Huntingdon Journal

              THE
ItrVAL..
"ONE   COONTRV,    ORE   CONSTITUTION,    ONE    DESTINY."
A.   W.   BENEDICT   PUBLISHER   AND   PROPRIETOR.
 «..   VI, No. 23.]
HUNTINGDON, PENNSYLVANIA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1841.
[Whole No. 283-
or  THE
»«UNTINGDO\   JOURNAL.
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AGENTS.
ro n.
1%* nunlinfdon journal-
Daniel Teague, Orbisonia; David Hlair, Vjti. S.'inde G.ip; Bi>njamin L'ase, .Shirleys- turg; Eliel Smilh. Esq. Chilcottntown; J"as. Entriken. jr. Ceffee liun; Hni;h Madden, Esq. Springfield; Dr. S. S. Dewcv. jSir- mingham; James Morrow. Union Furnace ; JohnSisler, Warrior Mark; James Davis, r,sq. IVest township ; D. H. Mnnre. Esq .frankstown; Eph. Gilbreath. Esq. Holli daysburg; Henrv Neff. Alexandria; Aarnn Burns. Williamsbiirf,; A. J. Stewart. Water Street; Wm. Reed. Esq. Alo'-rin townsliip; Solnm-in Hamer. Neff's Mill;}.\mes Dysart, Mout/t Spruce Creek; Wm. Mnrrny, Esq. Graysville; John Crnm. Alanor Hill; Jas. r. Stewarl, Sinkini; Valley; L. C. Kessler, Mill Creek.
ADDRESS
TO   TIIE
People of PcansylTAiiia.
The undersigned, your Senator! and RepresentativcK, being aboul to separate afttr the discharge of arduous dnty, deem it tn be Ihrir duty to present a view- of the pablie afl'airs if the Conimonwealth wilh reference lo their past and prcse-nt administration, an.l the hopes which eve¬ ry good cititen h\% a right tu entertain of A change for the future. During the men¬ tion of the Legislature which has j'ist ter minated, they have labored wiih a teso- l«te purpose of wieeting the expectations ufthe people and the responsibilities impo ««d ufuu them by a state of things unpar- ¦lied in the history of our country. As the expression of the wants of the peo pie reached them, aj pefiliona for relief in a «e«ion nl unequalled distress was pre lented to then-, they sought to meet these withea, and by one measure of relief af¬ ter another, such as have passed both Houseg, to do for the people what the people had a right to ask.
Unhappily for those who sought relief, nnd for the Legislature who desired to af¬ ford it. tho Kxecutive  authority has been •¦nferred upun an  individual who, exer¬ cising it with no view but  for the main- tuinance of his own official influence, has never  ventured to  indicate his measure of either relief oi reform, or been willing to unite with us in ours. 'There is a cour»e of official  duty  which  the   Constitution •ontemplates on the part  ol the  Execu¬ tive, alike removed from improper inter¬ ference and  mysterious  reserve, wlucli. >i«d it been pursued by the present Execu tivB,   would   have  abridged  onr session, cinipTified our labors and enabled us to re lum home with the happy assurance that the  Government,   by the concurrent ac¬ tion of its various departments,  hi<d  re¬ lieved the  distress and  perplexity of ils ¦•onstituency.     That  courae is tlie same which the  patriot   Harrison  intended to pursue, to which his successor is pleili;ed. «nd the reverse of the dark and   sinuous line in which the   present   Governor   of Pennsylvania seems to delight.    It is not to dictate to the Legislature, who. coming more recently from the people best know their wants, but in the  letter ol the Con¬ ttitution it ii "from time to time to ^ive to the General   Assembly,   information  of the state of the Commonwealth, and re- commend to their considtralion such mea¬ sures as he may think expedient, and in ill spirit have made these recommenda¬ tions to acquiesce in the action ol the im¬ mediate   Representatives of the people, Qnless it violates either the Constitution ,or some eisential principle of good gov- •rnment.
Thia middle course between obtrusive inlerlerence and stubborn reserve, the present Execulive nf Pennsylvania seems unable to discern, and the Legislature lias been compelled with no other conso¬ lation than the honest ell'ort to do duty al- w»y« afifurds. to wit for weeks and months tinablcd to attain a glimpse ot Executive opinions except when they were made manifest in Vetoes Irtquently couched in disrespectful language, or as they could be gathered from the intiinstions of ac- «redit«d partizsns ::< and out ol the Lcg^ Wateiw.   Wnd»r nch embatrawintnt hn
the Legislature acted, and to such envbar rassment has the Executive been content lo leave us lo act.     We wish a Buli'erin people lo understand this and to listen t the proof.
'The session of the Legislature com¬ menced on the first 'Tuesday of January 1841. The state of things throughout the Commonwealth was then most pecu¬ liar. 'The banks were in a state of gener al suspension. 'The currency conniaied Uiainly of the note* o( the bank of the U States, and for the settlennnt of the small accounts which form so large a pro portion ofthe daily business of the citi¬ zens, nothing was accessible but the ille¬ gal snd discredited small note currency from abroad. A promised resumption ol specie payments vvas at hand and every good citi'zen looked lorward with the hope if not the expectation that it might be permanent and that thecommunity might nut soon again be called to witness scene of universal discredit. There were many who believed that no perma nent resumption coulil be eft'ected with¬ out the beneficial interposition ol the General Government, and on that inter¬ position directed bythe wisdom and pa¬ triotism of a President chosen by Penn¬ sylvania itself we confidently relied. Uut the Governor was not one of these. He relied on the eliicacy of state Legis¬ lation directed by iiie.e party impulse, he shared in none of our expectations of ac tion at Washington, he never expressed and probably never felt any share ofthe confidence which the reason and good fee- linK of the people reposed in the wisdom and patriotism of the lamented Harrison. Now wo ask you to mark the result. On the Ifilli ol January iSU, the banks re- sumed specie payments—on the first ol February thc Governor negocialed a loan of nearly 800,000 dollars with the banks and mainly wiih the bank ofthe Uniied States—on the 4th of February the banks again suspended and in a stale of almust hopeless prostration have they remained ever since.
On the 5lh daj of February, Ihe intel¬ ligence of the calamity reached thc scat 111 Government through privale channels. The Legislature, alter pausing to give the Execative an opportunity of presenting his views at this crisis, proceeded without further delay lo do its duty, and legis-1 Ute for tlte crying necessities of the peo | pie. 'To enable the Executive to siigi^est his remedy for tlie evils then impendinir, w,is due alike to him and ourselves. We wailed but we waited in vain. Thc Exe¬ cutive functions were parniylic. No word fell from the lips of the Governor, and so far as we or the public are apprised ofhis views as voluntarily expressed, content wilh the present state of tliin^-, irredeemable currency, hnpelessly irredee miibb" for the suflering people, he wrap¬ ped liimself in myi-jterious silence, and made no rlfort, gave no sign, that prom¬ ised relief. "
Notso 3 our R-'prcientatives. Hnaided| —uncounselleil by the Execulive, they assumed the responsibility, and measures of rrlief were originated, matured and enacted. Mixed, however, with the pray er of relief, thee was an emphatic de¬ mand lor reform; and it was with a steady view to the coincident ministration of re¬ lief and reform, that our measures were prepared.
It was not long before a measure of bank refurm and popular relief was enac¬ ted hy both Houses. It was rigid in its enactments to the banks. It was gener \ ous and beneficent to the people. It lim¬ ited the powers of bank officers and direc tors. It chicked inordinate banking ope¬ rations. It was not the extravagant privilege of disregarding law. It was the privilege that neccs.sity exacted, and it was nothing more. /Jul with that privi¬ lege was connected vital iiicasures of re¬ form, which the people had long deman¬ ded. So far as the Legislature was con¬ cerned, their duty was promptly and faith fully performed.
Nor was it till the Legislature has thus acted, that an Executive intimation was made. It came, as usual, in the form of a oeremptory refusal to acquiesce in thc views ofthe Representatives of the peo¬ ple, and it left the Legislature to mature its measures again, and guess at the va¬ rying opinions of the Executive, to try tc enact laws which might conform to them, and at the same time, be consonant with public policy and constitulional lequisi-. tion.
With what anxious desire to regulate our course by wiso and disinterested views, to do what a peculiar exigency re¬ quired and no more, to conciliate our po¬ litical adversaries, and for once to unite wilh them, or persuade them te unite with us, in a conimon effort to relieve the suf¬ fering community, those who were imme diate spectators of the scene best can tell. One of the undersigned, representing the feelings of us all. 811 the floor of Sen.ite. expressly tendered to thc friends of the Executive the assurance ofan earnest de¬ sire to bury mere party faclinj. and co- •pertta evrdially inmuffirct at which no
' partv cavil could be uttered. Bnt il was in vain. The only answer was derision at the olfer, and a scornful denial ol the existence of all distrejs among our con¬ stituents.
Not discouraged by the failure of all these eBorts the undersi^ined again inatun red a measure of reliel designed to effect thc greal object in the attainment nf which we believe, the hopes of our suffering con» stituents were envolved. A'ouid nur cun¬ stituents have seen what we have seen, and known what we have known, they would still more highly appreciate our reasonable aniiety to give relief. Not only was the community generally ago¬ nized, buton certain classes, the pressure ofthe times fell with peculiar severity. The contracts on the unfinished lines of Ihe public works were made on the faith of the Commonwealth, solemnly and sa¬ credly pledged by agents who, however faithless to their trusts, vvere still the a- geiils of the State: After the adjourn¬ ment ot the last Legislature, the Canal Commissioners, holding their offices at the will of the Governor, aware that the appriipriations were expended, ot insuf¬ ficient to prosecute the public works. Of this action we do not feel disponed to speak further than to say, that the Executive who would thus willingly incur debts, ought to be as willing to pay them, and not to deny poor justice to those who suffer by his acts. 'The contractors who in full confidence, trusted the Cominon¬ weallh, have come to us and told their piteous tale; their property sacrificed, their toil wasted, debts incurred, execu¬ tions impending, ruin staring themselves and families in the f.ice, the disgrace of insolvency tainting their character, and ihe debtor prison waiting to receive them. 'The counties of Erie, of Crawford, of Beaver, of Dauphin, Huntingdon, Centre Lycoming, of Mercer, of Columbia. North umberland, Luzerne, of Bradford and Susquehanna, are filled with sufl'erers like these. VVe have listened, and listen¬ ed with pity to their stnry of saff'^ring, and lliough greal diversity of opinion ex¬ ists as to the policy of further expendi¬ ture on llie unfinished lines, none of us are insensible tothe States obligations tu pay her just debts. Itis the Executive alone, who without authority of law, per¬ sists in his relusal to pay them.
'To give 1 eliel', and do justice to these crcditoi'.ii, the Legislature has labored long and anxiously; and in the hope of giving this relief, was the measure to which they have referred in a great meas ure matured.
'The debts due for repairs alone, a- mount to two hundred and sixty-eight thousand dolUrs, due generally to poor men who have contribuled their labour to keep the public works in such coudillon that they may render revenue to the Commonwealth. Cises of individu.il hardship have been bioiij;ht to our view at wliich any heart would sicken, except the cold ami callous hearts of th'isc, who, elevated above the sympathies nf ordiiia>, rj humanity, can use the benefit of labour, and yet deny to it its just reward. It was lo pay those debts ton, that tlie un¬ dersigned have anxiou-ly labored.
'To othei public creditors, to those by wliohc pi'cuniary contributions the Inter¬ nal Improvement system has been con¬ structed, there was due at least an effort on the pai t of Ihe State to discharge its obligations. Relying loo confidently on the professions of the Executive, that by no act of his should ihe Slate credit be impaired or the public faitli violated, we assumed the hazardous responsibility of exacling from the people new contribu¬ tions to the common cause. The ruinous and di.'graceful system of borrowing to pay interest, the undersigned thought and still think ought to be "arrested. 'They have endeavored to do so, and if they had failed, the responsibility would be theirs. 'The State credit must and at all hazards and at any cost be sustained. 'The State debt is the agregate ofevery man's promise, and if dishonor rest on the indi¬ vidual whoviolateshis word lar deeper and fouler is that dishonor which will pursue the comniunity, which wantonly and cause¬ lessly disregards its obligations and tak¬ ing contributions Irom the hand of gener¬ ous confidence, now entren'jhes itself within its constitulional Immunity and re¬ fuses topiovide for the paymentol its un¬ questioned debts. '1 here is but one mode of sustaining credit, and to that the Legis - lature has resorted.
'The measure thus matured, finally passed the Legislature on the SOih of April, and on the 1st of May it was re¬ turned to us with the Executive objec¬ tions. 'To that measure and to those ob¬ jections we ask your best attention. They are in all respects worthy of it. It was a measure which would at once relieve the pressure ol immediate liability on the Commonwealth, pay its domestic credi¬ tors, aftiird relief to tlie people by a mod¬ erate and well regulated amouni of small note currency, save a large amount of in¬ terest on the" public debt, and give to the banks »aeh reliif as for Ihe lake of the
community it was properto afford to them —but it did more, and on this we invite especisl attention. It provided for a res duction of the expenses ofthe govern¬ ment—it expressly prohibited the entans gleinent ol the Commonwealth in new contracts, the burthen ofwliich would ul¬ timately fall on the penpie themsclveS'- and above all if specially appropriated the money to be raised to certain objects and made it an offence against the law lor its officers to infringe upun the appropria¬ tions.—'There was to be no transfer of money from this fund to that fund ; no drawings Irom one pocket to pay into an Olher; no concealing deficiencies or defal¬ cations by ingenious transfers—no puz¬ zling the public mind by intricate ac¬ counts ; but every cent ot revenue raised had Its appropriate object indicated, and neilhci the Executive nor his agents, could without detection misapply it. 'This con¬ stitutional "coertion" we thought we had a right to apply, and yet it is of this re¬ straint which the constitution itself en¬ joins, and which we were bound to pre¬ senile, that the Executive complains as a dangerous encroachment on his preroga¬ tive. From this cumplaint we again ap¬ peal to the popular judgment lo sanction a measure which would deserve approval, il it contained no uther provision lhan this. We trust that no other Legislature will ever lie dissuaded or deterred from im¬ posing this wholesome restraint on the power of the Executive on ihe treasury.
So lar as the Relief bill aft'ecled Ihe banking institutions of the State, to the treat surprize of the undersigned, tliey (bund the views of the Guvernor on one point had suddenly become consonant with theirs.—At the begining of the ses¬ sion he denounced small notes as an evil which was on every account lo be avoided, and strenuously urged the prohiliition oi notes under ten dollars. At that time the people were suft'ering tor the want of his currency bul the Executive prejudices were obdurate. At the beginning of thi.s session his views were unchanged. Su late as the Sth of April, when he vetoed the Reform Uank Hill he still professed hostility to small noti-s even to a limited amount, nnd made this one of his objec¬ tions to that measure of salutary regula¬ tion.—By Ilis recent veto il however ap¬ pears tliat wilhin a short time the Execu¬ tive on this subject has changed liisgi ound, and that inlluenced by cunMileralinns which he has nol indicated and in rclas ti'in lo which inchaiily he will not pre¬ tend to speculale, he too is in favor ol relief to the cr.mmuniiy,— We appre¬ hend that the people will appreciate the sincerity ofhis pact professions und leel (lue giatilude for his acquiescence in their wishes.
Not discouraged yet but anxious to pre¬ serve the publio credit at all hazards, in order to save the Executive from the slain whicii must rest on him, and on him alone, if by the course he has thought fit to pur¬ sue the Legislalure v,'ere lorced to ad¬ journ without definite action, still per¬ plexed by obscure intimations ol his will, and sympathising deeply with the sull'er¬ ing people, the undersigned determined to act on their own respunsibility, and ac¬ cordingly passed the measure of reliel by a constitutional majority. If public grat¬ itude bffdue, no share of it is due to die Execulive.
/t is a measure ol compromise to which we ask the cordial ,ind generous consid¬ eration ot the people. Itis a measure of necessity amidst sourrounding difticullies. Il is a measure which gives relieland de¬ serves the popular approval- Such has been our general course of ac¬ tion on the great measure of relief and re¬ form—and to that aclion thus thwarted and perplexed, we confidenlly invite your candid and generous consideration. Could the Governor have been induced tn de¬ part from l.is oracular reserve, and ap¬ pealing to the impartial judgement of the people, a reliance which never lails, frank¬ ly have indicated his views or expressed his willingness to take counsel, free and honest counsel with the Legislature on such subjecis. much time and expense might have been spared, and long ago might we have returned to those who sent us hither and told them that coun¬ sels of patriotism had prevailed, popular necessities been relieved, and wholesome reform enforced. Ifthe result had been different, the responsibility would nol be with us. /f we had left the people with¬ uut relief, we should have left them in the hands of the Executive.
Uul this engrossing subject is not the only one for w ich legislation was needed. Nur is it the only one for which the v ish- es of the people havebeen frustrated by the unstable and perverse will of the Ex¬ ecutive.
At least ten Execulive vetoes disfigure the Journals of this session, and in but one ofthem has the Governor pretended to indicate oilier than considerations of local expediency of which the Represen¬ tatives of the people believed they were the best judges. And in the single ex- eeptifw, strange as it way seem to our
I fellow citizens, so few of whom are ig-1 dersigned have had no reason to regard I norant ol the provisions of the Constitu-! ihe present possessors of power to be e»- ' tiun under which we  live, the  Governor I cepi ¦- ->       -'-
founded his objections on a clause in an {obsolete Constitution whicii more than two years ago was abrogated by a vote of I thc people. Nur had tfie Executive the manliness c'lther to admit the error, if er¬ ror it was, or assign the true cause ot the misrepresentation until it bad been dis¬ covered and rebuked by the vigilant ac¬ tion of the Representatives of the people. For proof of Ihis assertion, now made with regret but from a sense of justice, the undersigned refer to the Journals, where it will be seen that in a Me.«sage on the lOlh February last, the Governor quoted usin lorce the old Constitution as justify¬ ing his negative loan important hill, and that on the 12th, not however, until afier the mis quotation had been delected in the House ot llepresentatives, he ac¬ knowledged it in a kupplement'il commu¬ nication and attributed it tu a mistake in transcribing. No one can read the p.fs- sage witii the context, and believe that il wus an accidental error. We ask the people to examine the Journal and then judge fur themselves.
'This is the solitary instance in whicii the Governor has frustrated our Legisla¬ tion on account even of pretended consti¬ tutional scruples. A few instances of Ins abuse of the power the constitution has conferred nn him are fresh in our recol¬ lection. They will show to the people lunv the public time has been wasted by this constant and frivolous Executive iii- terference.
II became necessary fo supply the o- missionofa Protliono'tary in Huntingdon coanty to note the record ofa deed baring an entailed estate—A petition was pre¬ sented, referred and examined, and a bill lo ihe effect required was passed into a law. —No remonstrance was presented though ample time was alforded. No public policy was aft'ecled. Tlie bill pased m connection wiih an important public bill extending fo all religious so¬ cieties vviilioutdistinction, the right tohold lands for cliurches and burial grounds. Notwithstanding the public exigency, and for I.o adequate reason, the Executive re¬ lurned the measure with his unexplained objections, 'The stain of religious intol- ei ance was lelt on our Statute Buok, andj the public time was wasted by the neces¬ sity of re-enacting that which was con¬ fessed unexceptionable.
Ifthe people ofLancaster county desire
to the rule.
Sens.ble of this exposure to temptation and yielding to the expression of public opinion on this point, the undersigned at an early period of the session procured the passage ofan amendment to the Con¬ stitution limiting the Execulive to a sin¬ gle term. Hon anyone point the publie voice has spoken, it is on this. The pro¬ mise of the venerable Harrison, a prom¬ ise, the sincerity of which even poiiitical animosity did not question, that in no event would he be a candidate for re* election, and his opinion that fctich an amendment to the Federal Constittrtion was deiirable, has consecrated the One 'Term principle in the affections of tho people of Pennsylvania, and each day'i experience tends to ripen that sentiment into deliberate judgment. Does any one doubt that had the present Governor of Pennsylvania been ineligible for a sec ontl term, he would not have more laithfully discharged his high duties and would have raised himself beyond the sphce of party movement to which he seems confined?— Unlavorable as ia thejudgment which tha undersigned have been compelled tn form of the present Executive, they have no hesitation in saying that his conduct and policy would have been dift'erent had the temptation to do wrong been withheld.
Before the 4th of March last, when the present Governor was re-nominated, the amendment to the Constitution had pai- sed the Senate where it was resisted by the friends of the Administration, and was uliiler consideration in the House of Representatives. It afterwards passed the House of Representatives by an over¬ whelming majority, but eight member* voting in the minority, and they all accre¬ dited friends ol tbe Executive.
It must nexf indirectly be bes'jbmitted tothe people, always the last and surest resort, and by tliem at the next General election it must be decided. We submit to you as a part of our acts. Having v/eighed it well, having looked at it in all Its relations to the interests of the people wiiich we were sent here to guard, we submit it to you and to your ilecisiun now as ever shall we submit. 'The next legis¬ lature must revise this act of ours and wo appeal to you lo make this the test here. afler.
Tlicrc was one matter of great publio interest to which the attention ol the un» dersigned was early called.    They refer
to abolish an useless Court prostituted to ' " , 7"''"'"" "[ t'"= P''bl'c "orks. and party uses, the Execulive difterim' ii *" ' !"'^"'?r,"''"''"*'"'''"''Pr''^'' *° ?^' opinion, but suggesting no conslituiiTm , >' '"¦'^' '^'""'''^ "''^ * prevalent opinion difliculty. vetoellhebifl Tut ",f?lc^''""""''^"^ ^T^^' ,"'"' "'^ Canal Com- 1'efer.nce ol the queslion to ihe"otes of a '!;"'";'""'',-''"''?"""' '"""=<-ately on poriion ofihe people ol the couniy. j *'"-'  '.'-"cutive, had prostituted their high
II according to his suggestion, the question is relerred to the decision nf all who conlribule to the support of ihe Court have a right tv decide on its conlinuance. the obdur.icyof the Executive will is not softened, and lie vetoes the bill again, be¬ cause/le thinks on the question dift'erent¬ ly I'roin the Representatives wluiin the p"eople of every county has elected.
Uut wiir-ie llian all—the (Jovernor wiil not perinit tiie Legislature even fo rcgu- lale the decipline of a counly prison--a bill providing lor a cliange in the mode of appointment of inspectors. Wardens, and IJoorkeei.ers of a prison in Ciiester counly was passed by both Houses, and has been vetoed by the Governor for no otlur pre^ lext than that which differing views of expediency aft'orded. 'The people must judge of this abuse ol power.
If this be tolerated—ifon all questions of local interest when the people have spoken first in the choice of representa¬ tives, then through those representatives, and fhe legislature has exercised its sound and honest discretion, the Execu'iveis to intertere and thus defy the popular will, far better wonld it be to dispense with the complicated system of popular repre¬ sentation, its expense and its delays, and give tn the government that unity of de¬ sign which appears in the view ofthe Ex¬ ecutive would seem to be ils perfection.
At any other period than this, the un¬ dersigned are free to admit that they be¬ lieve a dift'erent course would have been | pursued by the Governor. A wanton abuse ol power without object, they are disposed to attribute to no public function¬ ary. But on the eve ofan election, when the incumbent of the Executive oflice is a candidate for re-election, the infirmity of human nature, always developed in the ten iciousness of ollice. is only overcome by a spirit of independence^ such as even by his Iriends is not claimed for the pres¬ ent Executive. 'To retain the possession of patronage and power, to cultivate fac¬ tions or party inffuences however minute —whether ainong the tip staves of a May¬ or's Court, or the turnkeys of a County goal,--to secure all doubtful friends—to dispense with the execution of the laws — to pardon admitted libellers before trial, and give a plenary indulgence to them lo violate all law liereafter, are some of the
functions, ami had bestowed on personal and political favorites a large share ofthe patronage which unhappily for the peo pie, they are authorized to dispense. 'The public has been startled from its confi- ilence by the astonishing disclosure that the public works during the last two years under the care ofthe present Canal Board have cost for minagement and repair the sum of two millions one hundred and fifty' •five dollurs, or an averge of one million and seventy-five thousand and forty doU lars for each year ol Governor Porter'* administration, whilst during the late ad¬ ministration the average even at period* of extraordinary accident never exceeded eight hundred and six thousand six hund¬ red and ninety-six dollars. Unable to account lor this by any theory but thst which is founded on a conviction of the want of integrity of the public agents snd earnestly desiring to restore public confi¬ dence to the maffnificent system of im¬ provements for which so much has been expended and in the success of which the the best hopes of the people are centered, the Iiouse of Representatives soon altef its organization instituted a thorough in¬ vestigation into the conduct of theCanal Board. Its results will soon be before the world and to those results we direct ^our early attention, 'They justify suspicion —they authorize and demand the strong¬ est reprobation—they are the results of calm and deliberate inquiry in which jus¬ tice was fairly done, ample opportunity of exculpation afTurded, witnesses were pub* lidy examined and cross examined, and the Canal Commissioners will stand bc» lore the public, convicted on unquestioned evidence nf gross and palpable abuse of power. Who can wonder at the increas¬ ing expenditure on our public works, wheD they read and hear of such instances ae one or two, which taken at random fron* the report ofthe Investigating Committee are but specimens ot worse and more start¬ ling developements hereafter.
It became necessary to purchase rnpee for tho inclined planes. The best article was oft'ered by manufacturers of unques¬ tioned merit and could have been procu¬ red for fhe aggregate amount of $r,877. A political partisan oft'ered it to the dispo. sers ofthe public bounty for $9,049. 'The competilinn was no longer equal, the ptr-
r,,. r.   r - -1        r • """V *'"'"= •'' '"*  tizan obLiined  the contract, and en thi*
n^nn „^ '"¦""'5' °^ re-election opera,  one article ths Commonwealth lost .iX ting on Dflscrapalous partisans  The un-  huii4red»nd isventy rae doUw.