r
THE NORTH'
j
W. U. J&COBY, Proprietor.
Truth and Kight God and onr Country.
Two Dollars per Annuo.
VOLUME 13.
BLOOMS BURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1G, 1861.
ATTTAini?T? 9
XI U 111 JJ JJ -LV,
i
1
p
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i
STAR. OF THE NORTH
PUBLISHED ITIRT WCDSIIP1T BT
W3I. fl. J1C0BY,
Ofntc cn Main St., Ird Square klow Market,
TERMS: Two Dollars per annum if paid"
within six months from the time of subscri
bing : two dollars nJ fitly cents il not paid
witbit. the year. No subscription taken for
1 less period than fix months; no discon
tinuance permitted until all arrearages are
f aid, unless at the option of the editor.
The ttims of advertising trill be as fullovcs ."
One square, twelve lines, three limes, $ I 00
Every subsequent insertion, 25
One square, three months, 3 00
One year, . .' 8 uQ
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
To the Honorable the Senator and Members of
tie lioue of tiipieentuttvti J the Common'
weclih ij feunfilounii :
Gcntlcmcm In submitting to the Gen
ral Assembly my lad annual communica
tion; it is the source of unfeigned gratifica
tion to be able to announce to the i eople,
nl to their Representatives, thai notith
landing the present unfavorable crisis n
ihe monetary affairs of ihis country, and
the general prostration of business and
credit, the financial condition ot Pennsyl
Tania is highly satisfactory.
The receip'sat the Slate Treasury, from
all sources, tor the fiscal year ending on the
30th of November, I860, were $3 479,257 31,
to which add the available balance in the
Treasury on the 1st day of December. 189
$39,323 09 ard the whole sum available
tot the year will be found to be 34,318.580
40. The expenditure?, for all purposes,
for the same period, were 83,637,147 32
Leaving an available ha'ance in I tie Treas
ury, on the 1st day ot December, 1860, of
2681,33 08. The following items are em -traced
in the expenditures for the fiscal
year, viz :
Loans redeemed. . . ... $664,857 fi5
Relief no e cancelled.
1.6 1 1 Oo
Interest certificates. . . . .
Domestic creditors'.rer.ificate9
Damage on the public works,
anJ old claims
Making of thepnblicdebtactu
ally paid during the year,
the sum ol ..... .
2,439 52
5 40
22 644 32
691,757 89
The funded and unfunded debt of the
Commonwealth on the first day of Decem
ber, 1859, was as follows :
FtNDkD DEBT
6 per cent
5 .
41 . .
4 . .
loans . .
do ...
do .
do . .
. 8400,630 00
37.625,153 37
. KK,200 00
IbO.OoO 00
Toutl funded debt. . ..3,5 13,983 37
INfCXDKD CSBT.
Relief note in circulation. . . $101,213 00
luteretl ceriificatei'mtstanding If 5 1 3 82
Do . . unclaimed . . 4.448 38
Domestic creditor. . . . 802 5)
Total. . . - . 124 977 70
Hating the entire debt of the Common
wealth, at the period named, 838 638,961
07. ,
The funded and unfunded debt of the
Sia'e. at the clo.-e of lite last fiscal year,
Lecember I, i860, stood as follows :
re mi ed Dter.
0 per cent, loans.
. . do . .
a . . do . .
4 . . do . .
$400,630 00
36 967.295 72
341,200 00
10'!. 000 CO
Total funded debt. . . 37,849,125 7Z
UNFUNDED DEKT.
Relief notes in circulation. . $99,402 00
lu t certificates outstanding. 16.074 30
Do . unclaimed. . 4.448 38
Domestic credits' certificates 797 10
Total unfunded debt. . 120 721 78
Waking the entire public debt of Penn
sylvania, on ihe first day of December, last,
837,969,847 50.
To pay ihe principakand interest of ihis
debt, besides ihe ordinary sources ot reve
nue, ihe Commonwealth holds the follow
ing mortgage bonds, derived from ihe sale
of her public improvements, viz :
Bonds of Pennsylvania railroad
Company. . . . 57,200,000 00
Bonds ol Suubury and Erie
railroad company. . 3 500,000 00
Bonds of Wyoming canal
company. .
281.000 00
Total. ... 10,981,000 00
A: the close of the fiscal year,
oe the first day of Decern-
ber, 1857, the public debt
of thi Commonwealth,
funded and unfunded was $39,88 1,738 22
It is now, at ihe cloe of the
fiscal year 1860 . . 37 969,847 50
Having been reduced, dur -
ing the last three years. . 1,911,890 72
The available balance in :he
Treasury on ihe first day of.
December, 1857, was . . 8528,106 47
On the first day ol December,
1860, it was 681,433 03
Exceeding the former balance
in ihe iois of. ....
Add to this sum paid at tha
Treasury during the past
three years, for debts and
claims a-.'ainst the Common
wealth arising out of the con
traction, and maintenance
of the public improvements,
and which was substantially
a part of the unfunded debt
of the Commonwealth,
amounting to. . ... .
153,326 61
171,664 82
And vre have the snm of . . 324,991 42
By adding this sum to the amount paid
ca the public debt from December I, 1857,
to December I, I860, to wit : $1,911 890 72
it will be found that during ihe past three
years the Siata has cot only met all her
'ordinary liabilities, including the expenses
cf government,. and the interest on her pub
lic debt, but has diminished her actual in
dab'.edness the sura of $2,2556.882 15.
Whon it is remembered ht for the last
estate has been but two and a half mills on
the dollar, while from 1844 to 1857 il was
three mills that for the past two years and
six mouths the Slate has received no part
of the tax on tonnage due from the Penn
sylvania railroad company and that since
July 1859, the interest on the bonds held
by the Slate against the Sunbury and Erie
railroad company has remained due and
unpaid, il is certainly cause for hearty con
gratulation, that, without aid from these
important sources of revenue, so great a
reduction of the public debt has been ac
complished in comparatively so short a
period. The fuuded and floating debt,
which at that time amounted to upwards of
two millions of dollars, has been almost en
tirely redeemed. It is now reduced to
120 721 78 and of this sum over ninety
nine thousand dollars consists of relief notes
most ol which are undoubtedly either lost
or destroyed, and will, theiefore, never be
presented for payment. The claims against
the Slate, accruing from the construction
and maintenance of her canals and rail
roads, are now reduced to a mere nominal
sum; and, in ihe future, after providing for
the ordinary expenses of government, her
revenues and her energies may be exclu
sively applied lo the payment of the inisr
e6t, and the die-charge of the principal of
her public debt.
The people of this Commonwealh have
hitherto met, with promptness, the demands
made upon them, lrom 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 cer
tainly and rapidly disappearing that the
amount required to meet the interest is an
nually being diminished that consequeuily
a still greater sum can each year be devoted
to ihe reduction ot the principal of the debt
without resorting to additional sources ol
revenue and that, with a proper husband
ing of the resources of the State, the day i
not iar distant when direct taxation in
Pennsylvania will cease altogether the
payment of such taxes as may for the time
be required to meet the public necessities,
w ill continue to be met with cheerfulness
and alacrity. But they will unquestiona
bly hold those lo whose carethey have en
trusted the financial interests of the State
to a rigid accountability. That there should
at thii particular juncture, when the busi
ness and monetary affairs ol the country
are so greatly depressed, be the strictest
economy in public expenditures, is so man
ifest, that il can scarcely be necessary to
call attention to so ( Iain a duty. It is equ
ally clear that any legislation which would
lend greatly lo lessen the revenues of the
Commonwealth, wouid, at this time, be pe
culiarly unwue and inexpedient The ex i
geucies of ihe future no man can foretell
the prospect before us is beclouded with
doubt and uncertainty it is therefore, no
more than the part of wisdom to guard,
with unceasing vigilance, all our present
sources of revenue, and to thus be prepared
for every possible contingency.
Since Jily, 1858, the Pennsylvania rail
road company has refused to pay the tax on
tonnage required to be paid by lite act in
corporating the company, and its various
supplements ; and there is now due lo the
Stale, on thai account, exclusive of interest,
the sum of $674,296 22. Including the in
terest, the sum now due is about $700 0U0.
Before my last annual message was com
municated to the Legislature, a case had
been tried in the court of common pleas of
Danphin county, between ihe Common
wealth and the railroad company, involv
ing the question of the constitutionality of
ihis tax, which was decided in favor of ihe
State, and ihe imposition of the tax pro
nounced constitutional. In January last,
another suit was tried between .the same
parties, in the same court, involving the
same question, with a like result. In De
cember las', a judgment was obtained in
ihe district court of Philadelphia, upon one
of the semi annual settlements, ferSll0,000.
So that judgment has been obtained for J
?365,00o of ihe debt, being the whole i
amount which became due prior to 1860
The tax which accrued during ihe past
year, amounts to $308,829 03. The first
settlement for the year is before" the Dau
phin county court, on an appeal taken by
the company; and the second, or last, set
tlement w-.s made bet a few days since, by
the accountant department of the Common
wealth.
After the recovery, in the common pleas
ol Dauphin county, the cases were removed
by writs of error, taken on behalf of the de
fendants, to the Supreme Court of this Stale
where they were argued in June last, and
in October that tribunal sustained the decis
ion of the court of common pleas, and
held the lax to be clearly constitutional;
thus uniting with the law making power in
affirming the right of the State to tax a cor
poration 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 litigation is not yet at an end ; for the
railroad company has recently remove J the
cases, by writs of error, to the Supreme
Coart of the United States, where they are
now pending. . That the decision of that
court will, when made, 'fully sustain the
right of sovereign State to enforce a con
tract 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 for a moment doubt
To complete the hitnry of ti. 5r-r
has been thus far, made to compel the pay
ment of ihis large sum of money into the
Treasury of the State, it is proper to add
that the law officer of the Commonwealth,
being of opinion that the writs of error were
not issued from the Supreme court of the
United S ales in time to prevent the collec
tion of the judgments rendered in the Sta'e
courts, executions were issued to the 5heriff
of the County of Dauphin, and proceedings
aw now pending in the Supreme Court of this
State, to determine whether the Common
wealth can compel the payment of the judg
ments already recovered, before the final
decision by the Supreme Court ot the Uni
ted Siates.
The Sunbury aud Erie railroad company
having failed to negotiate its mortgage
bonds in their present condition, the expec
tations confidently, entertained of an early
completion of that most important improve
menl, have not been realized. The work
during the past year, however, although
greatly retarded, has-been continually pro
gressing: upwards of one million of'dollars
having been expended on the line from
November, 1859, to November, I860. The
whole length of the road, from the borough
ot Sunbury to the harbor on the lake, at the
city of Erie, is 288 miles; of which 148
miles are now finished aud in operation,
and 1 15 miles of th remaining portion ot
the lme are graded; leaving but twenty
five miles yet to grade. Pennsylvania is
largely interested in the early completion
and success ol this great thoroughfare, not
only because she is the creditor of the com
pany to the amount of three and a hall
millions of dollars, but for ihe additional
and more cogent. reason, that the improve
ment, when completed, will open one ol
the most important channels of trade be
tween the city of Phi aJelptiia and the great
lakes of the west, at ihe best harbor on Lake
Krie, entirely within the limits ol our own
State, which has ever been contemplated.
It wi I, moreover, develop the resources of
a large ponion of Nort h-Vester:i Pennsyl
vania, abounding with the richest minerals,
and a lumber region of unsurpassed excel
lence, hich the munificent hand of the
State has hitherto totally neglected. By
disposing of her branch canals to that com
pany, 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 m order to
render the means of ihe company available.
It is evident that a liberal policy, on the part
of the government, will promote alike the
interests of the Commonwealth and ihe rril j
road company ; nevertheless, great care
should be taken to protect, as far as possi- ;
b!e, the debt now due from the company to !
the Stale. If all propositions which may be '
made for a change in the securities now!
held by the Commonwealth, be carefully I
considered by the Legislature, and no more ;
yielded than sound econemy demands, with ;
proper provision for the due application of
whatever means may be realized, it is be
lieved, that sufficient relief can be granted
to the company, to enable it promptly to
finish the road, while the security remain
ing will be ful'y adequate to ensure the
ultimate pay ment of the principal and inter
est of the bonds of the railroad company;
now held by the Commonwealth. j
1 commend this subject to the Legislature, j
as one entitled to its most careful considera- !
lion, as well on account of its vast impor-
tance lo that portion of the State through
which the railroad passes to the cilie- of,
Philadelphia and Erie -and to the railroad
company as to the Commonwealth herself.
Premising that wha'ever policy it may be
thought expedient to pursue, should be ;
adopted solely wi h reference to the pro
tection and furtherance of the public inter
ests. '
The attention of the Legislature is again j
invited to the subject of general education. '
At ihe present juncture it presents peculiar j
claims. The experience of a quarter of a ;
century has satisfied the proverbially can- i
lions people of Pennsylvania, of the adapt- j
'edness of the common school system to
their wants and condition. No less has the
severe ordeal of the past three years vhown
its capability to endure those sudden re- J
verses which occasionally prosta'rte the j
other Interests of the community. Involv
ing 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 enterpri
ses of society have been seriously embar
rassed, and some of them suspended, by
the pecuniary cri-i of 1857, our education
al system has not been retarded in any ap
preciable degree. On the contrary, its op
erations have 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 num
ber of pupils now in the schools, is 647,
414, being an increase of 44,422; these
were taught in 1 1 577 schools, 621 more
than in 1857, during an average term of
five months and five one-half days, at a
cost of fifty six cents per pupil, per month,
by 14,065 teachers, being 529 more than in
1857. The entire expenditure of the sys
tem, for ihe past year, including that o! the
School Department, is $2,633,550 80
These fvjure afford some idea of ihe mag
nttude of the operations of the system; but
neither words nor figures can adequately
express the importance of its influence
upon the present, or its relations to the
future. '
nity, its lare proportions and imposing
array of statistics do not display the points
of its greatest importance. Pupils may be
enrolled by hundreds of thousands; school
houses of the best structure and "most com
plete arrangement may be dotted at conve
nient distance over -the whole face of the
land; the most perfect order of studies may
be adopted, and the best possible selection
of books made; but what are all these,
without the learned and skilful, the faithful,
moral, and devovted teacher 1 Without
this animating spirit, all is barren and un
fruitful. In this vital department, I am
happy to announce that ihe improvement
of the common school teachers of the Sta'e
shows more solid advancement, within the
the past three years, than any other branch
of the system. This, therefore, 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 main'y
directed.
Oui peculiar mode of training teachers
under the normal act of 1857, has now stood
the test oL practical experience ; and again;
the most adverse circumstances, has pro
duced results decisive of its success. Al
ready it has placed one institution in full
operation in the southeastern part of ihe
Slate, 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 northwest.
I commend these noble, and peculiarly
Pennsylvania schools, to your favor. Aid
o them will be the best investment that can
be made lor the rising generation. Good
instruction for our children is the strongest
earthly guaranty, that whatever else we be
queath them, their inheritance will be a
blessing and not a curse ; and, if nothing
more is left, in the well cultured minds the
willing hands, and the trust in God, of free
men, they will have all that is essential.
Nearly eleven thousand of our fellow-cit
ize.is are now devot ing their efforts to the
3 j
improvement of the common school, as
directors. Thau this there is no more mer
ilonous body of men. An increase ot the
annual state appropriation would not only te
a material relief to the districts, at this time,
but would, to some extent, disembarrass
directors in their local operations.
ll is not, however, the common-school
system, vast and honorable to the State as
it is, that claims your entire attention, in
reference to education Pennsylvania also
boasts of her collegiate, academial.scientific. j
p ofessional, and philanthropic institutions,
aud numerous private schools ot every
grado. In this respect, she is second to no
member of the Confederacy; but, from
mean want of attention to ihe proper statis
tislics, she has thus far been ranked far
below her just standard. The present is
not the proper time to renew grants to in
stitutions of these classes which heretofore
receireu Stale aid. If it were, ihe public
authority do not posess the reqmsi e data
for a sale and just extension ot liberality.
The period will arrive when all public ed
ucational agencies must be included in one
great system lor the eievation of mind aud
morals; and uhen the State will no doubt,
patronize every proper effort in the good
work.
For the details of the system, during the
last school year, ihw attention of the Legis
lature is respectively referred to the annual
report of the Commou School Department,
herewith submitted.
1 desire, again, especially to call the at
tention of the General Assembly to the
Farmer's High School to accomplish an ob
ject which had never been attained in this
country the supply of a want which lias
ever been (elt by the agricultural commu
nity: the education of iheir sons, at once,
to scientific knowledge, habitual industry,
and practical skill, to fit ihem for the asso
ciations 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 measured,by the nature of hi
business. There seems to be no praciical
mode of cheapening education, but by com.
bining an amount of expenditure, within
lh ability of a farmer, with the daily labor
of the student, so as to make the ius'itution
so nearly self-sustaining as to bring it with
in the reach of thai class who constitute so
important a branch of the industry of our
people. The original design of this school
embraced the accommodation of four hun
dred students, a number essential to the
economical working of the system ; aud
although the applications for admis-ion are
numberless, the ulmo-t efforts of the trus
tees have not enabled them to complete
more than one third of the building, or to
accommodate more than a corresponding
number of students. .Many individuals
throughout ihe State, convinced of the merit
of an institution which promises so much
good, have contributed libera:Iy to what has
already been done ; and the board of trus
tees have labored with a zeal which cannot
fail lo commend itself to the kind feelings
of all our citizens. Scientific education has
advanced the interests ot every avocation
of life agriculture far less than any other
and for the manifest reason that it has
not reached it to the same extent, and never
will reach it, unless the body be educated
to ihe plough, as well as the mind to the
philosophical principles which the plough
developed.
I have always looked upon the Farmer's
Hih School with peculiar favor, as welt as
because of roy own convictions of its prom-
of the people. Its charter requires an an
nual exhibition of its receipts, expenditures,
and operations generally, aud these will
doubtless be laid before you.
By the act pai-ed by the last Legislature,
establishing a system of free banking in
Pennsylvania, and securing the public
again. loss from insolvent banks, radical
changes were made in the banking laws of
this State Instead of corporations created
by special laws, voluntary associations are
authorized lo transact the business of bank
ing, without further legislation, and. as an
indispensably prerequisite to the issuing of
bank notes lor circulation as money, ample
security must tie deposited with the Audi
tor General for their prompt redemption.
The law makes provision, not only for the
incorporation of new banking associations,
but enables banking institutions already in
existence to continue their business for
20 years after the expiration of their present
chariers,upon comply ing with its provisions
by withdrawing their old circulation,
aud giving the securities out required
for the redemption of their new is
sues. The public, I am sure, will rejoice
tha. no funher necessity exi-ts for legisla
tive action, either o-i ihe subject of creating
new or rechartering old banks, and that the
lime and attemion of their representatives
will now, happily.be no longer monopolized
in the consideration of a subject hiiherte
productive of so much strife and contention,
if not of positive evil.
The rapid increase of private banks,
throughout the State, make it eminently
rijht that they should be placed under prop
er legislative restrictions, and that the large
amount of capital thn employ ed should be
ma le to contribute its fair proportion to the
revenues of the Commonwealth. Their
business, in the aggregate, is now believed
lo amount to a sum almost if not quite
equal to the whole business of the regularly
chartered banks ; and yet it is entirely un
restricted, and, with the exception of a
merely nominal license tax, is free from
taxation. Ihis is unjust to every other class of
our taxpaying citizens, and especially so to
the banking institutions holding charters
from the Commonwealth, for which ihey
have each paid a liberal bonus, and ar, in
addition, subject to a very large tux on their
dividends. I respectfully commend this
subject to the attention of the Legislature.
A high sense of duty impels me aain
to call the attention of the Legislature to the
inadequacy of exi-ting laws regu'ating the
receiving, keeping, any disbursement of the
revenues of the State. 'Ihe public moneys
are now paid directly lo the Site Treasu
rer, who deposits them, at his own discre
tion, whenever and whereVer he chooses,
and pays them out in sums either small or
great, upon his own unattested check ex
clusively. The amount thus received kept,
and disbursed is annually between three dr
four millions of dollars, with balances on
hand at times exceeding one million of
dollars ; while the bond of the State Treas
urer is for only eighty thousand dollars.
His accouMs are settled monthly by ihe
Auditor General, by whom the receipts (or
money paid into the Treasury are counter
signed, and these are the only safe guards
provided by the law to prevent the illegal
atid inip'oper use of the money of the Slate
by the S'ate Treasurer.
Happily, the revenues of the Common,
wealth have hi'heno been safely kept,
propeily disbursed, and promptly account
ed tor. by those in charge of ihe ptibbc
treasury, but, in view of the serious defal
cations which have occurred elsewhere, and
in other States, this fact should furnish no
reason why we ought not to guard against
loss in the future. Kelerring lo my lormer
annual inesitaiies, I respectfully, but mo-t
earnestly, recommend that provision be
mad by law :
Fht That no money shall be deposited
by the Stale Treasurer in any tank, or
elsewhere, without first requiring ample
security to be given to ihe Commonwealth
for the prompt repayment, of such sum as
may te deposited ; aud that such securities
shall be deposited iu the office of the Audi
tor General
SeionA That all cheeks issued by the
State Treasurer, shall be countersigned by
the Auditor General, before they are used,
and that daily accounts shall be kept of the
moneys received, deposited and disbursed,
iu the Auditor General's office, as well as
in the Treasury Department.
Third That condensed monthly state
ments, verified by the signature of the
Auditor General and State Treasurer, shall
be published in one newspaper in Phdadei
phia and one in Harrisburg, showing the
balances in the Treasury, and where de
posited, with the particular amount of each
deposit; and
Fourth That the bond of the State Treas
urer be increased to the sum of two hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars.
Our various charitable aud reformatory in
stitutions the State Lunatic Hospital, at
Harrisburg the western Pennsylvania Ho
pilal for the insane, at Pitlsburg the asy
lum for the blind, aud deaf aud dumb, at
Philadelphia the Houses of Refuge at
Philadelphia and Pittsburg, stid the Penn
sylvania Training School for idiotic and
feeble minded children, at Media, will pre
sent iheir usual annual claims upon the
bouuty of the State. These excellent char
ities are continually dispensing benefits and
blessings upon suffering and erring human
ity, which can scarcely be o vera ted. They
are heartily commended to the discrimina
ting liberality of the Legislature. I refrain,
as I have heretofore done, from recommit.
and benevolent institutions, not because
they are unde serving the confidence and
patronage of the public, but because they :
are local in their character, and in my
judgement have no claims upon the com
mon fund which can be admitted, in jus
tice to the rights and interests of other por
tions of tne Commonwealth.
The inspectors of the State Penitentiary
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, iu
their annual reports for the years 1858 and
1859, called ihe attention of the Legislature
to the insecurity of such parts of the peni
tentiary building as were exposed to their
own firs and those of the neighborhood,
and recommended that roofs of such of the
corridors as were covered with shingles,
and needed renewal, should be replaced
with Blate or mental. On visiting the in
stitution, my attention was called lo the
subject by the inspectors The necessity
for the change was so apparent and urgent
that I advised them not to hesitate in hav
ing the old dilapidated and dangerous
wooden roots of such portions of the build
ing as required renewal, replaced with
some substantial fire pro d material. This
has accordingly been done, aud I respect
fully recommend that a small appropriation
be granted to delray the expense incurred.
I commend to your consideration the re
port of the Stale Librarian, whose attention
lo the interests of the Library under Li care
deserves ihe warmest commendation. The
system of exchanges, with the different
States of the Union, and with foreign gov
ernments, commenced an 1 prosecuted un
der his auspices, has resulted iu great ad
vantages to the Library, and deserves the
continued countenance of the Legislature.
The increase of the Library, at a compara
tively small expe nse lo the State, has been
bucIi, that it now needs enlarged accommo
dations for the safe-keeping of the volumes
and if the increase continues, will soon re
quire a separate building for its exclusive
use.
The reports of the Slate Treasurer, the
Auditor General, the Surveyor General, the
Adjutant General and the Attorney General
will inform you, in detail, of the operations
of ihe iiovernrnent, as presented by those
several departments for the la-i fi-cal year.
They are entitled to the attentive consider
ation of the Leyi-la'ure.
Soon after my inauguration, upor. the
recommendation of my predecessor in of
fice, a dwellinir hou-e was purchased in
this city for the re-idenre of the Governor ;
of the Commonwealth. The purchase in- I
eluded several articles of heavy turnhure, ;
then in the building, and a small appropri- j
ation would complete the necessary fur ',
ni-hing of the house, so as to make it a fit j
and convenieut residence for Ihe incom.ng i
Executive. I cheerfully recommend the I
immediate passage ol a Dill maKing a
suit-
able appropriation for this purpose.
The extraordinary and a'arming condi
tion of our national atfairs demands y our
immediate attention. On the twentieth ot
December last, the Convention of South
Carolina, organized under the authority ol
the Legislature ol that State, by a unani- j Pennsylvania is included in the list of
mous vote, declared "that the Union now ' States that are charged with having refused
subsisting between South Carolina and the ! compliance with that .mandate of the Con
other States, under the name of the United ! Mitution ol the United States, which de
States of America, is "hereby di-solved ;" ; dares, "that no person field to service or
ami the action already taken in several ' lhor in one State, under the laws thereof,
other Southern State indicates, rnot cleariy j escaping into another, shall, in consequence
their intention to follow this example. i of any law or regulation therein be dis-
On behalf of the advocates ot secession, ! charged from such service or labor, but
it is claimed lhat this Union is merely a j hall be delivered up on claim of the party
a compact between the several S ates com- j to horn such service or labor miy bedue."
posing tt, and thai any one of the States, j So far fmm admitting the truth of lhi charge
which may feel agrieved, may, at its p'ea ; 1 unhesitatingly aver, that, upon a careful
ure, declare lhat it will no longer be a partj j examination it will be found that the legit,
to the compact. This doctrine is clearly I ,ii,ive and j"J icia' "lion of Pennsylvania,
erroneous. The Constitution of the United j whether a a colony, as a member ot the
States is something more than a mere com-! oId confederation, or under the existing
pact, or agreement, between the several ! Constitution of the United Slates, has been
States. As applied to nation a compact ' a'most invariably influenced by a proper
is but a treaty, which may be abrogated at -appreciation of her own obligations, and
ihe will ot either party; re-ponsible to the j b' a "ich regard for the rights, the leelinjs
other I arty for its bad faith in refusing to j atl1' in-erests of her sister S ates.
keep i's engaeemenis, but entirely irre- 1 As early as 1705, the provincial authori
sponsible to any superior tribunal. A gov-! ties of Pa after reciting in the preamb'e, thai
ernment, on th other hand, whether ! "l,ie importation of Indian slaves from,
created by consent, or by conquest, when j Carolina, or other places, hath been observ
olothed with legislative, judicial and exec- j e'' to K'T the Indians of this province
utive powers, is necessarily in its nature i ome umbrae for suspicion and dissalis
sovereign ; and from ihis sovereignly flows J faction," pas.-ed s,n act against ihe impor
ts right to enforce its laws and decrees by i ttion of Iinlian s'aves from any other prov
civil process, and iu an emergency by its i "ce. or colony, iu America, but at the same
miiury and naval power. The govern
ment owes protection to the people, and
ihey in turn, owe it their allegiance. Its
laws cannot be violated by its citizens,
without accountability to the tribunals crea
ted to enforce its decrees aud to punish of
fenders. Organized resistance to it is rebel
lion. If successful, il may be purged of
crime by revolution. If unsuccessful, the
persons 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 government in the civilized world
The constitution, and laws made in pursu
ance thereof, are expressly declared to be
ibe supreme law of the land. Under the
Constitution, the general government ha
the power to raise and support armies, lo
create and maintain a navy, and to provide
for calling forth the militia to execute its
laws, suppress insurrection and repel in
vasion. Appropriate statutes have been
enacted by Congress, lo aid in the execu
tion of these important governmental pow
ers. The creation of the Federal Government,
with the powers enumerated in the Consti
tution rasjhjea cXijhSS2JLSLZ.
separately within ihe 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 powers,
thus surrendered, to 1 e supreme, without
reserving to the Snte, or to the people, thev
right of secession . nullification or other re
sistance. Ii is, therefore, clear that there
is no constitutional right ol secession. Se
cession 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 ihe Conslitu
lion and laws of the United Slates.
It is certainly true, that in cases of great
extremity, when the oppression of govern
ment has become so intolerable that civil
war is preferable to longer submission,
there remains the revolutionary right of re
sistance ; but where the authority of the
Government is limited by a written Con
stitution, aud each department is held iu
check by the other departments, it will
rirely, if ever, happen that the citizens
may not be adequately proiected, without
restoring to the sacred and inalienable right
to resist and destroy a government which
has been perverted to a tyranny.
Bui, while denying the right of a Sta'e to
absolve its citizens from the allegiance
which they owe to the Federal Government
it is nevertheless highly proper lhat we
should carefully and candidly examine the
reasons which are advanced by those who
have evinced a determination to destroy the
Union of these American States; and if is
shall appear that any ol the causes of com
plaint are well founded, they should be un
hesitatingly removed, and, as far as posi
ble. reparation made for the past, and se
curity given for the future ; for it is not to
be tolerated, that a government created by
the people, and maintained for their benefit
should do injus ice to any portion of its
citizens.
Afier asserting her right to withdraw from
the Union, South Carolina, through her
convention, among other reasons, declares
that she is justified, in exercising, at this
time, that right, because several of the
States have lor years noi only refused to
fulfill their constitutional obligations, but
have enacted laws either nullifying ihe
Constitution, or rendering useless the acts
y' relative to the surrender of
,u-'"ive aves -hat they have permiteJ
,!ie "'"WMimenl uf societies, to dis-
lur0 l!ie Peace of other Slates; that the
rP! of ,he ,10" beholding Slates have
a,Jei1 1:1 ,he eape of slaves from their
ma!e. a,d have incited to servile insur-
rccl," hoe ,hat remain and have an-
nouncej trieir determination to exclude the
outh from the common territory of the
Union A the Representatives of the peo
p'e of Pennsylvania, it becomes your
solemn duty to examine these serious char
ges, made by ihe authority of a sovereign
i State.
time declared, '"that no such Indian slave,
a deserting his master's service elsewhere,
shall fly into this provice, shall be under
stood or construed lo be comprehended
within this act." And when, in 1780, more
ian eight years belore the Constitution of
the United States went into operation,
Pennsylvania passed her law for the gradual
abolition of slavery, mindful of the rights of
her confederates, she declared lhat 'thi
act, or anything in it contained, shall not
give any reliet or shelter to any absconding
or runaway negro or mulatto stave, or
servant, who has absented himself, or shall
absent himsef, from his or her owner,
master or mistress, residing in any other
State or country, but such owner, master or
mi-tress, shall have like right aud aid to
demand, claim and take away his slave, or
servant, as he might have had in case this
act had not been made." A provision
much more unequivocal iu its phraseology,
and direct iu its commands, than those
fouud, on the same subject, in the Consti
tution of the Union. The act, by its terms,
was made inapplicable to domestic slaves
attending uon delegates in ' Congress from
the other American Slates, and those held
VYTTvn' ,whi, ni-dtitijixa". rlxjhSij ut.