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BY M'CLURE & STONER.
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
To Me Senate and House of .Representatives
of the Commonwealth of Pennvirania.
GRATZ:ER= : The past year has afforded
as new cause of thankfulness twthe Almighty
for the moral and • material blessings which
he has bestowed upon us.
The balance sin the Treasury Novem-•
bar 30. 1862. was i,2.172,844 16
Receipts during tenet year ending No
ember 3n,1863 4,299,451 65
TOtal la Treasury for-fiscal year end-
hue November 30,183-3 - 6,462, 29 5 75
- I rit,La payments for - the same period •
Mire been ' 4,314%964-05.
Wanes io Troxiury Nor. 30.1853 $2.147M1. 70
The operations of the sinking fund during
the last vest have been shown by my Proela
niation of the Bth day of Septentber last, as
fellows
0 4
A' l'Of debt Commonwealth reduced $954,720 40
fellows, visa.
loan lint May 4.'62 $lOO,OOO 00
per cent... .... ...... .... 790,716 GO
oar and one-half - cent: 63,000 00
Belief notes cancelled 963 00
Domestic creditors' certifi
cates%
Interest certificates paid..
Amount of public debt of Pon,,sylca. .
- ctia.as it et'ood en the Ist day of De
cember,lB6° 140,448,213 82
Deduct amount redecined*at the State
-- T
m rWzirrActring the fisall year. end
_' g nith,.. oVeinher 30, 1883. cis:
Fire per omit. stocks %.88,499 l'B
Four and a half per cent. ..
stooks • 03,000 00
.
Relief notes 109 00
Dniuestic creditors' cortifi-
(*tem_
Pliblic debt Deie'tuber 1,1863
F.nnded debt, viz:
Vsxper cent. loans $400.630 fil
-1 ir!, per cont. leans '35.709.988 45 - IC
iSI percent. toaut
2M.200 00
36,378.816 .45
'Unfunded debt, yir.:
Rona notesin eisoulation -;11,7.2.A
Interest certificates eut,15.26 03
fittinaing
Interest cartificiste. un
'claimed
Domestic creditors' cortifi-
$38"598 , 78
Military Loan per Act of May 7,1861. 3.000.000 00
Tata! indobtOdn oss
By the act of 15th May', 1801 authorizing
Abe military loan of $3,000,000, atax of one
half mill was laid on real and personal pro
perty, to furnish a fund for redeeming the
same. I recommend that the commissioners
of the . sinking . ,futid.be directed to invest the
proceeds of the" tax in State loan, so that it
- may be drawing, interest; to be in like man
ner invested, or that they should apply such
proceeds directly to the purchase' of certifi
cates of . the military loan; and cancel such
certificates as shall be purchased. ,
Although'our finances are still in a healthy
condition, it is necessary to invite the serious
attention of the Legislature to the consider
ation of the means of maintaining them un
impaired in future.
_ By the act of 12th June, 1840, it was pro
vided that the interest on the State loans
should always be. paidin.specie or its equiva
lent,;and that whenever. the funds in the
Treasury should be or less value than specie,
the difference in value should be ascertained
and certified to the Governor, wha should
' thereupon issue his warent to the agents or
batiks authorized to pay such interest on
behalf of the Commonwealth, to, allow such
difference to parties receiving the interest, or
at the option of the parties to pay the same
in specie.
By the net' of llth April. 1862, it was pro,
vided-that for the purpose of paying in specie
at\ its,- equivalent., all interest . that should
thereafter be due by.the Commonwealth 'as
required by.the act of 12th Jiine, 1840, the
several banks who should avail themselves of
- the provisions of that act, (Of 11th April,
"1862.) . and who should refuse'to redeem their
notes in specie, on demand, at anytime with
in ten days upon or after the time when
such interest should become...dee, should
thereafter, when required by the State Trees
arer,,by notice in writing, pay into the State
Treasury, in proportion to the capital stock
paid in of each bank, their ratable propor
tion of such preinium for gold or its equiva
lent. es should have been actually paid by
' the,' State.
- By the act of the 30th. January, 1863, it
- was provided that the State Treasurer sbuedd
exchange with the banks an amount_of cur
rency Hufficient to pay the interest on the
State debt falling due on- the- first dais of
February and August,. 1863,1er' the same
amount of coin, and should give to the banks
specie certificates of exchange, not transfera
ble, pledging the faith of the State to return
said coin in -exchange for notet current at
the time, on or before the first Monday of
March, 1864; such Certificates to bear inter 7
„tat at the rate of 21 per cent per annum.
Under the provisions of the act of 1862,
certain banks paid into the State Treasury
$140,768 39 as an equivalent for coin for the
payment of interest on the public debt.
Under the act -of 1868, specie certificates
have been given to the banks, amounting in
the whole to $1,068,904 97, which with the
accruing interest, will fall .due on the first
M. ndsty of March next. .
As the provisions of this act were of a
temportirS. , character, the only acts now in
turtle on the subject are those of 1840 ant
1862, above mentioned, under which it will
he theduty of theStateauthorities to pay the
interest on the Ist Februry, 1864, and there
after, in coin or its equivalent,, and look te
the.batikithat may be liable under the act
of 1862 for reimbursement of the premium
paid by the Commonwealth. -
In the face of all difficulties, this Com
monwealth, actuated by's sentiment which
does its people honor, hag hitherto paid its
interest in coin or its equivalent.
Existing circumstances make it necessary
-to consider now the fair extent of her just
obligations.
The exigencies of the times have compel
led the averment of the United States to
issue large amounts of Treasury notes for
eirettiation, which are not redeemable in
e4A, and which form the great mass of our
circulating medium,
It is our duty as'a loyal State—it is our
iidereat as a State whose welfare, and even
-safety, depend emphatically upon the main
tenance of the credit and the success of the
military operations of the general govern
ment—to do nothing to impair its credit or
embarrass its measures. On the corqary,
we owe it to ourselvm and to mit—posterity
to give an active support to its efforts to quell
the =Matrons rebellion which is I lig,
13 00
27 90
$9a'4,720 441
526
95 . .117 ( . 4
39,40,396 78
4.448 38
MEI
117.780 33
$.14.496.596 78
5 ..,
The lion. Schuyler Colfax was born in the
State of New York pn• the 23d of March,
1813. He is lineally descended from Gen.
Schuyler and Capt. Colfax, of Revolutionary
celebrity. A more honorable ancestry no
one heed desire. Of the early boyhood of
Mr. Colfax we have no account, but that it
gave_promise of his future excellence there
can be no doubt. AU the ,schkol education
he received was obtained before he reached
the age of ten years. With such meagre
advantages, it would Scarcely be presumed
that Mr. Colfax was now eiltsidored to have
one of the best cultivat ininds of any
among our public men :ve ais the feet.
At the age of thirteen Mr. x , remov ed
to the State of Indiana, where he e tered a
printing-oftice. It_ was while supporting
himself by his labors in this capacity that he
acquired the most Of his education. In this
respect the example of his great: prototype,
Benjamin Franklin, is scarcely more brilliant.
The advantages which even an iziferinr posi
tion on a public j)urnal giy.c to industrious,
and aspiring youth. are shown in - this case,
as well as in many' others of men .who have
occupied or now hold distinguished positions
in our country.
t.t the age ortwenty-one years Mr. Colfax
beeame editor and proprietor of the South
Bend Register, a political organ advocating
the principles of the- Whig party. A. young
man without means in early life except such
us he was enabled to acquire by his own in-
and thus restore peace to our distracted coun
try.
It is.our own Government, and we could
not, without grossest indecency, attempt to
refuse itscurrency in payment of taxes and
other debts due to the Commonwealth.
In 1840 the case was veryj.iffere it. - The
difficulties then arose from tTie suspension of ,
specie pay m e nts by our ,Stiiie banks, mere
local and - private corporations, and the State
very properly by the act of .that year, inten
ded to provide against loss to its creditors by
reasons of such suspensions. An exigency
like the pr esen t could not then have been fore
seen by the Legislature, and it is to be inferred
therefore that they eyuld not• have intended
to provide-for it.
NN'e derive our system of public loans from
Europe, and the true extent of
,our obliga
tion is to be ascertained by referring to the
known established practice Of European goy,.
ermnents prior to the dates when our loans
were effected. I mean of course such of
thosegovernments as were held to have main
tained their national credit, •
It is believed to have been the dnifortn
practice of such governments to pay their in
terest in paper currency, h.iwever deprecia
ted, during a legalized suspenSion of specie
payments. An • observable instance of this
is affhrded by the course of the British gov
ernment, which during twenty-flve years,
from 1797 to 1822, during which the bank
was prohibited by law from paying out coin
for any purpose, paid 'the interest on its pub
lic debts in bank notes, which during a great
part of that time were at a heavy _discount,
Nom( times amounting to 30
yer cent. or there
-a
- bout. Their necessities then were not grea
ter than ours are now.
• Among ourselves at the present time, 3fas
sachusetts (whose debt is believed - to be very
small) pays the interest in coin. Ohio and
Indiana pay in currency. • In New York it
is not known what will. be done. Her Leg
islature, by concurrent resolution, ordered
110 N. SCIItYILER COLFAX.
CHARBERSBURG, PA,, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1864.
1
Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
, dustry and energy, certainly must have pos- seven years of age had no little influence in and stamped him as one of our most. effective
! sessed no small share of those qualifications securing the preparation and adoption of Congressional orators, l'hitt speech was
to attain a position of such commanding 103 u.-; the excellent Constitution of his• State. In widely circulated all over the country, and
ence at so early an age. In European coon- 1 11351 he was the candidate of the Whig was used as a - campaign document by the
tries we often hear of the precocity of certain ! party in his district . for Representative to , Fremont party during the canvass of 1856.
men of genius who have startled the world 1 the National Congress. He was defeated During that - exciting campaign Mr. Colfax
by efforts in the way of poetry' and other by only 288 votes, though, the Minority •f j labored 'zealously for his particular personal
departments of literature at an early age. .To I his -party in the district was considered to be i friend, J6hn C. Fremont. The result of that
obtain control of a, at that time, leading ! much greater. In 1832 he was again sent as ) contest is , well knowm,.yet,..Mr. Colfax and
newspaper in the part of the country where I a delegate to the Whig National Convention his coadjutors had the satisfaction of wit
h was published, and-to Ative the ability to of which also he was appointed Secretary. , nessing thetriumph of their principles in the
conduct it properly, are evidences of an nap- 1 - In the year 1854, Mr. Colfax was elected 1 election of Mr.3,incoln to the Presidency in,
'anal precocity of -talent. . , ~ , 1. to Congress: Before this. time the Whig' 1860; . .
At this, date the political life of our subject ; party was generally considered to have pas..! • In,the Thirty-fifth Congress'Mr. Colfax
may be preSnmed to have commenced. His lsed from the stage as a distinct. i olitical or- I was elected to till the important position of
position was ayeryinfluential one, and he so I ganizathin, and the Republican party had to Chairman to the Committee on Post-offices_
_discharged its duties as to secure universal , some extent supplanted it. To the interest:tirid Post-roads, and that place he continued
I '
esteem, Still he was compelled to.labor ar- of this party Mr. Colfax devoted his politi. I to lipid until hia election to the Speakership;
• duously, for the patrlinage,of his journal Was Ical energies, and of its principles he was 'one i H has fur some years acted as one of the
not -very coniiderable. 'Yet his energy,, his lof t earliest as be Ins been one of the' Regents to the Smithsonian Institution.'
integrity and his temperate, even abstemious i neat and most - faithful supporters. From On the 7th of December. 1863,. Mr. Colfax
, - habits, t.t . dded to his considerable natural and I r 1854 until the present date, Mr. Col- was elected Speaker:lo the House of Repre
. acquired gifts, caused his reputation rapidly_ constantiv occupied a seat in the sentatives of the Thirty-eighth COngress. He
ito increase, and he. was regared by all who I tional Councils. His Congressional career was elected on the first ballot, and-by a_ tote
' knew him as' one destined to arrive at Consid-'lll tondo him well known to all intelligent of 101 to 8l
.: .-
erable distinction. - , A Arens.- . Though achipying-a position scarcely sec
,
i In the year 1848 Mr. Colfax, then tiVentV., 7 I , t the opening of the Thirty-fourth Con- and to an. in this country, excepting that of
-
five years of age, was sent as a delegate 'to g occurred the memorable contest the the Presi ent of the United States, Mr. Col
the Whig .National Convention. Of this ' kership resulting hi the election of N. fax is only fOrty years of age. In personal
body he was elected Secretary, a position of • * . iks to that position. In this Congress appearance he is rather below ,the medium,
importance for one so young, f ind showi ng . . - Colfax took his stand as one of the most height, his. dark hair and whiskers a little
how far Mr,. Colfax had even at that , eariy 1 raising of our parliamentary deliters, tinged wfth grey. He has a quick, flashing
' age ingratiated hinritlf 'isto the favor of tIT: 1 is speech upon the then an-absorbing - topic I eve, and Countenance pleasing and intellectu-,
people - . In 1850 he w elected a member ",', ', the extension of slavery and 'the aggress- ' ally expressive. His person is graceful, and
-7
Of the Constitutional.
Con •ntion of the .„. as of the slave power Was a masterl3ceffort, his mannbr-denotes unusual energy.
State of Indiana, and - . , but twenty- .':
,
. .
• , k '
the interest to be paid in coin to foreign
stockholders, in April last.
At the present rate of premium on g old
the sum necessary to pay on an amduntsuf- .
ficient to discharge.the annual interest on the.
State debt, would be more than $1,000,000.
and to meet this, additional taxation to that
extent would be unavoidable:' The demands
on the Treasury for other necessary purposes
must probably be such as to render it impru
dent to throw any part of this 'expenditure
on the existing ; surplus. To borrow money
from year to year to pay the interest on past
loans would, of course, be wholly inadmissi
ble. To leave the act of 1862 in force, and
attempt to throw the payment of this, large
premium annually on the banks, would be
not only flagrantly unjust. but quite imprac
ticable. I recommend the whole subject to
the careful and immediate consideration of
the Legislature. Sortie legislation ought to
be had On it before the close of the present
Month. In my opinion the Commonweajth
will have fulfilled her. obligations by provi
ding for the payment a her interest in the
currency of the Government. If the Legis
lature should think fit to continue to - pay it
in coin, it will be their duty to levy forth
with the heavy taxes ilbcessary for that pur
pose. I must in passing observe that the
plan apoptal by one of the States of paying
coin to foreign, 'and currency to :domestic
loan holders, appears to me to-be Wholly un- -
wise, and founded on no, legitimate principle.
At the'close of the last session, nineteen
bills renewing the charters of certain banksl
for another.period of five years were present-i
ed to me. Of these I have (for reasons which l
will be hereafter communicated,) withheld
my signature from one and approved the ref
I mainder. I have beenied to sign them bpi
the considerations that the banks of t.:3le
Co,mmonwealth pay a large• revenue which!
:the State can ill afford talose, and that iii
the present condition of the country it
would, be impolitic to drive so much capital
I=
MEE
•
NN,
\N.
I MSI
out of active use or force it _into new em=
Ivments. _ ,
~
f the National Banking system afford
dent inducements, capital will voltotar
iik• take that directly% it is proper to oh
# e that the charters of most of the banks
in question expire at an early' • period, 'While
in 0., .• uence of the invasion of 'the State,
lastlummer, they could not have
nably expected to give the nee
esear n ce of renewed Applications for re
charter. , . .
recommend an extension of the time da
ting which the banks are now relieved-from
penalties for net paying their obligations
in coin.
-
The increased expenses of living invite at
tention to the salaries of• our public officers.
!Those of theßecretary orthe Commonwealth,
Auditor ahneraTandßtate Treasurer, and of
the Clerks in their employment are, in my
opinion, too low, especially as the exigencies
of the time have greatly enhanced the labors
and responsibilities of all, and In the cose of
the heads of those departments, enforce a
constant attendance at Harrisburg, which
was not formerly required.
Under the Act of 16th April, 1862, and its
supplement passed 22d April, 1863, the Ad
jutant General, Quartermaster General and
Commissary General have been acting-as the
Board of Military Claims. They have, <up
to this time, approved claims to the amount
of $166,40 81, and others have been already
presented to the further amount of $382,120
29, Which have not yet been acted on.
Under the Act of 22d April, 1883, (P.' - L.
529;) the Court of Oornmon Pleas, appointed
three appraisers to ascertain the damage done
in the counties on, the Southern border by
1 the militia called into service in September,
1862, by the Anderson Cavidry in the same
month, and by the rebels in their raid on the
110th and 11th Ootaber, 1862.
The Appraisers have not yet competed the
performance of their duties. When their
s .
report shall have been made to the ,Jour, t of
Common Pleas' and affirmed, in whole or in
part, by that court, it will be the duty of the
Governor to claim the payment of the
amounts from the Oeneral Government, - and
on failure to secure the same, then to report
to tho next Legislatuit recommending such
action as ho may d - cein just and proper.
The expenses of the Transportation and
Telegraph Department during the past year
have been a follows
•
Paid (out of appropriation made by, Mil- '
Wiry Loan aet of 1861) ' $13,658 87
Unpaid (the appropriation being
baustod) 15.764 79
Outstanding liabilities, estimated at....,..:5A0 00
=I
These-expenses hdie been mainly ineiirred
in keepin& urthe necessary correspondence
of the military departments and in the trans
portation of sick and 'wounded and the dead
bediea of our vohinteers,, as will he seen by
the report of the Chief` `Of TraniportatiOn.
herewith communicated. I recommend an
appropriation to meet the deficiency, and
Also to carry on the servicd of this depart
ment her after.
By the thirteenth section of the act of thi3
. 15th May, 1884 the sum of $20,000 wits an-,
propritded, to be expended by the ,Gov,ernor
for the compensation of such persons as he
might require to !wive the Copmonwealth in
the militaryorgenikation of the State or the
General 'Goverritnent, ,and for. the expenses
incident to the bifsiness in which they might
be employed.
I have, according to law, settled annual
accounts of the expenditure of tkia fund in
the Auditor Oeneral'S office, to which the
Legislature is referied. The unexpended
balance is now 0,521 98. A further sus
should be appropriated in like nianner, , Out
of this - bind I.haye paid the persona whom
I found it necessary to employ in .the
tarp department; and the expenses"of the
agency which I was compelled to estahlish at
VOL 71.-WHOg NO. 3,06.
Washington to 'attend to the interest and
welfare,of our volunteers: The continuance
of this agency and the establiihment ot• a
similer one in the West are of vital import.;
ante to them. I recommend the passage of
an act authorizing the appointment of agents
at Washington and Nashville, arid -dcliiiin r ,a
their duties, which.should include the 'col
leetien of all bounties, back pay, pemdons,
'etc., due to Pennsylvanians. • •
On this subject 1 refer the Legislature to
the report of Colonel-It. Biddle Roberts, late
Agent of the State, at Washington, here
with communicated and commend it to-your
careful examination.
On the invasion of the State during the
hist summer, the President made a call ' for
niilitini and with his assent, I subsequently
made a call for volunteer militia-the the di;
fettee nf the State. Under these calls men
were assembled and, organized with prompt
ness, after , the reality organized of the emergency
came tali+ understood by our
,people. The
General Government clothed, and subsisted
this force, and Agreed to pay' it, but as no ,
appropriation for that purpose had been
made by Congress, the President and Secre
tary of War 'pratniA , d if the money should
be advanced from other quarters to recom
mend its immediate repayment on the meet
ing of Congress. It. is understood that steps
have been already takeh-to fUlfil this pledge.
Several of the bankla''theerfully and readily
advanced the necessary funds to the amount
of $671,476,43, on my : promise to recommend
to the Legislature an appropriation to re-pay
them in case Congress should fail to make
one. I nee r linsly make t':ate recommenda
tion most emphatically. Should it be neces
sary, I Will hereafter, in a special message,
giv.e the details and. Correspondence relating
,
to this siibjeet. . ~
New York and New Jersey, , under -the
President's call, sent- regiments to assist ;in
our defence, for which our thanks are due to
those States, our good. neighbors. . „
After the, battle of Gettysburg, in which
loyal volunteers from eighteen States; inelud
ino. Pennsylvania, were engaged, it appear
eirto me proper that all those States should
snits in establishing a cemetery on the apt,
in which their. soldiers who -had fallen in
that conflict, be honorably interred.
I accordingly appointed David Wills, Esq.,
of Gettysburg. my agent, end through him a
site was purchased at a cost of $2,475 87,
and the conveyances made to the Common
wealth. Oh communicating with the 'au
thorities or, the other States, they all readily
agreed, to become parties to'llteniiiingeinent
end on the 19th day- of Novenil.W last, the
cemetery was dedicated with appropriate ate :
monies in the presence of the 'President - of
the United States, the Governors of the
States concerned, and other high officers,
State and, National. On the .19th ds7 of
December, on the 'invitation of Mr. Vi , ills,
Commissioners representing the States inter
ested in 'the cemetery, met in Harrisburg
and agreed upon a plan for its improvement
and care in the future, and the apportionment
,a the sum o\money required, to the several
States, which is herewith communicated:—
The expenses attending the establishment of
`and
cemetery, including the cost of the . site
and ot removing the bodies of -the slain.
Have thus far amounted to $5,209 38, and an
appropriation will be =required to, pay these
expenses, and to meet our portion of 'those
attending its future. maintenance; It will
appear by the proceedings of the Commis
sioners that their due proportion of the ex
penses already incurred are to be refunded
by the States on whose account they were
made. It is just to-titiy that Mr. Wills' bas
dischar*ed his delicate and important duties
with 11 lity and to my entire satisfaction,
The t for the relief of families of volun
teersi
in serriee.,atti - require some •revision.
It is alleged the in some.parts of the- State
the county authorities are backward in exe
cuting the law. If _ this be so. the members
from the different counties will be aware of
-.the fact, and will be molt ready to make such
further enactments as may be proper.
I commend to the prompt-attention of the -
Legislature the.subject of the relief of poor
orphans of our sOldiers who have given,' or
shall give their lives to the country :during
this crisis. In my opinion, their maintenance
and education'shonld beprovided for by the
State. Failing other natural friends of abil
ity to provide for' them, they should' be hon
orably received and fostered as children' of
the Commonwealth. The sso,oooberetofore
given by the , Pennsylvania Railroad corn;
pany, referred to in my, last annualniessage.
is still unapiipiiiiitited, and I recommend that
this scam, with snot other means as the Leg
islature may think fit, be applied to this end,
in such manner as may be thought most ex
pedient and effective.. In anticipation of the
adoption of a more perfect system, I recom
mend that provision be made for securing the
admission of such children into existing edu
cational establishments, to be there clothed.
nurtured and instructed at' the - public, ex
pense. I make this recommendation earn
estly, feeling assured that in doing so, I rep
resent the 'wishes , of the patriotic, the benev
olent and the good of the State. , . .._
r;
I-invite the attention of the Legislaturnto
the condition of the loyal people of East Ten
nessee, which is represented to be Most de
plorable, and appeals with irresistible foirce
alike to-your sympathies and your sense of
justice. Their-whole country has been laid
waste by the contending armies of the Gov
ernment and the rebels. Pour- times large
armies - have passed over that district, de
stroying or carrying off all that had been
gathered' for the approaching ,winter, and
now the women and children are loft in a
state of destitution.
$34.423 66
The representations made by sundry 'gen.
Semen of the highest respectability, irbta
that. State, are of the most heart-rending
character. Starvation, actual, and present,
now exist. t Can we, in the midst of affluent
ablindance, for a moment hesitate as to what
Our. aetiOn shall be towards the people whine
only crime has been their loyalty and (leve.
tion to the Government?. Even if a portion.
- of our charity should reach the starving fam
iliesOf theie in sympathy with the rebellion,_
bitter it should; than that these deioted,
self-sacrificing people who have so unhesita
tingly adhered to the Government be left toe
suffer. 'Whenever pestilence and,famine 413--
tressed the people of any. portion of our coun
try, we have always -been' foremost in reliev—
ing them, and-the people of Pennsylvania.
have.extended their open-handed benevolence
and. broad, cla artity to. the starving people. of
foreign conntries... Shall it be said that the
Appeals of these. Rebple for' bread fall upon
the heart Of . Veansylvania in vain; and that
We'witn.halte so recently - given thanks for
.our *1 utdaepe have -no relief for theta in.
Koncluaccd en Eighth 'Page.]
ill
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