The New York Herald Newspaper, January 7, 1846, Page 1

NN ee....€Eer EEE Eo oO Vol, XIL., No. 6=Whole No, 4219. MESSAGE oF THE _ GOVERNOR To THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. ) \Wo the Senate and Assembly : fi, anee to perform the bi peptone ay the ad- ministration and ion of the law. legislature is Its action is the rule tion. treme men tothe “7 of as property. his constit ig one of the gravest import. ambition should rcuare yi ease eer soca tt measure these well do in person. Hence the delegation of power to us; and the discharge of this agency is the res- nsible duty u; mn which we are about to enter. — e fewest sim laws consistent with the security of the great objects to be attained, and the lightest burdens which their enforcement will per mit, must be the best and wisest execution of the trust ; the most salutary and acceptable to the con- penser and the most honorable to the represen- tive. If these simple principles are kept steadily in view and permitted to govern our action, our duties Pp will be rendered comparativel formance pleasant, and their discharge beneficial to the public. If we try our measures by the influ- ences they must exert upon the intereets and: pur- easy ; their per- suits of all classes of hist and carefully compare every ture we authorise with the promises of ber ople, we shall escape the to the whole worst perplexities which are usually attendant upon legislation ; avoid the most serious dangers which beset our path ; and lay no foundation for the com- plaints which most deeply disturb the pablie mind. That legislation which equalizes benefits and burdens of government, extends the same encouragement to the enterpnse and industry of all in every situation and employment, and at- tempts to secure no Ce privileges to any, will difluse prosperity throughout a community ; because, under such a lem of laws, all will feel that the fruits of their industry are justly se- cured to themselves. On the contrary, attempts to confer favors by law upon classes or locali- ties, produce a competition destructive to profitable ind 3 a.strife, not to earn, but to gain the earn- ings of others. Such a policy may aecumulate wealth in a few hands more rapidly than equal legis- lation, and may, to the superficial observer, present the greater show of prospe: iy but the ay rance is artificial and delusive ; and is produced by a fore- eJ and unequal distribution of the is of the Inbor of all. The tendency of this false system is to separate capital from productive labor, and, carried out to its full rt will produce the singular result, that he who labors least may accumulate most, and he who works the hardest may know the most ‘want. A choice een these lines of poli cine of ph ME duties, of eclicy and will not, I trust, be doubiful. In presenting to you the condition of the State, Pao ng to its internal peace may well claim the Jo my annual message of the last it became icateat e Legislature the public sda be dificult, my an ‘duty to announce to that peace had been interrupted, the laws resisted by armed force, and that my predecessor had been compelled to order into service a pertion of the militra of the State, to preserve the one and enforoe the other. That military force was in the field poe time - Kegan par vg ranie ture. that r ve at e of these disturbances, nd, in every forma esented itself to my mind as likely to exert a beneficial influence, appealed to the tenants of the estates, between whom and the landlords of the same estates the controversy nominally existed, to change their course, and withdraw their counte- nance, their influence, and their contributions of money and means from the desparate men who were making armed resistance against the laws. - At that time human life had been sacrificed, in two several instances, to the mad spirit of insubor- dination, and those incidents were referred to as na- tural fruits of such unlawful violence, and as start- ting warnings of worse results, if the same spirit continued to be encouraged. These disturbances, and the proper remedies to be applied to them, occupied much of the time of the last legislature,and among other measures adop- ted, was a law “to prevent persons 2j ing dis- guised and armed.” The provisions of this law were so stringent, and its penalties so severe, that the confident bose was indulged of an abandonment of the use of the disguises, the protection of which as experience had shown, constituted the principal danger. Repeated instances of flagrant outrage had demonstrated that those who would stoop to dis- guiee their persons, in pursuit of an unlawful object, only required to have their confidence in the — tection of the disguise sufficiently strengthened, to bring them to the commission of any de; of crime. In other words, the universal principle was illustrated in these proeeedings, that crime requires concealment and thathe who dare not, in the open light, look the law in the face, will be emboldened, under the cover of darkness, or the protection of the mask, to outrage its requirements, and etrike down its defenceless ministers. This law had not long been in force, when it be- came apparent that the hopes entertained of its sa- lutary influence were not to be realized. Confidence in Ct | became a eens, Se ay fear of pu parties ised men began to show themselves in the exci ed districts. The coun- retofore comparatively peaceful, the theatre of more open and active resist- ance against the officers of the law, than had pre- viously prevailed elsewhere. The assemblages of dis- guised men were more frequent,more numerous, and their lings more daring and desperate, than had el terized the disturbances in any other quarter. So also, these lawless outrages and their perpetrators were met in that county, miore promptly, rmly, and energetically, than they had been before encountered, without aid of a State military force; and the law-abiding citizens of the county, led on by their civil officers, to their lasting honor, overcame the resisters by their own unaided efforts. The courts and Jeng of the county proved them- selves as firm and faithful to the law as the body of citizens had done, and those arrested in disguise and with arms, were indicted, tried, convicted, and three of the namber sentenced to imprisonment in the State prison, each for the term ef two years. time, to have insurrection: irit, as bm 0 ames excited counties as in aan, a ia the hope was indulged, that, if excitement had Boegiven jace to reflection, and passion to rea- gon, at least ithad been seen that the strength of the Jaw, and the love of peace and order in the breasts of our intelligent and patriotic citizens, were too powerful for a resistance of the character attempted, and Sa er efforts of that description would i aband je In Delaware county, nothing transpired, for cpenecmiess betes slower t rie, various wore commi 3 the sheriff was forcibly resisted, and was compelled to resort to the provisions of the act of the last session, “ to entorce the law and pre- serve order,” and obtain permission to raise a | guard to aasist him to serve legal process. So in| ¢ county of Columbia, several gross outrages | were committed upon the rights and property of | private persons; and, in the month of May, one of | the deputies of the ‘sheriff of that county, while | quietly walking in the highway, in company with | two assistants, upon his return from executing a writ of possession, was deliberately fired upon by | three several persons, from the cover of some bushes near the road, énd himself and) one of the | assistants severe! ut not dan; wounded. He wan aloo fired bet witheet J ile ac- | tually in, onseutt the writ. prac- ticable effort has been made to discover and arrest | the perpetrators of these outrages, as yet without success. ‘getic proceedings appeared, for the | | NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 7, 1846. It was reserved for the ill-fated county of Dela- ware, however, to vised dit it. ion, ture the grounds upon immediately given, to three hundred men, hehe infantry, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty of whom were to serte as mounted men, when the service should call The al Fpo of the Adjutant General, he e anni rt jutant re- with transmitted, will show more in detail the facts in relation to this force and its organization ; and it, and the angual report of the Comptroller, will give the plan adopted to subsist the mem and the epee and the entire expense to the State for the pay an eubsistence of the battalion. i 4 No instance of resistance was experienced in the whole course of the service of this force, although it was assiduously employed to aid in the execution of civil as well as criminal process, and _in the general execution of the law; the collection of the rents 1nar- ee zing a promment part of the duty performed. ‘The arreate made by the sheriff and his officers, with the aid, first of the civil, and subsequently of the military posse, were very numerous, reaching considerably beyond one hu:idred. Some thirty enly of these, however,were persons charged with being resent at, or parties to, the murder, the residue be- ing in custody for minor offences, growing out of the previous disturbances in that county. An impres- sion has prevailed, to some extent at least, that per- sons implicated in the transaction, out of which this murder proceeded were, by the Gourt of Oyer and Terminer, merely punished by the imposition of a fine. This “ a Lessee 7 ot those be punished were charged with, and ple: ty to,ofiences pre- viously committed, ity no one rfisinn ea) in the murder, who was sentenced at all, received less punishment than imprisonment forseven years in the State Prison. Some, who — guilty to the charge of manslaughter in the lower degrees, were liberated upon recognizunces, and not sentenced at all, the sentences having been suspended. This mis- take ia corrected, to prevent misapprehension as to the proceedings of that court, and to do justice to its members. About ninety persons, supposed to be identified as present at the time, armed and disguised, and en- gaged in resisting the sheriff, were indicted tor mur- ler. Of this number, little more than one-third were arrested. All these were diecharged from tne jail in the manner already well known to the public, except the two men convicted and sentenced to be executed. The residue of the persons so indicted are at large, having hitherto evaded the service ot process, together with the still larger number not yet identified. Among these, are supposed to be most, or all, of the principal leaders, and of those who actually fired upon the lamented Steele, on that fatal occasion. 4 The sentences of the men convicted of the mur- der have been, by me, commuted for the punishment of imprisonment in the State prison for terms of their natural lives. The grounds of my interference were set ferth in a letter to the sheriff, a copy of is herewith transmitted. As soon as it was su, time had been allow- ed to restore a reasonable de; ot calmness to the public mind, the Adjutant-General was directed to visit Delaware, and make inquiries and examin- ations, with a view to the revocation of the pro- clamation declaring the county to be in a state of ineurrection, and the tinal discharge of the military force in the service of the State. Upon consultation, in this way, with the public authorities, civil and military, and with various Prominent citizens of the county, the conclusion was formed that the time had arrived, when these steps would probably be consistent with the public security, and might be calculated to allay irritation and premote the restoration of harmony and quiet to this distracted society. Accordingly, the pro- clamation of the 27th of August was revoked, by a proclamation dated on the 18th of December, to Fert hs ttalion of take effect after the 22ad of that month, a copy of which is herewith tranemitted. - The necessary or- ders were, simultaneously, ed forthe discharge of the military force, on the same day. It is due to the officers and men of the battalion tosay, that the order and energy, the willing obe- dience and prompt and unpretending execution of duty, which have signalized their entire service, have entitled all to the highest praise. The vi a and discretion of the officers, and the steady fidelity of the men, prove that the latter were well com- manded, and the former well served ; and demon- strate that the peace of the State, and the execution of its laws, are both safe in the patriotic hands of its citizen soldiery. No indications of a disposition to interrupt the peace of this county have reached me, since these transactions. The opinion is now vew generally entertained that the scenes of violence and armed resistance to the laws have terminated ; that the disguises have been permanently discarded ; and, that, hereaiter, legal and constitutional modes of redress for the [Sesion ag supposed to exist, will alone be at- tempted. | . : 2 Indications of a disposition to keep up the excite- ment, and even the von ye ig baie pore continue to be manifested in indivi cases ; but itis to be hoped that such indications are confined to those who have made it their vocation to kindle these disturbances, and whose only interest in them has been the psrsonal advantages to themselves from their existence. Hitherto the confiding tenants have listened to such advisers, not seeing, nor sus- pecting, the selfish impulses of interest and ambition, which prompted counsel so apparently patriotically iven, until a severe experience has shown them the disastrous results of their -Mmisplaced confi- dence. Upon some, who were industrious, quiet, and thrifty farmers, it has brought ignominious punishment, and perpetual inearceration, in the company of felons. Others, who | like standing, it has banished from their tamilies and their homes, and made fugitives from that jus- tice they were taught to spurn, for the sake of foliow- ing these false guides upon what was represented by them as a shorter and surer road toa redress of their alleged grievances. To all it has brought loss of property; an; and embittered feuds, in the place of peaceful social relations, and anxiety, ap prehension and distrust, to poison the happiness of the domestic fireside. These are soine of the fruits which have been realized from following designing and selfish counsellors; and when these tenanis shall attempt to resort to the legal and constitutional modes of redress, which they now , they will find that there too these pretended friends have least acted the part of friends to them; and that these appeals, even if right and proper in them- selves, have received nothing but prejudice trom such interference. 2 In my tormer communication to the Legislatare upon this subject, I stated that I considered myself precluded from discussing, or even considering, the real par of the differences existing between the landlords and the tenants, by the violent and crimi- nal conduct of those who to act for the lat- ter, and in their name, and apparently by their ap- probation ; and who had changed the iseue to one between sustaining the law, preserving the public Peace, and protecting the nglits and lives of unoffen- ding citizens on the one side, and armed resistance pane ro the law, wanton coratoaaies not oe ponte, end 1 ives indivetine es anes ag n the rights an ol _ Assuming, what I hope time may e, that these violent proceedings have terminated, and that, here- atter, only constitutional and lawful appeals for re- oot ahaa made, the points really Presented for D ead cy Proper subjects for inquiry _ The change of the tenures {rom leasehold to fec simple estates, 1 have ever understood, ed to be, the great object of desire on the part of the tenants. The odious character and evil influences of the leasehold tenures, have certaivly formed the great burden of the complaints which have reached me: and I have labored under a false impression, it, af ite Scanmencement, the Sone was not this change. jis, it seemed to be weil understood and led, must be reached by contract, and and suppos- | ors Meee iaerhice be correct, that poi nt information be col t point | hax been eubstantial reached, po, far as the land- lords are ¢ . They, { believe, with very thalice ond eo camer ncn ogeunnions uh teat wi ne; ions. ssuming the continuance of the leases, another — of complaint on the part of the tenants is the istress for rent, which it is claimed should be abolished. This the Legislature has the unquestion- ed power to do prospectively; and I do not suppose the right tojdo it retrospectively will be contended for, where the remedy by distress is secured by the covenants ia the lease. A change of the law thus affecting a subsisting contract, 13 by the hi judicial authority in the country, net merely to affect the remedy, but sala Se obli- ation of the contract. iteelf. |, there- tore, in @ prospective light only, I cannet perceive that this change of the law canbe seriously detri- meatal to lesgors, and especially of farming lands. Their security for ultimate payment is always to be found in the improvements upon the land. It would doutless, toa considerable extent, affect the leasing of houses and other tenements in cities and villages, where deterioration rather than improvement to the property is the consequenee of the use; but whether the effect would be most to the disadvantage of the landland, or tenant, is very questionable. The remedy by distress, especially when applied to farms, is so inseparably connected with the lease- hold tenures, as to partake of their unpopularity, and it may be wise, in reference to this description of property, to abolish it progpectively, as it may the tenures themselves, as applicable to agricultural lands. This mode ot eollecting the rent, is said to be too summary for the safety of the farmer, while, on the other hand, it is alleged that, although sum- mary, it is ythe least expensive process for the col- lection ot an admitted and liquidated debt. It is also added that the non-payment of the rent must be a forfeiture of the lease, entitling the landlord to re- enter and re-possess himself of the land with the im- porrments: and it the remedy by distress be taken irom him, he will avail himself of this more severe, thpugh more protracted, redress. A sufficient an- sWer to this argument is that, as the improvements upon the land must always be ample security to the landlord for his rent, where farms are leased in this manner, the change of the law cannot injure him; and if avaluable public can be accom- plished by it,and the tenant, who is the other party in immediate interest, desires the change at this risk, the landlord would seem to have no reasona- ble ground for complaint or opposition. A still further complaint made by the tenants is that an inequality ot taxation exists in favor of the landlords of these leasehold estates, unjust to the ‘ople of the whole State, in reference te the col- lection of a general tax, and particularly unjust to the people of the counties where the eetates are sit- uate, in reference to the taxes annually assessed to pay town and county expenses. The ground assum- ed, if | understand it, is that the rents are, in effect, the interest upon a capital invested by the landlord and secured per an object of taxation as money secured by bond and mo! , or by contract for the sale of lands In other words, it is assumed that conyeyini by durable leases, is a mode of sale, in effect, by which the seller, instead of stipulating that the pur- chase money shall be paid within a specified time requires that it shall forever remain invested in, secured upon the land, and that the interest upon that purchase money shall be annually paid to him asrent. It the same terms of sale were carried in- to eflect by a deed from the seller, aud a mortgage from the purchaser, the law would tax the capital secured by the mortgage in the hands of the seller, while the land would ve taxed as the property of the purchaser. the ¢apital secured to the fandlord by the lease, and which produces to him his interest, under the name of rent, as the mortgage secures to the seller the capital which produces his income, under the name law, and is not taxed at all, although there is no difference in prin- ciple, public policy, or substantial justice, between of interest, isnot reached by the the two cases. There question. “The money due cpon mort, the town or ward where the lands are situate. would be the introduction of a new principle in re- ference to the assessment of personal property of resident citizens; but the expediency of adopting it, aud the mode of carrying it out, are matters of de- tail, appropriately belonging to legislation, in case the tax itself is imposed. A report from the comptroller to the house of As- April last, in obedience to a call from the Assembly of 1844. Jn this document, the whole subject is dis- cussed with clearness and force I respecttully re- fer the legislature to it,as presenting considerations upva thi; point which appear to me to be sound in principle, and practical in detail. , A suggestion has been trequently made,in connec- tion with the troubles erising from these tenures, the adoption of which I su d to be within the unquestioned power of the legislature, although I am not aware that it has been urged by the tenants upon the existing leasehold estates. It is that a law should be passed to prohibit, for the future,this form of selling tarming lands, by deolaring that no lease for such lands, for alonger term than five or ten years, or some other short period, shall be valid. It is patndly apparent, notwithetanding the very un- warrantable character of the late dislurbances upon the leasehold estates, that there tenures are not in accordance with the spirit of our institutions, or with the feelings jof that portion of our people in no way interested in the disturbances, or in the relations out of which they have grown. Such is manifestly the settled state of the public mind upon this point, that the multiplication, or material exten- sion of leasehold estates, would be looked upon asa public evil, threatening more wide spread and seri- ous disturbances, than those which have, recently, interrupted our internal peace. If, therefore, there be no obstacle in principle, and none presents itself to my nund, may it not be well for the bey ong. to put at rest any apprehension of this sort, by the pas- sage of such a law? I should hope for salutary in- fluences from such legislation upon the existing ea- tates. I think it wor a tendency to confirm, ha in the minds of the landlords, their present inclina- tion to commute the leasehold titles, and would ope- rate strongly upon the tenants, to induce them toac- ei fair terms of commutatjon, and discharge them- selve es, at as early a day as ible, from an objec- tionable system of tenures thus confined to them. T am not aware that it will be necersary to call upon you for any further provisions of law, in refer- ence to the suppression of these disturbances, if they should again arise, as it is to be earnestly hoped they will not. The provisions of the two laws passed by the last legislature, which have been before referred to, the first ‘to prevent persons ap- pearing disguised and armed,” and the second “to enforce the laws and preserve order,” have been very effeetive when energetically and faithfully re- sorted to, and appear to me to be sufficient to secure the enforcement of th- and the preservation of order, so far as legislative enactments can do it. There is some er that the last named act throws too heavy a burden upon the county, and eepecially in expense, before the power of the State can be invoked, This is a point upon which the last legislature deliberated carefully, and yet experi- ence, subsequent to its action, may have furnished satisfactory evidence that there is justice in the com- plaint. It iga point of the first importance in enfore- ing the law, as, unless the power of the county shall be taithtully exerted, the authogities of the State cannot imterfere ; and if the pecttniary burden upon the county is likely to be so great as to discour effort and e 88 the sheriff in obtaining a suffi- cient , the eflect might be dangerous. On ih | other hand, if the resort to the power of the State is made too easy, that will discourage effort in the county, that all the expense may be transferred to | the State. The subject, therefore, is one demanding eareful action, and is ph sag presented to your consideration, in case a change of the existing law should be urged. ‘The expenses upon the county of Delaware have been very heavy,and I am advised that an applica- tion will be made to te leg.slature for relief. It may be that a distinction can properly be made be- Id, as I believe, | dur: upon the land, which capitalis as pro- lands and In these cases, the law taxes the lande to the tenants who occupy them; and still it is said i ‘appears to be force and truth in this posi- tion. The place and manner of assessing such capital may be matter of more difficulty and more the olde! tracts, notes, and the like, is assessed to the holder of the securities, at the place of his residence, and the tax is payable in his town or ward; while the complaint urged in this case implies the opinion that the leases should be assessed, and the tax a. in is sembly, upon this subject, was made on the 16th of ‘e | demnity from unnecessary ond unjust burdens. My | he | tor the State, in the tween tie expenses incurred by that county, after the insurrection existed in fact, and before it was | declared to exist by proclamation, so as to authorize | the interposition of a State military force. It 18 | to inform the legislature that I was absent | capital at the time of the outbreak and | murder, and agents sent by the civil authorities of | the coumty to invoke my action, were delayed seve- to await my return; after which time, | le further delay was occasioned, to en- them to return and (i furnish to me evidence of alleged to exist, but without the evidence h I did not feel authorized to make so re- | adeclaration. From these causes twenty 2g i t i ys intervened between the insurrectionary assem- | blage and the proclamation, and during all that time, as lam informed and believe, the sheriff was em- a very large mounted posse, and results | that it was very energetically and efficiently | It was the developments consequent | pon these exertions, neiteagpe J the fact that ineur- | rection did exist on the 7th of August, which laid | the foundation for proclaiming its existence in con- formity to law ; but the interposition of the State | could not be retrospective, and therefore the ex- | pense-of preserving the peace, sustaining the law, and apprehending the guilty, during these twenty days, was thrown exclusively upon the county. According to the requirement of the constitution, acensug of the people of the State has been taken, last year, in conformity to the provisions of the of the last session, directing the manner of oki it. The returns have all been made to the Office of the Secretary of State, and the report of that officer will, at an early day in your session, place the results before you. ry The entire population ot the State is shown to be 2,604,495, being an increase since the census of 1340, taken in obedience to the constitution and laws of the United States, of 183,574, a little more than seven and a half per cent for the five years.— This isa rate ofincrease much less than has marked the growth of our population, for the previous por- tions of the present century ; and shows that emi- gration from the State is much greater than to 1t.— The enumeration was taken as of the first day of July. The number of births in the State, during the year ending on that day, was 89,755, and the number of deaths 36,284; thus showing an increase ot the births, over the deaths, in a single year, of 58,471.— This ratio of increase, for the five years, would have added to our population more than 70,000 souls beyond the present actual number; which simple comparison establishes two important facts, lst. That the natural increase of the population is heal- thful and rapid, and,2nd, that the emigration from the State is greater by from 10,000 to 15,000 annually than the emigration to it. Another fact appearing upon the face of the census shows the description of thisemigration. It is, that the increase of popula- tion is confiped principally to the cities and large villages, thus worieg that the great body of the emi- gration from the State is from the agricultural dis- tricts. The increase of population, for the five aici in the four cities of New York, Brooklvn, Al- ny and Buflalo, makes an aggregate of 147,767. The number of persons liable to do military duty ai ined i i 85 comankt tion there made I tfully edges coming norm are aiorgng ova | uot a he tensio aote a” f all the canals, for the last fiscal year, venues, beyond tho payment of current reap nape | have cnaaete® thove of the your 1044 by the sum of sary expense: ne e 3 ” 964 38 ; butt nses above those of that ment of the porta ‘ot the debe falling due, rather | $20) ad 98, en tu = . year by $140,169 96, so that the surplus of revenue over to any new expenditures. I fi i bd expeatineres, 16 SGiee in oe ne eur. is last mmendation, I was eo unfortunate | plus e previous year. cf oils for yeer BOL ew ast pseceni poy of the ture to | ending onthe 30th Sept. last were $12,306 66 lessthan hom the communication was made; and a bill | for the previous fiscal ves to priate a specific amount of the | ter were $654.18 less ; but the interest on the current canal revenues for a resumption of the work upon rete rettaiecing Sites 4 we og the unfinished canals. Various other expenditures | iwo items, ving the excess of aggregate revenue were authorized in the same bill. I was unable to | above stated. ir the last give to the sppabare my spoecbelioe, suds 8 ae ager bas bons principally upon the rej uatoothe titution direct e bill was returned to the | of the superin of » Trouse @ which ST aalgtneind. with my objections. mediate direction of the canal Those objections, the journuls of the last assembly provements under the im: will exhibit, and any other tow them in this end the rents of surplus we- ‘he excess of expenditures commissioners ; the former item heving been increased communication 18 unnecessary. The bill did not 1,656 32, and the latter $40,851 43. The anaual report be the cin commnise joners will, t me, exhibit theee pass by the constitutional vote, and, as a necessary satisfactory consequence, the question between myself and the | expenditures and the causes for ina majority of the Legislature was referred to the de- | "The business of the fall bas shown that the principal canals must bi aye Petes (oan rg " f our common constituents. | nt 0 D8, The “statement of the canal debt, at the close of | than in any former equa! p ported, end the the fiscal year, on the thirtieth day of September Papeete fe irre ip ahgeaenpe ni tae last, as given to me from the canal department, 18 83 | fy obstructions we Lage otered. The mea of follows : tolls, for the last two months Of the navigable sessen, Erfe and Champlain canal, olddebt...... $111,865 54 | were unprecedentedly large, and have materially aided Erie and Champlain canal, new debt S41.474 8) gp cplottae momen, eens in the hande of Erie canal enlargement. 9,933, 60 | the commissioners of the cans! {und to redeem the Oswego canal . 4.1,304 amount of stocks which fell due on the first day of Cayuga and Seneca canal 237 000 00 | present month. The increased demand and improving Chem ng canal 848 600 58 | brice of wheat and flour have contributed principally Crooked lake ca! 120 000 00 | towards thi of business on the canals, the Chenango canal 2,420,000 00 | consequence hes doubtless been to send forward to the Black River canal 1,044,000 00 | market, duriny fall, @ much larger portion of the Valley ca 3,794,000 lost crop, than would otherwise have been brought out je canal... 50,000 00 | before tae next season. The tollsof the fell have thus F improvement. . . 69,278 13 | been greatly increased, while those of the will spring be diminished to the extent that its business has been an- by the change in the fall market. It does net ily follow, therefore, that the tolls of the fiscal | year ending op the 20th of September, 1846, will be un- Making the entire canul debt w 30th Septembor, 1845 Of this amount, the fi | ticip ++ $19,690,020 77 | heck nd rovided Champlain canal, old debt, | usually large, because that portion of them ly re- for; the money deposited in the tiansfer | oaited tne eas oat office, and no interest has been paid on ‘The tolls upon each of the canals of the State, for the last season of navigation, compared with those of the | season of 1844, are as tollows: it since it fell due, on the first day of Ju- ly last. Yet itis to be paid, is due on presentment, and is, therefore, a liability 845. 1944. ogai ans of this year. The Erie canal. 361,810 78 $2,100,147 34 5 scene sBIL,985 4 Champlait 119,432 95 116,739 32 Of Chenango canal stocks Oswego do. 68,448 66,164 93 there became payable on the Cayuga andSenecado.. 32,486 66 24,618 17 lst day of the present Chemung do. + 91,617 71 14,885 13 Month. oo. ccs eee e veer 2)862,035 66 Crooked lake do. 1,943 86 1,497 89 —_— 2,473,901 20 | Chenango do 26 667 34 22,177 96 cares | Genesee Vall 93,144 35 19,641 20 Leaving a balance of debt not yet due, of. $17,216,119 67 | Oneida lake do. 643 16 ‘21 48 The whole of the Oswego canal stocks be- Oneida river improvem’t 469 10 381 13 come payable on the first day of July pe MeL mee: ol ant next, and the amount i $421,304 00 Totals sree tee 403 78 $2,446,374 62 Of the Cayuga and Sen | ‘The statements from the canal department, from which canal stocks, there beco the foregoing results in relation to the canal fuad and its payable on the first day of | revenues are deduced, are in conformity with the July next, the sum of...... 150,000 00 express provisions of the act of 1642, which req juires that, es a part of the annual expenditures. shall be Love If these liabilities of the present year be the $200,000 directed by the act of the 25th of May, 1641, met by, payment, there will remain a ba- to be paid yearly to the general fund. It will be seen Tance of the canal debt unredeemed, of .$16,644,815 57 | bereeher ihat tis aum was not, for the Int focal your, The commissioners of the canal fund, during the | Paid to the general fund. but was ap| y last fiscal year, and since its close, have pursued the | missioners of the canal fund tthe Fedam Ary roti Pigme policy of paying these stocks at the day, and have, | ficient means, without this portion of those revenues, ag means were at command, and opportunities were | were not provided. The reimbursement of this $200,000 $971,904 00 is 288,292, wd the number of persons entitled to vote for all officers elective by the people, 1s 539,- The statistics of the productions of agriculture and manufactures are very full, and cannot fail to pee great interest. They will receive too careful an ex- amination at your hands, to require the brief refer- ence to them here which this communication will perinit. The improved land in the State averages a trifle more than tour and a half acres to each soul, and there is produced from it, of wheat, corn, rye, and buckwheat, bread stufis} proper, according to our classification, a fraction less than thirteen and one-third bushels to each individual of the popula- tion ; of barley and oats, a fraction less than eleven and one-third bushels; of beans and peas, about three-fourths of a bushel ; and of potatoes and tar- nips, they being the only articles given of the root crops, a fraction more than nine and a halt bushels. The milch cews are more than one tothree persons and the butter and chrese, together, average more than forty pounds to each person. “The neat cattle are very nearly one to each soul, and the hogs more than one to two persons. The wool and flax pro- duced are a little less than six and a half pounds to a person, and the cloth manufaciured, in families and in factories, is more than seventeen yards to oe revels al dustry produces thi tion, whose own industry produces this sinobat sanuatly of the necessaries and comforis of life, and affords such a surplus for exchange, may truly be said to hold the great elements of its inde- pendence and prosperity in its own hands; neither of which can be destroyed, or dangerously impair- ed, while sucha ratio of productive industry is di- rected by virtuous and patriotic impulses, strength- ened by the universal diffusion of education. The law of the last session directed the Secreta- tv of State to appoint marshals to take a census of “the Indians residing on the several reservations in this State, with such statistical information as it should be in their power to collect, and aa the Se- cretary should prescrive.” The returns of these marshals give the means of comparing the condi- tion’of these children of the forest, as they are usu- ally termed, with that of the general [pe ys tp of the State, in many of the particulars above enu- merated ; and the comparison cannot fail to possess 4 strong interest, as in some respects it will present a melancholy evidence of the reduced state, an now almost literally diminishing population of these once powertul and proud nations. The enumera- tion embraces what are usually known as the Sene- ca, Oneida, St. Regis, Onondaga. and Cayuga In- dians, within the State. The w ole number of souls 1s 3758, and the number of births, in the year end- ing on the first day of July last, exceeded the deaths by a single one. A minute comparison of the statistics returned with the census of the Indians will show that, in improved land and articles of food, their condition bears a creditable comparison with that of the white population. In manufactures, and especially of the necessary clothing, there is an almost total defi- ciency. It 12 hoped that these people will institute these comparisons themselves, as they cannot fail to show them that the lands they possess, if as well worked, are capable of rendering them as comfortable. and as independent of want, as their white ne! ee which should stimulate them to still further, an more valuable and more useful improvements. The people of the State have, with a unanimity al- most unknown in the history of ourelections, decid- ed in favor of the proposition to hold a convention “to consider of alterations and amendments to the Constitution” of the State. This decision will re- lieve the present legislature from a mass of responsi- ble labor, which has consumed mach time, for se- veral of the past years. Important propositions to amend that instrument have held prominent places upon the calendars of business of both Houses for many consecutive sesaions, and have given occasion for elaborate investigations and protracted debates. This whole subject has now been referred, by the people themselves, toa convention; and it would be highly improper in me to attempt to press upon your consideration questions thus wisely disposed of, eo tar as our agency is concerned. Upon thig legislature, however, is devolved the constitutional —e Te-apportioning the represen- tation in the legislature, according to the returns of the State census just completed; and as the election to choose delegates to the convention 1s to be held on the last Tuesday in April next, justice to the peo- | lated to pay the whole debt. The close of the fiscal | affurded, redeemed such ot the Chenango stocks as | eral fund, when there were presented. They had given seasonable notice th al revenus to the holders of the stocks, that interest would not | they are abovi be paid after the Sist day of December last, the | only effect will been that the cans! deferred a debt to the general treasury rather than to the public creditor. The condition of the . yeceece fund is e different from that of the eanal fund just presented. fis debt is large, entirely beyond the power of its revenues, and is annually augmenting. Its revenues, now oe uD equal to the current charges upon the fund, separate from any payment om the peel of the debt, are to be materially diminished durii e present year, un- stocks having been made payable “after the year | 1845 ;” and various parcels were presented, large amounts redeemed, before the first day of the present month, which was the day of payment. On the 2ad day of the present month, about $1,798,000 of the Chenango stocks had been paid of an: celled, and about $672,000 was on deposit to the cre- dit of the commissioners, in the Manhattan Bank in the city of New York, ready to meet the payment of by the Lee eere interpose and provide new (sources the balance of these stocks, as they should come in. income. 2 het sheabiot The unusually large amount of the canal tolls, aon by charged upon the fund was, at fi Modend during the latter part of the last season of navigation, Lite ener at tee lous 6k Gs taoalgear has enabled the commissioners to place in bank, at 184, Was... cecewececs ce 6,634,607 68 the proper point, all the money necessary to pay off WS? Higher iio ARR okt et the whole of these Chenango stocks, and thus to ac- | Showing an increase, within the year end- compligh what it had scarcely been hoped could be ing 30th September last, of....... +++ $251,041 66 accomplished, without means other than those the canal fund could supply. The annual report of the commissioners of that fund, te be immediately laid before you, will give more at large the present con- dition of the fund, its revenues and its debt. It will be seen from the same report, that the com- | missioners confidently expect to be able to meet, | atthe day, the Oswego and Cayuga and Seneca stocks, payable on the firet of July next, without any assistance beyond the means in hand, and the | tolls of the next season, which may be received in time for that purpose. ‘ vores gigi shall un sesiiaed we shall | ave effectually changed our policy in reference to ‘appened daring the canal debt. The means of thé first two years, | the last fiscal year, and, therefore, y Bony fund re- after the re of the Foy ccorgey were entirely ceived the whole tax, but for the fature, oy. the one- consumed in paying off temporary loans; arrearages | half of the mill tax im; t law is collect- and damages To oomtractors; dameges done to lands | ed. The remaining PHincipal’ source of revenue is the and the like claims, which had accumulated during | $290.000 per annum, directed bs the koe to the progress of the yas or. were Socasioned by | Sentero to be peld frees ioe ental yl pa eir suspension; and in replacing the moneys there- 2 tate Meamrahinted to pay oll the old Erie and | Reberelfund. This amount has not been paid for the last | peaking of Champlain canal debt, which had been loaned to | canel bethany re sop ck og Ley phd banks that were unable to pay; so that the perma- ) pern deficiency in the revenues of the general fund for the nent stock debt was increased rather than diminish- | last year. ed during that period. Indeed, the last year made | | can add nothing to the recommendations urged in m; the first real reduction of this debt, by the payment | former, annual messoge, thet provision ieee of more than a million and a third of the old stock, | *teugthen the revenues of this fund, srrest d it to th mm bef This | rapid increase of its debt. The ordinary expenses of the ceding ot lau tore uch, unsbal | Goveramectare pow anvouly ety tan an tan 7 ego, su large sum of ,' f 5 si revious year accumulat im m bemate within the present fiscal year, an amount of P Z “4 redemptions equal to $4,314,090 01 will have been made within the two years; the canal stock debt ment neither the interest, nor the will, of our constitu- ents is observed in the pursuit of Sines so ruinous. willhave been actually diminished $4,069,090 01; | and the amount of annual interest upon it will have In addition to the amount tually chi upon thie fund, it fe cobtingentiy liable fo the Zeount of credit been lessened $206,396 58. Results like these will | $1,713 000 00 for loans of State to canal ond railroad compunies,which yet continue topay the ia- z t terest,and it is hoped will extinguish the Drivelpa also of rapidly relieve the canal revenues from the consu- become payable, seve the ming demand for interest, which has so long nearly to the loans, as they shall State entirely hurmlese. A large portion of the loan absorbed their whole net proceeds. The act of 1842, to “ provide for paying the debt | A statement of the liabilities of this fund for the year, and of its meana to meet them, show a deficiency of those means, on the 30th September last, after applying the whole balance of money then remaining in the sury, of $740,151 78. That amounthes been borrowed from and is due tothe other public funds. The productive capital of this fund is literally nothing. its richest source of ravénue, for the last year, hes been the the mill tax, the whole of which, by a Petar i ted no longer levied. That contingen E es | the Delaware and Hudson Canel Company, which was my) bs md ‘ee ot haegeer eee Ange ato gine and preserving the credit of the State,” requires a | eS Say (os Vemantyy EBOee steak, BY statement from the canal department of the revenues | {8 P* bey Ind" abd ats totho peniod pallipiet tho of allthe State canals, derived from sources annual | state not to defer, beyond the day, the redemptionof in their nature, and a like statement of all the ex- | stocks issued for its own benefit, it is presumed ite plea- penditures upon those works, and of all charges | sure will be the stocks it hes loaned shalt vad caused by. or wing out of them, including the | deemed by th rule, payment at the day. sum of $200 000, required by adaw of 1811 to be | stocks loaned company were loraed by the comp annually paid to the general treasury, to be made troller, and the original certificates si him, but they are transferrable at the office of the company, and the new certificates are signed by its treasurer, and countersigned by the officer appointed in the ci New York, to transfer other stocks of the State. transfer books are kept at the office of the company ; the lists of stockholders are only to be found there, and there the payments of interest ere made. It is important that a notice should be at the close of each fiscal year. That statement, for the year ending on the thirtieth day of September last, shows an. Angregate amount of revenue of........ $2,375,282 48 charges and expenses to the amount of 1,918,140 55 rity clint hth Sd hid od ae $457,091 93 | en to the holders of these stocks, that the will be ia In order to institute the sinking fund, required to | je Oy ee Ter peeved mua tary oa be established by the act of 1842, it became necessa- | of thorized to git ry to ascertain the amount of one-third of the annual | witho lists of holders of the stock, interest upon the canal debt existing at the time of | has it in his power to give it. I recommend that the passage of that actand authorized by it. That |-be mado by law to meet this case, and also to was done, at the canal department, alter the amount | the are loaned by the State to cagal and of debt to be contracted under the act had hecome | Panies. certain; ae a pa at is Ore ty 38. | | Heke e Mighe!s pedo bet common school pane This then e the fixed sum, which, at the least, i. 1 WAR. oes in the language of the law, was to be contribu- | At the closo of 1644, that capital was ted, from the surplus canal revenues, to this Showing an increase, within the last year, of 997. sinking fund, at the close of each fiscal vear, | ‘The unproductive part of the cepital of the fund ie commencing with the 30th of September, 1842, | about 350,000 acres of unsold land, situate in the northern and continuing until means should be accumu: | part of the state, and valued at $175,000. ‘he receipts into the treasury during the year, for reve- nue from this capital,were......+ 18,455 87 A 4 the appropri! of revenue Teach all com ear, ending on the 30th of September last, should | ave made the fourth contribution of this amount to | h ple of the couuties, the representation of which is to be increased be ry change of population, would seem to require t the apportionment shonld be made in season to permit this election to take place underit. No injustice will be done, by this proceed- ing, to the counties, the representation of which is tobe lessened by the new apportionment, as they will still have, in the convention, that representation to which their population entitles them, while the other class of counties will have no more. Justice to the whole population equally requires this action at the hands of the legislature. The same people who have voted upon the question of a convention are to be represented in that body, and they have a right to be equally represented. | wil et, however, occupy your time in the discus- sion of a point, about which I feel sure there can be no diversity of opinion, but will content myself with recommending that this subject occupy your early attention, so that the law may be passed in time to prepare for the election in April. The financial condition of the State is a matter, at all times, of the deepest interest, ell to the people themselves, as to their representatives, upon credit, the preservation of their faith, and their in- general views in relation to the true financial policy | 1e State present condition of its debis and liabilities, were so fully expressed in my first message to the Legislature, as to supersede the ne- cessity of a repetition of them here. The recom- mendations were, in substance, that the indebted- | nesa of the State should not be increased ; that the revenues of the respective funda should be so | strengthened aa to render them sufficient to meet current calle, to pay the interest on the debts, and to make annual cont jons to & aahee ind, euch as would extinguish the meee within a resson- able period ; and thet, while the redemption of the whose action they depend for the secunty of their F the sinking fund, and, had they bees full: made, U. S. deposite fund.......++ eeeeee nat ere would have been to the capi of the | fund, from this source, $1,508,637 52; whereas the ae ommien seveeting eo ENR TENY: Hiv.ier $278,496 87 actual contributions have been as follows : | Atthe close of ite fiscal year, “ sees . ter Vd there in be ps mecha 1s, taetreseury, a balanve of the reventes a bd | of this fund Of. ... cece cress sewers 80,019 46 | Making the whole means of the year $367,478 38 t actually contributed entire payme: ese mi plus Tevenucs, for the a ai ring the dame year, were. .... 260,649 37 health de Shas \ | Leavin in the trearu: on the 30th of Se contributed are the whole amounts | Teeter ast, a balance of Tevenwe of... $06,096 96 over and above the ox litures, for | each of ‘he years. The surplus for 1842, as wil] be | The distribution to be made annually to the common seen, was very small, end fell jar short of the required | schools, from the revenues of this fund, is $275,000; and contribution ; and that for 1843 was more then $110,000, | this is raise by tax short, while those of the two last years considercbly | @ lik for the like cistribut excaed he third of Be annual interest et ascertained {ree in ee ee to gtistiog this fe . Os under the law. Yet the aggregate asl contribu. | from operation ie laws re; ~ tions is less, by i ethan it should have been to | this oust ine local fands possessed by various towus make good the ‘according to the contemplation of | in the State, growing mostly out of py te the law. | served for the use of scl , have added $20,000. Cer. ‘There is no express provision in the law establishing | tain towns hove, by the of their inhabitants, raised this sinking fund, which requires thet a y in | by tax upon themselves pode the canal 8 to make the contribution, for a nm | been raised in the cities, we, hall upplied from the surplus of a subsequent | further sum of $200,000;.40 that the w expenditure though nature and t1 of the fund re- | for the year, from these sources, ea oe common quire that construction ; but the act, cl ir 314 of the schooler, and the school district libraries, been 9783, laws of 1844, ow s that deficienc: it be one, by | 000. Of this sum the amount for teachers’ the ett snieimbos et enctoee etek eh tae eet er tee ‘amount contributed on fablishme: or ™ a ne A dett ‘suthorized by It, but the canal Seventies ba | “to pay teachers’ wages, has been, yet, furnished no surplus applicable to that object, the statements before made show that the calls of 1 fund require more than the entire surplus bith Showing an aperegate paid, in the State, to teacher®, Of. «4.44 My annual message tothe last legislature was Tho school district libra | pered ander a misapprehension ‘upon this subject. Riot 106,804 volumes having been Fey ed hey adverting to the fact that the deficiencies of former years vered by the last bee te. Towetn Sas emp Me Le igen waar to this Leg bao be arteee gon 5 mete lie oa 'y: io ‘ties, a ent assu) those Q he mone’ the laet year ind Tarnished 6 nuipue Peyend te Ge $000 hae wen expended inthe erection of shoal mands of this sinking upon them. ). te in th tothe Assem- | — The whole number of ed school Fe ai ai secre cen ih | oat a Sow ts ten tae