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STROUDSB.URG, MONROE COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1846.
No. 32
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
To the Senate and House of Representatives :
Gentlemen : The general health of the
people, the rich rewards of husbandry, the
quickening spirit that pervades trade and indus
try, the enlarged prosperity of our country, and
its advance in moral and intellectual attainments,
-these, under a just sense of our dependence,
..well our tirateful acknowledgements, at this
time to Him from whose beiuficeuce they all
proceed. Nothing has occurred since the ad
journment of the Legislature, to interrupt the
harmony or check the energies of our Com
monwealth. On the contrary, intelligent en
terprise has been .every where crowned with
success.
The exertions of our people lo meet the en
gagements of the S'ate, have thin far been sue
cessful '1 he payment, by a number ol coun
ties of the whole amount of their taxes for 1845,
several months before ihe time at which ihey
have heretofore ben collected, added more
than $300,000 to the effective, revenues of the
year; and the last Legislature having excluded
certain classes of debts from the claims to be
immediately provided for by the Treasury, we
have been enabled to pay the interest which
fell due on the funded debt within the past fis
cal year. On the first day of the present Ses
sion, the balance remaining in the Treasury
was about $625,000, which, with the accruing
revenues, will ho applicable to the demands of
the first of next mouth. We have thus the rea
sonable and gratifying assurance, that the in
terest will then also be punctually paid.
The Public debt of Pennsylvania, on the 1st
of December, 1645, as appears from the report
of the Auditor General, was as follows :
Funded debt, $36,73D,257 43
Relief Notes in circtPation. 1,253,572 00
Interest Certificates outstanding
with interest thereon, 2,888,803 36
Due to Domestic Creditors, 99,750 43
exhausted o.i the 1st of December last.
For the purpose of convenient reference, I have
appended to this communication, a summary state
ment (marked A.) of the receipts and expenditures
of the past year with an estimate, prepared with
much care and deliberation, for the current year,
ending on the 30th November, 1846.
According to this the receipts of
the year from all sources, in
cluding 1,300,000, from taxes
on real and personal estate.
will be
Which added to the balance in
the Treasury on the 1st De
cember, 1815,
S3i2 17,700 00
The Interest upon which, accord
ing to the Auditor General's
computation lor 1846, is
The balance in the Treasuiy on
the 1st December, 1844, was
The receipts into the same,during
the year ending on the30th No
vember last, as appears in de
tail by the reports of Auditor
General and Slate Treasurer,
were
Making an aggregate sum of
The payments from. -the Treasu
ry, during the same period,
were, according to the reports
of the 3ame officer,
which being deducted from the
above,-showsthe balance in the
Treasury, on the 1st Dec. 1845,
being less by S278;9ti5 79, than
it was on the 1st Dec. 1844.
The nett amount of available out
standing taxes on real and per
sonal estate, after making al
lowances for collections and
exonerations, on the 1st De
cember, 1844, was estimated
by the late State Treasurer at
$885,301 71.-
It appears, however, from a
subsequent estfraate. founded
upon more full returns and a
more accurate knowledge of
the extent of exonerations, that
the amount actually outstand
ing on that day. was
The nett and available amount
outstanding on the 1st Decem
ber, 1845, is estimated at
The amount of outstanding taxes
on the 1st December, 1845, is
therefore, less thanjt was on
the 1st December, 1841, by the
sum of
Adding to this sum the difference
between the balance ju the
Treasury on the 1st December,,
1844, and on the Ist'December,
1845,
$40,986,393 22
2,023,996 09
663,851 88
Makes an aggregate of
Deducting from which, the esti
mated payments during the
same period,
We arrive at an estimated bal
ance in the Treasury on the 1st
day of Dec. 18-1(5, of
Which is less by 296,296 09
than it whs on the 1st of Dec.
1845.
The amount of outstanding taxes
on real and jrersonal estate,
considered available, on the
1st Dec. 1845, was
To this is to lie added the as
sessment for 1816. which, ac
cording to tin- best estimates,
will yield a nett revenue, after
deducting allowances for ex
penses of collections and exon
erations, of.
Making an aggregate of
If from this aggregate, we deduct
the estimated collections from
these sources, during the vear
1316,
The difference
will be the estimated amount
of taxes, which on the 1st of
December, IS 10, will remain
outstanding; being $120,000 00
less than was outstanding on
the 1st day of December, 1845.
When to the reductions, thus
to take place, in the outstand
ing taxes within the current
vear,
We add the difference between
the balance in the Treasury,
on the 1st day of December,
1845, and the estimated bal
anco in the Treasury on the
1st December, 1846,
Wo arrive at an aggregate re
duction of these
384,886 09
$3,602,586 09
3,513,996 09
88,590 00
874,544 50
1,180,000 00
2.054,544 50 J
1,180,000 00
754,544 50
120,000 00
296,296 09
3,010,062 34
3,673,914 22
3,289,028 13
384,886 09
8414,199 30
we have ar aggregate reduction
of the balance in the Treasury
and of outstanding taxes on the
1st day of December, 1845, as
compared with the same items
r.n th lot fiDi-pmbflr. 1844. of
From this statement, it is apparent,' that the re
ceipts into the Treasury, during the year,- derived
from taxation on real and personal estate, . and
other sources of revenue properly belonging to the
vear, weio less than the demands upon the 1 reas
ury for the same period, by the amount above sta
ted And it is also apparent, that if the Legtsla
ture had not postponed the payment of the'domes
c creditor, and the interest on the certificates
issued for interest, and ttif the, cancellation .o.i.a
portion of the relief notes required under exiting
laws to he cancelled, Jiad.not been deferred, the
-whole balance in the Treasury would have been
two items
within the fiscal year ending
30t!i November, 1816, of 116.296 09
From this view of the subject it is apparent, j
that the assessment of the year 1S46, on real
and petsonal estates, and the revenue of the ;
year proper, derivable from all other sources, j
taken together, will b insufficient to meet the (
deniandi upon the Treasury during the same
period, bv the sum of $41(5,296 OS); and that
in supplying the deficiency, the balance in the
Treasury, on the 1st ol Dpcemher 1S46, will
have been reduced to 88,590,00, and the ar
rears of outstanding taxes, to the sum of 754,
544 50. It is plain, therefore, that our present
financial system is inadequate to supply the
means of meeting ail the demands on the Trea
sury, except when aided from the balance which
had accumulated before the payment of interest
was resumed, and bv collections from the ar
rearages of taxes of former years both of which j
will soon be exhausted.
I' am constrained to add, that all these calcu
lations and estimates, pie suppose that the de
mands on the Treasury will ui be permitted to
transcend their ordinary limits, and that no ap
propriations will be made by Legislation to new
objects. These are not anticipated, because in
the present otate of the finances, every appro
priation may well be regarded, not as a grant of
money unincumbered in the Treasury, but ra
ther as an abstraction of funds, specifically ap
propriated already, and rightfully belonging to
the public credttois.
The deficit in our means, under existing Jaws,
874,544 50 J presents for the deliberations of the General
AsseitH'iy, a topic oi paiauiuuin niiMiain.i.-. n
jiiay be remembered, that in the mouth of Jan
uary lft, I expressed the opinion in an Execu
tive Message, that our finances had not then
reached a condition to enable us permanently,
and at once, to resume payment ol the lull in
terest on our public debt. 1 regret that subse
quent examinations and reflection, ha o urn per
mitted me to believe that 1 was then in error.
But the Legislative action on thn que lion has
changed, the entire aspect of our dunes, and
rendered t useless to revert to lormer news of
policy. The payment of tmeiet on the funded
debt of the Commonwealth, was lit fact, tc
.Mirned on the first of February 1845. By lhai
act, the State asserted h-r present aiitlpy to
meet her eiigagemeiii.s.aiid u mu-t be oui tare
that the pjedge, tho renewed, be not again vio
lated The credit, fidelity and honor of Penn
sylvania, al1 'itimaud. hat, hencoforwHid, the
inter-! her public deut shall be punctually
and fully paid.
tfest-tolore, WB 'nigl'1 l,ave eaded the un
expect Uiur he deposito.y Hank of the
Stale a few days before the interest was pay
4t.e. ai5 'wtieii Ihe monies approjiriaie.il to lis
diachiig -vere accumula'ed Hi her mulia -the
'$1,009;778 03
135,238 50
,4278,965 79
sudden destruction in value of nearly ihe entire
currency in general use the prostration of in
dividual credit, and the deep and universal pe
cuniary embarrassment of the people. But now
all are prospering the currency is restored to
a good degree of soundness our revenue sys
tem, tho' still imperfect, has greatly increased in
effectiveness and certainty enterprise is re
newed, and the people happy in ihoir institu
tions, and confident in themselves, look to the
impropriate action of the Legislature to make
provision to satisfy the public wants.
The present period Is, in truth, the crisis of
our affairs. Prompt and effective measures
now, to make a moderate addition to our reven
ue, will restore to Pennsylvania, for all future
time, that proud position from which she has
temporally been made to stoop, by a course of
policy that never met the approval of her peo
plu. Bui the addition must be made at once.
Unless the estimates that have been presented,
shall prove essentially erroneous, the balance
in the Treasury, on the first of December 1S4(,
will not exceed one hundred thousand dollars.
It is, therefore, obvious, that, if the receipts at
the Treasury, during the months of December
184G, and January 1847, do not greatly exceed
the receipts of the coi responding months of any
preceding year, when the amount of outstand
ing taxes was greater than it will be then, a de
ficit must occur in ihe means of the Treasury,
to pay the interest, which will become due on
the 1st of February 1847. The necessity of
the adoption of immediate and efficient meas
ures, to guard against a result which would be
so fatal to the renewed faith and honor of the
Slale, cannot be too strongly enforced upon ihe
attention of the J,egis!aiure.
Intimately connected with the subject of our
finances, is that of the Banking system of the
Stale. The evils that have resulted from ihe
manner in which it has been administered, and
.ome of those more essentially connected with
its organization and tendencies, have been felt
by all. Yet, it may well be doubled, whether
the whole of tho mischiefs which it has insti
gated, hae been iraee.J back to their fruitful
and pernicious cause. Not only has it humil
iated individuals to ruin, hut States have been
led by its seductive and'eorrnpting influences,
into a course of wild extravagance, and conse
quent bankruptcy. Public debts have been j
contracted, even the interests of which couldi
scarcely be met, by the most onerous taxation,
while, in other causes, the faith of the govern-j
ment, which ought always lo be held sacred,
has been violated in time of profound peace.
The himry of Pennsylvania, since the be
ginning of the year 1836, is a painful illuatra-;
tion of this truth. In December 1835, when
Governor Wolf retired from office, two mouths t
before tho incorporation of the Bank of ihe U.'
.u o .i i.. ..e ..i : . i
oiuies, me. o'.ii'e ue.ui ui jreimsj iv.iuin wsis
24,580,743 32. It is now, exclusive of the
amount received as a deposit from ihe General
Government, 40,980,393 22, making an in-J
crease of the State debt in len years, of 16,-!
396,649 90, notwithstanding the receipt, in the
mean time, of 2,867,514 78 of surplus rev
enue from the United States, and of 3,446,
7fa0 21, as premiums for bank charters. In
contemplating this startling, fact, we naturally
look round for the meritorious objects of State
policy, for which this vast aggregate of twenty-two
and three-quartor millions of dollars, has
been expended, we find none of any magnitude.
The main line of Canal and Railway, between
Philadelphia and Pittsburg, had been comple
ted, and was in successful operation. The
Delaware division, the Susquehanna and Nnrih
Branch division, to thn mouth of the Lackawa
na, ihe West Branch to Queens Run, the Bea
ver division to New Castle, tho Franklin line,
and the French Creek Feeder, were all sub
stantially finished when Governor Wolf left
the Executive Chair; and the sum of 344,619
09, was all that remained to be paid for com
pleting them.
The Stale had readied a point in her im
provement system, at which she could have sus
pended operations without loss. The scheme
of direct taxation, to pay the inferest on the
State loans, which had been introduced under
Governor Wolf's Administration, was admon
ishing the people of the inconvenience of a
public (lehi. Every thing indicated that the
fun her progress f om Statu improvements was
to be deferred, till titim had tested the produc
tiveness of i he finished works, and the increas
ing dnvelopetnenl of our resources had invited
and justified their futiher extension. Ii was, at
this time, that the act of I8th February 1836,
was passed, entitled, "an act to repeal the Stale
lax on real and personal property, and to con
tinue aitd extend the improvements of the State
by rail-roads and canals, and lo charier a Slate
Bank, to be called the "United States Bank."
Tne first section of this act rescinded the sys
tem of taxes, which had been devised for the
protection of the public credit which, by other
section, more than two millions of dollars lo
be received from the Bank, were appropriated
al once to the prosecution of company works,
and the commencement of new ones. Under the
direct charge .of the Stale. To enable the
Commonwealth to coiisutnmnte this wild exten
sion of improvement, ts. millions uT'ilullars
were promised as a permanent loan to ihe Slate,
at an interest of four per cent, and other loans
at the same rato were to he made, when re
quired, lo the amount of one million of dollars
annually.
Under ihe impulse of this act, and of the in
fluences which effected its passage, a nw sc
ries of improvements were begun at once, all
of which, after ihe expenditure of many mil
lions, now forming pari of the public dabl and
the cause of increased taxation have been aban
doned by the State, and have passed most of
them, into the hands of companies, which have
paid no consideration for them.
It even seems that the State has not limited
its gratuities to the works thus commenced.
The Beaver division, and the Wyoming line,
on the North Branch, embracing forty-three
miles of canal in actual use, and the French
Creek Feeder, costing together 1,222,927 81
and all of them finished in 1835, have been
given away to companies, and leave the State'
with a less extended system of impnnrmeiits
now, than it had when the Bank of the United
Sfates was chartered.
The progress of these works was marked hy
the declining credit of the State, until, after the
most desperate resorts the sale of a further
suspension to the Banks in 1840, and a loan in
1841 by the State to herself, by ihe device of
issuing relief notes the proclaimed bankrupt
cy of the Commonwealth forcibly arrested them.
But the evil did not slop here, when the
works were abandoned the State was largely
indebted to the contractors, whose claims were
regarded as of primary obligation. To satisfy
them, a law was passed, requiring the sale of
the Bank stock, and other stocks which were
owned by ihe State. These stocks, which had
cost the Treasury nearly $4,200,000, were, at
a most unpropitious moment, sacrificed for a
fraction more than 1,405,000.
However painful these recollections of pecu
niary loss may be, there were attendant circum
stances of graver and more momentous concern
lo the patriot. A new element of power found
its way into our elections. The elective fran
chise was violated and abused the declarations
of the public will were disregarded and defied
and the very existence of our free institution?
was menaced with revolution and destruction.
I allude to the memorable crisis of 1838, when
a direct attempt was made, by the leaders of a
minority, to usurp the government, and to sub
stitute their dictation for the voice of ihe ma
jority of the people. These scenes had their
origin beyond doubt, in a spirit of reckless con
fidence in the power and corrupting influence
of money to control ihe S'a'o.
Apart from these political considerations, the
influence of a vitiated paper system upon the
general and ordinary interests of life, is bane
ful and pernicious. Hitherto, there has virtual
ly been nothing in ihe organization of Banks,
to limit the extent and define ihe character of
their action, but ihe discretion of the directors.
A few individuals, constituting ihe efficient por
tion of the Board of management, are, in fact,
the depositories of this discretion ; and as a gen
eral rule, subject no doubt to many honorable
exceptions, it is exercised with primary, if not
exclusive, reference to the supposed interests
of the Bank.
While the business of the country prospers,
ar.d the spirit of speculating enterprise is stim
ulated by succes.t, ihey extond their accommo
dations liberally, and fill the channels of circu
lation with a reduudeut and depraved currency.
An unnatural lise of prices is the consequence.
Importations increase in defiance of any dis
criminating tariff extravagance invades all the
departments of society indefinite credit invites
to a thriftless extension of indebtedness, till, at
last, the laws of trade, tit. changing as those of
nature, produce re-action, and the whole artifi
cial machinery is crushed. The people of the
country are indebted to the cities; tho cities
are. indebted abroad, where the promises of the
banks are not accepted as money; and the
Banks are called upon to redeem their notes in
coin. This they can only do by drawing in
their means, refusing new accommodations, and
pressing their debtors for payment. The circu
lation of the country is suddenly contracted;
property is sacrificed, in many instances, with
out relieving the debtor; and his energies are
paralysed by hopeless insolvency.
Such, within the recent memory of all of us,
has been the action of a vitiated banking sys.
tern, on the faith of the State, the stability of
her institutions, and the free energies ol her
oeonlf' It has liiuohl us a yrievous lesson of
suffering ; but it will not have been altogether
unproductive of good, if it has impressed on us
the solemn and imperative duty of guarding
against a recurrence of similar evils.
The abuses of the banking system are found
in many forma ; but they are essentially the
same in their origin and result; excessive issues
of paper, and its consequent depreciation. To
give the power of manufacturing money, yet ef
fectually to limit its exercise, by legislation, is
practically impossible. It is obvious, that no en
actment can absolutely prevent the unlawiuj
issue of paper by a bank, which has the lawful
right to issue any Returns of bank officers, how
ever exactly prescribed, or honestly made, give
no security for tho periods that elapse between
them : and inspections of the affairs of the Banks
by the commissioners which have been leiortel"
to in other States, are apt to induce a dangerous
reliance on the vigilance of such officers.
It may be, that the principle of individual lia
bility for corporate engagements which has re
cently been inserted m somelof our charters,
may, when properly extended and made more di
rectly operative, secure not only the creditor from
loss, but the currency from dungerous fluctua
tions. The experiment should be fairly made
in the case of every bank, that may ask a" renew
al of its charter. That jits progress may be the
better tested, I respectfully recommend that the
banks be required to makejrnonthly returns of their
condition to the Auditor General ; and that these
be so arranged, as to present a more complete
and exact view of the transactions than is furn
ished under the existing1 law. This will facilitate
the future inquiries of the Legislature ; and tho
periodical publication of the returns will secure
to such of the banks as are legitimately adminis
tered, the revardof their faithfulness, in the in
creased confidence of the public. I need scarcely
add, that the claims of the banks to general con
fidence should be thoroughly investigated and
fully ascertained before their charters are extend
ed. The recommendations have special reference
to applications from existing banks. In my
judgment the capital now invested in these insti
tutions, is amply adequate to the business wants
of the community. The times do not indicate
the present necesity'of any additional stimulus to
the spirit of enterprise, and I cannot allow myself
to hazard, by any act of mine, a possabb; renewal
of the excesses which we have witnessed so re
cently. Pennsylvania combines in"an'eminent degree
the three great elements of individual and nation
al wealth agriculture, commerce and manufac
tures; and the pursuits and industry of her peo
ple are profitably divided among them. Herhilkj
and mountains are almost everywhere filled with
inexhaustible supplies of iron ore and mineral
coal; and her vallies abound with water-power for
propelling machinery, in the midst of the finest
agricultural regions. She has constructed at
great cost, a line of improvements by canals and
railways, connecting the waters of the Atlantic
with those of the great "West: which not only
affords our own citizens a cheap and convenient
mode of transporting their products to markets,
but also benefits the internal trade and commerce
of a large portion of the other States of the Union.
The North and W est Branch Canals, and the
Delaware LM'vision, in connexion with varioua
improvemcnts;owned by companies, besides opening-markets
to the productions of the farmer,
furnish outlets for our coal and other minerals, by
which not only our own citizens are supplied, but
also of the neighboring- and Eastern States, to tho
great advantage of both. Many parts of the
State are, also found most favorably adapted to
the growing of Wool, anotherj great staple of
National independence ; and the successful appli
cation of mineral coal, to the smelting of iron,
has given a new impetus, among us, to this most
important of all branches of manufactures.
It is not surprising.; therefore, that our people
feel a deep anxiety in regard to the adoption or
the change of any policy, on the part of the fed
eral government, which may be supposed to affect
such great interests. The regulation of a Tariff
on imports, so as to favor the development of our
domestic resources, and give satisfaction to the
various parts of the Union, has long been a vexed
and exciting question. Its influences for good
or evil, have no doubt been greatly exaggerated
in differentsections of the country. The true
policy of the Nation would seem to lie between
the extremes of those, who claim high duties for
the mere purpose of protecting particular inter
erts, and those who would not discriminate at
all, in laying revenue duties for the purpose of
favoring the productions and industry of our own
country.
Any course of policy which would have tae
effect to check the intelligent and honest enter
prise of our citizens; and to retard the develop
ment of our national resources, can never receive
the sanction or acquiescence of the people of this
confederacy. It is readily conceded, that no
more moneys ought to be collected from
imports, than are necessary to meet the constitu
tional requirements of thegovcrnment economi
cally administered.
But, on the other hand, it is maintained with
entire confidence, that in laying duties for this
purpose, such discriminations for protection aa
well as revenue, ought to be made, as will favor
our own productions and industry, particularly in
reference to articles which are of primary na
tional importance and indispensable in time of
WlThis policy was expressly avowed in the first
revenue law for levying duties upon imports,
passed affer the adoption of the federal constitu
tion, and has been recognized and adhered to by
the federal government, and sanctioned by the
people of the States, from that day to the present;
unless indeed the Compromise act of 16S3 be
considered an exception; and it will be adhered
to, so long as we have a due regard to our indi
vidual and national prosperity and independence.
A tarilf of discriminating duties, based on the
principles indicated, and so adjusted as to eecure
permanence in its provisions sustained in it
protective effects by the operation of a Constitu
tional Treasury in regulating the issues of our
banks and checking excessive importations of
merchandise, will, it is believed, give more sta
bility to the general interests and business of the
country, than any otlier system of policy within
the control of the federal government
I refer to the reports of the Hoard of Canal
Commissioners, for a detail of the proceedings
drring the past year, on the Public Improvement
of the State. This document contains among
other tilings, a statement exhibiting the amount
of tonnage that passed cv ir those wo?& during
the year ; whioh when compared with that ot
past yeans wjll show their increasing value, k