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SPEECH
RON. W. W. KETCHAM.
Delivered in the Senate if Pennsylvania, March 18,
1861, on the ball authorizing the Auditor General
toad/la the accounts of the Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company.
The question being on the prcviso offered to
the bill by Mr. CLYMER , e Senator from Be
rks,
Mr. KETCHAM said :
Mr. Speaker: In the multitude of demands ce
upon my time, I have had no opportunitysin
the consideration of this bill was suspend
ed several
uss days ago.
But to
as preparehasb myself
for its dis c ion. it
some time pending, and has yet to pass the
House to become a law, I will proceed with it,
trusting to my recollection of facts
i and the for
tune of the moment for their use n its support.
In the beginning, I desire it understood by the
Senate that I have no personal interest in this
bill. I do not, and never expect, to own a
dollar of stock in this company. lam not
their attorney or agent ; I sustain no relation
whatever to then: save that of a Senator repre
senting their interests in common with the in
terests of my constituenoy in Luzern county.
I am not certain even that I know a man who
is a stockholder in the company. I called up
this bill originally as I have called up many
other bills, at the request of a friend, to accom
modate him. I examined its merits, and became
satisfied that it was proper and just, and
assumed the charge of it, expecting no contest
over it, and having no interest in it further
than the accommodation of my friend. But I
must confess I resume its consideration to-day
with some feeling, and with an interest I never
expected to have for its passage. Beside, the
merits of the bill, the false position in which
the company has been placed before the Senate
and the State at large, requires of me that it
should be fully discussed and the character and
position of the company vindicated. The Sen
ator from Barks, either partaking of that old
dark-day prejudice which would have kept us
dependent upon Conestoga wagons and stage
coaches for transportation and travel, that
would have left us a century behind all the
world in everything which makes a State great
and powerful-4 say the Senator either par
taking of this prejudice and honestly actuated
by a misguided zeal against all corporations,
or else operated upon by some outside influ
ence, by some enemy of the company pursuing
ulterior purposes, without reference to the
merits of this bill, made an attack tho other
day upon the company that overwhelmed the
Senate with astonishment. For the time Senators
were terror strieken, and in their extremity ex
claimed, "Good Lord deliver us from thismon
ster." With a zeal, energy and gallantry,that
would have done credit to St. George in his
memorable contest with the dragon, he laid on
and spared not; and with the bitterness and
malignity of one especially commissioned to
brand this company with eternal ignominy% ho
denounced them as the very embodiment of
selfishness, avarice, dishonesty and oppression..
Charged them with sucking up the substance of
the State and cheating her out of her rights ;
with accumulating vast wealth out of her gen
erosity and indulgence, and then defrauding
her in her financial extremity of the taxes
justly due her, and held them up to the world
with this odious sentence written on their brow
—immensely rich and immensely mean. This,
in brief, is the character and position which the
Senator assigned this company. I do not
know nor can I conceive what motives could
have actuated the Senator. I can hardly be
lieve that he fully realized himself the ex
travagance of this astonishing condem
nation. I believe him, generally, a liberal
man, though rather indiscriminate in his op
position to this corporation. There are some
measures which have been before this Legisla
ture for the benefit of corporations, that Idiot's
opposed myself. And I have opposed litany
original Acts of incorporation. But I have no
war to make against them because they are
corporations. They aro like men, some of them
good, end some bad. They are,aeleast, but men
associated for a common purpose which indi
vidual effort cannot accomplish. They have
done too much for the State. They have re
deemed too many waste places, they have
cleared away too unruly forests and subdued too
much wildness and handed it over to the
dominion of peace, happiness, intelligence and
vhtue and all the glories of civilization, for
me to make war upon them. They have done
too much to develops the resources of our own
great State, and to place her in her present
proud position, for me to makowar upon them.
They have given us a million of our most
valuable population, and a hundred millions of
our wealth, and while I tolerate no wrong in
them, I cannot
,join in an indiscriminate raid
against them. I have lived nearly all my life
within thirty-three miles of Carbondale, the
centre of the coal operations of this company.
I have been every day in familiar intercourse
with the people of this locality and surrounding
country, and with those of Wayne and
Pike counties, through which their railroad
and canal wind their way toward the Hudson.
For more than twenty years Carbondale was
the only market for the agricultural products
of mytounty. Almost everybody in the country
is as familiar with the operations of this com
wy, as with those of their own town. We
have watched their progress from the first blow
they struck in their bold enterprise, step
by step, through all their vicissitudes, sometimes
experimementmg,investi ug and losing all; some
times trying,and succeeding; sometimes in dis
appointment and adversity, and then again in
success and prosperity ; at one time dishearten
ed, and at another elated, but never despairing,
till at length they have triumphed in their pre
sent commanding position. While the country
has beheld their progress and final prosperity,
it has also marked its own progress, and how
much it owed to this very company for its pros
perity. In 1828,. when Maurice Wertz, that
model of enterprise and usefulness, that great
projector and benefactor, whose memory will
be cherished by north-western Pennsylvania as
long as the rumbling of a car or the blast of a
boatman's horn shall be heard among her
mountains—l say when he first conceived the
idea of developing the coal in that northern
field, all northern Luzerne, and Wayne and
Pike counties, were almost an unbroken wilder.
ness. The company commenced their works,
the canal was hewn through the rocks, and
walled up in the rivers, from the Hudson to the
Lackawaxen. Their railroad was stretched over
mountain and gorge on to Carbondale. The
coal that had lain useless in the earth for ages
was brought to the light and made an element
of commerce, to cheer and bless mankind., Cat
bondale began to grow up ; Honesdale and nu
merous other towns along the line of their im
provement sprang up, and the solitude of the
forest gave way to the cheerfulness and swim- .
t/C 4 / 01 business. The unknown had way
,
' .A /
•
*\p/,' :- - e llillib '
a., retail) . '
......,
111)
, • -
3 2.00
12.00
16.00
VOL XIV.
plored ; population in pursuit of business and
homes gathered here ; the land was taken up
and cleared ; the Lumberman, Farmer and Me
chanic succeeded each other, and keeping pace
with the progress of the company as they
widened the circle of their operations, and
grew strong. So progretssed, so has grown the
country until Carbondale has become an incor
porated eity, and Honesdale (the county seat of
Wayne county) one of the most flourishing towns
in Northern Pennsylvania, built up and support
ed alone by the business of this company. And
Northern Lucerne has become one 'of the most
densely populated portions of the State, full of
industry, enterprise, wealth and prosperity. And
Wayne , and Pike counties,. have takeni rank
among, the most respectable counties- isitthe.
State ; distinguished for their business, enter
prise and intelligence ; with their schools: at
every cross road, and their villages in every
valley. All this has sprung up directlyand in
directly from the enterprise and liberality of
this company. And more than all this,lthe
country 'unites in its testimony to their prover
bial honesty and fainitesaye, tolheir scrupu
lous avoidance of even the suspicion of dis
honesty or unfairness. Fortunate indeed is the
private individual who succeeds for thirty
eight „years in a large business and comes off
with so fair a reputation. The Senator from
.13erks unable to find anything unjust or even
improper in the bill under consideration, im
pelled by some infatuation, assumed that at all
events the company must be opposed. and
assailed whether right or wrong. And to ac
complish this purpose he has gone back.-to
1852, and in his antiquarian researches, drag
ged out from its dust and cobwebs the re
port of a committee appointed by, the
Legislature to examine into the affairs of the
company—Kt matter originated and concluded
eight or nine years ago—and although the com
pany were fully vindicated by the committee,
and their honesty and fairness sanctioned and
affirmed by the solemnity of legislative enact
ment on full investigation, yet, knowing that
resurrections are at least wonderful, and that
ghost stories will bear any amount of enlarge
ment, and their chief merit consists in their
startling unlikelihood, he went back to an old
Legislative Record and finding there a great
deal of matter, in itself plain, simple and to
every fair mind conclusive of the Integrity of
the company, yet, determined to . find' guilt,.
whether
whether anywere there or not, and assuming
everything that appeared in favor of the
company was false; and everything against them
of course true, by perversion, misinterpretation
and misrepresentation; has converted a solemn
Legislative sanction into
. just as solemn a con
demnation: Let us incppre into the charges :of.
the Senator. It is true all this is entirely irrev
levant to this bill, butithasbeen dragged forth
from its repose.to libel this company ; and justice
requires that whatever wrong impression it has
made should be corrected. And although
there has already been much said of the legis
lation of this State in relation to the company,
it is necessary to a fair understanding of the
matter that it should be Welly referred to
again. - Maurice. Wurts, to wiromj have al
ready alluded, stimulated,to a laudablcreinula
don by the enterprise of.tbe 'Pioneers of the
Lehigh and Schuylkill'coa fields', had gone up
into the wilderness of Northern -Luzerne, and
discovered mil there. The• developments and
transportation of this Variable rnirieral was an
undertaking beyond the mulls of himself or
any other individual. Pennsylvania capital was
already largely invested in the lower coal fields,
and through one disaster and igrother neces
sarily resulting from "inexperience in the prose
cution of an undertaking so great, and at that
time so little understood, the spirit of advent
ure in Pennsylvania bad become pretty well
discouraged. Philadelphia had but little sym
pathy with an investment that must furnish
business to New York, and find its profit chiefly
in a trade with that city. So he turned his
hopes to New York f6r the aid that he could
not hope for in Philadelphia ; and as a guar
anty to New York capital, that the Pennsyl-•
yenta Legislature would meet it with that spirit
of liberality and encouragenient which alone
could render be investment' haze and its ob
jects feasible, he came to , the-Legislature of his
own State and procured the following enact
ments;
On the 18th of March, 1828, the Legislature
of the State passed an Act entitled an Act to
improver the navigation of the river Lecke
waxen. (Acts, 18223, pages 74-84.) It con
sists of eighteen sections. By it franchises
were granted to Maurice Worts, his heirs and
assign...
I will not take time to refer to the provisions
of this Act in detail, but content myself; for the
purposes of - this discuseon, with - presenting to
the Senate in a summary; from so much of it
as has been bromiiht in - question by the Senator
from Berlis=gtfmuclAas will clearly show the
friutchbieg rented tO Mr. - LWurts with the con
ditions upon which they were granted. Because
it is upon the enjoyment of these franchises
and the :fulfdlment .of these conditions, that
all controversy bad arisen.
The franchises granted them were
Ist. The right to 'make a descending of slack
water navigation from the head waters of the
Wallenpanpack on the West °Branch of the
Lackawaxen, to the mouth of the Lackawaxen.
2nd. The right to uso, lease or gellthe water.
power of the lackawaxen and of the Branch he
should adopt for improvement for manufactur
ing purposes.
Bd. The right to charge three cents Rte' mile
per ton, for every thing transported down the
descending navigation, except lumber, and a
cent and a half per mile for every 1,000 feet of
board measure of lumber, and for every ton
weight of shingles or othermaterials in rafts.
4th. If he should build a slack water na Apa,
Lion, he had the right to charge at each lock
14 yenta per tons on all tonnage except lum
ber, and half that sum for each 1000, feet of
lumber and boards, ton weight of shingles or
other materials in rafts.
6th. The right to receive, after the first five
years, fifteen per centum on the capital .sum
invested in the construction of the work, if
these tolls shall produce nett profit enough to
divide that rate, and if they should not pro
duce nine per cent the right to raise said tolls
so as to produce nine per centum per annum.
These are the grants. They were made upon
the following condition: )
That at the expiration of thirty years (in
185 t) Item' the psesage of this Act, the said
Maurice Warts, - his heirs and amigns, shall ren
der under oath or affirmation, to the Legisla
ture, an exact account of-money expended by
them in making said navigation and in keeping
the same in repair, end also of the amount of
tolls received by tiara during that time, and if
it shall thereupon appear that the tolls during
that time have amounted to so much oven six
per centura per Mane= on the amount of moneys
so, expended in making and keeping in repair
said navigation, as will be equal to the capital
sum so expended, then the Legislature nay:SFr
some all the rights, liberties andfrantlbiaes here
by caned, hat if it shall axis* thr *ha tolls
• .
"INDEPENDENT IN ALL iTHINGS-NEUTRAL I IN NONE."
HARRISBURG, PA.. TUESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 6, 1861
during that time have not amounted to samuch
above six per centum per annum on the amount
of moneys so expended in making and keeping
in repair said navigation, as will be equal to
the capital stock so expended, then it shall be
lawful for the Legislature, on payment to said
Maurice Wurtry hie heirs or assigns, of the
difference or deficiency, teresume all the rights,
liberties and franchises-hereby granted, and in
case of such resumption the Legislature shall
be bound to fulfil all and singular the obliga
tions enjoined bf, this Act on Maurice Wurtz,
his heirs and maligns.
With this Legislative encouragemenpfaurice
Warta went to New York city, and. soon
awakened interest enough in his enterprise to
form an • association of capitaliats, who, with
himself at their head, made application to the
New York Legislature, for a charter to incorpo
rate a company to build .a final and railroad to
carry the coal to market: And as an: illustra
tion of the prejudice and Ake difficulties he had
to encounter, it may not be unintereating to
state here that before he could get the Legisla
ture of Neve York tatake notice of a project ap
parently so visionkry, as, that of chartering .a
company to build;a canal from ,the Hudson to
the Delaware, to bring "black
,stone;" from
Pennsylvania to New York city, (for fuel,) a
project so wild in their , estimation, that they
thought him little better :than a madman for
entertaining it, be was forced to send a team
all the way from . where Carbondale now. is, in
Pennsylvania, to Albany, with a load of anthra
cite coal, and then to procure a. stove, and build
a fire in it to prove to them thatithe oa would
burn, that it,waa•fuel, andnota dead, non-com
bustible stone.. And ills said that it required
several days continuance of a red hotstove with a
rousing anthracite fire, to convince them •that all
the heat did not come from the hickory wood
originally used to kindle the fire, But they be
came convinced that' anthracite coal was fuel
and would burn, and must proire, as it has
proved, a vast element in the happiness and
civilization of the world. - And on thg 28d day,
of April, 1823, just forty-two days after the pas
sage of the Pennsylvania Acts, the Legislature
of New York passed "an Act to incorporate, the,
President, ,Managers and Company of the Dela
ware and Hudson. Canal co9/PanY."
The eighth section authorizes them ;to con.
struct and forever maintain a canal or slack
water navigation, from such point an the river
Delaware, in Pennsylvania,' to. such, point on
the Hudson, threugh airy one of the comities of
Orange, Sullivanand Ulster, ea said corporation
shall judge best.
The twelfth section authorises them to re
ceive such tolls as they think proper; provided
such toll shall not exceed in the ,whole eight
cents per ton per mile.
The twenty-first section authorizes the com
pany to purchase of Maurice Wurtz all the
rights, privileges and immunities granted to
him by the Legislature of Pennsylvania. AlsO,
to purchase cord lands at the head waters of
the Lackawaxen ; and also to employ their capi
tal to the improvement of the Said river leeks
waxen in the same manner as the said Jilaurice
Wurts is authorized by the above Act to do ;
and also to engage intranaporti s to
coal. This Act passed 23d.April, 823, and fix
ed the capital stock at $600,000, ' iD. Sakai of
$lOO 00 each.
On the 7th April, 1824, the Legislature of
New York passed an Act increasing the capital
stock to 81,600,000. On the 19th November,
1824, the Legislature of the same State gave
the company banking privileges to be exercised
in the city of New 'fork. .
On the Ist day of April, 1826, the Governor
of Pennsylvania appr,oved an Aat, supplementa
ry to the Act of 1823.
The first section provides that by and with
the consent of Maurice Wurts, his heirs and as
signs, it shall be lawful for , the President ; mana
gers and company of theZelaware and Hudscin
Canal company, ."to improve the navigation of
the river Lackawaxen and any one of its branch
es, in the manner authorized and provided 'br
an Act entitled "an Act to improve; the nevi
gation of the •river.Lackawaxen," passed 18th
March, 1823: 'Under and subject to the condi
tions, restriotions, duties and obligations im
posed upon said Maurice Wurts, his :heirs ' or
assigns. : • •
Sao. 2. Restricts said company from charg
ing more than one cent and a half. per tori per
mile.
Sm. 6. Provides that the property, real and
, personal, of said oompany, within this State,
shall at all times be liable for its
_debter, and
subject to taxation in like manner es like pro
perty held by an individual or corperation now
is or may be. • •
. Sao, 0 Provides that this Aotihidl be of no
force unless's:ad company shall notify the, Gov
ernor of their acceptance of it on or, before the
that of July. .1826. . _
April 20, 1826, the Legislature ofNew York,
by an Act, granted the Delaware , and Hudson
Canal company power to make a. contract with
Maurice Wurts, his heirs or assigns,; or. with
any other person or parsons, by: which' the . hn-
PYovemerit of the navigation.of the laclotwax.-
en, according to the proyhdons of the .Akt. l of
the,lBth:Mareb 4 3B2B,:passed by our Legisla
ture, ithall-be,aecured.: _
On the 21st of June, 1826, the company"- b y
writing, signerl,by Philip Hone, President s and
John l litolton, Treasurer; signified their:accept
ance of the Act of our General' Assembly, pass
ed let April; 18364 Tha•Aotot /mato:lye
nia of 9th of FehruarblB26, gave thetcOmpany
the right to build a canal in Pennsylvaxaa -in
stead of a slackwater ruivigatiott as provided by
Act of the 18th March, 1828. . ' -
The sth of April; 1826,.a further euPplement
to the Act of 12thhiarch, 1828, was passcuL L by
which it was enacted "That it shall be lawful
for the Preeklent indMinagers of theDelitivare
and Hudson canal company to- construct and
maintain such railways or other devices as may
be foind necessary to provide for and• facilitate
the transportation of coal to the canal by them
to be constructed."
These, Mr. Speaker, are the Acts of Assembly ,
of Pennsylvania and of New York, wider
.au
thority of which the Delivvaie and iindsia ca
lla company exists.
The Senator says that theyhave used and en
joyed these rights and privileges and violated
the condition upon which they were granted to
them; thet they have• defrauded the Stets of
every right and 'benefit stipulated to result to
her, under theCcondition- upon which she grant
ed them their existenee.. they have fraud
ulently prevented the State from assuming the
workeb imordint :to the condition of the Act
of MIS, and thereby. deprived her of a property,
worth more than & million of dollarr. This
is-owe of the regions assigned for opposing this
bill. It is proposed to defeat this bill as a
retribution to theeompany for oldidelinquencies.
Let is see *hat they aro Oa the 8d of April,
1851, the Legislature of this State appointed
Mearn3.Penniman,MorrisandWallmr at:omitted
toinvestigate the affairs of this company with re,
formes to the-reanmptical of the viorks as per
condition of the dot of 18211, and td r e port tothe'
.iii".Legiistontft . 41 the peqonn . ance of ..the.
:• -
" ) •o• .
BEM
duties assigned them they made a thorough ex
amination of the affairs of the company, and in
their report to the Legislature made January
8, 1852, they ascertained that up to and includ
ing 1860, the entire cost of the works of the
company (i. e. the canal) in Pennsylvania was
. $1,954,306 31
That the receipts up to and in
cluding 185 Q, were
$1,246,437 64
leaving the sum of $1,246,437 64 as the amount
which the State would have to pay for the
works should she resume them under , the Act of
1623.
But the Senator says this balance is not an ,
honest exhibit. That though it may Wily ex
hibit the actual - cost and receipts, yeti it is a
result fraudulently produced by the comptuiy to
deter or prevent the State from a resumption
of the works.
From 1829, the year when the canal was put
into operation, up to 1844, both inclusive, the
rate per ton per mile was one and a half cents
per ton on the whole line of canal from Hones
dale to the Hudson,,loB miles, and this is the
maximum rate established by law in this State.
Froin 1845 to 1850, both inclusive, the rates
were different. On the Pennsylvania portion of
the canal extending about twenty-five miles
from Honesdale to the line of the State of New
York, it was half per cent. per ton per mile,
and on the New Yorksportion remained the old
rate, one and. a half cents per mile.
Here, says the Senator, is the villainy of the
matter. Here is the incontrovertible and con
clusive proof of the wholesale swindle. Ho can
discover no reason for this reduction and differ
ence of - tolls, save to defraud the State. Ho
cannot conceive of any possible motive but dis
honesty to show their works so. badly in debt
that . the State would be deterred from the pay
ment of the deficiency necessary to resume
them.
If the Senator had been as familiar with the
history of that part of the State, and with the
operations of the company, as some others; he
would have seen from day to day and from ,
year to year the reason why that reduction was
made.
In the first place, up to about 1844, no coal
over passed,over this canal but the coal of the
company. So it was no matter what the aural
nal rates of their toll sheet were. They might
as well have been one rate as another. They
might have been one dollar or one mill, for they
operatednpon nobody and affected nobody so
far as the coal trade was concerned. One and
a half cents was the maximum fixed by the
Pennsylvania Legislature, and as there had not
been any business for this toll to operate upon,
and no call for alteration or modification, the
legislative rate as originally adopted, was re
tained. As to a charge upon the company's
own coal, that never was thought of nor con
templated until first mooted by. the committee
of investigation. The idea of the company
charging themalvas with toll on their ow-n
freights, on their own canal, very naturally
never occurred to them. •If that had been con
templated; they might; if disposed, have fixed
&glutei* on opal at any:point below the Le,
gislative maximum they obese, 'and. cOnla'
`Without sacrifice have kept - them so low that at
the end of 80 years the State, if she became the
owner of the works, would have been forced -to
pay'theirlull 'value. As their own business up
to 1850 was the only coal business of much
moment on the canal, they could have done
it without sacrifice.
That they kept their tolls up to the max
imum until 1845, and from that time on, at a
higher rate than the State on her own canals,
shows most conclusively that their tolls
were regulated withoit reference to any
account with the State. It is suffi
eient c" itself to preclude the idea of
fraud on the Commonwealth. The reason of
the reduction was a compliance with the legiti
mate demands of business. Up to 1844 scarcely
a boat load of coal other than that belonging to
the company had ever passed over this canal.
About this time the New York and Erie Railroad
hadprogressed as far as Elmira, and this facil
ity, for reaching the new market of western New
York awakened into life a trade in coal by in
dividuals—some purchasing of this company;
and others mining their own coal in small ope
rations by this time connected with the compa
ny's railroad , and canal by lateral roads. In
compliance with the demand of these small
dealers,' and to encourage this diversion of anal
from competition with their own in the Hud
son river and New York markets, they put the
tolls ..doWn on the Pennsylvania ixortion of the
canal; running from Honesdale to the New
Yorkline, near which they formed a connec
tion - with the New York and Erie Railroad;
they, reduced the tolls to five mills. If you will
look over the State toll sheets for that period,
and for yaws before and after, youvrill find that
rate still higher than the State tolls, which
averaged only about four mills on coal. It is
well known that the business will not afford
much higher rates. The ,tolls on the New York
section were not reduced, because there was no
inditidual coal trade in that direction to demand
it. And, again, the principal reason that in
duced the company to reduce the tolls 'on the
Pennsylvania division prevented their reduction
on the New York division; that was the desire
to encourage' an individual coal business in the
west and to disooutage it eastward. Ido not
pretend to say to -what extent this policy suo
oeeded. Slave not had time to examine the
'statistic:lL' But' to: end all question as to the
motives of the -company in ,reducing their-toll
on the Pennsylvania 'division, let actual facts
speak. In , 1850 the Pennsylvania coal company
began to ship coal to New York from Hawley,
to Rondout , over the' Delaware and Hudson
esnal. They shipped that year one hundred
and. eleyen thousand tons. What rates did they
pay? -Did they,pay one half cent on the Pennsyl- ,
vanis division and a cent and a half, on the New.
York division? No, sir ; they paid fifty-two and
a haltoents for the wholOistance--one hundred
and eight miles,less than a half cent per ton.
'Was this reduction on the New York division
to - cheat' Pennsylvania.? Again, ever since the
surrender by the State of its tight to" resume the
work, and they have • become absolutely the
company's own property, the rates have steadily
been reduced. Since 1860, the coal Of other
parties sent over this canal has amounted, to
from a half to three fourths of a million tons a
year; and, as I am informed, the toils do not
exceed three mills per mile on the whole canal.
Is this to cheat Pennsylvania? How? Where
is the motive? ,
Here is the explanation of the motives that
'lndueeil the reduction of tolls on the Pennsylva
nia Division that should be satisfactory and
conclusive to every candid mind.. Here are rea
sons that account for itunon the legitimate prin
ciples of trade, natural, fair and honest, all
summed up in this : a ,compliimee with the
pciPidar demand, an increase of biLsiness andan
encouragement of, individual .enterprise calcu
lated to. leasen nailer than increase competition
owninarket.- What morb - nataral, fair
Qr Pcatic motivie.4ouldliaie 'induced it: In
=
Heaven's name is not this enough ? Is not the
Senator satisfied ? But pray what would the
State have gained if she had got this canal for
nothing ? If the rate had been kept, up to one
and a half cents per ton and no reduction of
toll, still there would havis been a deficiency of
about six hundred thousand dollars. Will the
Senator at this day advocate the peaky of !pur
chasing a fraction of twenty-Ave _miles of canal,
' even at $600,000.
But he has still another fraud. He says,: "By
deducting the amount fixed as a basis, of taxa
tion in 1848, to wit, 81,437,290 20 from the
amount sworn to in 1851 it will appear that in
three years from 'lB4B to 1851, inclusive, they
had increased their capital stothin Pennsylvania,
exclusive of all other items, the sum of $B3B,
406 37: It is possible, aye, and highly proba
ble, sir, that this great increase of capital stock
from 1848 to 1861 was made designedly, for it
was then the interest of this company to swell
up its stook in Pennsylvania to the highest pos
sible figure, for the reason, mark you Sitiators,
(and then judge,of its equity) that tlkistdapital
stock represented the cost of the improvernents,
and with this cost our State was to be charged
on the great day of settlement so fast approach
ing ! But that day with all its terrors is passed,
and now when it was thought that all these
things were forgotten, now, when the State has
no longer a right to purchase or take these
works, it is the interest of this company, which
ever does equity, to reduce the value of these
works ; that is to come here and deny that they
represent the amount of stock, which their own
treasurer, under his solemn oath, in 1861)3wore
they did. And what is their object in making
this attempt ? Nothing more and nothing less,
than to defraud this State of the taxes due her,
and thus deprive her of the last and only rem
nant she still retains of all that vast store of
wealth which once was hers I In this equitable
and just attempt this company, is here to-day
asking the votes of the sworn guardians of the
rights and interests of Pennsylvania I i"
Here he charges another fraud, asserting as
probable that the statement of investments
in 1851 was falsely magnified for the purpose
of detnrring the State from resuming the work.
It seems to have been difficult for the company
to have done any business at all without be
coming obnoxious to the charge of fraud. I
suppose if they had abandoned their business,
let their works rot down and millions upon mil
liens go to decay, and desolation spread over
alllthat -country, they might have escaped the
charge. Certainly the Senator seems to think
that the only tiling they could hariestly do. At
the time of their report in 1848, they had just
cleverly commenced enlarging their land; be
tween 1847 and 1854 that enlargement was
simply accomplished, and they expended
something over half a million of. dollars;
and along with that enlargement of the canal
there , became necessary, also, a corres
ponding enlargement of other machinery
—enlargement of coal breakers and lateral
roads became necessary and between 1848 and
the time at which the 6ommittee of investiga
tion appointed to inquire into the standing of
the company, made their report here, this work
had been gone through With. The Senator from
• kir took neither time nor Pains to- explain
that between the time of the report made in
1848, when the company stated that they had
invested $l, 487;000 and the date of the report
of investment by,. a Committee of this Legisla
ture—he did not.expliin to the Senate that this
canal had been enlarged and its capacity nearly
doubled—that the coal breakers, etc., of the
company had been renewed and that about
$700,000 had been expended, Here Is where
the discrepancy between the two reports is ex
plained.
Let us hear what the Legislative Coraraitte of
investigation say of this canal as far back as
1862, when we all yet had the canal fever, and
then we will know liow much sympathy we
shall have for the Senator's wailing over this
lost ditch in 1861, when all Pennsylvania is
rejoicing that we have got clear of every mile
of our canal, and it is agreed by all men that
we would have done well to have given them
away, and, if need be, paid somebody for taking
them. •
7k,868 67
The Committee ' say (House Journal, 1852,
vol. 2, page 26): "The policy of resuming the
canal must be determined by the Legislature.
It should be remarked, hhowever, that the im
provement would be much less profitable in the
hands of the State then it has been in the
hands of the company. The two sections now
form one canal, governed and directed by one
set of men, which imparts - energy and effi
ciency -to the management of it. In case of
resumption, the Stati.would have to appoint
a set of officers for its section, which could not
fail to be expensive and troublesome. The
company would still own eighty-three and a
half miles of canal, and the railroad, running
from Honesdale to the coal fields at Carbondale
and Archbald. Broken up under different man
agement, this important outlet for the min
eral resources of the State could not be so
economically, and prosperously conducted as it
now is.under ono. These views are based upon
the supposition that the company would con
tinue to use the New York section of the canal,
and the railroad in connection with the Penn
sylvimia section in the ownership of the State.
No certainty, howeyar, exists that .he company
would continue to use the Pennsylvania section,
but, on the contrary, there is every reason to
conclude that the company would seek:a new
connecting link between its railroad and.,,the
New York section of the canal, and thereby
render the Pennsylvania section entirely use
leaf." And after going on and showing the differ
ent railroads already completed and in contem
plation, they conclude, by saying : "It is thus
demonstrated that if the State shall resume the
canal, it will be useless and of no value: The
tables in the report speak for themselves. The
large profits which the company has made have
been realized from the sale of coal", and not
from any business in which the State could
embark." • -
So much for thiS canal in the hands of the
State. If the State could have resumed it
without the cost de dollar, it would hive been,
as 831 her own canals haVe been a curse to her,
and long before this day have been given away.
A wonderful misfortune this State suffered in not
buying this fragment of a canal: fin half a
million to 'give it away in six years. Aitorribld
fraud surely upon the State to deprive her of Such
a luxury. - • •
So much for the fraud of a million. - •
Again, the Senator arraigns this' company
under the charge of unfairly- withholding from
the State the corporation tax attempted 'to be
levied upon it, and r the - Act Of - 1840, from
1841 to 1648, 1 b0th indnsive, and ainomiting to
$84,148.70. Ms is, indeed: - a large sum of
money, and at that "daf of the State's embar
rassment would, - no 'doubt, have been -.a very
important item of relief. He says the. company
was rich and abundantly able to pay, and it
it was thought in equity she should pap some
thing into pe,..exleiusted_ treasury o!,,thc 'State,
andint fixes this . runount'ai the amount' he
thinks the company. should leave .:
Cam tinting pm
Haying prcoared Steam Power Pressee. we are
prepared to execute JOB and BOOK PRINTING er every
description, cheaper that It can be done at any other s
t tblishment in the country.
one year..... ............ •• • • b&
One Bquare one day
one week ........ ...... . ........ 2 05
one month . 3 00
three months.— ......... . 5 00
al six months ......... ........ 8 00
one year 10 00
—Badness notices inserted In the Local column,
before Martinson and Deaths, FIVE OEM PER Llt•
Or each insertion.--
ad7terthiementa.
-/SirMarriages
and Deaths to be charged as regular
NO. H. ,
it is very easy to say that someb . ody is rich,
and they should do this and they should do
that, and to fix upon the amount they Bhould
do. But, the question is, how much did this
company owe the State, and what did they nut
pay that was due from them to the State ?
By the Act of 1840 the Legislature of Penn
sylvania laid a tax on the capital stock paid in
of all banks, companies mid institutions incor
porated by or in pursuance of any law of this
Commonwealth. Under this law the Auditor
General settled an account against this com
pany for taxes for the years 1841 to 1847 inclu
sive, and fixed the balance due the. State at
$67,691,32, and intereit on same $16,667,38,
altogether $81,148,70, the amount above men
tioned. The company appealed from the decis
ion of the accounting officers of the State
to the Supreme Court. Under the decision
of Cheap Justice Gibson, who delivered the
opinion of the court, it was held that although
this company had costly improvements in this
State erected under the license granted to
Maurice Wertz in 1823, and by the sth section
of the supplementary Act of April 1,1825, "their
property real and personal within this State,
shall at all times be liable for their debts and
subject to taxation in like manner as like proper
ty held by an individual or corporation now is or
may be." Yet, that the transfer of this license to
them did notmake them a corporation under our
law, andlherefore they were not liable to taxa
tion under the Act of 1840. This was the
solemn adjudication of the highest judicial au
thority in the State—the decision of the Su
preme Court that the company did not owe a
dollar of this enormous amount to the State—
so much for withholding her dues from the
State. It is enough for a company to pay
promptly what it owes; when this is done nuns
have a right to complain.
In looking over the speech of the Senator, it
would seem that he had taken it for granted
that the chief object and the paramount ambi
Lion of this company was to evade the payment
of their debts, and to defraud the public Trea
sury, and that we were doing the State service
and only justice by treating them as outlaws
and visiting the vengeance of the Legislature
upon them whenever opportunity may offer.
There is nothing on their part to warrant any
such assumption.
There has been no case in which they have
refused to pay their legal dues to the Common.
wealth. lie says the company. are unwilling to
deal equitably with the State and' should ex
pect no equity from her. What is the ground
of this complaint? They refused to pay the
taxes from 1841 to 1848, which the Supreme
Court declared they were not liable to pay.—
While other companies paid taxes for which
they may have been liable, this company did
the same thing, and only refused to pay what
they were not liable to pay. I do not know
that there is anything so equitable in the pay
ment of what is neither legally nor equitably
due. Ido not know that the honest farmers
down in Berks county ever volunteered to pay
'taxes which they were not bound to pay. Taxes
have always been regarded as odious and op
pressive. There is no people on earth who
have not, so far as they could do honestly,
avoided their payment. But, whether they are
liable or not, the idea seems to be that they
ought to have been liable, and that now is the
time to punish them for escaping so long.—
Hence the bitter opposition to this bill. Hence
the proviso that the Senator says he desires
adopted 'as preliminary to voting down the
bill.
Of course if this proviso is adopted the friends
of the bill must vote it down. For with the
proviso, instead of securing justice for the
company, it must oppress them with such bur
dens as no company in the Commonwealth
have ever borne. Let us examine this proviso:
"Provided,rth at the President and Treasurer of
the Delaware and Hudson Canal company shall,
within thirty days from the passage of this Aet
and annually hereafter, on or before the first
' Monday of November in each and every year,
report to the Auditor General of this Common
wealth, under oath or affirmation of said Presi
dent and Treasurer, the cost of all the works
of said company within this State and the amount
of capital therein invested ; which amount so
reported shall be subject to taxation as capital
stock, in the same manner and at the same rate,
as the stock of companies incorporated by the
laws of this State is subject. And it shall be
the duty of said company upon the declaration
of any dividend hereafter, to cause their Treas
urer to retain out of such dividend and pay into
the Treasury of this Commonwealth the amount
of State tax to which such portion of their cap
ital stock may be liable."
The proposition contained in this proviso is
to convert every dollar of investment which the
company have made in this State in their
works into capital stock. It is to convert all
they money they have invested in the original
construction, repairs, alterations and renewals
of their works from a section of canal down to
an Irishman's pick or shovel ; it is to convert
the account current of the company from the
beginning to this day into capital stock and tax
it as such.
It is unfair, unjust and unequal. It is taxing
this company upon different principles and
by a different rule from that by which any
other corporation in the State is taxed. There
is not another company of all their multitude
end variety in this State that is taxed by this
rule. Is the Pennsylvania Central Railroad
company taxed on its investment ? What is ita
investment? It is its stocks, (paid in) and
funded and unfunded debt. What is its invest
ment, that which has gone to construct and
equip and work the road. Woman will pretend
that this company is taxed upon. the debts it
owes, upon the bonds it issues, or upon its
floating debt.
In the exub..rance of taxes in this State, bur
dened as it is with a greater amount and variety
than any State we know, the ingenuity and fer
tility of the taxing brain of the State has not
yet ventured beyond taxing the stock of this
company. They are paying now a corporation
tax on about $13,000;000, and they have about
three times this amount invested in the road.
Again, there is the Reading:Railroad company.
They have in their road aninvestment of about
$25, - 000,000, twelve millions .in stock, and the
:balance in bonds and floating debt. And yet
with all this investment of - $25,000,000, they
are taxed with -a corporation tax only on the
stock, equal to hardly half the:investment.—
And we inay go on to the end of the chapter
and we will find that on an average the corpo
rations of the State :do not pay a•corporatioU
tax on over fifty per cent. of their investments.
And' this is enough—thisis their full share of
the burdens of the State—for besides all the lo
cal taxes they pay on their real .and personal
property at the same rates as individual proper
ty-holders. They are .paying a corporation tax
to the State on their privileges and franchises
in a higher proportionate valuation than the
real and personal property of the Common-
MEE
RATES vii' avVisatlßMl
agy-Four lines or less constitute one-halt square Elf
Bass or more than lour constitute a square.
Half square. one day
24 SO 4
oho Week •l of
one month
three months ± (MP
six months . 4
Camtinii4 . l on Pm•Ot; Pqe.l