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REPEAL OF THE TONNAGE TAX
REMARKS
EriZES
HIESTER CLYMER
SENATOR FROM BERR COUNTY,
In reply to the Speech of Hon. Alexander
Iff Cture on the Act for the commutation of tonnage
- duties, delivered in the Senate, on Wednesday even
ing, February 27, 1881.
Mr. Speaker. The learned Senator from
Franklin (Mr. M'CLuas) has consumed nearly
one hour making a smooth harangue, I will
not so distort the fact, as to call it an argument,
in reply to a speech which he asserts was "a
frightful monument of blunders." For this
" monument of 'blinders" he Threatened to
hold me 'to a strict account. .-.lndeed, sir, the
bold assurance of the Senator made me fear
that there was some error in my exhibit of the
case-=that I might have been mistaken—that
possibly this bill was right, and that I had
unwittingly been doing gross injustice to an
honest and deserving corporation. I began to
think that an argument was about to be made:
But, sir, as he progressed in his harangue,
smooth, beautiful and in dulcet strains—when,
as usual, the imaginative Senator wandered from
earth to Heaven, and spoke of "the beneficent
God, nature's God," I became composed and
reassured. It was the old story, so familiar to
every Senator, that it has long since ceased to
excite attention, muchless to induce conviction
upon this floor. We have heard it so often,
that to all of us it was ass " thrice told tale"—
when we heard the beginning, we knew the
conclusion. There may be those within reach
of the Senator's flute-like voice, who have been
enchanted by its low soft notes—whose ears have
been tickled by his flights of fancy,whose wonder
has been excited by volubility and glibness; if
there have been any such,it is not to be wondered
at, as for them it was the first performance. But,
sir, I say to the Senator that his sophistry is as
thin as gossamer, his avoidance of facts is as pal
pable as it is unfair, and that his logic is worse
than his cause ! He has not failed, air, to re
sort to each and every art known to the accom
plished sophist, by which to hide the utter naked
ness of hiscause. Assertion, insinuation, tergi
versation and implied intimidation have been his
only weapons of defence or attack. That he used
them skillfully, no one who knows the Senator
will doubt ; but, sir, they are the toy weapons
of a child when brought to combat facts, figures,
argument and truth. They are unworthy of
any one, and more especially of any Senator of
Pennsylvania. They may do to excite a pass
ing interest, to draw forth temporary applause •
but, sir, when the Senator's speech of thi s
night passes into the history of 'eunsylvania,
and is examined by unprejudiced minds, it will
be pronounced "a frightful monument" of soph
istry, erected to perpetuate the character of
one man and to conceal the uriyast designs o '
one gigantic corporation. Thus much, Mr.
Speaker, for this "monument," as a whole. I
shall now proceed to examine it in detail.
In some half uttered sentences, and in an ambi•
guous manner, which I am free to adudt I did
not fully comprehend, and which I am convinced
no Senator understood, it was attempted by as
sertion to deny that the right of way granted
to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was de
stroyed by the incorporation of the Pennsylva
nia Railroad.
I confess, sir,
I did not clearly understand
the Senator, but surely his assertions were well
calculated, if they were not designed, to pro
duce that impression. If that was his assertion
I must, again refer him to the Acts of Assembly
of 1846. The important sections have been
read once already to-night, and if the Senator
still persists in his assertion I must;:Again in
flict them upon the Senate. flu trust the
Senator will not deny the existence'of Ahe Acts
of 1846, although to him and to this corpora
tion they may be a "frightful monument !"
Mr. M'CLIJRE. I beg the gentleman's par
don. I never denied it at all.
Mr. CLYMER. What did the Senator deny?
He denied something.
Mr. m'CLURE. What I said I have already
explained four times. I shall now explain it
for the fifth and last time—positively for the
last time. The gentleman from Berks said
that we had lost a vast source of revenue to
this State by chartering the Pennsylvania Rail
ilbad company; that a charter had been-granted
to certain citizens of another State to construct
a railroad through Pennsylvania which was to
pay a tax upon tonnage and upon-passengers.- I
ha,venot denied it; but I say this: that though
in 1827 a charter was thus granted-to certain
parties to construct a railroad from Baltimore,
through Pennsylvania to the West, that char
ter imposing a tax upon tonnage and upon pas
sengers, yet,. sir, there was no acceptance of
that charter. Subsequently, I believe, that
charter was renewed ; I am not positive, but I
think it was renewed. Nothing had been done
under that renewed charter when the Pennsyl
vania Railroad company was chartered and con
structed ; and if the Pennsylvania Railroad had
not been constructed, Ido not know that this
road from Baltimore through Pennsylvania,
would have been put into operation ; I have
never had any evidence of that ; I do not know
now, that if the Pennsylvania Railroad had not
been constructed until this day, that the other
road would have been made.; indeed I believe,
that it would not have been made. The con-
Bisection of the Pennsylvania Railroad within
a certain time, made that charter, I believe,
void. Is not that true ? To show how the Le
gislature of Pennsylvania appreciated the
value of the privileges granted in that
charter—how they appreciated this vast source
of revenue, of which the Senator from Perks
has spoken, and which roused him to such en
ergetic" eloquence—the Legislature of Penn
sylvania followed that with an Act of Agsetably
incorporating a railroad ".to go over _the very
same ground through Pennsylvania to Balti
more, and there was not a word said about tax,
either upon tonnage -or upon passengers. .To_
this day, that company cannot pay ten cents
upon the dollar; and there would not have been
a particle of revenue to the State if such a tax
had been imposed. This anticipation of eaten-
Elite profit from that right of way is_one of the
gentleman's revenue bubbles which I sought to
dissolve.
Mr. CLYMER. If the Pennsylvania railroad
had not been built, the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad company, which now exists, would,
instead of going through the State of Maryland,
have gone through the State of Pennsylvania.
That was the question.
Mr. IroLuRE. I beg leave to inquire
whether it is not true as I have stated, that
that charter stood upou'our statute books for
years and years unaccepted by the people of
Baltimore or any body else ; that no person
would-take it and pay a farthing to the State.
Mr. CLYMER. I will answer the crestlon of
the Senator. It is true that the oraguaal clam.
. •
!I 2.00
12.00
15.00
1111=fill
VOL. XIV.
ter was granted in 1827 ; but, sir, it was grant
ed in advance of the times or the requirements
of the age, and therefore it expired by limit].
tion ; but when the growth" of the country east
and, west required the building of agreat line to
:connect the waters of the Ohio with the Atlan-
I tic sea board, the people of the city of Balti
more and the State of - kihuland came to this
Legislature and asked the renewal of the char
ter of 1827. This request was made in 1846.
They well understood and highly prized its
value and importance. They cheerfully offered
to pay this State any bonus she might ask for
its renewal. No onaof us upon this floor is
too young to remember the intense excitement
produced in certain sections of the State in re
lation to the question of reviving the grant.—
It was a "Legislative war" which has never
been equalled, unless when all is over thispres
ent contest should do so. It drove at least one
Senator of that day from his home because he
dared to vote for the grant in opposition
to the supposed interests and expressed wishes
of his constituents. Theie facts every Senator
remembers. If, sir, there was nothing valua
ble in: this grant, why in the first place did the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad ask -for it, and in
the next place why did Philadelphia, with un
restrained wrath drive from public life a Sena
tor who voted for "it? Surely, Mr. Speaker,
that corporation and that city were not both
composed of insane Madmen The one to ask
for something of no value' and which they did
not desire, and the other so to treat a Senator
for voting for a measure which could do no
harm ! 1 No, sir; corporations and cities ever
have in them men of foresight, men of com
mon sense—and the Baltimore and Ohio rail
road and the city of Philadelphia at that day
were no exception to the rule. .The company
knew and appreciated the immense value of
her grant. They came to this Legislature and
asked for it in sober earnestness; they fought it
through these Halls with the energy and des
peration which the hope of saving millions ever
inspires. In their earnestness and deterthina
tion to' succeed, they were more than equaled
by the fixed purpose of Philadelphia, that
they should not obtain their charter unless
it contained the germ of its own de
struction—and therefore this destruction
of the grant of the right of way to the Balti
more and Ohio Railroad, thus became, and will
ever remain, one of the three great considera
tions for the imposition of this tonnage toll 'or
duty ; and all the plausibility and all the so
phistry of the Senator from Franklin cannot
erase this fact from the history of the State.—
The Senator cannot and shall not mistake or
misrepresent it. I have- pluduced it as a part
of tharecord in this great case, and as such it
shall go to the people of Pennsylvania freed
from the doubts which sophistry and designed
misrepresentation would throw around it. I
challenge any man, any Senator, to disprove or
refute it. "-
But it is alleged that the grant was of no val
ue, for the reason that the Baltimore and. Ohio
road would never have accepted it, which it is
proposed to prove by. the faot that thia State
subsequently chartered a road (the Connells
vine) to occupy the same ronte, which has ne
ver been built. This is an average specimen of
the 'sophistry of the gentleman from Franklin!
Why did the Baltimore and Ohio company
struggle for the 'rightwith•desperation if they
did not intend to exercise it? Have they not,
since 1846, constructed their iron pathway over
the mountains of Maryland, and is the gentle
man ignorant of the fact that they did so atthe
cost of five millions and more over the route
through our. State ? Has the company not said
so in one of its 'official reporbr, and would they
not gladly forever have paid at least the interest
of the increased cost for that right of way ?
Surely, therefore, the Senator can deceive no
one by his gratuitous assertion that the Balti
more and Ohio railroad would never have ac
cepted the grant with the - restrictions imposed;
but he would support it by referring
to the fact that • the Connellaville road
has not been built, although its char
ter contains no such restrictions. Is it
I wonderful, sir, that the Pennsylvania road
' being upon the North and the Baltimore
land Ohio on the South;• that capitalists should
hesitate to invest their money in a road which
is to • run between them ? The reasons why the
Connelsville road has not keen built are so ap
parent that I would not have referred to the
matter, but for the purpose of explaining the
desperate shifts to which the Senator has re
sorted to sustain his position. Again, Mr.
Speaker,
the Senator from Franklin innocently
says "I cannot understand why -a _ ton of goods
must pay a tax when it passes through Lancas
ter to Philadelphia, and why it Must go free
if it passes through the county of Berke' Be
fore the eloquent Senator asserted his want
of understanding upon this point, he took oc
casion to refer in terms of attempted sarcasm,
to the people whom I have the honor to repre
sent. From the tenor of his remarks it would
seem that he entertains some special pique
against that people. What is his cause I am
unable to discover ; but I would inform him
that they are • not dependent upon his gocd
opinion for their self-respect, nor for the esti
mation in which they are held by other see
lions of this State. Their histori is an honora
ble and distinguished portion of the history
of Pennsylvania, although it is-unquestiona
bly true that they ,are of that -stock
who, in the wards of the Senator, have never
been "radical recklessinnovators"—on the con
trary they are _frugal, industrious, honest and
intelligent. They love honesty and abhor dis
honesty. They are jrist and fearless, brave and
prudent The type of tinttrace which has done
more to make honesty, prudence and courage,
the characteristic traits of-this State, than any
other element of populidirdi Within her borders,
I would to God, sir ! that all the people of this
Commonwealth were of that same stock, and
that they were truly represented in this Legis
lature. If this were so, I might safely venture
the assertion, .that the subject now under dis
cussion would never have occupied the atten
tion of this Senate. But, sir, • I have digressed,
I will now proceed to, enlighten the Senator, so
that forever • hereafter he may understand why
“a ton of goods shotdd not be taxed as it pas
ses through Berko county."
This State never-built-nor owned one mile of
ra i lroad or a main the county of Perks; there
fore, the construction of our railroads and
canals never-impaired the value or diminished
the receipts of thosoworks, to build which the
people of other portions of the State had been
taxed. Again, sir, as 'the State never owned
any public works in Berko county, we were un
able to purcha4 bur iinprovements of the State
at one-third their cost, as the Pennsylvania
sir, the building of the Read
ing• road had reduced the receipts of the State
works, or if' the 'people of the Commonwealth
had first been:taked to build...that road and we
afterwards had. purchased it for one-third its
cost, or if in granting to us the charter tobuild
it,• the State had for us thrown away a grant
Which:would lumyieldedher treasuryhmuireds
of thousands. Yearly, filen indo4 Mr. Spealter,
"INDEPENDENT IN ALL THINGS---NEUTRAL IN NONE•"
HARRISBURG, PA., FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 29, 1861.
should we be taxed , and no honest man whom' re
present would object. But,sir,aswe havedestroyed
neither the value nor decreased the receipts of
the State works, and as our franchises never
cost this State one dollar, the learned Sena
tor from Franklin, if he is not utterly lost to
all sense of justice, to all regard for fair deal
ing, should now understand "why a ton of
goods must go free if it passes through the
county of Berks." Taxation, sir, is a burden—
s burden on all classes, men and corporations.
In the case of the Pennsylvania railroad it was
a burden, assumed in consideration of great
privileges granted, in consideration of great in-.
terests destroyed ; and as she has never, nor
can never restore to us those privileges granted
and those interests which have been destroyed,
he has no right, in justice or reason, to, cast
shis burden off. To do so would be a gross
tutrage upon every tax-payer of this Common
wealth.
Again, sir, I am asked by the Senator from
Franklin, in dulcet tones and with assumed in
nocence, "Why the farmer of the western or
interior portion of the State must pay tranite
to the treasury to reach a home market, while
the farmers of Berks are untaxed? I would
ask the learned Senator when, where and by
whom the right was given this corporation to'
tax the farmers of the western or interior parts
of the State ; ? Does he find it in their charter
orin any supplement to it ? No, sir, this company,
by their charter, was to pay a toll or duty to the
to the State ,for the benefit of all the people. It was
nevercontemplatedbytheLegislaturewhentheir
charter was granted that this toll or duty was to
be by some ingenious process, some sharp prac
tice, changed into a tax to be collected from the
people. It was supposed that the company would
gave paid it, as they could easily do; and
should be compelled to do. For I assert, sir,
without fear of contradiction, that if the cor
poration has this tender regard for the people
along its route, if they really. desire to relieve
them from this tax as it is now termed, they
can easily accomplish that laudable purpose,
by being satisfied with six per cent. inter-;
est upon their investment, as you, sir, and all
other men are forced by law to be satisfied, let
them pay the excess of their earnings over and
above six per cent. into the treasury; it will more
than pay the "toll or duty." This 0/pastor as
it is called, will then be removed from the Peot.
ple and will become what 'the Legislature
1846 intended it should be, a "toll or duty," to
be paid out of the excess .earnings of the eraed,.
paw over and above six per cent. But, sir,
why do not the people along the line of this
road, for whom the Senator from Franklin in
his tenderness, has uttered such piteous and
mournful lamentations, come here and ask
the removal of this "odious tax ?" Why
is it that almost every county along the
entire route, is here represented by Senators
who not only vote against this bill, but are
bound so to vote by the solemn and repeated
instructions of these "sufeting people ?"--
Does the Senator from Franklin mnderstand
their interests better than, they do themselves ?.
137 what right dow-he Ignore tlreirir: . uitr•uctionsr,
solemn and oft-repeated, td their own represent
atives? It is singular that he, who is not of
them, should thus pretend to represent them.
I assert, sir, that these people have not asked
the interference of the Senator, by petition or
otherwise. His labors in their behalf are un
asked and uncalled for,and his lamentations are
those of an uninvited mourner. When these
people feel themselves aggrieved,lthey will. say
so, through their own representatives on- this
floor, who,
it is fair to presume, are at least as
competent as the Senator from Franklin to set
forth their wrongs and effect their remedy.
But, sir, assuming that the Senator
from-
Franklin incorrect in calling it "a tax" upon
the people, then, sir,lt cannot possibly be, a
burd.en upon the company; and if; as 'I have
shown, these very people do not ask‘to be.re
lieved, where is the necessity for any action on
our part? Are we to relieve a people who do
not ask relief? -
I am glad, sir, to be able to state, that in at
least one position; 'the learned Senator admits
that I was correct, which is,
that by the
repeal of the tonnage tax or duty we will
dimimsh the ,r'evenues of the State. EVen he
was not perverse or obtuse to admit this !
On the co racy, he not only admite init glories
in the fac that by this pretended "commuta
tion" We re to be robbed of many millions,
and revels in ecstatic visions of the wealth, the
progress, the, happiness which this very rob
bery is to bring to the, pe,ople of the State. The
conception seenied to translate the Senator from
this rude, tax-paying, tax ridden sphere, to
some elysian land, in which golden harvests are
ever waving, whose mountains are of pure
gold, where ever upon his ear - there falls the
music of ceaseless, endless prosperity, and
where civilization Ils reached that exalted con
dition which heralds the millenium. It was,
indeed, a lovely', beatific vision, vouchsafed
only to tr - nscendent genius—to the highest de
velopmen of moral and in.tellectual culture!
But, sir, I failed to appreciate its practical;
beneficial result ; I was unable to understood'
how this direct kiss was to produce such in&
dental advantages ; and when, sir, I realized'
that this dream of the, gifted Senator was to
lean us forever subject to the curse of taxation,
il felt that after all it was the raving of an en
thusiast and not the teaching of a statesman.'
I venture the prediction that this vision will be
dispelled by the Sound Common. sense. of the pea
ple, as is the mist by the' rays of the rising
sun.
The Senator from Franklin accuses me of
another and unpardonable blunder : in assuming
that the construction of the_Pennsylvania Rail
road destroyed : the value of. our main line of
improvements, andusserts that a considerable
portion of my argument was based upon this
point. Certainly, Mr. Speaker, the Senator
must be in error, or he would, remember that
although I asserted - the fact, yet I refrained, for
the purpose of saving the time of the Senate,
from enlarging upon it, as the Senator from
Pike, (Mr. Mon), in.bisablespeech of yesterday,
-had demonstrated it beyond the possibility of
contradiction. I now re-asserton, basing my
assertion upon the facts and figures presented
by the Senator from Pike ; and. if, as the Seo
tor from Franklin states, the facts are upon the
shelves of this Hall to show that I am, in error,
or rather that the Senator.from Pikeis in error,
why has he not taken the trouble to produce
and explain them? They would 'have been at.
least as satisfactory as the naked assertion of
the. Senator from .Franklin, But, sir, as he has
not dealt in anything but assertion in his entire
harangue, and as he well understands "that
figures will not lie,", he wisely and prudently
adhered to his usual and only method of argu
ment: It may bring conviction to minds simi
lar to his own, but I tell him that the people
of this State will demand something &bre
than his unsustained assertion to disprove and
combat the fortified position of the Senator
from Wayne. I have, sir, but declared thathe
waa and u correct. It would indeed require sir-
perior intelligence to appreciate and subscribe
to`the bare, and unsustained . assertion of the
Senator from Franklin—an intelligence bright
ened and sharpened by some means unknown
to legitimate argument and fair discussion. As,
sir, such means have not been at my disposal,
I plead guilty to a want of intelligence such as
the Senator from Franklin claims to possess.
Where he obtained it, or upon what it is based,
I confess that I am entirely ignorant * . The
Senator front Franklin exclaimed in expiring
energy : "Look at the records, and the eloquence of
the Senator from Berks is forgotten in his want of in
telligence." I would, sir, that not only the Sena
torhimself, and each Senator on this floor, but
that also every man in the State, could and
would look at the records . if they do so, they
will not fail to be convinced of the truth of my
assertion, and of the sophistry and persistent
avoidance of facts upon the part of the Senator
from Franklin. I dare him to produce them !
He says they are on the shelves—that he can
lay his hand on them. Why has he not done
so? He avoids the truth, and thinks that by
putting his own light under a bushel
he can thereby produce universal darkness.—
This
course of conduct and of argument may
suit this hour and this oocasion, but I tell him j
the peetge will not,yely upon his unsustained
assertiff; when it is clearly disproved by facts,
figures and argument. They will read and de-.
cide for themselves, and to their judgment I
apPeal with unshaken faitik in its correctness
and justice. But, sir, the anator having failed
to refute the facts, to disprove the figures I
presented, goes into excessive lamentation for
the reason that I alleged that there was a sol
emn contract between this corporation and the
State which should not be broken. - He whined
over it as though he were inconsolable. I fear
ed that his excessive grief would have quite
overpowered him; but in the lucid intervals
of his sorrow what reasons did he assign for an
nulling the contract ? I thought, sir, that out
of his excessive agony,- some drops of reason and
argument would at last appear, but I was again
doomed to disappointment. • -It was the same
story, " because you reduced the toll from five
mills to thtee—because you relieved us from all
tonnage duties upon coal and lumber, therefore
now you must release us wa houtconsideration'from
a contract which would be worthnineteen mill
ions to the State in the next thirty-four years."
Or,in other words, Mr. Speaker,because we have
" given them the finger they now demand the
whole, hand." Then again the Senator exclaims,
with feverish energy, "that theinexorable laws
of trade demand that the contract shall be
abandoned"—that unless we do so the trade" of
the West will be diverted to the competing
lines North and South. I was not aware before
sir, indeed I understood the Senator in the
beginning of his speech expressly to deny that
there was any tax, as he is pleased to call it,
upon "through, frieght." I thought it was all
imposed upon - the poor suffering people of this
Commonwealth, and'that it was for that reason
}this generous, kind hearted corporation came
here asking that this toll or duty, should be
taken off! Was I mistaken sir.? If I was it
:would now appear that we are asked to destroy
anabontraot r not to relieve: our---olm-rpo r l.
.but to enable this corporation to compete with
lines North and South. This then is the "im
perious rule" which demands it ; for this rea
son in the language of the eloquent and
'pleading Senator, "we must declare that here,
'as in - all the world beside, internal commerce
must be free !" "
"To what base uses have we come at last."
After all-the touching, heart-rending appeals
on behalf of. our own suffering people, we are
now pathetically informed that it is not alone
for them, but' to enable this oppressed corpora
tion to - compete with other lines that this con
tract must be destroyed.. But, sir, I am again
compelled to 'correct the assertions of the Sen
ator from Franklin. There is no toll or duty
paid by this corporation upon "through
ffeight, therefore they on this account are not
prevented from competing with other routes—
and that they have been able to do so success
fully is demonstrated by the fact that while
the New York and Erie LS bankrupt hi the
hands of a receiver, and the Baltimore and
Ohio greatly embarrassed, declaring no divi
denda,tld,s corporation is growing richer year by
year, declaring large dividends,although out of
her, earnings she is constantly making vast
and costly permanent improvements, which are
greatly enhancing the intrinsic value of her
stock. If, then, sir, the people along, the route
do not ask the passage of this bill,
if .the corporation , itself is successful,
rich and dividend-paying, is there "an imperious
ruk," do "the inexorable laws of Ode" demand
that this contract, so odious to the sensitive
Senator from Franklin, should be destroyed?
Is not the demand based upon that
,other rule,
an.inexorable law with some individuals and
all corporations, "keep all you have and get all
' you can?" If the Senator from Franklin had
assigned this as the law which demands that
this - solemn contract shall be broken, he ,would
have been entitled to the thanks of every one
for his candor, though we might - be unable to
perceive either the justice of the rule, or the
necessity for its Observance. ,
I have thus, Mr. Speaker, endeaVored to ex
amine: every objection urged by the Senator
from Franklin against my argument made • this
night. ' I have shown to my own satisfaction,
and I trust to that of the Senate, that in no one
point has he' disproved the correctness of my
premises nor the justness of my conclusions.
His every answer was an evasion, and that he
has been unable to refute any one proposition,
has certainly not been for want of inclination.
For truly, Mr. Speaker, during this entire con
test, the Senator has with rare ability and un
accountable zeal endeavored to advance the
interests of this corporation, apparently forgot
ting, in his efforts so, to do, that he was sent
here to represent the people and not corpora
tions. He is their avowed and proclaimed
champion ! Wherever the fight is thickest
there is seen his commanding form, ready to
give,and if it must be,receive the heaviest blows.
liFhere crushing charge is made, and the weak
er and less devoted followers are about to flee
in terror and dismay, there his voice is raised
in tones of encouragement, bidding them re
main steadfast to the end and to fear no ' dan
ger. '
But, sir, with all his devotion to this Corpo
ration there is at least - one provision in the bill
which even his ingenuity, his sophistry, is una
ble to justify or defend. It is an exhibition of
cool assurance from which even he shrinks in
dismay—so bold and unblushing an. attempt
to extract money. from the public treasury that
their avowed champion confesses his inability
to defend, though heisnot willing by hisvote at;
least to justify it.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, I refer to the provi
sion in the bill which relieves the company
from the payment of the accrued 'tonnage tax,
amounting . to' seven himdred thousand dol
lars. My =Amity was greatly excited, to know
by what course of reasoning the talented sera=
for would attempt its justification, well, know
ing that if individual or collimate ingenuity
could suggest' even the shadow of an excuse for
this premeditated frauctupon the rights of the
people, it would surely be advanNd. But, six,
there is a limit to human ingenuity, a limit' to
sophistry, a limit to misrepresentation and de
ception—and this bold demand, this avowed
intention to rob .thebtrea Bury, is beyond that
limit. It towers aloft in its naked deformity,
unsustained and unjustified, with no one, not
even the Senator _from Franklin, to approve or
defend it !
The future historian will cite this provision
of the bill to prove that in this generation there
existed a power which dared openly.and-boldly
to deplete the treasury. It will prove that the
body politic" was corrupt and that corporate
power had sapped the vitals bf the State.
If there was nothing else in this bill to make
it unjust, to render it forever odious, this one
provision is more than sufficient thud' to brand
it. .1 - warn you, Senators, that no honeyed
words, no ingenious explanations, will, ever
convince the people that this is other than an
open and deliberate abstraction of their money,-
a large portion-of which is already in the trea
asury of the State, and this balance of which
will soon be there also, if you do not prevent
it by your own deliberate action.
The lateness of the hour, and the length of
time I have already occupied, admonish me,
Mr. Speaker, that I dare not much longer tres
pass upon that kind attention the Senate half
already awarded me. Still, sir, I cannot re
sume my seat witholt replying to that which
was of a personal mare in the speech of the
Senator *cm Franklin. He has charged me
unjustly and, gratuitously with having made
unfounded assertions and aspendons against
this cce poration. I deny, sir, that I have been
influenced by any other - than upright motives
in all that I have said. - As a - Pennsylvanian, I
am proud of the magnificent highway built by
this corporation. It is an enduring monument
of the energy, enterprise and skill of its pro
jectors and of those who. control it. If; sir, in
the examination of this question, I have been
forced to exhibit figures and state facts which
place this company in an unenviable light,
surely it is no fault of mine. I have refrained
from using any harsh or uncalled for expres
sions; if my argument has. prodUced a convic
tion that such expressions might be justifiable;
I certainly am not to blame; but he who as
serts that I hayed used any such expressions,
either wilfully or unintentionally, misreipre-
vents me.
Mr. M'CLMEtE. I certainly did, not charge
any, such thing upon the gentleman from
The Speaker pro ten. (litr. Lawa t attee.) The
Chair did not so understand the :gentleman.
Mr. HOLUM. didl say, in the most re
spectful terms that, while I conceded to the Se
nator from Berks integrity of purpose in his at- I
titude upon thequestion,lthoughtheparidered
to.thnprejudices isf the people ha a manner rin
becoming a Senator-on this:floor. I meant the
remark not unkindly.
As I do not intend to take the floor again
:to-night, the Senator will permit me to say a
werd.in answer to his question as to who it is
.trh - Ct - se - asking the repearet uns tonnage tat.—
He seems to think that the effort for its repeal
proceeds merely froni men interested in this
great corporation. Why, sir, I have met hun
dreds of geritlenien here' this winter making
personal appeals for .the removal lof this ton
nage tax, because it crippled their energies and
baffled their efforts toward the development of
'our State's- resources;:.and. I;reosg-nize upon
this floor now two gentleman of Pennsylvania,
whom I will not, of course; name, as they are
not members of this body, gentlemen. who in
dividually pay twenty thousand dollars in the
shalse , of tonnage tax upon - this road This tax
is imposed upon them, simply because they
have the energy and the capital to go forth
and develops the wealth of Pennsylvania. It
is such men that have appealed to Pennsylva
nia, to be just and liberal toward her sons—to
ward those who choose to develope her own
wealth and make this great State still greater
and still more prosperous than 'she has been,
even in spite of the illiberality of her policy.
Mr. CLYMER. I understood the Senator
correctly. He has
.reiterated, in his last re
.
marks, an unqualified and ungenerous charge.
He accused me of pandering to political
prejudice. I scorn the imputation. Ido not
need to pander to such prejudices.
:Mr. M'CLURE. Ido not wish the gentle
man to get astounded again to-night ; but I
must say that I certainly have said nothing in
the course of this debate calculated. to reflect
in the least degree upon the Senator from Berks,
personally. I tegret, sir, that prejudices have
been created and fostered in.this State against
this liberal and wise measure. Those preju
dices have been fostered by politicians ; and I
believe that the Senator (to use a kinder ex
presion, but one which expresses the same
meaning) bows to what is. an Imperious error
of his constituents, which demands that he
shall not be liberal and just to the great inter
ests of the. State. Certainly I did not design
to say anything which might, even by implica
tion, reflect upon the Senator froni Berks.
Iir...CLYMER. I have understood the gen
tleman to say that possibly I am, influenced by
the fear that if I. took a particular position I
might not again occupy a seat upon this floor.
The SPEAKER pro tem.; (Mr. Lawastroa.)
If the Speaker had understood the Senator from
Franklin to make any such -charge, it 'would
have been the duty of the. Chair to correct him.
The Chair understood the gentleman to make
a general charge, not a special one.
.3dr. M'CLURE. Surely, sir, I made it gene
ral. Ispoke of those who, as I tliought,yielded to
an imperious necessity created by the prejudices
of their own people, which.forbids them to be
liberal and just. I must insist that the gentle
man shall not understand me unkindly.
The SPEAKER pro tem. The Senator from
Berke will please accept the explanation of the
Senator fromTranklin,- .
Mr. CLYMEI4. That, sir, is, a, question upon
which I shall decide hereafter. I have endea
vored to mike a legitirante and connected ar
gument upon this question., but from the fre
quent interruptions it.wOuld. seem.that there is
a fixed design to prevent me from so. doing.—
What is the motive I leave others to deter-
The SPPARP.R. The Chair will not : permit
the' gentleman to be interrupted again.
Mr. CLYMER. . When, sir, the Senator from
Franklin asserts that bow to what he is
pleased to term au imperious error of my con
stituency which demands that I shell not be
liberal and just to the great interests of the
State, he avnimes to speak of a matter of which
he knows nothing.. and I tell him, further,
that he is little acquainted with the person now
addressing thisi Senate if he for one moment
suppcouta that he has ever or will ever
-bow to
what he knows to be an error--and in this re-
Spect Ifeel.assured that•l differ from at least
some w ithi n th e h oa xing of my voice, Nor have
I, sir, created or fostered political prejudices
against this. measure. - If such prejudices do
exot„andthe Senator from
.udMa is nervously
• alive to - the fact, it is 4teprejudiCe which honest
Clam lgr Wing pm
Having procured steam Power Presses, we are
prepared to execute JOB and BOOK PRINTING of every
description, cheaper that it can be done at any other ea
tablishmentin the country.
RATES OP ADVERTISING.
.Four lines or less donaUthtehne-baNequare. Mg --
fleas or more than four constitute a square.
Italt!quare, one day - 8014
one week • I. OP
one mouth. • .......
a three mont hs a 00
a , six months 4 0
one year .1...• 5 00
One Square one day
ig 60
one week.
2 00
II: one month.... . 800
it
- three month s 5 00
MI six months.... 8 00
•• one year 10 00
Business. 110,113115 inserted In the .Lo=l column, ce
before Marriages and Deaths, FIVE CANTS PER MI
or each Insertion.
NO. 72.
gertiarriagee and Deaths to be charged as regular
advertisements,
men ever entertain and will ever express against
corrupt schemes and their supporters. Ptrhaps
it is to shield himself from the storm of popular
wrath and indignation which will surely follow
the consummation of this cm holy n d unjust mea
sure, that the Senator from Franklin implores
me and other Senators to allay this "political
prefedice," and to lead our people to what he
calls "lateral progress." Is it for this he entreats
us "to combat the prgjudices of the ignorant and the
schemes of as reckless?" I say to him that I will
serve in no such capacity. I am here to repre
sent honest men, men of sound judgments and
upright motives. I have, six, fearlessly and to
the best of my ability discharged my duty, andl
have that, most consoling of all reflections that
in the position I have taken on this question
I have obeyed my own solemn convictions of
right and the wishes of every man whom I re
present. If the Senator from Franklin is sus
tained in his conrseby the same reflections, duty
honeitlyperformed,a constituency honestly and
truly represented, he need have no fear
that he will have "to combat the prejudices of the
ignorant and the schemes of the reckless." But,
sir, if he is not thus sustained, it is in vain for
him to call upon us to save him from the re
proaches of his own conscience or the denuncia
dons of his own constituency. If, air, he has
done wrong, they will surely come, though this
Senate asonemanshouldstandby him. He must
meet them unaided and alone. It will then be
too late to call upon us to assist him to"combat
the prejudices of the ignorant and the schemes
of the reckless." His opponents, if any, will
be the honest, intelligent people of this
State, who will be thrice armed because their
cause is just.
Yet, sir, to induce me and, others to follow
him in a course which he admits is disapproved
of by the vast majority of the people of this
State, he has pointed us to the career of one
who in his day and generation was an actor in
these Halls. He tells US of an old man past
three score years and ten, who, with undimed
eye and heart still strong in its convictions,
daily wends his way to his seat in the House of
Representatives at Washington. I will yield
to no man, in, my respect for old age—for
those who are "soon to be gathered to the city
of the silent"—and more especially will I yield
to no one, not even to the Senator from Frank
lin, in my respect for the commanding abil
ity and brilliant talents of Thaddeus Stevens,
although, sir, I may, and certainly do, differ with
him in my estimate of his character as a legisla
tor and a politician. The Senator from Franklin,
fn glowing eulogy and highly wrought strains
of eloquence has placed TIiADDZUS %Irvin upon
the very pinnacle of glory as the man who gave
this State her public improvements—as a man
who dared combat public opinion, and was ever
in advance of his friends. It is becoming and
proper fdr the Senator from Franklin, who also
represents the county of Adams, to extol and
eulogisethat veteran of three score years and ten;
for, sir,
it will ever be remembered that in the
county of Adams there is an enduring monu
ment of the devotion of Thaddeus Stevens to
ltul?/!?-1!Nr"'"?e'h - It ic-highly
-probable,
that It " was the recollection of this far
famed and never to be forgotten improvement,
upon which the Senator has gazed, if he has not
traveled often, which induced him to hold
up its projector for our admiration a nd applause.
I thank the Senator for the taste and wisdom
he has displayed in his selection of an example
of men who in their day and generation were
devoted to public improvements. It was most for
tonate---most thoughtful ! Most men have
reeson to exclaim, "Save me from my friends!"
But, sir, to increase our admiration and to corn
pellis all to worship MS idol, he has farther as •
mired us that in his day and generation Thad
deus Stevens dared "brave public opinion , " and
was ever in "advance of his friends." I could.
wish that the Senator had not neglected to re
fer us to some particular time and place when
:these traits of true greatness were erlibited.
As, sir, I was compelled to point out his grand
est public improvement, the "Tern Worm," so
too am I compelled by the admiring, though
forgetful, Senator, to refer to a particular time
when this, his great exemplar, did, beyond
„doubt, dare "to combat public opinion," and
was then, as ever, in "advance of his friends."
Necd I remind you, sir, that it was here in
this Senate Chamber, during the "Boca Snor
Wan" that this his most daring combat with
public opinion took place, and that then, too,
,he 'was most certainly in advance of his
'friends, whenhe hurriedly retreated from this
Hall, through the most convenient aperature,
which, according to tradition,. happened, Mr.
Speaker, to be the window beh ind your seat !
So much for the great exemplar of the Sena
tor from Franklin. I sincerely trust that upon
some other occasion and in some more; appro
priate place, he will restore him to that pinna
cle of glory and renown to which he was once
raised this evening. It was a labor of love, /
doubt not upon the part of the Senator from
Frank ' , therefore he will not"complain that
he is compelled to perform it again.
Imust close. If this bill is right it will bear
the test of argument and examination, and this
argument and examination shall' not be met
and defeated by plausibility and sophistry, or
by sneers and taunts !
Senators if unable to combat facts, figures
and argument, should.scom to resort to mere
assertions and unmeaning generalities. They
are unworthy the subject or the occasion. My
facts and figures,and the arguments drawn from
them, remain unquestioned and unchallenged
by the Senator from Franklin, and until he
shows that I am in error, in fact or in figures,
he must.stand convicted of attempting to up
hold a cause which will not defend itself, as it
surely would do were the facts and figures with
it. '
I have again to thank the Senate for its kind
ness. I feelthat it is to the importance of the
aubject under discussion I have been indebted
for your patient:attention during this prolong
ed and fatiguing, debate.
On motion of the Senator from Philadelphia,
(Air. SIMITHO the Senate at 14 o'clock P. M.,
Adjourned. ,
_.4
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