for the sum of
nine hundred and eighty-live thousand dollars.
On the 13th day of December, 1858, bonds
of the various companies owning the different
canals, secured by mortgages, were, in pursu
ance of the act, and by my approval,deposited
with the State Treasurer, to the amount of
two millions of dollars ; and the mortgages on
the canals given by the Sunbury A Erie rail
road company, were cancelled by the State
Treasurer, and surrendered by me to the com
pany in accordance wr.h the directions of the
law. At the same time a settlement was made
between the Commonwealth and the railroad
company, by which the latter paid to the State
seventy-five per centum of the proceeds of the
re-sale over aud above the contract price of
three and a half millions. This amounted to
two hundred and eighty-one thousand two hun
dred and fifty dollars, and was paid in the fol
lowing manner, viz :
Bonds of the Wyoming canal company,
secured by mortgage on the canal front
Wilkesbarre to Northumberland,payable
in twenty years, with iuterest at six per
cent, payable semi-annually $281,000 00
Gash... ' 250 00
Total 2*1.250 00
These bonds are well secured, aud thcaccru-
I iug interest and principal, when due,will doubt
I les be promptly puid.
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA GOODRICH.
" REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER."
From information of a reliable character,re
cently communicated to me by the President
of the Sunbury & Erie railroad company.it ap
pears that the prospect of an early completion
of that great public highway are very eucour
agine A large amount of work has been done
on the line of the road during the past season,
and at this time, very considerable portions of
the road are graded and rapidly approaching
completion. It is the opiniou of the president
of the company, that, within two years the
work will be entirely finished, so that cars will
run from the city of Philadelphia to the harbor
of Erie.
When this great enterprise shall be consum- j
mated, aud the desire of its friends finally ac- |
complished the payment of the three millions
and a half of the mortgage bonds, which the
State has received in exchange for the canals,
will unquestionably be spcurcd—whilst the
railroad,itseif,will prove of incalculable advan
tage to our great commercial emporium,as well |
as to the important, but long neglected region |
through which it pusses. Its construction will'
undoubtedly ndd to the value of the real estate j
of the Commonwealth many times its cost,and
devehpe and bring into use the rich resources ,
of a country which havehitheito remained as
as they were lavishly strown by the hand of
nature. 1 have an abiding confidence that the
result will abundantly prove the wisdom of the !
measure, which,while it guaranteed thecomple- ,
tion of one of the greatest improvements ever
projected in this Commonwealth, it, at the
same time, divorced the State from the unpro
fitable and demoralizing management of her .
railroads and canals.
Wb atever differences of opinion may, at any j
time, have been entertained in regard to the j
propriety of the details of legislation authori
zing the sale of the main line, or the branches,
it can scarcely be doubted, that the public
welfare, will, in every respect, be vastly pro
moted by the transfer of the management of
the public works from the State, to individual
owners.
The short experience" that we have had al
ready, proves conclusively that the Common- j
wealth is greatly the gainer, in a financial
point of view, and it has been equally demon
strated that the people at large have been us
well, if not better accommodated, by the
change.
It would, in my judgment, be a public calam
ity, if, by the happening of any contingency, |
the Commonwealth should be constrained to
again become the owner, and resume the man
agement, of any portion of the public improve
ments.
The power of the General Assembly to pass '
the act of the 21st of April, 1858, relative to
the sale of the State canals, was questioned
before the Supreme Court of the State, since
the transfer of the canal ; and, after full argu
ment, the constitutionality of the act was sus
tained by the unanimous judgement of the
court.
Since the sale of the public works, and the
settlement of the principal outstanding claims
against the State, it is obvious that there is no
further necessity for a Board of Canal Com
uiissiouess, or a canal department. I, therefore,
recommend the abolition of the Board, and
that provision lie made for the transfer of the
records to the office of the Auditor General.
In view of the foregoing exhibit of our re
sources and financial condition, it is apparent
that a most interesting era has been reached
in the history of the Commonwealth. Relieved
from the entangling embarrassments of an ex- 1
tensive system of internal improvements, the
means of the State are now ample for ull le
gitimate purposes, ami her public debt is grad
ually but certainly disappearing. From these
and other causes, govermeutal action has be
come greatly simplified, and the nature of the
subjects of its operation has changed in a de
gree no less remarkable.
The almost entire disposal of the lands which
belonged to the State, has already dispensed
with one of the departments created for their
care, and will, ultimately, render the other un
necessary, except for preserving the evidences
of their transfer.
The sale of the public works has relieved
the Executive branch of the government of
many of its most responsible and most per
plexing duties, and in effect, dispensed with
one of its most formidable and difficult depart
ments.
la the same proportion, the action of the
Legislature will, if the representatives of the
people be true to the interests reposed, and
sternly refuse to entangle the public with those
numerous projects and enterprises which arc
continually seeking its alliance, be simplified
and economized, purified and strengthened.
And as it is as remarkable as it is propi
tious, that an era which lias relieved the State
authorities of burdens that consisted of either
of mere material interests, or the care of local
administration—committing the one to the lo
cal sovereignty of the people, and the other to
private or associated enterprise—should also
present for consideration and promotion intel
lectual and moral claims of peculiar impor
tance.
It is at this period in our history, that the
system of public education challenges the at
tention of the most uuobservait. And 1 shall
be much mistaken iu the cautious but stead
fast character of the people of Pennsylvania, if
their representatives do uot make it the first
object of their solicitude.
The aunual report of the Superintendent of
Common Schools, will lay before you the pre
sent condition of the common school system,
and of its operations during the past year.—
Your close and scrutinizing atteutiou is invited
to the details of that document.
Including the city of Philadelphia, it will be
observed, that there were in the public schools
of the State, during the year which terminated
on the first Monday of last June. 828,201 pu
pils ; these were instructed during an average
term of a little over five months, in 11,281
schools, by 13,856 teachers, at a total cost of
$2,427,632 41.
Here is a public interest, which, —whether
we regard its ramifications into every portion
of our social fabric, its large cost, the import
aut powers over the present which it wields.
or its incalculable influence upon the future, —
undoubtedly transcends all others committed
to the care of the secular authorities. This
being the case, I have no hesitation in assert
ing that the time has arrived when its full im
portance should be recognized, and that due
administration should be made the duty of a
fully organized and effective, as well as a sep
arate department iu the government.
But the mere care and promotion of our
system of common schools—important and ex
tensive as it obviously is, —should notjbe the
sole object of such a Department. If it is true
that the power to punish crime includes also
the right to prevent it, by providing for the
proper intellectual and moral training of the
people, it would seem to follow that the De
partment charged with the latter momentous
duty, should also be in possession of all the
sources and subjects of information, calculated
to shed light upon the subject of its action.—
Hence the collectiou, arrangement, and prac
tical deductions from population and industrial
statistics ; from natural defects, such as deaf
ness and dumbness, blindness and lunacy ; from
crime in its various form.-, and developemcnts:
together with such a control over all the liter
ary and scientific institutions in the state, as
shall bring their lull condition into view—
should also belong to the same Department. ;
Therefore, I most respectfully, but earnestly
urge upon your favorable consideration, at the
present propitious moment, the organization of
such a Department, in the room of those for
the care of mere matter whose agency has been
or soon will be discontinued by the onward and !
upward progress of the commonwealth.
A suitable department of public instruction,
will not, however, of itself, effect all that is
needed in this recti on. The general results
of the common school system, already cited,
show the importance of its nature, arid the
magnitude of its operations. If we look, also,
into its special statistics, the conclusion will
be equally clear that certain improvements in
its working machinery are indispensable,
It is needless to attempt to prove tlie truism
that the properly qualified teacher is the life
and success of the school. But the facts are
startling, that of the 12,828 teachers of our
public schools, exclusive of those iu Philadel
phia, only 5,087 are reported as "qualified"
for their important trust ; while 538 are re
turned as " medium," or such as are only tol
erated till better can be obtained ; and that
2,313 are stated to be "unfit." In other
words : of the 569,880 children attending the
schoolsoutof Philadelphia, only about 230,000
(less than one half) are under proper instruc
tion and training ; while about 240,000 are
receiving insufficient instruction from inferior
teachers; 100,000 arc actually in charge of
persons wholly unfit for the task.
This presents the subject in alight that can
not be shut out, and though the great and
commendable efforts recently made by the
teachers of Pennsylvania for their own im
provement, are fully recoguized, it cannot be
concealed that there is a vvoik yet to be done,
in this relation, which would seem to be be
yond their unaided power to accomplish.
When, however, we look further into the
special statistics of this branch of the system,
tlie material for improvement is found to be of
the most promising kind. Of the 12,828 teach
ers of our common schools, 10,889 are under
thirty years of uge, and 10,946 are natives of
Pennsylvania ; and a larger proportion than in
most of the other states, are permanently de
voted to teaching. To render these fit for the
position to which they aspire—undoubtedly
one of the most useful and honorable in the
world—and to raise up a constant supply of
well qualified successors, is the work to be
done.
V arious modes of effecting this object have
been suggested or tried ; but, after mature re
flection, 1 am led to prefer that devised by the
act of May 20, 1857, entitled "An act to pro
vide for the due training of teachers for the
common schools of the state." It places, in
relation to the state, the teacher on the same
footing with the members of such of the other
learned professions as bnve been recognized by
public authority ; and it is to l>e regretted that
the prostration of business and scarcity of mon
ey, that so soon followed the passage of the
act, had the effect of checking many laudable
efforts to put its provisions into operation.—
Under these circumstances, does it not become
the duly of the state to afford such aid, or at
least hold out such inducements as shall cit
able this measure to be fairly treated.
The passage of a law guaranteeing the pay
ment of a moderate sum to one teachers' school
in each of the districts created by the act of
1857, would no doubt cause a sufficient Dum
ber to establish the efficiency and practicabil
ity of the plan, to be completed in a few years;
the money not to be paid until the schools
were in full and approved operation. It is not
probable that this grunt would cause any con
siderable draft on the treasury ; but, even if
the whole twelve schools should ultimately be
established, the boon would neither be out ot
proportion to that which has been conceded to
other literary institutions, nor the number of
graduates beyond the wants of the community.
Up to the present time, Pennsylvania has ap
propriated about, $600,000 iu aid of her col
leges aud academies, and this mainly in the
lu pe of obtaining from them teachers for the
common schools. Though the benefits of this
munificence have been, in other respects, quite
equal to the amount given, it will be asserted
by no one that the avowed object has been to
any considerable extent effected. It would,
therefore, appear to be time that the aid of
the state should be brought directly to bear
in favcr of the great object so long contempla
ted.
I have thus briefly laid before you the con
dition of our noble educational system. It will
afford me sincere pleasure to concur iu the
adoption of these, or any other measures, for
its perfection, that the wisdom of the Legisla
tnre may devise.
In this country, tlie waut of a school which
shall combine the elements of learning aud ag
ricultural labor, aud thus adapt itself to the
education of the farmer, has been most ecrious
lv felt : for, whilst our many colleges well fill
the measure of their usefulness in their appro
priate sphere of influence, it must be conceded
that the training they impart is badly adapted
|to the art of practical agriculture. In Penn
sylvania that interest is so important as to de
maud at all times our anxious attention and
active'support. "The Farmers' High School
of Pennsylvania," lately projected and planned
by a few public spirited individuals, and which
has received, to some extent the patronage of
the state, and the contributions of a number of
our patriotic citizens, is destined to afford a
place where young men may he educated at an
expense commensurate with their means, and
to a condition qualifying them for the pursuit
of the business of the farm. Here, whilst daily
occupation will train the body to the ability to
labor, and give to the student the enviable
feeling that lie contributes to his own support
and education, it will instruct and enlarge his
mind, that it may give force and effect to all
his future efforts. The design of the institu
tion is to afford a school where boys may be
thoroughly educated in all-branches of natural
science, and, at the same time, be inured to
tlie performance of labor; so that at their
graduation they may return to their pare ts
abundantly prepared to join the domestic cir
cle, to give a right direction to the business of
agriculture, and act well their part in every
department of lite. An object so fraught with
usefulness is entitled to tlie highest commenda
tion.
The application of scientific principles to the
practical purposes of life, is but realizing the
full benefit of those laws of nature, to discover
and to profit by which, is undoubtedly one of
the great ends of human reason. Tlie more
tiiis important object is held in view and effect
ed by our higher institutions of learning, the
more valuable and useful they will become.—
'Fiie Polytechnic college of Pennsylvania at
Philadelphia, is founded ou this basis ; and its
attempt to popularize science, and connect
high acquirement with practical ability, is pre
sented to your favorable consideration.
Under a resolution of the last House of
Representatives a committee was appointed by
the Speaker ot the House, to examine the state
and condition of several banks chartered at
the session of 1857. Tlie resolution d rented
the committee to report to tlie Governor tlie
result of its examination ninety days
after the adjournment of the Legislature. On
the 20th of July lust, the report of tlie com
mittee, together with the accompanying evi
dence, was filed in the office of tlie Secretary
of the Commonwealth, a copy of which will be
laid before the House of Representatives.
In view of the facts reported by tlie commit
tee, in reference to tlie organization and subse
quent management of the Tioga County Ban.:
the Crawford County Bank, and the Bank of
Shaiuokin, I would recommend a careful in
quiry into tlie present condition of these insti
tutions, and if it shall be ascertained that the
public is likely to suffer injury from the further
existence of either, a speedy and certain reme
dy may be found in a legislative repeal of the
rights aud privileges granted by acts of incor
poration. The power to alter, revoke or annul
the charter of a bank whenever its continuance
may, iu the opinion of the Legislature, be in
jurious to tlie citizens of the Commonwealth, is
expressly given by the Constitution to the
General Assembly,—to be exercised, however,
in such manner as that no injustice shall be
done to the incorporators.
Obedience to this constitutional injunction
would require that iu event of a repeal of the
charter of a batik, care should be taken that
the rights of the stockholders to the surplus
assets of the bank, after the payment of its
debts, were protected ; and that suitable pro
vision should be made for settling its affairs.
The injunction contained in the Constitution,
that tlie repeal or revocation of a bank charter
shall be in such manner as to work no injustice
to the corporators, is not a qualification of the
power to revoke, or annul the charter; but
simply a requirement that, in taking away the
charter, the rights of the stockholders shall lie
protected, so far as is consistent with the act
of repeal itself. Ido not doubt that the Leg
islature may alter, revoke, or annul, any bank
charter, whenever in its opinion the continu
ence of the charter may be injurious to the
the citizens of the Commonwealth. Any other
construction of the constitutional reservation,
would make the interests and safety of the
public subservient to the gain of the private
stockholder. Believing, therefore, that there
is no want of power, I cannot refrain from ex
pressing my decided opinion that whenever it
is clear that a bank is insolvent, or in great
danger of becoming so, or whenever its privi
leges are so used or abused in to seriously pre
judice the interests of the public, it is the duty
of the law-making power to protect the people,
by destroying its corporate existence.
In this connection I deem it my duty to re
iterate the views expressed in my inaugural
address. I then stated, as my decided opinion,
that there should be no further increase of
banks or banking capital under the present
system—expressed a decided hostility to the
issue of notes of a small denomination—and
recommended such a change in our laws rela
tive to banks, their organization aud manage
ment, as would at least secure, beyond all
question, the pri inpt redemption of all bills or
notes put iu circulation by the several banking
institutions of the Gonimonwealth.
Well satisfied of the imperfections of exist
ing laws relative to hanks and bunking, I deem
it a duty to inform the General Assembly that
I cannot give the Executive approval to any
bills chartering additional banks without a rad
ical change iu the entire system. It is but
just to state th°t in my opinion u large major
ity of the bank* of the Commonwealth are well
and safely managed, and in a perfectly sound
condition ; but this is due to the honesty and
intelligence of those having charge of them,
rather than to the efficiency of the laws. Uu
der the management of incapable or dishonest
men, experience has shown, that there is really
but little, if any, security to the public in the
regulations and restrictions now to be found in
our banking code. True wisdom dictates a
reformation.
Tlie HI lion- lor&c which have fallen upon
VOL. XJX. —NO. 33.
-the people during the financial pressure of the
past eighteen months, suggest the necessity of
preventing their recurrence. Although many
causes may have combined to produce these
disasters, it is too plain to admit of doubt, that
our banking system has been one of the most
prominent. The value of the piecious metals
—the prices of property—ana the wages of
.abor—are always affected by the abundance
or scarcity of the paper medium received as a
substitute for gold and silver coin. The power
of the states to authorize a paper curreucy,
through the agency of bunks, has been so long
exercised, and acknowledged throughout the
Union, that it is no longer an open question.
But it must be acknowledged that the power
has been greatly abused. The delegation of
this attribute of sovereignty to a number of
irresponsible corporations, without proper
checks to limit its exercise, and without pro
viding any security whatever for the redemp
tion of the issues authorized, has been attended
with evils of the most alurming character.—
These corporations are practically made the
exclusive judges of the amount of paper cur
rency to Ge furnished to the people, and have
the exclusive power to contractor expand their
circulation at pleasure. Depositors and other
ordinary creditors of banks, need no legislation
for their protection. Every one who has direct
dealings with these institutions, either as de
positor or otherwise, enters into such arrange
ment voluntarily, for his owu advantage, and
may be safely left to his own vigilance, and
the ordinary remedies of the law, for his pro
tection But the millions of people engaged
in industrious pursuits, the farmer—the me
chanic—the merchant—and the laboring man
are under the imperious necessity to receive
for their merchandise and their labor, the ordi
n irv papir currency of the country. It is impos
sible for persons of this description to investi
gate the concerns of every institution whoso
notes are in circulation. But no investigation
could save them from the losses arising from
the defaults and frauds of bank officers and
the insolvency of bauk borrowers.
The note holders of banks have peculiar
claims to the protection of the government.—
They are involuntary creditors, who are forced
to receive the notes authorized by the goveru
ment They have no direct dealings with the
banks. They do not trust the bauks from any
'. opes of gain. They have no profit in passing
the notes which tliey would not have had in
passing gold and silver coin. They constitute
almost the entire community, and the humble
and ignorant are always the greatest sufferers
when u bank fails to redeem its notes. The
whole people are, therefore, deeply iuterested
in the security of the circulation allowed bv
law, although many of them may never havo
had a share of bunk stock, or been within a
hundred miles of its place of business. The
government that authorizes the issue of a pa
per currency is under a high moral obligatiou
to require ample and available security for its
redemption.
The certificates of loans issused Iy the Gen
eral Government, or by this Commonwealth,
at a value to be fixed upon, with the power to
require additional deposits of security, from
time to time, as the loans depreciate in the
market, would lie as safe and available as any
guaranty which could be provided.
A law requiring all issues of banks hereaf
ter organized, to be secured by the pledge of
these loans, would enhance the value of the
present loam, and thus give the holders a pre
mium not contemplated when they became
purchasers, and for which they never gave any
valuable consideration. This enhanced valuo
would be derived from a privilege granted hy
the State, and the State ought therefore, to
have the benefit of it, as far us this may bo
secured by legislation. The recent amcudinent
to tiie Constitution circumscribes the power of
the Legi-lnture in creating State debts, with
an exception in favor of debts contracted " to
redeem the present outstanding indebtedness
of the State." A law authorizing new State
loans for the purpose of redeeming the present
overdue debt, would be within the constitu
tional exception, and would be free from objec
tion on constitutional grounds.
The new loans, thus authorized, redeemable
at the expiration of twenty years, with the
banking privilege attached to them, would un
doubtedly sell at a high premium. The pro
ceeds of their sale should be applied to the
payment of the present State debt, now over
due, amounting to more than seventeen millions
of dollars. Under this system the State loans
would no longer lie held by foreigners, and the
semi a' nual shipments of specie,to payiuterest,
would therefore cease.
As the currency would he limited to the
amount actually secured, the danger from ex
pansions, which have heretofore stimulated the
incautious to embark in ruinous enterprises, in
overtrading, and in extravagance in their ex
penditures, would be greatly lessened, if not
entirely overcome. As the securities, would
be in the hands of a liitrh and responsible
officer of the State, with authority to sell them
for the purpose of redeeming the circulation,
the power of the banks to arrest specie pay
ments, nt their own pleasure, would be at au
end. The system proposed is as near an ap
proach to a specie basis as the condition and
and habits of the people are at present pre
pared for. The duty of securing the com
munity from losses continually arising from an
unsafe currency, cannot he longer delated, with
out a manifest disregard of the public interests.
The subject is therefore commended to vour
early attention.
The report of the commissioners appointed
to contract for and superintend the erection of
a moment to the memory of citizens of Penn
sylvania, who were slain or lost their lives in
the late war with Mexico, will inform the
Legislature of the proceedings had oa that
subject. After receiving proposals for the
erection of the monument, and the adoption of
a plan, it was determined, in view of the limit
el and inadequate appropriation made for tho
accomplishment of the purpose, by the Logis
laturp, to post JK>IIP the commencement of tho
work until furtlter legislation could IMJ had
It is the opinion of the mtnmissioi ersthat oi'h
sr.t: rot tint r.vcE.