. Pang Celegiao. a AR R 18811 RG Wednesday Afternoon, January 2, 1861. LAST ANNUAL MESSAGE GOVERNOR PACKER. 76 the Hcnorable the Senators and Members of the Rouse of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsytvania. Gm:num : In submitting to the General Astembly my last annual communication, it is the source of unfeigned gratification to be able to announce to the people, and to their repro sentalives, that notwithstanding the present untavexable crisis in the monetary affairs of this, country, and the general prostration of business'and credit, the financial condition of Pennsylvania is highly satisfactory. 'I he receipts at the State Treasury, from all sources, for the fiscal year ending on the 30th of November, 1860; were $3,479,257.31, to - which add the available -balance in the Treas ury on the Ist day of December, 1869, $839,- 323- 09, and the whole sum availible for the ytar *ill be found to be $4,318,-580 40 The expenditures, for all purposes, for the same period, were $3,637,147 32. Leaving an availa ble balance in the Treasury, on the Ist day of December, 1860, of $681,433 08 The follow ing items are embraced in the expenditures for the fiscal year, viz I ones redeemed Rater notes c iacelled ]merest certificates Jannostm.o• editors' certificates Damages on the public works, and old claims makick; of the' public debt actually paid uriug-the year, the sum 0i,........... The handed and unfunded debt of the Corn monwealthron the first day of December, 1869 wee agfollows : FIIINDED _DEBT 6 pekeent. loans 5 do do'' 434 do do 4 do do Total funded debt lINFII.NDED DEBT Relief notes in clrculaden.. ..... .t.terest certificates outstanding..... 170. .... DOM ettc creditors........ ' Total unfunded debt Making the entire debt of the Commonwealth at the period named, $3.8 : ,08 ; 96.1 07: ' _ The funded and unfundeildebt of . the State at the close of the last tidal year, December 1 1860, stood as follows : rUtibED DEBT • 6 per cent loin 6. ...if? Total funded debt tnsT, L'DED DEBT Relief cotes in ciroulatianz..-.-.. Interest certificates outstanding ..... uncla ppd. Dcatiestid ereditoks' Total °breaded debt Making the entire public debt of Pennsylva nia, on •the-firsit_da,p_e.z=z2 , .....-4 , .. - soavrvor,... 969 ; 847 •50. To pay -the principal and interest of .this debt; besides :the ordinary sources of revenue,' the Commonwealth holds the. following mortgage bonds, derived from the sale of her public im provements, viz': Boi.ds of Pennsylvania Railroad Company. $7,200,000 00 Bonds of Sunbury and Erie R. R. Co 3,500,000 00 Bonds of Wyoming Canal company 281,000 00 Total Ar the elm of the fiscal year, on the first day of becember, .1h57, the public debt of this Commonwealth, funded and forded, - wa4 . $39,881,738 22 It is nevi, at: the close of the lima year 1880.. Havingbeen reduced, during the net 3 yrs 1,911,890 72 The - avaibibletalance in the Treasury on Qui Unit day ot December, 1857, . 1:n the litrday of December,. 1860, it was. zceedlng the former bal. in !he sum of.. Add to Ude the' sum ta. - d at the 'fraisurk during the :pit3t three years,- for - debra and alai*: against the Commonwealth . ariaing,out of the construe lion and malu.-. tentinktiAftberiubileirnprovements, and which was substatniaby a part of the un funded debt of the Commonwealth, tm.atutiug 171,864 82 And we have the sum, of 824,991 4•9 By adding this sum to the amount paid on the public debt from December 1, 1857, to De cember 1, 1860, to wit : $1,911,890 72, it will be found that during the past three years the State has not only met all her ordinary liabili ties, including the expenses of government, and the interesN,on her public debt, but has' di miniShed her actual indebtedness the sum fo $2 236,882 .15. When it is remembered that for the last three years the tax on real and personal estate has been but two and a half mills on the dollar, while from 11344 to 1857 it was threp mills-- thet for the past two years and six months the State has received no part of the tax on ton nage due. frem the Pennsylvania railroad com pany—,and that since July, 185 D, the interest on the bonds.laeld by the State agaimit the Sun‘ bury and Erie railroad company has remained due and unpaid, it is certainly cause for hearty congratulation, that, without aid from these important sources, of revenue, so great a reduc tion of the public debt has been accomplished in comparatively so short a period. The fun ded•debt of the State is now less than it has been since 1804 and the unfunded and floating debt, which at that time amounted to upwards of - two millions of dollars, hap been almost en tirely redeemed. It is now reduced to $120,- 721 78—and of this sum over ninety-nine thousard dollars consists of relief notes, most of which are undoubtedly either lost or destroy ed, and will, therefore, never be presented for payment. The claims against the State, ac cruing from the construction and maintenance of her canals and railroads, are now reduced to a mere nominal sum • and, in the future; after providing tor the ordinary expenses of govern ment,.her revenues and her . energies . may by exclusively applied to payment of the interest, and the discharge of the principal of her pub lic debt. 'The people of this Commonwealth have hitherto met, with promptness, the demands made upon them, from time to time, for the ways and means of replenishing the Public Treasury ; and now, that they see that the onerous debt with which they have been so long burdened, is each year certainly and rapidly disappearing—that the amount required to meet the interest is annually being dimintshed—that consrquently a still greater sum can each year be devoted Pt the reduction of 'the principal of the debt, - without resorting to additional sources of revenue—and that, with a proper husband ing of the resources of the State, the day is not far distant when - direct taitttion.in retarbylvit- - ast Will cease altogether—the iiigtie4 91' Auch taxes as may for the time be required to meet the public necessities, will continue to be wet with cheerfulness and alacrity. But they will unquestionably hold those to whose care they have entrusted the financial interests of the State to a rigid accountability. That there should, at this particular juncture, when the business and monetary affairs of the country are so greatly depressed, be the strictest econ omy in public expenditures, is so manifest, that it can scarcely be necessary to call attention to so plain a duty. It is equally clear, that any legislation which would tend greatly to lesson the revenues of the Commonwealth, would, at this time, be peculiarly unwise and inexpedient. The exigencies of the future no man can fore tell—the prospect before us is beclouded with doubt and uncertainty—it is, therefore, no more thau the part of wisdom to . guard, with unceasing vigilance, all our present aourcesiof revenue, arid to thus be prepared for every pos sitile contingency. Since July, 1858, the Pennsylvania railroad company has refused to pay the tax on tonnage required to be paid by the act incorporating the company, and its various supplements; and there is now due-to the State, on that account, exclusive of interest, the sum of '5674,296 22. Including the interest, the sum now due is about $700,000. Bt_ efore y last annual mes sage was communicated to the Legislature, a case had been tried in the court of common pleas of Dauphin county, between the - Com monwealth and the railroad company, involv ing the question pt the constitutionality of this tax, which was decided in favor of the State, and the imposition of the tax pronounced con stitutional. In January last, another suit was tried between the same- parties, iu the same court, involving the same question, with a like result. In December last, a judgment was ob tained in the district court of Philadelphia, upon one of the semi-annual settlements, for $llO,OOO. So that judgment has been obtain ed tor $366,000 of the debt, being the whole amount which became due prior to 1860. The tax which accrued during the past year, amounts to $308,829 03. The first settlement for the year is before the Dau ph in county court, on an appeal taken by the company; and the second, or last, settlement was made but a few days, since, by the accountant department of the Commonwealth. After the recovery, in the common pleas of Danphin county, the cases were removed by writs of error, taken on behalf of the defend ants, to the Supreme Court of this State, where they were argued in June last, arid in October that tribunal sustained the decision of the court of common pleas, and held the tax to be clearly constitutional • thus uniting with the law malt ing power in affirming the right of the State to tax a corporation under a law to which it owes its existence. But, notwithstanding this con currence of opinion and action on behalf of the constituted authorities of Pennsylvania, the lit igation is not yet at an end ; for the railroad company has recently removed the cases, by writs of error, to the Supreme Court of the United States, where they are now pending.— That the decision of that court will, when made, fully sustain the right of a sovereign State to enforce a contract between the State and a. corporation, and entirely vindicate the power of a State to impose such taxes upon corporations, as in her sovereign will she may deem proper, I cannot fora moment doubt. $66,857 65 1,811 00 2,439 52 6 40 22,644 32 891,787 89 $ 400,630 00 37,626,163 87 388,200 00 100,000;00 313,513.983 37 8101,213 00 18,518 82 4,448 88 . 802 50 324 977 70 To complete the history of this inaportant lit igation, and to show that every_: effort has been, thus far, made to compel the payment of this large sum of money into the Treasury of the State, it is proper to add, that the law officer of the onamonwealth, being of opinion that the writs of error were not issued from the Supreme Court of the United States in time to prevent the collection of the judgments rendered in the State courts, executions were issued to the sheriff of the County of Dauphin, and proceed ings are now pending in the Supreme Court of this State, to determine whether the COALMOn.' wealth can compel the payment of the judg inents already recovered, before the final < L ac s_ • . States. $400630 00 86,96396 72; 381,200 00 100,000 00 37,6 9 . 175 72 899,402 00 10,07430. 4,448 38 797 10 120,721 78 The Sunbury arid' Erie railroad company hav ing failed to negotiate its mortgage bonds in their present condition, the expectations confi dently entertained of an early completion of that most important improvement, have not been realized. The work during the past year, however," although greatly retarded, has been continually. progressing • upwards .of one mil lion of dollars having been expended on the line from November, 1859, to November, 1860. The whole length of the road, from the bor ough of SMibury to the harbor on the'lake, at the city of Erie, is .288 miles ; .of which 148 miles . are now baished and in operation, and 115 miles of the remaining portion of the line are graded ; leaving but twenty-five miles yet to grade. Pennsylvania is largely interested in the early completion and success of this great thoroughfare, not only. because she is the Cred itor of the company to the amount of three and a half millions of dollars, but for the additional, and more cogent reason, that the improvement, when completed, will open one of the most im portant channels of trade between the city of Philadelphia and the great lakes of the west, at the best harbor on Lake Erie, entirely within the limits of our own' State, which has ever been contemplated. It will,.moreover', develope the resources of a large portion of North-Western Pennsylvaniai abotinding with the richest min erals, and a lumber region of unsurpassed ex cellence, which the munificent hand of the State has hitherto totally neglected. By dis posing of her.branch.canals -to that company, in exchange for its mortgage bonds, the State has already largely aided in the construction of this great work ; and it may be necessary, to insure its completion, that 'further legislation should be had in order to render the means of the company. available. It is evident that a liberal policy, on. the part of the government, will promote alike the interests of the Common wealth and therailioad company ; nevertheless, great care should be taken to protect, as far as possible, the debt now due from the company to the State. If all propositions which may be made for a change in the securities now held by the commonwealth, be carefully considered by 1 1 the Legislature, and no more yielded than sound economy demands, with proper provision for the due application of whatever means may be realized, it is believed that sufficient relief can be granted to the company, to enable it prompt ly to finish the road, while the security remain ing will be fully adequate to insure the ulti mate payment of the principal and interest of the bonds'of .the railroad company now held by the Commonwealth. • 10 081,00 P 00 87,069,847 60 $628,10647 681,433 08 153,3x6 61. I commend this subject to the Legislature, as one entitled to its most careful consideration, as well on account of its vast importance to that portion of the State through which the railroad passes—to the olties. , of Philadelphia and Erie—and to the railroad company—as to the Commonwealth herself. Premising that Whatever policy it may be thought expedient to pursue, should be adopted solely with refer ence to the protection and furtherance of the public interests. The attention of the Leoislature is again in -0 vited to the subject of general education. At the present juncture it presents peculiar claims. The experience of a quarter ora century has satisfied the proverbially cautious people of Pennsylvania, of the adaptedoess of the com tnon t4CI/001 83 stern to their wants and condi tion. No less has the severe ordeal of the past three years shown its capability to endure those sudden reverses which occasionally pros trate the other interests of the community.— Involving greater expenditure than the rest of the departments of government, and that, too, mainly drawn from direct taxation, it is a proud fact, that, while most of the enterprises of so ciety have been seriously embarrassed, and some of them suspended, by the pecunitt.` ry. crisis of HU, our educatiOnel system has not been ,retarded .in any .appreciable de- Me ! On the contrary ) its -operations hay - Penttogivania IlDaily Zetegrapti, tUtbnesbay 'Afternoon, January 2, 1561. been maintained, to an extent which plainly indicates that our citizens fully appreciate its value. Contrasting its main results during the past year, with those of 1857, we find that the whole number of pupils now in the schools, is 647,414, being an increase of 44,422; these were taught in 11,577 schools, 621 more than in 1867, during an average term of five months and five and one-half days, at a cost of fifty-six cents per pupil, per month, by 14,065 teachers, being 629 more than in 1857. The entire ex.- _penditure of the system, for the past year, in cluding that of the School Department, is $2,638,550 SO. These figures afford some idea of the magnitude of the operations of the sys tem ; but neither words nor figures can ade quately express the importance of its influence upon the present, or its relations to the future In contemplating the details of a plan for the due training of the youth of a comtnunity, ita large proportions and imposing array of statis tics do not display the points of its greatest im portance. Pupils may be enrolled by hund reds of thousands; school-houses of the best structure and most complete arrangements may be dotted at convenient distances over the whole face of the land; the most perfect order of studies may be adoptea, and the best possi ble selection of books made ; but what are all these, without the learned and skillful, the fa thful, moral and devoted teacher:? Without this animating spirit, all is barren and unfruit• ful. In this vital department, I am happy to announce that the improvement of the common school teachers of the State shows more solid advancement, within the past three years, than any other branch of the systeM. This, there fore, being the point whence all real, progress in learning and culture must originate, is also the one to which the fostering attention and care of the public authorities should be mainly directed. Our peculiar mode of training teachers under the normal act of 1857, has now stood the test of practical experience ; and, against the most adverse circumstances, has produced results de cisive of its success. Already it has placed one institution in full operation in the south-eastern part of the State, equal in standing and extent to any in the Union. Another, with all the re quirements of the law, has just applied for State recognition in the extreme north-west. I com mend these noble, andpeculia.rly Pennsylvania, schools, to your favor. Aid to them will be the best investment that can be made for the rising, generation. Good instruction for our children, is the strongest earthly guarantee, that, what ever else we bequeath them, their inheritance will be a blessing and not a curse; and, if nothing more is left, in the well cultivated minds, the willing hands, and the trust in God, of freemen, they will have all that is essential. Nearly eleven thousand of our fellow citizens are now devoting their ellorts,to the improve ment of the common school, as directors. Than this there is no more meritorious body of men. An increase of the annual State appropriation would not only be a material relief to the districts, at this time, but would, to some extent, disem barrass directors iii their local operations. It is not, however, the coinnion School sys tem, vast and honorable to the , State as it is, that claims your entire attention, in reference to education. Pennsylvania also boasts her colle giate, academical, scientific, professional, and philanthropic institutions, and numerous private schools of every grade. In this respect, she is second to no member. of • the confederacy; but, from mere want of attention to the proper.sta tistics, she has thus far been ranked far below, her just standard. The preielit is not the proper time to renew grants to institutions of these classes which heretofore' received State aid. _ If it were, the public authorities do not possess the requisite data for'a safe and just extension-of liberality. The period will arrive :when allpub lic educational agencies must be included in one great system .for the elevation of mind and morals.; and when the State will; no doubt, pa tronize every proper ;effort_ in the gcid:liverk:. For the details of the system, duriag't4e. rest' Bcgielature is eespectfully referred to the annual randatt, • Comm.= -Ndiuna--13,- I ...tiazolnia 'sue mitted. . I desire again, specially, to call the attention of the General Assembly to, the FarmerS' High school of Pennsylvania, as an institution which proposes to accomplish an object which lies never been attained in this country—the supply of a want which has ever been felt by the agri cultural community : the education of their sons, at once, to scientific knowledge, habitual industry, and practical skill, to fit them for the associations of rural life, and the occupation chosen for them . by their fathers. The gains of the farmer, however certain, are small. The education of his sons, should, therefore, be mea sured by the nature of his business. There seems to be no practical mode of cheapening education, but by combining an amount of ex penditure, within the ability of a farmer, with the daily labor of the student, so as to make the institution so nearly self-sustaining as to bring it within the reach of that class who constitute so important a branch of the industry of, our people. The original design of this school em braced the accommodation of four hundred - Stu= dents, a number essential to the economical working of the system ; auk - although the ap plications for admission are numberless, the .ut most efforts of the trustees have not enabled them to complete more than one-third of the building, or to accommodate more than a cor- responding number of students. Manyindi viduals throughout the State, convinced of the merit of an institution which promises so much good, have contributed liberally to what has al ready been done ; and the board of trustees' have labored with a zeal which: cannot fail to commend itself to the kind feeling of all our citizens. Scientific education has advanced the interests of every avocation of life—agriculture far less than any other—and for the manifest reason that it has not reached it to the same'ex tent, and never will reach it, unless the body be educated to the plow, as well as the mind to the philosophical principles which the plow's work developes. I have always looked upon. the Farmers' . High School with peculiar .favor, as well be cause of my own convictions of its promised usefulness, as the favor which has hitherto been shown to it by the RepresentativeS of the people. Its charter requires an annual exhibf , ` tion of its receipts, expenditures, and opera-' tions generally, and these will doubtless be laid. before you. By the act passed by the bk. Legigattire, tablishing a; system of free banking in Pennsyl vania, and securing the public against loss from insolvent banks, radical chtmges' were made in the banking of this State. In stead of corporations created by special laws, voluntary associations Are -autlioriied- to: trans act the business of banking,: :without further legislation, and as an indispensable prerequisite to the issuing Of banknotes for circulation as money, ample security must be deposited - with the Auditor General for their prompt redemp tion. The law makes provision, not only for the incorporation of new banking - associations, but enables banking institutions already-in ex istence, to continue their business for twenty years after the expiration of their present char ters, upon complying -with its previsions, _by withdrawing their old circulation, and giving the securities required for the redempticui of the new issues. The public, .I am sure, will re joice that no further necessity exists fOr legisla tive action, either on the subject, of creating new, or re-chartering old banks ;. and that 'tee time and attention - of their-RepreSentatives will now, happily, be no longer monopolized in the consideration of a subject hitherto productive of so much strife and contention; if not of post tive evil. • The rapid increase of private-banks, through- , out the State,. makes it ereinently right that they should be pluced under proper_legislative restrictions, and"thattherlargeliiiirmirof - 004- tab thus employod,zshould'be made to confa3b~: ute its fair _prop:mg= 40 :the>reyerikeir.i6f.•the: Commonwealth. Their business, in the aggre gate, is now believed to amount to a sum al most, if not quite, equal to the whole business of the regularly chartered banks ; and yet it is entirely unrestricted, and, with the exception of a merely nominal license tax, is free from taxa tion. This is unjust to every other class of our tax paying citizens, and especially so to the banking institutions holding charters from the Commonwealth, for which they have each paid a liberal bonus, and are, in addition, subject to a very large tax on their dividends. I respect fully commend this subject to the attention of the Legislature. A high sense of duty impels me again to call I the attention of the Legislature to the inade quacy of existing laws, regulating the receiv ing, keeping and disbursement of the revenues of the State. The public moneys are now paid directly to the State Treasurer, who deposits them; at his own discretion, whenever and wherever he chooses; and pays them out in sums, either small or great, upon his own unat tested check exclusively. The amount thus re ceived, kept and disbursed is annually between three and four millions of dollars, with balances - on hand, at times, exceeding one million of dollars ; while the bond of the State Treasurer is for only eighty thousand dollars. His ac counts are settled monthly by the Auditor Gen eral, by whom the receipts for money paid into 'the Treasury are countersigned, and these are the only safeguards provided by law to prevent the illegal and imprOper use of the money of the State, by the State Treasurer. Happily the revenues of the Commonwealth have hitherto been safely kept, properly dis bursed, and promptly accounted for, by those in charge of the Public Treasury ; but in view of the serious defalcations which have occurred elsdwhere, and in other States, this fact should furnish no reason why we ought not to guard against loss in the future. Referring to my former annual messages, I respectfully, but most earnestly, recommend that provision be made by law : First—That no money shall be deposited by the State Treasurer in any bank, or elsewhere, without first requiring ample security to be given to the Commonwealth for the prompt re payment of such sum as may be deposited ; and that such securities shall be deposited in the office of the Auditor General. Second--That all checks issued by the State Treasurer, shall be countersigned by the Audi tor General, before they are used, and that daily accounts shall he kept of the moneys received, deposited and disbursed, in the Auditor Gener al's office, as well as in the Treasury Depart ment. Third—That condensed monthly statements, verifted . by the signatures of the Auditor Gener al and State, Treasurer, shall be published in one newspaper in Philadelphia and one in Har risburg, showing the balances in the Treasury, and where deposited, with the particular amount of each deposit ; and Fourth—That the bond of the State Treasurer be increased to the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Our various charitable and reformatory insti tutions—the State Lunatic Hospital, at Harris brag—the Western Pennsylvania Hospital for the insane, at Pittsburg—the . asylumn for the blind, and deaf and dumb, at Philadelphia—the Houses of Refuge at Philadelphia and Pittsburg, •And the Pennsylvania I iningSchool for idiotic and feeble minded children, at Media, will pre sent their usual annual claims upon the bounty of the - State. These excellent charities are con tinually dispensing benefits and blessings Upon Suffering- and erring humanity, which can scarcely be 'overrated. They are:heartily coin . - inendedlo the discriminating liberality of the Legislature. I refrain,' as I have heretofore done, from recommending, as proper objects for appropriations . from the State lieasury, other Charitable and . beneyolent - institutionS, not be- Cauge 7 they arc - undeserving the confidence "and Patronage of the public, but because they are lecal'in their character, and- my judgment have noclaims upon the rights and interests of other portions of the Comnoii: wealtft. The inspectors of the State Penitentiary 'for the Eastern' District of Pennsylvania, in their annual reports for the years 1858 and." 1859, cal led the attention, of the Legislature to the in security of such parts of the penitentiary build ings as were exposed to their own fires and those of the neighborhood, and recommended that roofs of such of the corridors as were cov ered with shingles, and needed:renewal, should be replaced with slate or metal. On visiting the institution, my attention was called to the subject 'by the inspectors. The'necessity for the change was so apparent and urgent, that I advised them not to hesitate in having the old, dilapidated and dangerous wooden roofs of such portions of the building' as required renewal, replaced with some substantial fire proof ma terial. This has accordingly been done, and I respectfully recommend that a small appropri ation be granted to defray the expense incurred. j I commend to your consideration the report df the State Librarian, whose attention to the interests of the Library under his care, deserves' 'the warmest commendation. The 'system of exchanges, with the different States of the Un ion, and with foreign governments, commenced and prosecuted under his auspices, has resulted in great advantages to the Library, and de serves the continued countenance of the Legis lature. The increase of the Library, at a com paratively small expense to the Slate, haS been such, that it no* needs enlarged accommoda tions for the safe-keeping of the volumes, and, if the increase continues, will soon require a 'separate building for its exclusive use. The reports of the State Treasurer, the Audi tor General, the Surveyor General, the Adju tant General. and the Attorney General, will inform you, in detail, of the operations of the government, its presented by those several de partments, for the last fiscal year. They, are entitled to the attentive consideration of the Legislature. Soon slier my inauguration, upon the recom mendation of my predecessor in' race, a &jel ling house was purchased in this city for the residence of the Governor of the Commons ' Wealth. The purchase included several articles of heavy furniture, then in the building, and a small 'appropriation would complete the neces sary furnishing of the house, so as to make it a fit and convenient residence for the incoming Ekecutive. I cheerfully recommend the im mediate passage of a bill making a 'suitable ap propriation for this purpose. The extraordinary and alarming condition of our national affairs demands your immediate attention. On the twentieth of December'last, the Convention of South Carolina, organized under the authority of the Legislature of that State, by a unanimous vote, declared "that the' Union now subsisting between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved;" and the action already taken in several other' Southern Southern States indicates, most clearly, their intention to follow this example. On behalf of the advocates of secession, it is claimed that this Union is merely a compact between the several States composing it, and that any one of the States, which - may feel aggrieved, may, at its pleasure, declare that. it will no longer be a party to the compact. This doctrine is clearly erroneous. The Consti tution of the United States is something more than a mere compact, or agreeement, between the several States. As applied to nations, a compact is but a treaty, which may be abro gated at the will of either party . ; responsible to the other party for its bad faith in refusing fu keep its engagements, but entirely irresponsi ble to any superior tribunal. A government, on the other hand, whether created by consent, or by conquest, when clothed-with legislative, judicial and executive, powers, ,is necessarily in its nature sovereign ,and from'this..sovertign-, ty flows its right to enforce its Id* and dicreei 'by civil process, altd,iii an eniergericy, - by its military and naval power. The government OWES plOtteioll to the people, and they in turn, owe it their allegiance Its laws cannot be vi olated by its citizens, without accountability to the tribunals created to enforce its decrees and to punish cffenders. Organized resistance to it is rebellion. If successful, it may he purged of crime by revolution. If unsuccessful, the per eons engaged in the rebellion may be executed as traitors. The government of the United States, within the limits assigned to it, is as potential in sovereignty, as any other govern ment in the civilized world. The Constitution, and laws made in pursuance thereof, are ex pressly declared to be the supreme law of the land. Under the Constitution, the general government has the power to raise and support armies, to create and maintain a navy, and to provide for calling forth the militia to execute its laws, suppress insurrection and repel inva sion. Appropriate statutes have been enacted by Congress, to aid in the execution of these important governmental powers. The creation of the Federal Government, with the powers enumerated in the Constitu tion, was the act of the people of the United States, and it is perfectly immaterial that the people of the several States acted separately within the territorial limits of each State.— The form of their action is of no consequence, in view of the fact that they created a Federal Government, to which they surrendered certain powers of sovereignty, and declared those pow ers, thus surrendered, t 3 be supreme, without reserving to the States, or to the people, the right of secession, nullification or other resist ance. It is, therefore, clear that there is no constitutional right of secession. Secession is only another form of nullification. Either, when attempted to be carried out by force, is rebellion, and should be treated as such, by those whose sworn duty it is to maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States.. It is certainly true, that in cases of great ex tremity, when the oppression of government has become so intolerable that civil war is pre ferable to longer submission, there remains the revoltdionary right of resistance ; but where the authority of the Government is limited by a written ConStitution, and each department is held in check by the other departments, it will rarely, if ever, happen that the citizens may not be adequately protected, without resorting to the sacred and inalienable right to resist and destroy a government which has been rerverted to a tyranny. But, while den)ing the right of a State to absolve its citizens from the allegiance which they owe to the Federal Government, it is nevertheless highly proper that we should care fully and candidly examine the reasons which are advanced by those who have evinced a de- termination to destroy the Union of these American States; and if it shall appear that any of the causes of complaint are well found rd, they should be unhesitatingly removed, and, as far as possible, reparation made for the past, and security given for the future ; for it is not to be tolerated, that a government cre ated by the people, and maintained for their benefit, should do injustice to any portion of its citizens. After asserting her right to withdraw from the Union, South Carolina, through her con vention, among other reasons, declares that she is justified, in exercising, at this time, that right, because Eeveral of the States have for years not only refused to fulfill their constitu tional obligations, but have enacted laws either nullifying the Constitution, or rendering use less the acts of Congress relative to the surren der of fugitive slaves—that they have permit ted the open establishment of societies, to dis turb the peace of other States ; that the peo ple of the non-slaveholding States have aided in the escape of slaves from their masters, and have incited- to servile insurrection those that remain—and have announced their determine ' Son to exclude' the South from the common --.6.-4--ne - xcepreEenurnlieS of the people of Pertbsylvania, it becomes your solemn duty to examine these serious charges, made by the authority of a sovereign State: Pennsylvania is included in the list of States that are charged with having refused compli ance with that mandate of the Constitution of the United States, which declares, "that no person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or la bor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." So far from admitting the truth Of this charge, I unhesitatingly aver, that, upon a °ireful examination it will be found that the legislative and judicial action of Pennsylvania, whether as a colony, as a Member of the old confederation, or under the existing Constitu tion of the United States, has been almost in variably influenced by, a proper appreciation of her own obligations, and by a high regard for the" rights, the feelings and the interests of her sister States. As early as 1706, the provincial authorities of Pennsylvania, after reciting in the preamble, that "the importation of Indian "slaves from Carolina, or other places, bath been observed to give the Indians of this province some umbrage for suspicion and dissatisfaction," passed an act against the importation of Indian slaves from any other province, or colony, in Ame rip., but at the same time declared, "that no such Indian slave, as deserting his master's service elsewhere, shall fly into this province, shall be understood or construed to he compre hended within this act" And when, in 1780, more than eight years before the Constitution of the United States went into operation, Penn sylvania passed her law for the gradual aboli tion of slavery; mindful of, the rights of her confederates, she declared that "this act, or anything in it contained, shall not give any relief or shelter to any absconding or runaway negro or mulatto slave, or servant, who has absented himself, or shall absent himself, from his or her owner, master or mistress, residing in any other State or country, but such owner, master or mistress, shall have like right and aid to demand, claim and take away his slave, or servant, as he might have had in case fhis act had not been made." A provision much more unequivocal in its phraseology, and di rect in its commands, than those found, on the same subject, in the Constitution of the Union. The act, by its terms, was made inapplicable to domestic slaves attending upon delegates in Congress from the other American States, and those held by persons while passing through this State or sojourning therein for a period not longer than six months. In 1788 it was made a high penal offence for any person ' by force, violence or fraud, to take out of this State, any negro -or mulatto, with the intention of keeping or selling , the said ne gro or mulatto as a slave, for a term, of years. Soon after the passage of this act, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided that it did not apply, to the ,fercible removal of a slave, by the owner or his agent, but that its object was to punish the forcible or fradulent abduction .from the State of free negroes, with the inten tion of keeping or selling them as slaves. Thus at that early day, giving judicial sanction to the docttine, that .a master had the right to take his slaves wherever he could find them. - The first act of Congress providing 'for the rendition of fugitives from justice or labor, was passed in 1793, and originated from the refusal of the. Governor of Virginia to surrender and deliver up, on the requtsition of the Governor of Pennsylvania, three persons who - had been indicted in Pennsylvania for kidnapping a ne gro, and carrying him into Virginia.- And when it was found that this . Congressional stat ute did notufford a simple, speedy and efficient remedy for ‘ the recovery of fugitives from la bor, the Legislature of Pennsylvania, at the re quest of - the• adjoining State of Maryland; in 182 P, passed her act "to give effect to the pro visions of the Constitution,of the United States relative to fugitives front later, f...• tion of free pool le of coico„, l ,,i kidnapping." This excelleut a... 1 w ered law met all the exirtiin i required the judges, justices of ti.. p `, aldermen, of the State. upon the r. claimant, to issue thiir warrant fur o f any fugitive from labor ercapir g state irate i l,, ; directing, however, that rue, ‘r o • should le made returnable. by sued, before a judge of the [Loper c ,11 required sheriffs and co..stables to •" It " such warrants. It autiwr.zed the cau.mit'„......f of the fugitive to the county jail, . 1 .1 wise made provisions to secure its eilectiv. ex ; cution, and at the same time to ireeci,t abuse. This law continued quietly in op ritien til the decision of the Sui rem,' Court of United States, made in 1842, in th e Prigg vs. The Commonwealth of Pein„,,,,. nia. The history of the case new stated i Edward Prigg was indicted i• 1 Court of Oyer and Terminer of Fool; for kidnapping a coloied person, raund ret Morgan. Upon the trial it appca-c she was held a slave in the St - cu: and that she escaped into the St in: 1'...1,6 1. vania in the year 1832—that is 1837, E h,-,r t Prigg was appointed, by the ,m c:. r slave, to seize and arrest her as a Incit ir„ ru labor. In pursuance of this under a warrant issued by a Jus (,f Peace, Prigg caused the negro wow so b rested, h i and without having obtained o at. rant of removal, he delivered her to is in the State of Maryland. Th- se 1... c found by a special verdict, and by the ment of counsel, a judgment WilS L:11../1 affainst Prigg. From this Pid,tuner:r a error was taken to the Supreme Court of :le State, where a pro forma judgment of rut...l ance was again, by agreement, rut. red, d ti,e case removed to the Supreme Court of the • tad States. It will be observed that the pteitio:], t:.- er Edward Prigg was really gulty of !h e er ..„ e of kidnapping, under the Peunsylva:,las .aw e of 1826, was never actuary paeted ap ,, .+, tith er by the court or jury, in the county of y a k, or by the Supreme Court of the State. 11. e jdiy merely found the facts, and the acfiui t„th courts was but a matter of firm. In the argument and determination of the case, in the Supreme Court of the United .tee,, it appears to have been taken forge toted, L a: our act of 1826 made it a criminal ode .e for a master to take his slave out of this Man., w out a warrant of removal ; and upon this con struction, the act was declared uncemetitute. a . al and void. This, I submit, was a c , car lid:. apprehension of the purport and na cf our legislation. The first section of tie- act f 1826, under which the indietmt nt against was framed, was almost literaily copied Man the seventh section of the act of 1788, to wli:ca a construction had already been goaar be t e highest judicial tribunal of the Stet; of Pen:, sylytesia, where it was held to have no a: pica tion whatever to the removal of a save by tie master or his agent, with or without a te arrah t. Such was the undoubted law of the S , :ite under the statute of 1788, and in re-euaciim, that statute, in the act of 1826, with ;111 increased penalty, it is manifest that the int: 'llion and object of the Legislature was to trat- ci nee persons of color, and to punish those who, by fraud, force or violence, were guilty of kid tip ping, and holding or selling free men as slate-. This the State had a clear right to do ; and nothing but a misconstruction of her tut, could have induced the declaration that it was for ' bidden by, the constitution of theU , ire.l state,. It is perfectly clear, that Edward Prize Lai committed no crime in removing Merg.ra Morgan from the State cf Pennsylvania to the State of Maryland, and delivering her up to her owner; and it is equally clear, that rr at tempt was made, by the Statute. of Peitz s to- declare his act a 0.-ia l _e_u e nava bee discharged, not because the net of the State was unconstitutional, but because he had not transgressed its comniaiida. The Supreme Court of the United Mates not only pronounced the particular seetiou of the act of 1826, then before therm nectar; sti tutinnal, but a majority of the Court held that the whole act was void, because the power to provide fur the rendition of fugitives from .aal‘ or, was reat• ed exclusively in Congress, and the several States were, therefore, incompetent to pass statutes either in aid of, or to dela, or prevent; the delivery of such fugitives. Th t this was the extent of the decision, as dtli t ed by Judge Story, nut only appears from ilie opinions of the majority, but also item the dis senting opinions delivered by the mint,. ite of the Court. By this unfortunate decision, it was authoritatively proclaimed that Pan tat Iv iota, in enacting her liberal statute [4,1826, making it the duty of her own officers to aid in a: teat ing and delivering up fugitives from labor, hid mistaken her constitutional obligation, and that her act was in violation of, rather than obe dience to, the Constitution of the United S'att s. Under such circumstances, it was the mild:est duty of the State to repeal her laW thus de clared unconstitutional. This was done by tee act of 1847 ; and if that act had cootaibed nothing more than a repeal of the law or 1823, and the re-enactment of the law modest ki I napping,dt could not have been subject to any just comdfaint. But the third section of the ace of 147 prohibits, under heavy penalties, our judses and magistrates from acting under any act of 'Congress, or otherwise taktria joris dictionief the case of a fugitive frem labor; and thefourth section punishes with hue, and imprisiminent, the tumultuous and tiootrs ar rest of a fugitive slave, by any person or pet suns, under any pretence of authority %%battler, so as to create a breadth of the public peace. The sixth section, denying the use of the county jails for the detention of fugitive slaves, Wae, re pealed in 1852, add need only be referred to as showing the general spirit of the act. The sev enth section repealed the provisions of the act of 1780, which authorized persons parrs vg through our State to take their slaves soul them, and gave to sojourners the right to lain; their slaves into the State, and retaiu them here for any period not exceeding six months. The provisions of the third' mad fourth eta• ions of the act of 1847, stem to have been dicated upon the language of the Supreme Court in Prigg's case. It is there admitted that the several States may prohibit their Owl, magis trates, and other officers, frt m exec eis ug ;di authority conferred by en act of C.4 , grets ; and that while an owner of a slave, tinder and in virtue of the Constitution of the "United S.ati is clothed with power, in can ry Steve of its Union, to seize and recapture Lis slay.., hs must, -nevertheless, do so without using .itnY it legal violence, or committing any breach et the peace. It is evident that the framer of t Lent of 1847 had closely studied the c .se t f Prigs vs. The Coirtmonwealth of Pe ro arid had kept this law strictly within its letter. In many respects, the act is a cuddle:id. a the principles enunciated by the Court ; and mute fault may justly be found with its temps than its want of constitutionality. - If fugitive s!aves were still claimed under the act of Congress of 1798, the denial to the master of the aid of State judges and magistrates, might be a source of great inconvenience to h:m ; bu t the complete and perfect remedy now provided by the act of Congress of 1850, renders him en tirely independent of State officers. And the punishment of arrests without warrant, by a master in the exercise of his constitutional right of reeaption, but made in a violent, tumultuous and unreasonable mariner, amounting to breach of the peace, is but recognizing, by sta tute,what was before the common law. 'f bees sec tions were re-enacted in the revised pena l Co l ic of Pennsylvania, at the last session of the Legri lature, and are still the law of the State ; bu t they are not now of any .practical importance , and as their retention on our statute book is arti culated to create the impression that the peola.
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