Bradford Reporter.
Towanda, Thursday, January 12, 1865.
MR. WARD'S ADDRESS.
If that part of Mr. WARD'S Address which
we noticed in our last, is objectionable,that
portion of it which we propose to review
now, is doubly so ; and if we regretted the
awkward position which our examination of
his charge against the republicans of fraud
ulent voting, places him in, we can truly
say that we are pained at being obliged to
follow up the more reprehensible part of
this extravagant folly ; and it would be
less grievous to him, if Mr. WARD had not
" traveled out of the sphere of his appoint
ment "to earn condemnation. But to our
subject.
Mr. WARD substantially declares, that!
forty-lour innocent, and reputable, citizens of j
Luzerne and Columbia counties, were im- j
prisoned by military authority, and tried j
before a tribunal unknown to the constitution
—called a Court Martial. An abundance
of expletives are called into requisition to j
give this act of the administration a horrify
ing aspect. The truth of the matter is,that
these forty-four citizens combined to resist
the draft, and the government was obTiged j
to send a militaiy force to arrest the law-1
breakers. Mr. WARD says three of them
were sentenced to heavy fines, and impris
onment ; so that these conspirators were
guilty of the charges preferred against them;
and it is these criminals before the law,
over which our neighbor makes his piteous ;
lamentation. We doubt not but that every
criminal in the penitentiary could give an !
equally distressing account of his suffer
ings, if he had Mr. WARD'S power of deliue-,
ation. But who is to blame for this suffer-i
ing ? Mr. WARD says the government. We 1
say tlie traitors themselves. For if they
had not resisted the law, they would not!
have been punished. This is clear. Why i
are not peaceable citizens punished? Be-j
cause they are peaceable. Mr. \\ ARI> pleads I
f..r these violators of the law, and tries to
cover up their heinous offense, for the rea
son that they are democrats, and it they |
were cut-throats, and belonged to his party,
it would be the same thing. Such is the
perverse tendency of blind partizan zea'. 1
What is it to the loyal citizen that there !
are no stoves, benches, beds, knives, forks, j
j dates, or any other conveniences, in the j
cells of Fort Mifflin? What is it to them
that this is a damp Island fort, constructed :
more with a view of resisting a bombard-'
lnent, than anything else ? What is it to I
them that the government is obliged to des
ecrate it by the incarceration of Copper
head rebels ? Loyal men respect the laws,
and have no fears of Bastiles, and because
they respect the laws, they see no modern
tyranny. It is only traitors who feel the
damps of noisome cells, and see the tyran
n>"
The Chairman id the State Democratic
Committee says, these Columbia rioters
"are ' being' drawn out, one by one, to be
tried before a tribunal unknown to the con
stitution—called a Court Martial —in which
they are denied the privilege—priceless in
a freeman's estimate—of a trial by a jury
of their peers, and of the vicinage."
Mr. WARD is a lawyer, and asserts that a
Court Martial is unknown to the constitu
tion. That instrument says, "Congress
shall have power to raise and support ar
mies. 'l'o make rules for the government,
and regulation,of the laud anil naval forces."
Ami pray, who ever heard of armies with
out Court Martials ? So the power to cre
ate Court Martials, comes directly from the
constitution : and we have had them under
the government,over since its organization.
Every bright school boy knows these facts;
and yet, our legal neighbor says, these
courts are unknown to the constitution.—
Wise, and learned man ! What a luminous
production it would be, how suddenly all
that has ever been written on the sacred
right of trial by jury, would fall into the
shade, if we had an "elaborate discussion"
on (his subject, from this writer ! The
question, however, of the legality of the
trial of the Columbia county rioters, lias
been clearly settled, in the case of Vallan
dighnir.. The Supreme Court of the United
Slates, under its old regime, after a full ar
gument, decided thai the art est of Yalian
iligham, by military authority, was legal,
that the military commission which tried
him for a military offense, was constitution
ally constituted, and that there was no leg
al authority in our civil courts to reverse,
or to revise its judgment. Yet Mr. WARD
pronounces these courts unconstitutional,
monstrous and unbearable. But the de
nial of a trial bv jury in the vicinage, to
to these Columbia lqw-breakers,is the point
over which we have the full burst of lachry
mose winnings of a surcharged partizan
prejudice. A trial by jury in the vicinage,
to these rioters, would have been a mock
ery. No witnesses could have been found,no
matter what the criminality of the party
tried, to testify against them; and the jury
men, like the witnesses, would have syi t
pathiseil with the rioters, and therefore, it
would only have been a farce, to trv them
in this manner. After the army that went
out to suppress the Mormon rebellion, had
taken possession of Salt Lake city, and
courts of law had been established, an at
tempt was made to bring to punishment the )
leaders of the rebellion ; but the witnesses
and jurymen, were all Mormons, and they
thought that Mormons in rebellion against (
the government, was a religous, and a po- j
litical duty, and the sequence was. that the !
trials were a farce, and had to be abandon-!
ed. It would be just so with trials in the!
disaffected districts of Columbia county.— !
Democrats turned rioters, and democrats j
over the State, as Mr. WARD'S sympathies
prove, as well as democrats of the vicinage,
believe it is right to rebel against the abo
lition government, as they choose to call it,
uud how wortU a trial in the vicinage, un
der such circumstances, result? It would
have been a muckerj, truly.
We have shown tiiat'Lhft trial of the (Jul-!
umbia county conspirators, was lawful, be-!
yond all cavil, and proper ; and in view of
this, how does Mr. W ARK'S appeal to the
two hundred and seventy-six thousand dem
ocrats to revolt against the government,
appear? For such in reality it is. The;
spleen consequent upon political defeat,has
so distorted the vision of our neighbor, that i
he can no longer see the plain outlines of!
the Constitution, and under his hallu- j
cination, the necessary, and the proper'
acts of the administration, are pro- j
nounced " alarming violations of great |
principles of freeman's rights, which even
no monarch on the throne of our English
ancestors, since the days of Magna eharta, .
ever yet invaded with impunity ; and no
administration of our government, ever be
fore dared to infringe," declaring the acts
of the government to be *' monsdrou* and
unbearable." The plain English of this is,
that if Mr. WARD'S democratic cohorts are
not poltroons, they will revolt, en manse, !
against these imagined wrongs. It is tell-1
ing them that if they do not resist these !
supposed infringements of their rights,that
they are not freemen—that no freemen ever
did put up with such things. So that we
understand this to be a call on the demo
crats to resist the acts of the government ;
and if they do not resist them, it will not
be the fault of this appeal. In its spirit,
and intended effect, this language is simi
lar to that used by Henry 11, when exasper
ated at the recusant conduct of Thomas
Beeket. In the presence of his courtiers,
this king exclaimed, " What an unhappy
prince am I, who, have not about me one
man of spirit enough to rid me of a single
insolent prelate and forthwith the Bishop
of Canterbury was murdered before the al
tar by four of the king's partisans ; and if
there is not an immediate up-rising of the
democrats to resist the acts of the govern- j
meut, Mr. W AIUI'S words are less potent fur
evil, than were those of an English King.
That is all the difference.
We have already said that we are sorry
our neighbor perpetrated the folly of issu
ing this address. It will be a badge of dis
grace to him for the rest of his days,
and it is a little singular he did not see
this. In every war in which this country
has been engaged, there have been among
us those who opposed the government In
the revolution we had the tories, and in his
letters written against the efforts of the
United States to secure their freedom, Ben
edict Arnold used language similar to that
now used by Mr. WARD. The tories have ever
been a by-word of reproach. In our sec
ond war with England, the federalists op
posed the govei nment; and its leaders
were ever afterwards in disgrace. And
even in the Mexican war, which was pro
jected for the acquisition of slave territo
ries, and on this ground was opposed bo
wlegs, and this opposition resulted in the
ruin of that party. Can Mr. WARD not see
the fate of his party, and of himself, in this
past experience of the country?
THE MILITARY SITUATION'.
Since our last issue, the most notable
military occurrence has been the failure of
the immense cxp dition undertaken against
Wilmington, under the command of Gen.
BUTI.F.R and Commodore PORTER. The fleet
bombarded Fort Fisher for some days with
out any perceptible result, and finally with
drew. The operations of the army, ai>-
pear to have been confined to landing a
few troops and re-embarking them. Want
of co-operation between the two arms of
the service seems to have been the cause
of this disgraceful failure.
From Thomas' army the news is, that
Hood has escaped with the fragment of his
routed army, so cut up and disorganized
that he is impotent for mischief. There are
indications that Thomas has concentrated
his army, and is preparing to move in some
direction for the purpose of striking an ef
fective blow.
The latest from Sherman are Charleston
dispatches dated last Thursday, published
in the Richmond newspapers, represent
Gen. Sherman.'# forces are still concentra
ting in South Carolina, between the Savan
nah River and tlardeeville. Gen. Kilpat
| rick was reported to be still in South Car
olina. The Union troops were said to be
building a new pontoon bridge across the
Savannah, and steamers were removing the
obstructions placed in the stream by the
Rebels. Gen. Sherman had, it is stated,
given notice to the citizens of Savannah to
settle up their bank and other accounts
within fifteen days.
Gen. Grierson's raid on the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad lias been successful, so far
as heard from, without the loss of a man.— j
He started from Memphis on the 21st of!
December, and struck the road just below
Corinth, Mississippi, and on the 27th had
completely destroyed it to beyond Okaloua,
a distance of over seventy miles, together
with twenty-nine brigdes, a great deal of
trestle work, a number of ears, three
hundred army wagons, four thousand Rebel
carbines, and much other property. He j
had dispersed Forrest's dismounted camp,
and was pushing on with the intention of
rendering the line utterly useless as far as
Meridian, one hundred miles further, and, if,
possible, releasing the Union prisoners at
Catawba, Miss.
The ijuiet continues before Richmond and
Petersburg. Considerable damage was
done to buildings in the latter town on
Tuesday by the opening of our artillery i
upon it. Rut a feeble reply was made by
the Rebel guns. Operations on the Dutch
Gap Canal have been suspended for the
present, and the Rebels have ceased firing j
upon it.
Gen. Sheridan has recently sent portions !
of his cavalry and artillery into Loudon
and Fairfax counties, Virginia, who are j
making all that region a very uneomforta- i
ble place for Rebel guerrillas and sympa
thizing secession residents. A number of i
the latter have beep arrested, and their I
! ]
property, which was made to subserve the ;
purposes of Moseby's and White's outlaws, i ,
lias been seized.
Secretary Stanton is conferring with Gen, j
Sherman as to future movements.
FROM IIARRISBURG.
HAKRIHBUBG, Jan. 6, 1860.
MR. EDITOR :—ln accordance with the constitu
tional provision, the Legislature convened at the
capitol on the first Tuesday of January, and organ
ized. Hon. A. G. Olinsteftd, of Potter, was elected
Speaker of the house, and Hon. W. J. Turrell, of
Susquehanna, of the Senate. Mr. Benedict, of
Huntingdon, was elected clerk of the house, and
Mr. Humniersley, of Philadelphia, of the Senate.—
Messrs. Turrell and Olinstead are both from the
northern tier of counties, and both of their talants,
industry, moral rectitude and unremitting attention
to their duties as legislators eminently deserved,
and fairly secured the honorable positions which
they now occupy. They are both emphatically
self-made men, having l>een reared in the counties
which they now represent, when advantages afford
ed to young men were not as favorable as the}' now
are. The northern counties should feel honored
hv the election of both speakers from their section
of the State.
Immediately after the organization and the read- j
ing of the message, both branches adjourned over |
till Tuesday the Oth, in order to ennble the Speak- |
ers to appoint the Standing Committees. There j
are to be several contested seats. Two sets of mem- I
hers are on hand from the district composed of;
Somerset, Fulton and Bedford counties. The re
publicans are Ross and Armstrong, and the demo- 1
crats are'Myers and Findley. There is one of the |
Lycoming members who is not yet safely in his
seat.
I observe among the members of the house many j
familiar countanees. Still many of the members
are new men, and several quite young men. Among !
thehuissiug are Bigham, of Allegheny, who is trans- j
ferred to the Senate, Smith of Chester, McMurtrie
of Blair, Lilley of Bradford, Watson of Philndel- :
phis, and Johnson, the former Sjienker, of Craw- ;
ford. 111 the Senate there are fewer changes, Ken
sey of Bucks, Johnson, of Lycoming, and Penney of 1
Allegheny are not in their accustomed seats, they :
will lie much missed.
The workmen have commenced excavating upon I
the east side of the capitol preparatory to the erect- !
ion of a wing to the building. This addition is |
needed for the use of the library aud for commit- |
tee rooms.
The following is a full list of officers of the Leg
islature :
(fficers of ihe House. —Speaker—A. G. Olnistead, !
of Potter.
Clerk—A. W. Benedict, of Huntingdon.
Assistant Clerk—Wm. H. Denniston, of Alle- j
gbeny.
Transcribing Clerks—Caleb Walker, of Philadel
phia ; A. D. Harlan, of Chester ; Jos. Willison, of
Allegheny ; Thomas J. Kerr, of Washington.
Postmaster—Alex. Adair, of Philadelphia.
Sergeant-at-Arms—Charles E. Idell, of Philadel- :
phia.
Doorkeeper—Jas. T. MeJunkin, of Butler.
Messenger-—Asa Nichols, of Bradford.
In addition to the above are four Assistant Ser- j
geant-at-Arms. four Assistant Doorkeepers, four i
Messengers, and one Assistant Postmaster.
Officers of the (senate. —Speaker—Wm. J. Turrell, j
of Susquehanna.
Clerk—Geo. W. Hauimersley.
. Assistant Clerk—Lucius Rogers.
Transcribing Clerks—Ebeuezer Williams, Mar- j
tin Orladay, E. K. Haines, Henry Catlin, E. De !
Wolf.
Sergeant-at-Arms—John G. Martin.
Assistants—James S. Johnson and (diaries Wil- |
liams.
Doorkeeper—Joseph Itiblet.
Assistants—J. B. Hinds, M. L. Novinger, Frank
H. Acutf, Jacob H. Kline, Joseph T. Thompson, !
John A. Arnold.
Messenger—Wm. Duffey.
Assistant —Wm. Shields.
PERSONAL.
—Hon. Reuben E. Fen ton, Governor elect
of tile State of New York, was inaugurated on
Monday, '2d inst. His inaugural is published in
the New York papers.
—Thomas 0. Fletcher, the newlv-eleeted
radical Governor of Missouri, was inaugurated in
Jefferson City on Monday, and his inaugural mes
sage was read. He takes hold ground for ridding
the State of the curse of Slavery at the earliest mo
ment.
--Ex-Gov. Richard Yates, Union, of Illi
nois, was 011 Thursday chosen United States Sen
ator to succeed William A. Richardson, Democrat,
whose term expires with this Congress. Mr Yates
I was a member of the House of Representatives
from 1851 to 1855, elected by the Whig party. For
: the past four years he has been Governor of the
■ State.
—.Secretary Fessenden has been nom
inated for re-election to the Senate, by the caucus
of Union members of the Maine Legislature. Gf
course this foreshadows his resignation of the See
j retaryship of the Treasury. He will, without dont
1 he elected.
—Hon. Jacob M. Howard lias been re
elected by the Legislature of Michigan to the U. S.
Senate. He has faithfully and ahlv represented
that State in the Senate.
—The prominent candidates for the va
cant Mission to France are John C. Fremont, Hen
ry Winter Davis, Charles Sumner, Montgomery
Blair, John P. Hale and W. P. Fessenden.
—Hon. J. 8. Haldemen has been elected
unanimously, President of the Harrishurg National
Bank, in place of Wm. M. Kerr, Esq., deceased.
—Gen. \Y ayne, who commands one of the
bodies of rebels in Georgia, is said to be the son
! of Judge Wayne, of the United States Supreme
Court.
—The College of New Jersey has con
ferred the degree of L. L. D. upon Mr. Lincoln.—
This from a New Jersey institution may he consid
ered rather generous.
—Hon. F. P. Blair, accompanied by his
son, Montgomery, recently visited the army, with
the purpose of procuring permission to go to Rich
mond. Gen. Grant refused to pass them, and they
: returned. Considerable speculation has been in
dulged in, as to the probable motive of their pro
jected visit to the rebel capitol, and much undue
importance attached to it. The most reasonable
solution is, that it was upon private business, and
wholly unauthorized by the President.
—Hon. George Mifllin Dallas died at his
residence in Philadelphia, on Saturday, Dec. Hist,
in the 72d year of his age. Mr. D. has filled many
important public stations, displaying much ability,
and commanding the respect of the nation.
—O. X. Worden, for seventeen years
publisher of the Lnn.il/nrj f'hronirlr, has retired
from that paper, which is now under the charge of
J. It. CORN EI.II"s. Mr. W. formerly published a
newspaper at Athens, in this county, removing
thence to Lewisburg. He ha* been an able and in
dustrious. journalist, and has done good service in
the Union ranks. We wish him abundant success
in life.
—William Curtis Xoyes, a distinguished
lawyer ; James William Wallack, the actor and
manager, and Col. Charles A. May who made his
name famous by his exploits during the Mexican
war, particularly at Resaca de hi Palma and Mon
terey, died in New York during the past week.
—Hon, D. S. Dickinson has arrived in
New York city, and entered upon the active dis
charge of his duties as President of the New York
and Liverpool Petroleum Company.
—James W. Xye and William Stewart I
have been elected United States Senators from the j
new state of Navada. Nye is the well-known New
York politician, who has lately been governor of the j
territory. Stewart is a son-in-law of " Hangman " i
Poots. of the rebel Congress.
—Hon. G. A. Grow will address his fel-;
low citizens at the Court House in Montrose, on
Monday evening, January 16th 1865, on questions
relative to a Restored Union.
—The funeral of Hon. WM. L. DAYTON took
place at Trenton on Tuesday last, and wag an iai- j
[losing display.
GOVERNORS MESSAGE. !
To the Senate and Ho use of Representative*.
During the past year the people of this j
Commonwealth have had reason to be grate
ful to Almighty G<si for many blessings. :
The earth has been fruitful, industry has i
thriven, and, with the exception of the in- )
jury suffered by the citizens of some of our ;
border counties, through the disgraceful j
barbarity of the rebel forces which ravaged j
parts of them, and burned the town of*j
Chambersburg, we have no public uiisfor- ■
tune to lament. The year closes with a j
train of brilliant successes obtained by the j
armies of the United States, inspiring hope I
in every loyal mind that the accursed re- j
bell ion will soon be crushed, and peace be {
restored to our country.
THE HNACIAL CONDITION OF THE STATE.
The balance in the Treasury, Nov. 30
1863, was $2,147,331 70
Receipts during the fiscal year ending
Nov. 30, 1864 4,733,313 0-2
Totalin Treasury for fiscal year ending
Nov. 30, 1864 6,880,644 72
Tint payments for the same period
have been 4,938,441 (ft)
Balance in Treasury, Nov. 'JO, 1864.. 1,042,203 63
The operations of the Sinking Fund dur
ing tlfe last year have* been shown by my
proclamation of the 27th day of September
last, as follows : „
Amount of debt of Com
monwealth reduced $268,569 50
As follows, viz :
Five per cent, loan of the
Commonwealth $268,308 03
Interest certificates re
deemed 561 47
The fiscal year accounted for in the state-,
inent of the Treasury Department embraces ;
the time from the Ist of December, 1863, to
the 30th of November, 1864. The sinking- j
fund year commenced the first Monday in
September, 1863, and ended the first Tues- i
day in September, 1864. This will explain ;
the discrepancy between the statement of I
the Treasury Department as to the reduc-;
tion of the public debt of the State, and
the statement embodied in the proclamation
relative to the sinking fund.
Amount of public; debt of
Pennsylvania, as it
stood on the Ist day of
December $39,496,596 78
Deduct amount redeemed
at the State Treasury
during the fiscal year
eliding with November
30, 1864, viz ;
Five per cent, stocks... .$104,722 73
Four and a half per ct.
stocks 1,000 00
Interest certificates 2,270 116,992 84 .
Public debt Dee 1,1864 $39,379,603 94 j
Funded debt, viz •_....
Six per cent, leans, ordi
nary $400,630 00
Five per cent, loans, ordi
nary 35,605,2651 72
Four ami a half per cent
loans, ordinary 258,200 00 36,264,094 72 j
Unfunded debt, viz :
Relief notes in circulation 97,251 00
Interest certificates out
standing 13,086 52
Interest certificates un
claimed 4,448 28
Domestic creditors' cer
tificates 724 32 115,510 22
36,379,393 94
Military loan, per act 15th May, 1801 .8,000,000 in)
Total public debt December 1,1864. $39,379,393 1)4 I
The Commonwealth holds bonds received
from the sale of Public Works amounting
to ten million three hundred thousand dol- i
lars($10,300,000), as follows :
Pennsylvania Itailroud Company Ixinds $6,800,000
I'hiladelphia and Erie Railroad Coiu
panv bonds 3,500,000
$10,300,000
These bonds are in the sinking fund, and
reduce the public debt to $29,079,003 94.
The tax on tonnage imposed by the acts
of 30th April and 25th August, 1804, has
yielded something less than $200,000 —a
i much less sum than was anticipated. I
; recommend a revision of these uots, for the
purpose of rendering this source of revenue
j more productive, and amending other de
j fects in these bills.
The revenue derived from the tax on
} banks during the year amounts to $539,600
j 07, but under the enabling act of the State j
I so many of our banks have become national
| banks under the act of Congress, that this
j source of revenue may be considered as
i substantially extinguished, and it will be
i necessary in some way to make up the de
: ficiency from other sources. The act of
! Congress authorizes the taxation by the
I State of the stock in the national banks in
, the hands of the holders, not exceeding the
! rate of taxation imposed on other similar
i property, and part of the deficiency may be
| thus provided for.
The amount of debt extinguished by the
; Sinking fund during the year is unusually
small, which is to be accounted for by the
! extraordinary expenses which have been in
! curred. Seven hundred and thirteen thous
and dollars ($713,000) have been paid to
j refund to the banks the money advanced
, by them to pay the volunteers in service
during the invasion of the State in 1863.
| One hundred thousand dollars (100,000)
| have been distributed among the iuhabi
| tants of Chambersburg suffering by the
| rebel destruction of their town. About two
hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) have I
j been expended under the acts providing for
| the payment of extra military cla ms, and,
I in addition to these extraordinary outlays,
! the amount appropriated to charities was
last year larger than usual.
SO UNDIE APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED.
Tho national taxation is heavy and must
> probably be made heavier, and the local tax
| authorized by unwise legislation and paid
!by our people are excessive. In view of
these circumstances, we should endeavor to
| avoid increasing their burdens by making
undue appropriations for any purpose.
DONATION TO I.OCAL CHARITIES.
In rny opinion this matter of donations
to charities is fast running into a great
abuse. Houses of refuge, and insane, blind,
and deaf and dumb asylums appear to bo :
; proper subjects of State bounty, because ;
their objects are of public importance ; and
to be useful, as well as economically man-,
aged, it seems to be necessary that they
should be more extensive than would be
required for the wants of a particular coun
ty. But in our system ordinary local char- i
ities are left to the care of the respective ;
j localities, and to give the public money for
their support is really to tax the inhabi- j
tants of all the counties for the benefit of
j one.
RAILROAD MATTERS.
i It being alleged that the Atlantic and
i Great Western Railroad Company has not,
; in various particulars, obeyed the law by <
j which it was incorporated, the Attorney
General, on the suggestion of parties claim
ing to be thereby injured, lias filed aq in?
formation in equity against that company,
seeking an injunction to prevent a contin
uance of its past and the persistence of its
intended illegal course.
Since my last annual message, on the re- j
port of John A. Wright, Esq., that the Sun
bury and Erie Railroad was finished, I or
dered the bcfpds remaining in the treasury
to be delivered to t)ie cojnpany, It is a
subject of just pride to the people of this
Commonwealth that this great work i§ com
pleted, whilst it opens a large and wealthy 1
part of the State.' t<> the commerce of the
seaboard, and unites capital and enterprise
within our horde s, it secures to the Com
monwealth the payment of sums due her
from the company.
THE PAYMENT OK THE MILITIA.
In my special message of 510 th April last,
to which I refer, I communicated to the
Legislature, in some detail, the circumstan
ces connected with the advance by banks
and other corporations of the funds to pay !
the volunteer militia of 18651.
It is not necessary here to recapitulate
them at length. The case was peculiar,
and it is believed none quite like it has oc
curred. The call for volunteers was made
by the authorities of the United States, but
it being found that men c mid not be got |
under that call, the form of a call by the i
State authorities for the defence of the
State was, with the assent of the President,
substituted. The United States agreed to
furnish the arms, subsistence, and supplies,
but it was alleged that Congress had made
no appropriation covering the pay. In this
state of things, the emergency being great
the Secretary of War telegraphed to me
thus :
Wrshinoton, July 22, 1863.
To ITis Excellency Gov. A'. G. Curtin:
Your telegrams respecting the pay of militia
called out under your proclamation of the the 27tli
of June, have been referred to the President for in
structions, and have been under his consideration.
He directs me to say, that while no law or appro
priation authorizes the payment, by the General
Government, of troops that have not been mustered
into the service of the United States, he will rec
ommend to Congress to make an appropriation for
the payment of troops called into State service to
repel an actual invasion, including those of the
State of Pennsylvania.
If, in the meantime, you can raise the necessary
amount, as has been done in other States, the ap
propriation will be applied to refund the advance to
those who made it. Measures have been taken for
the payment of troops mustered into the United
States service as soon as the muster and pay rolls
are made out. The answer of this Department, to
you as Governor of the State, will be given directly
to yourself, whenever the Department is prepared
to make answer.
EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.
The banks and other corporations refused
to advance the money unless I would pledged
myself to ask an appropriation from the
Legislature to refund it. It will be noticed
that the pledge of die President is clear
and distinct, but, notwithstanding tho
money was paid and the accounts settled
and placed in the hands of the President
before the meeting of Congress, no such
recommendation as promised me was made,
and for that reason the bill introduced for
that purpose failed. The men were raised
and placed under the command of Major
General Couch and the United .States nffi
; cers in this Department. The troops were
held in service longer than the emergency
for which they called out required. Several
| of the regiments were marched immediately
I into distant parts of the State, by order of
the officers of the army stationed in Penn
: sylvania, against my repeated remonstran
ces. They were retained, as was alleged,
: to preserve the peace and enforce the draft.
Nearly, if not quite, one-half the iyoney
; was paid to troops thus held, and after the
| emergency had expired. Finding that the
appropriation was likely to fail in Congress,
I laid the matter before the Legislature,
just prior to their adjournment, in May last,
and an act of Assembly was immediately
passed to refund the money out of the State
treasury, which, as above stated, has been
done. I ought to say that the appropriation
by Congress was vigorously supported by
all the members from this State in both
branches. Having done everything in my
! power to procure the payment of this just
! claim of the State, I now recommend that
the Legislature take the subject into con
■ sideration, with a view to induce proper ac
tion by the President and Congress.
THF. ENROLMENT OF THE MILITIA.
By the act of 22d of August, 1864, 1 was
authorized to cause an immediate enrol
ment of the militia to be made, unless that
recently made by the United States should
be found sufficient, and to raise by volun
teering or draft a corps of fifteen thousand
men for the defence of our Southern border.
The United States enrolment being found
very defective, I directed an enrollment to
be made, which is now in progress under
the charge of Colonel Lemuel Todd, whom
I appointed inspector general. A draft by
! the United States was then in progress,
! and it was not thought advisable to harass
J our people by a contemporaneous State
draft, even if a draft had been practicable
under the present law. Volunteers could
; not be obtained, there being no bounties,
and the men not being exempted by their
! enlistment in that corps from draft by the
United States. Fortunately the United
States placed an army, under General Sher
idan, between us and the enemy, and thus
provided effectually for our defence. With
; such adequate protection, as proved by the
i brilliant campaign of that army, I did not
think it right to incur the expense to the
State of an independent army, and the
: withdravvl of so many of our people from
their homes and pursuits. Meanwhile ar
] rangements have been made with the au
j thorities at Washington for arming,clothing,
subsisting, and supplying the corps at the
expencc of the United States, and an order
: has been given by the authorities of the
; United States to furlough such volunteers
in the corps as may be drafted by the Uui-
I ted States, the corps so privileged not to
| exceed 5,000 men. It is my intention to
I raise 5,000 men during the winter, and 1
i have already adopted measures to that end.
I There may occur irruptions of irregular
bodies of the rebels, and it is well to be
provided against them. The number pro
posed to be so raised and put into actual
| service will, in my judgement,be sufficient,
and a regard t® due economy requires that
no more than are sufficient should be placed
on pay. The remaining 10,000 will be or
ganized and ready for service in case of
necessity. I invite your immediate atten
i tion to the very able report of the Inspec
tor General, which sets forth the defects in
the law which he has discovered tn his pre
| paration for carrying it into practical
effect.
OCR STATE AGENCIES
The State agencies at .Washington and
in the Southwest are in active aud success
ful operation. I communicate herewith the
reports of Colonel Jordan, at Washington,
and Colonel Chainberlin, Agent for the
Southwest. The provisions of th* law re
quiring the agents.to collect nu.nc/s due
by the United States to soldiers have been
beneficient. A reference to their reports
. will show the magnitude and usefulnes of
this branch of their service. I desire to I
| invite the attention of all our volunteers, '
officers, soldiers, and their families to the
fact that the State agents will collect all
their claims on the Government gratuitous-.
ly, as 1 have reason to believe that many i
are still ignorant of that fact,and are great
ly imposed upon by the exorbitant com
missions charged by private claim agents.
EDUCATION OV SOLDIERS ORPHAN'S.
Under the. aet of the tth of May, 18<U.
I appointed Hon. Thomas 11. Burrowes to
take charge of the arrangements for the
education of the orphans of soldiers. I
communicate herewith a copy of this re
port on the subject. He has discharged
his duties with commendable zeal, fidelity,
and efficiency. I earnestly recommend
that a perrpjnent apt} liberal appropriation
be made to support this ju§t and worthy
scheme of benencience.
PENSION'S FOR INJURED ASH DEAD MII.TTIMEN.
I recomend that an appropriation he made
for pensions to the volunteer militimen (or
their families), who were killed or hurt in
service in the years 186*2 and 18153. As
soldiers sometimes arrive here who are in
sane, and who should be protected anil
cared for, 1 recommend that provision he
made for their being placed in the State
Asylum for the Insane, at this place, and
kept Until notice can be given to the au
thorities of their respective counties, who
should be required to remove and care for
them.
IKRF.IifI.AR ACTS OF INCORPORATION.
I feel it to be my duty to invite your
serious attention to the evils growing out
of the system of passing acts of incoopo
ration for purpose which are provided for
by general laws. We have passed acts
authorizing charters to be obtained without
special legislation. These aets have been
generally prepared with some care, and
contain the provisions which the Legisla
! ture thought necessary to protect the Com
monwealth and her oi'izens If these gen
i eral laws are not found to answer such
i purposes, they should be amended and per
! fectcd. If any company desires to be in
l.corporated with greater privleges than are
| conferred, or to be relieved from any of the
1 conditions imposed by these acts, it appears
to me that it should be required first to
; obtain a charter under the general laws,
and then apply to the Legislature for an
act making the changes which arc desired.
The attention of the Legislature will thus
be drawn to the specific object, and a
judgment can be formed of its propriety.
1 would also observe that great evil results
i from the habit of granting privileges to a
! corporation by a mere reference to some
! former private act relating to other corpo-
I rations, sometimes without even giving the
date of these acts, "til these practices
are bad, and although they may sometimes
be pursued by parties having no bad inten
| tion, yet they certainly originated in the
design of surprising the Commonwealth
into grants of privileges which it was
known could not be obta nod if their extent
were understood, and they are often follow
! cd now for the same fraudulent purposes.
REPEALS RECOMMENDED.
1 strongly recommend the repeal of the
act passed the 18th day of July, A. D.
, 1863, entitled "An act relating to corpora
tions for mechanical, manufacturing, min
ing, and quarrying purposes." Its provis
ions are found to be practically so incon
sistent with the due protection of the
citizens and with the just policy of the
! Commonwealth, that it ought not to he al
lowed to stand longer on our statute book.
| 1 approved the act in question with great
| reluctance, and subsequent reflection and
; observation have satisfied me of its mis
' chicvous character.
I also recommend the repeal of an act
passed the 22d day of July, A. 1). 1863,
entitled " A further supplement to an act
j to enable joint tenants and tenants in com
mon, and adjoining owners of mineral
lauds in this Commonwealth, to manage
! and develop the same. " This act allows
foreign corporations to hold three hundred
acres of land in this State for mining pur
poses. It was passed, it is believed, for
the purpose of enabling companies near
j our border, engaged in the manufacture of
; iron, to hold land as ore banks. But under
the idea that the sinking of an oil well is
mining, it is believed that companies have
; already been organized under the laws of
j other States, and that more will he, for the
• purpose of holding lands and carrying on
| the oil business in this State It would
j he better to remove all doubt on this ques
! tion by repealing the act. The companies,
I being foreign corporations, are not within
the control of our laws to the Extent that
they ought to be for the purposes of taxa
i tion and regulation.
DEVELOPMENT OF OL'R INTERNAL RESOURCES.
The immense development of wealth in
I some of our western counties by the dis
j covery of oil has added vastly to the re
! sources of the commonwealth. I have
: made efforts to ascertain the value of this
i product during the last year,but have failed
in procuring information sufficiently accu
rate to justify me in estimating its amount.
It is already vast, and is rapidly increas
: '£•
A COMMISSIONER OF STATISTICS.
The productions and manufactures of the
State have become so diversified and abun
dant that some measures should be taken
■ for an accurate ascertainment of them, so
that their extent may be generally known,
and also that the necessary taxation may
be intelligently imposed. 1 recommend for
these purposes the creation of a bureau, of
which the Auditor General and the State
j Treasurer shall be members, and the head
of which shall be a new officer, to be styled
Commissioners of Statistics, or designated
by any other appropriation title.
REFORM IN THE METHOD OF SOI.DTERS VOTING.
The act of 25th August, 1864, providing
for the voting of soldiers, should be care
fully examined, with a view to its amend
ment, and, indeed, a revision of our wiiole
election laws would seem to be desirable,
with a view to the two essential objects
of : 1. The admission of the legal and ex
clusion of illegal votes at the polls ; and,
. 2. Faithful and correct returns of the votes
actually polled. I communicate herewith
the opinion of the Attorney General on the
conflicting returns for the Sixteenth Con
gressional district, which will show some
of the practical difficulties which arise un
der the existing system. Without under
taking to recommend the adoption of any
particular plan, 1 submit the whole subject
to your careful and earnest consideration,
in the hope that in your wisdom you will
| be able to devise some measure which will
produce the result so essential to the exis
tence of a free government: that votes
shall be fairly taken in the first instance,
and fairly counted and returned afterwards.
. I have endeavored since I came into office
i to exercise as cautiously as possible tht
1 powers confided to the Executive, and
; avoid unsurping any, 1 shall endeavor
: to persist in this course to the end.
DRAFT-CONDEMNATION OK LOCAL BOUNTIES.
A new call has been made by the Pres
ident for three hundred thousand men.—
This renders it proper that I should invite
your attention to the evils which have re
sulted from abuses of tin' system of local
: bounties which was begun in an emergency,
by the voluntary and generous loyalty of
■ our citizens, before the passage by Con
gress of the enrollment act, and has since
' been continued by sundry acts of Assembly.
The result lias been to the last degree op
pressive to our citizens' and unproductive
of corresponding benefit to the Government.
In some counties and townships, it is be
lieved that the bounty tax during the last
year exceeded the average income derived
from the land, The large sums offered In ;
some places in the competition for men
have demoralized many of our people, and
the most atrocious frauds connected with
the Bystem(have become common. The men
of some of the poorer counties have been
nearly exhausted by their volunteers being
credited to richer localities paying heavier
bounties. The system, as practised, lowers !
the morale of the army itself, by putting
into the ranks men actuated by merely
lqereengry motives, apd who are tempted i
to desert by the facilty of escaping detec-1
tion, and the prospect of new gains by r<-
cnlistment-a process which they expect to
repeat an indefinite number of times. Of
the number of men for whom bounties haie
been paid, it is believed that not one-fourth
have been actually placed in the ranks of
the army, aud even those who have joined
it have probably not on an average received
for their own use one-half of the bounty
paid for them. Immense sums have thus
been appropriated by cheats and swindlers,
in many cases believed to be acting h,
complicity with agents of the Government.
An effort was made to prosecute some of
the parts concerned in such frauds under
the act of Assembly of 14th August last,
and they were bound over by the Mayor of
this city, but after the witnesses had come
here, on the meeting of the court, they
disappeared from the public eye. I recom
mend the whole subject to your careful con
sideration, that the system may he purged
of these evils.
OCR STATE QUOTA 66,
I am officially informed that the quota of
this State, under the recent call, is 66,999,
] but I am not informed of the principle on
J whic.'i the draft is to be made. It appears
; from the President's proclamation that it is
I made chiefly to supply an alleged deficiency
in former calls. 1 am surprised at the amount
j of this large deficiency, and can only ac
j count for the difference between the num-
I her of men furnished by the State and the
j deficiency alleged to exist in the assign-
I ment of the present quota by the assurnp
| tion that the men never reached the army,
| although enlisted and mustered after the
: payment of bounties by the localities to
j wl.ich they were supposed to be credited
It is probable that there are very few coun
ties in the State which have not paid large
bounties for a number of men sufficient to
fill their former quotas. Taking the local
bounties at the low average of four bun
bred dollars, it is believed that it can be de
monstrated that the people of Pennsylvania
have been thus robbed of more than twelve
millions of dollars during the past year.
THE BOUNTY SYSTEM NOT To ISK TOLERATED
This estimate does not include the mon
jey fraudulently taken from men who have
I actually gone into the service. The eon
; tinuance of these monstrous and unpurul
led abuses cannot be tolerated.
Certainly more men are required to aid
, our gallant soldiers in the field in crushing
this rebellion, and every consideration of
patriotism and of regard for our brothers
who arc now in the face of the enemy, obli
ges us to spare no effort to raise the neces
sary force.
VISITORS IN THE STATE PRISONS AMI THE FooR
HOL'SES.
In June last I gave letters to a commit
tee of the Prison Society of Philadelphia,
requesting that the members of the com
mittee might be allowed to visit and exam
j ine the prisons and poor-houses throughout
! the Cemmonwealth. I transmit with this
i communication a copy of the report made
I to me by the society of the results of their
labors, and commend the same to your at
tention, with a view to the adoption of pro
per measures to reform the abuses which
have been found to exist.
PROVISIONS FOR RESPECTED PRISONERS.
In connection with this subject, I again
call your attention to the expediency of pro
j viding for the reception in the penitentiar
| ies of persons convicted of murder in the
' first degree, and who may be pardoned on
J condition of serving a limited term therein.
It has become the custom that an incoming
Governor should not issue a warrant of ex
; ecution in cases left unacted on by his pre
decessor, and it not unfrequently happens
1 that even in cases "which are recent, while
some punishment should be inflicted, that
of death may appear to the Executive to be
I too severe. The result is that there are at
this time, in the various prisons, some 18
! or 20 persons under sentence of death, and
I who may lie there for an indefinite period
of time.
! CLERKS FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMON
WEALTH.
The vast amount of additional labor
which has been imposed upon the Secretary
| of the Commonwealth by the existing state
of affairs renders it absolutely necessary
that the clerical force of his department
should be increased. The making out of
i commissions for our large army of volun
teers in the field, and the preparation of
election blanks required by law to be sent
to the army ; the receipt, filing, and reeord
| ing the returns of the soldiers' votes ; the
! enrollment of the yearly-increasing number
of acts of Assembly,and of charters obtain
ed under general laws and the letters-pat
l ent for them—all these, together with the
| previous heavy duties of the office, form an
aggregate the weight of which must ulti
mately break down his few subordinates,
• diligent, faithful, and enduring as they are.
1 recommend, therefore, that provision be
promptly made to meet the necessities of
, this case.
FLOURISHING CONDITION OK OCR SCHOOLS.
It is a subject of just congratulation that
notwithstanding the distracted condition of
the country, our system of common schools
continues to flourish. The report of the
Superintendent, which I herewith transmit,
shows that there has been an increase of
scholars during the past year. It is im
portant to secure as teachers a sufficient
number of men of suitable education and
ability, and with a view of this object, 1
| suggest for jour consideration the expedi
ency of making out of the school fund it
self some provision for the support of such
teachers as shall, after a given term of ser
vice, become superannuated or disabled
while in the performance of tlmir duties.
FUNDS FOR MILITARY CONTINGENCIES.
Of the fund placed in my hands by the
acts of the 16th May, 1861, and of the 4th
of May, 1864, and to be appropriated in mv
! judgment in military service, I have ex
pended in the last 'year $6,124 68 in sup
port of the agency at Washington, up and
until the 30th of May last, for my personal
staff" and other military service, an account
of which is settled in the office of the Au
ditor General. No similar appropriation
will be required at this session.
DAMAGES BY THE REBEL RAID.
A bill was intioduced and passed the
House at the last session of the Legislature
providing for the appointment of a com
mission to ascertain tin; damages done in
the counties of Bedford, Fulton, Franklin,
Cumberland, York and Adams, by the rebel
army in 1863, which failed in the Senate for
want of time.
I commend to your consideration the pro
priety of the passage of such a bill during
the present session. It is just to the people
of these counties who have suffered,as well
as to the Government, that these damages
should he fairly ascertained, and the evi
dence perpetuated, whatever may ho tin?
view to bo taken, on future consideration,
by the I'uited States or State Government,
as to the propriety of paying such claims.
HANCOCK'S NEW CORES
Major Gen. Hancock has been authorized
by the War Department to raise a corps o!
veterans, to be called the Ist Corps. Due
of the regulations is that on application by
the (rovernor of any State recruiting officers
will be designated for such State. 1 have
been requested by Ganeral Hancock to
make such application, but have hitherto
declined to comply with the request. B
appears to rue that the families of men iia*