The New York Herald Newspaper, January 26, 1853, Page 6

‘THE FINANCES OF THE CANALS. Svare ov New York, CANAL Deranranst, Axpany, December 31, 186 of the Canal Department, in com- Pliance with the statute, reapectfully presents a of the canals and the cane! debt, and the balances id the dition thereof for the last fiscal year. artic balance of canal funds on band on the first of Deposites in bank Investments, securities Annual of the Auditor. ‘Yo vay Commissionens ov rus Canat Fun The Auditor statement of the receipts and payments on account of the funds on hand, the deposi October, 1851, consisted of ‘the receipts during the year have been ESTIMATE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. The estimate of receimanan a ppy mone for the year, pae.tio. 61.) been oe pe < comgleion | ry ai . wemainder of the previous , exclusive of $56,0L 26'tolls on rallsoats, which the roads are now released from ig, was $223,198 60. | ‘An annual appropriation is made by the Legisla- | lature to pay “the expenses of collection, superin- tendence and repairs” of the canals. . The spaeapels. tuon and expenditure in each year since the adop- | tion of the constitution, has been as followa:— | Fiscal Year end- | e p | ‘ing Sept. 30. Appropriations. itures, — Exrcens, | aT, $596,300 $643,766.08 $17,466 | 609,375 855,850 64 246,475 64 | 650,000 685,805 01 36,803 OL 650,000 895,966 81 185,955 81 800,000 _ 907,730.20 107,780 20 850,000 1,049,045 92 194,045 92 the payments during the year on tl) rant of the Auditor have been ‘Total balance at the close of the year..$1, Of this balance there is deposited in bank... 1,315; Investments, securities, in the custody of the Auditor 91,472,750 96 MEVENUSS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE FISCAL YEAR. Statement of the Revenues of the State Ci Is and the Expenses of Collection, Superientendence, and Ordinary Repairs, during the tiseal year ending 30th September, 1892. (Art. 7, see. 1, of the constitution.) Tatovest oa current PAYMENTS. ¥or repairs on Canals, viz ‘fo Superintendents of repairs... {o Canal Commissioners... $005,684 52 For expenses of collection of tolls, & ‘By Coileciors of tolls Wi7 38 By Weigh masters Yor tolls refunded... 2,1 0% For Peep. rere 8,973 32 Vor satary of Auditor and clerks o¢ the Canal Department...... 7,066 OL For miscellaneous payments..,, 15,676 03 1,049,045 92 “Surplus reveny Amount set apart by the constitution, to poy terest and redeem the princi- pal of the State debt, and for tue support of government, viz: For that part ‘of the debt called the Canal debt, (1 .........81,500,000 00 For that part of the debt called the General Fund debt, 62... 360,000 90 Yor the General Fund to pay Ube neoessui expenses of Seen oe government, §3....... aver d ——— 1,850,009 00 The ‘remainder of the reyenut of the fiseal year, applicable to the completion of the Erie canal enlargement, Black river, and Genesee Valley canals, § No. 26....... 230,090 86 The foregoing siaiement shows the gross revenues for the fiscal year to be.. 3,179,145 73 Cost of xepairs, collection of toils, and all ex pences of the support of the canals....... 1,049,045 92 86 Surplusbeyon’ expenses 30,090 Chatgen made by the constitution to pay imerest and principal of the State deb’ and for the support of government 1,850,000 06 Leaving ag a ‘remainder’’ for the comple- Z tion of the canals... seseeeses $280,000 86. During the there was received on account of be 5 sum of £56,901 26. If that amount it leaves, as the actual remainder of re- venues of the canals, the sum of only $225,195 60. _ ‘The gross receipts, and the charges upon them, in each fiscal , Since the adoption of the constitu- tion, have been as foilows:— —GARGES——$—— —— To pay int. Costofre- and pfured pairsand of det, Bisex! collection support of year. Revenue. Zils governanent. ABT 68,478,484 $541,650 $1,859,000 $2,491,650 '8/208,070 © 855.850 1.850.000 2,705,850 1849°3,442,006 685.803 1 : 1860, 3,488,172 835,965 1,8: 1AGL, 3,722,163 907,790 1,850,000 2.797.739 964.432 RB. B/A79,145 1,049:045 1,850,000 2,399,045- 289,009 it will be seen that the annnal average “ remain- der” of the years preceding the last i . By eection’S of article 7 of the cons una ted revenues of the State in 1854, ‘shall sufficient to defray the necessary expenses of the government without continuing or I ea di- rect tax, the Legislature may, at its diserétion, sup- ply the deficiency, in whole or in part, from the sur- piua revenues of the canals.’ to the extent of $150,000, in addition to the $200,000 the game section, those re ward the support of section | of t of June, 1856, the sum o set apart in addition to the appropriated by the same section to the pa the interest and principal of the canal debt. in two years from the day of Junc next, t venues which, for the five years pre one, yielded an averege ann . cable to the completion of the p $830,959 25, and for the last year a der, from canal tolls, o1 bility, to austain the ad It is certain that they additions! charge of of the charge of the cretion’ of the Legi. existing deficiency fund for the support or supplied from the revenues of the cans increased direct tax. Looking at the addition made upon the revenues ‘a to the aunnai “remainder” for the ding the last, it should be noted tho’ remainder of each yearis composed of railvonds, as follows, viz. Canal Tors $042,888 0S wernment. article, 4 v the first day annually already to whether any then i’ the general res so soon to be in reference years prece- ortion of the valis paid by 1347. 1848. 1849. 1850, 800,206 49 1861, 964.432 91 1852. 280,099 86 * These months. It will be seen from the avove, that three years the annual average remain sive of rai id tolls, is $707,838. and for the t three years, $560,119, so that had there been, during the six years, on additional charge of £550,000, the ‘“re- ee of canal revennes applicable to the com- he first ion ofthe public works would have been, annnal- , for the first three years, ¢ J , only $10,119. Ifthe edditioval charge of $409,000 bad commenced with the last year, while there have been no “remainder,” the $200,000 payable annually to the treasury for the support of the government. could not have been paid, and what- ever deficiency there is in the revenues of the Gene- ral Fund, for the support of the government for the last year, would have heen increased by that amount. Reference to the preceding statement of revenue andthe charges upon it shows that while the reve- nues are lessfor the last yeer than for any previons ono-since the adoption of the constitution, the cost of the su of gehen is ver, sitet more than previous year. Comparing the last year with 87. while the receipts are $294,338 82 less, the ex- 838, and for the last penses arc $407,395 84 more, making a difference in the “remainder” of $01,734 66. The ication, during the last year, of the $1,860,000 which is made of canals, is as follows, viz Paid towards the support of the government. $200,000 09 charge on the revenues Interest actually paid on $21,990,802 48, the whole direct debe of the State, (not inclu $100,000 canal revenue certificates) 1,168,067 71 Balsace applicable tothe principalofthe debt 481,942 29 TOTAL, RECEIPTS AND PAT Statement No. 65 shows the ‘on account of all the canals, jm 1817, to th $51,612,225 27 2.5 mers. Lock Navigation Company faiver Canal for Erie Canal feed 9524 been “9 stitution, which declares that ‘no money shall 3, be paid out of the treasury of the State tp in 2 the expenditure is seen to be nearly $2 25 $4,451,805 01 | 155,675 $4,978,162 66 8922,487 55 | ‘The appropriation, in 1847, was for the calendar | year, wile the expenditure ‘is tor the fiscal year. | The actual appropriation for 1845 was Bas, peng om | the nine months ending September 30. The sum pu | down above as the appropriation for the! full tiscal | year is formed by the addition of one quarter of its, | amount to the $487,000, making the sum of $609,375. | With these exceptions, the appropriation and expen- | ditare for the precise fiscal year is given. | It isscen that in each of the six years the | adoption of the constitution, the expenditure has ex- | ceeded the appropriation, ranging from $35,000 to | $246,000, making an aurregse excess in thesix years | | of $822,487 56. ‘This whole excess of expenditure has n of section 8 of article 7 of the con- ever | pursuance of an appropriation by law.’! not | seen that the excess of any one year hasever n } communicated to the Legislature, or that an addition- al appropriation has ever been made to cover such excess. | In reference to the excessive expenditure of the last fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, it wasthe duty of the | Anditor to refuse payment of tlie drafts of the Canal | Commissioners and Superintendents on account of | repairs, when they reached the sum of $850,000, the | Innit of the appropriation, which happened in the | month of August. To have done so would have per- | illed the navigation of any portion of 800 miles of canal, and jeoparded interests, State and individu al, which can hardly be calculated. While no othe: justification can be offered, and while the Auditor cannot say that he would feel impelled to take the same course again, he owes it to himself to state, that when his warrants on the treas- | ury had reached the amount of the appropriation, | and when it had become a qi ion whether | there should be a suspension of payment of the | | drafts of the Canal Commissioners and Superin- | | tendents for the purpose of repairs, and, a3 @ possible | consequence, the suspension of the navigation of the | Erie canal, in midsummer, nearly six months before the meeting of the Legislature, he made every rea- sonable eflort, and made use of all the power which | the law gave him, to keep the expenses down to the lowest limit,as is fully shown in a communication | which he addressed the Canal Board and the Commissioners of the Canal Fund, under date of August 26. See No. 75, annexed. i It is seen that the appropriation of no one year las been sufficient to cover the’ expenditure of the year, and that the expenditure of each year differs from $100,000 to $200,000 from that of the year upon | either side of it. This fact, together with the various and uncertain character of the expenses for repairs, etsay et extraordinary, on eight hundred miles | | of canal, makes it a very difficult matter to estimate | with precision, what expenditures will be necessary | fora coming year. It is seen that inno one year | | since the adoption of the constitution, except 1349, | | has it it been safe to assume that its expenditure, | would not exceed that of the preceding one. The | intention of the Legislature in making the appro- | priation would seem to have been to keep it down to a sum which they supposed would be a rea- | | sonable limit of expenditure. In no one year has the original appropriation for the succeeding one exceeded $650,000. Atthe extra session ofJuly, | 1851, $150,000 was added to the original appropria- | | tion of $650,000 for that year, and still the expendi- | ture exceeded both Si Riemer $107,730 20. The Legislature of 1852 added $250,000 to the original | appropriation of $600,000 for the past year, and yet | 000 beyond Loth appropriations. The estimate made by the last | | Legislature for the year commencing lst October | last, is $850,000—nearly $200,000 less than the ex- | | penditure of the previous year. The first quarter of the current year indicates that the expenditures are to be more than $1,049,045, which is the amount for | the preceding year. Should such be the case, and should the appropriation remain at its present amount, the Auditor is to be again reduced to the alternative of drawing warrants on the treasury in favor of Canal Commissioners and Superintendents for more than $200,000 in excess of the appropriation for the year, or of suspending payment therefor until an additional appropriation can be obtained ofa Legisla- ture to xX months, probably, thereafter, there- the navigation of the Erie Canal for two the busiest months of the season. This is an glternative to which a public officer should not be subjected, if it can be avoided. ppesition that the present rate of ex «reduced, the difficulty may be |, for succeeding years, by making an ap stion for two years in gross. The practice has t appropriation for each dis- ough there was an ap- advance of the curreat m for a current year was ex- eof the year, the Suprone a did not apply. 1 tin nct fiscal 3 au appropriation as the Legisla ifficient for two years in gross, the diffi- culty would he avoided. Another course would be, to have arcasonable appropriation made for the as heretofore, and have the constitutional in- | against any payment beyond it enforced by such legal } penalties as mould relieve the Auditor from the responsibility of what many are disposed to consider a justifiable violation of duty, under the pressure of a strong public necessity, and as would effectually prevent the commission of an act, every | repetition of whieh servos but to weaken the habit- | ual reverence due to the fundamental law, and especially to one of the most important of its pro- visions, and in relation to which its framers mani- fested the extremest see The following statement shows the actual receipts and payments for the first qnarter of the current fis- | eal year, from the 30th September to the Ist Janua- | ‘y, on account of the repairs and maintenance of the canals. And fornine months from lst January to 30th September inclusive, making a full year, the actual receipts and payments, of the previous year, for the same purposesyare given, viz:— Ist Uetober, 18 $1,522,204 20 Yoyment to Canal Sinking Fun three months and Mare ments under the n, three months., $575,888 81 « 995,087 61 Deficit, Ist April, 1855 . ..ssceseeeceees Rep ils, Aprit’‘and May, 206,613 99 rs and collection of tol Deficit, 1st June, 1853...... 8,896 00 Defieit, Ist July, 1859 262,765 00 Tolls, July, August an’ Sept..81,187,073 45 Miscellaneous, (surplus water and interest) 6,000 00 $1,193,075 45 Repairs and col. leetion of tolls Joly, Aug. an Sept... ss... $204,761 47 Vaymen ler the constitu tion, 3 months — 462,500 00 ——— +727.961 17 Surplna, Oth Sept., 1653... The above does not inehyde payments by Ca nal Cotmmissioners, for repairs, from Ist January, 1863, which amounted to If this sum be deducted, it eaves the surplus $1! ‘ Rests are made, aud the results are shown, ows :— Ist January, surplus let April, | deti Ist June, do. Ist July, de. Ist October, surplu * Theee results will be varied by the increase or di- minution of the recetpt#, and the increase or diminu tion of the cost of repairs of the canals for the re- maining nine monthe of the fiscal year. Supposing | the resnits to be as pbove stated, there will be a de- ficit in the revenue of the year to meet the charges | npon it, on the Ist July, of $262,765 60, which must he supplied for the tirae by other fands, should there be any on hand. And this sum will be increased by | ever amount shall be expended by Canal Com- | payments irs, before t Ser a4 j st year baye not been car- ried ‘ash '; alle 7 The cost of the repairs of the canals for the last | year exceeds that of any previous one more than $200,000, and if it were not for the ascertained in- crease in the fir-t quarter of the current year of more | said sinking fund shall be sacredly upplied to that | charge. 69 | Sum of $100,000 onl, | this act, for which @ six per cent stock was issued in | | premium of $7,666 70 was realized on tie sale of the than $70,000, there be reason to: o decrease under " of pad Te- maining nine free competi- tion of the ‘an increase of handy be Seat think it to any of means r @ surplus larger a the $104,953, which is result of the pre- ceding statement. PAYMENT OF re cant er inate Statements Nos. 2 an show operatior the sinking fund for the redemption of the canal debt during the r. The amount of redeemed during the year is $340,265 45, and there is a balance on in banks of $352,885 10. The firat in- stalment of debt due is $20,000 on the Ist January, 1854, and the wext ie $500,000, 1st July of the same year. : Sec. 1, of article 7, of the constitution, directs that the “ principal and income” of the canal debt sinking fund shall be “ sacredly a) ye to pay the interest-and redeem the cial of that part of the Btate debt called the canul debt, “as it existed JH aresolition dated June 18, 1846, the Const tutional Convention called on the Comptroller for “a statement of the direct debt of the canals, ing, inithe order of time, the periods at which the becomes: , the works for which it t ed; the ‘times at which the scrip was of interest theron, and showing the ‘eum, the interest in each on the whole jebt, and the interest and peloslpal pa able in each year on the supposition that the debt be paid as fast as it becomes payable.” The Comptroller, in his answer te the mn (Convention doc. 47, p. 3-6 and 29,) states the canal debt on the “Ist June, 1846," to be “ $17,660,048 71.” He also states that this sum includes $143,929 14 on which no interest “ig paid, the same being due, and the money having been with the transfer agent for its pay- ment. It includes $300,000 authorized to be borrowed tthe act chap. 326 of the laws of 1846, to to contractors, and for which the stock has net een actually issued.” Section 1, of article 7, of the constitution, is in the following words:;— After ing the expenses of collection, superinten- | dence, aa ee re} tae there shall be appropriated ‘and set apart in each fiscal year, out of the revenues of the State canals, commencing on the first day of June, one thousand tight hundred and forty-six, the sum of one million and three hundred thousand dollars, until the | first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty- five, and from that time the sum of one million and seven hundred thousand dollara in cach fiscal year, asa sinking fund, to pay the intere.t and redeem the principal of that part of the Sinte debt called the canal debt, as it existed at the time firat aforesaid, and including three hundred thousand dollars then to be borrowed, until the same | shall be wholly paid, and the principal and income of the purpose. The $300,000 was subsequently borrowed, and be- came a part of the actual debt. pot of the sinking fund thus established. by the constitution, aud the &xtent to which it has paid the interest and redeemed the princi 1 of the canal debt, is exhibited by the following tabular statement :— | Jz | Fle | tbs | 3 | 2 28 BS1 = Re eae ai a B) ESeRe8 Fy BE | Pulsessss! = Bi ssessses i a sz Blssszese” 4) :8 oo Sa | et EP GE 2 bes if ek ae a ie ? | £ : i | if : 4 323 | 8 Peliiesgiid | a BS | 28 22 2| #9 é 2} 83 gq S| os & ti of debt... st on debt + prior to Ist 18. 15.163 16 Balanee of fund on hand 50th Sept., 1 The * miscc'lancous” receipts include the sum of $119,410 30, the proceeds of a tax of one-tenth of a mill, assessed for the @ of the canals, in the years 184 207,954 06, premiums on new six per ceut stock issued in 1849, to procure the means to pay debt thon due, for which the sinking fund was not suflicient; of $7,656 70 ,premiums on a loan of $190,000 made in 1849, to procure the means | ims prior to June 1, 1546, andof the sum 9 93, the unexpended balance of the said and third sums, amounting to recommended by the Governor in his mestage, and the Comptroller, and Commissioners of the Canal Fund, in their an- nual reports of 1550, to be used for “such objects as may be deemed most beneficial to the State.” The Legislature of that year, however, (Act. chap. 370) directed the amount to be transferred directly to the canal debt sinking fund, probably for the reason that, at the time the loan was made at an interest of six per cent, it could have been made at five, and that as the sinking fund was thereby charged with | one per cent extra interest for sixteen years, on $1 24 76, the sum borrowed, the fund should r it for the premium which the State had re- | ed, as an equivalent for the difference in inter- | est with which it had been charged. The $42,869 93, an unexpended balance of the $100,000 borrowed, as | before stated, was transferred to the sinking fund on | the passage of Act c! 375. of 1850, sec. 2, here- | after quoted; the said act having directed certain | charges originating prior to Jane 1, 1446, and forthe | | pasment of which the $100,000 loan was made, to | »¢ paid directly from the sinking fund, The onl one of the sums named which was an actual contri- | bution and «id to the sinking fund was the $119,- 410 30 derived from taxes. The other sums being | the principal of and premium on loans charged upon the sinking fund, simply countervail, in part, such Among the payments charged upon the sinking fund is the item of $119,545 05 for * claims prior to June 1, 1846." The ground upon which this charge is made is understood to be this :—that section 1 of article 7 of the constitution, which sets apart from | the canal revenues, firstly, $1,300,000 annually, to the Ist June, 1655, and thereafter $1,700,000 annual- ly,‘‘a8 a sinking fand to pay the interest and redeem the principal of that part of the State debt called the canal debt, as it existed June 1, 1846, and including $500,000 thereafter to be borrowed,” did not mean simply the stock debt which the constitution called upon the Comptroller to furnish, and which that of- | ficer reported to the convention as it existed on that | day; but that it was intended to embrace any unad- justed and unliquidated claims for work performed or for damages sustained prior to that date, and that such claims, when adjusted, were not to be paid, with other current expenses, from the ‘remainder’ appro- priated annually by section 3 to the completion of the canals, but were to be considered as a portion of the ‘‘debt as it existed June 1, 1846,” and to be a charge upon the sinking fund created to pay such | debt. Under this construction of section 1, chapter 232, of 1449, was passed. | The act directs the Commissioners of the Canal | Fund to borrow on the credit of the sinking fund, | provided by the first section of Article 7 of the Con- stitution stich sum not exceeding $200,000, as may be sufficient to supply any deficiency in the inking fund to pay for ‘damages or other claims accruing prior to June 1, 1846, from which time the canal rev- enues are specifically appropriated by the Constitu- tion,” and the act deciares that “ such stock shall be a charge on the sinking fund in the same manner 9s if sneh debta had heen ascertained and adjudicated and the stock issued prior to June 1, 1846." The has been borrowed under 1849, redecmable in 1864, and the interest on it is paid annually from the canal debt sinking fund. A stock, making the avails of the loan $107,656 70, Of this amount the suin of only $57,130 07 was used for the purpose for which tt was borrowed, and in 1860, | (see Report of 1851, p. $2,) the balance, $50,526 63, was transferred directly to the canal debt sinking fund. Inthe sams year act chapter 375 was passed, which contains the following provisions:— §2. The canal debt, as it existed ov the first day of June, 1846, is horeby declared to inelude all canal debts which existed prior to that day, arising on contracts or | for Iand appropriated and used previous to nid first da of June, 1846, which debts shall be aseertained and aware ed in the manner rev and such debts, whea | thus ascertained and 9 hall be paid from the os nal debt sinking fun aime manner as other por tions of to canal fob | and unalterable sum of $1,800,000 for eight | and of $1,700,000 thereafter. e | maintenance of the canals being provided for, a fixed | fund | of that statement are not Total...... se seet ease esees pose, in 1663, monly while payments were be ir) in whi! nts were being BN le from the proceeds of cabal revenue certificates, no portion of which has been charged to the sinking fund. It is thus seen by the foregoing tabular statement and explanatory remarks, that besides the payment of the $176,675 12, sundry expenses of the fund, and the interest on the debt, the sinking fund has re- duced the debt as it existed, June 1, 1846, $2,910,- 044 57, and has on hand a balance of $352,888 10. But while the ol@ debt has been paid off to that amount, new debt for the pur of the canals, since the adoption of the consti mn, has been cre- ated as follows, via.:— 6, for completion of pub. works $480,819 34 100/000 00 $1,417, Principal of canal revenue cerliticutes...... 1,600, $2,917,404 83 Add catimated amount of arrearages, inclnd- ing protested drafts of the Canal Commis- sioners on Auditor for work on old con- tracts, AC ...66 . 400,000 00 Canal Commtisioners Trotested drafia’on Au. i racts of 81s ditor for work on new cou’ ist 00,000 00 Dec., 1851, &e,... Total new stock debt and equitable obligat’s 17,404 83 Chapter 232 of 1849, and chapter 501 of 1851, au- thorize the further borrowing of $300,000, which, if done, would swell the new liabilities to $3,817,404 83. It thus appears that the sinking fund established by the cons Vertion to pay off the canal debt, ‘as it existed June 1, 1846,” has thus far failed of its pur. pore, and that after the expiration of nearly one-third | of the period within which the debt was to be pro- vided for, the obligations of the State for the pur- poses of the canals are Jarger than they were when the sinking fund was established by the cousti- tution. 2 So far as the canals are concerned, it was plainly the first object of the framers of the financial article of the constitution to make provision for the payment of the then existing debt, and to prevent its further increase for those purposes, unless by a law which should be submitted to, and have the approbation of, the people. By the first section of that article, the expense of the repairs and maintenance of the canals —of keeping them in a condition to do their work in the most efficient manner—are made the first; and, as to amount, unlimited charge upon the revenues, as is seen by the charges for that purpose in the last ear, Which are $407,895 84 more than they were in 847. The next charge is the fixed sum of $1,850,000 for the payment of the interest and principal of the debt, and for the support of the government. The “remainder” of the revenues, after these deductions are made, is devoted to the completion of the Erie Canal enlargement, and the Genesce Valley and Black River canals, until the said canals shall be com- pleted. The cost of the maintenance of the canals is necessarily an uncertain sum, depending on the exi- gencies and casualties of the navigation, and on economy of management. mainder” applicable to the completion of the unfinished works. It may be more or less, Senencing, first, on the amount of the revenues, ant secondly, on the cost of repairs. The charge to | pay the interest and principal of the debt is a fixed The support and sum being annually set apart, which would wear | away an ascertained debt in a given time, and the | remainder being devoted to the completion of the canals, all requisite provision would seem to have | been made for all canal purposes from their own reve- nues, without idinaseemaity of creating further debt for that purpose, unless on its : t le for their approval. A different construction was, owever, given to the constitution by those who have | had the management .of its affvirs, and within the six years following its adoption, new stock and equitable obligations have been created, as has_been stated, toan amount exceeding that provided for by the sinking fund. i The cant debt bad reached its ma: Ree in Lisa on the 0th September, of whten yea! It Amounted to $20,713,905 58. He increase and dimlnntion Rach year since, and its amount at the close of each fiscal | year is shown by the following statement:— ee Canal deb! at close | a. of cach fiscal year. | $20,718,906 58 9,690,020 89,819 4 50 000 00 1 17,001,269 16 ig Lorrowed in isto and 1546 were to pay for arrearages due on the works suspended in Is42. The $300,000 borrowed _in-1846 is the sum alluded to in section 1 of article 7 of the constitution, where the canal debt, to the payment of w the sinking was to he “sacredly applied defined to he the debt “as it including $300,000 then to be a be little he $300,000 thi cially alluded to in was intende be the last sum jature could authorize to be borrowed sent of the people. years preceding the bt was absolutely reduced nearly $4,000,000. Six years have elapsed tince its adoption, and, notwithstanding its mandate in relation to the “‘sacred” application of the sinking , fund to the reduction of the debt, it stands now just about where it did when the mandate was given. Statement 4%, shows the amount of principal and interest actually payable in each year on the present stock debt of the canals, and the process of its re- | duction by the operation of the sinking fund until its final extinction:— ‘The principal of the debt, not including the $1. 000 canal revenue ce cates, is. interest until its exti ion. Amount necessary to liquidate canal deb! ipal of the debt th © ix hel 507,100 16 994,000 00 1,109 16 ND FOR THE COMPLETION OF PUBLIC WORKS. There is an apparent bulance on hand belonging to the fund for the completion of the public works, (see Nos. 18 and 19,) of $329,682 34, but no portion of i¢ is available for that purp except the sun of $48,966 561, which is the residue appropriation in i851 for the basins and slips at Mulfalo. The balance is made up as follows Belonging to the b: Deposit in Cans! Bi do. Wolter J Real estate i Pank Fund > Total ,. The amounts ¢ they did last year. Noth them, and I cannot learn that anyffing will be, nor from the real estate securities of Walter Joy’s Bank. A portion, if not all, of the Bank Fund Stock, which $329,682 4 bears an interest of six per cent, might be made | available by an exchange for State stock bearing five per cent interest, which the Comptroller holds in trust for the school and literature funds, and which could be ray, disposed of. But though the par of the Bank Fun they have advanced to the completion fund in antici- pation of the earning of the jus for the year, Statements Nos. 22 and 23, 36 and 37, and 38 and | 39, show the operations for the year of the funds for | the completion of the Erie Canal enlargement and the Genesee Valley and Black River canals. ‘The expenditure on these works during the year, by the Canal Commissioners, was as follows :— Gnu the Erie Canal enlargement $013,148 64 “ Genevee Valley canal - 208,930 94 “ Black River canal... . 118.356 0 Surplus of the year, viz :-— Canal tolls, ‘06 nal Revenue certificate, oe —— $1,210,455 8A As to the present condition of the fund for the completion of the Erle canal enlargement and the Genesee Valley and Black River canals, and ita abil- ity cd aoe any further charge, upon it during the current fiscal year, I annex hereto and make a part of this communication a statement which I addressed to the Commissioners of the Canal Fund on the 11th November last. (See No.7 general results h varied by the closing of the accounts for the year fo make its revi- sion a matter of importance, and it is reterred to as preeenting the present, and with the qualifications subsequently noted, the prospective condition of the fond for the completion of the works. Its concli sions, as stated in its own language, areas follows:— “It appears from the foregoing: — That the ‘ins of the fiseal year ending Mth Septem. ber Inet, of 000, was expended in that year That the plus of the current fixeal year is estimated at $200,000, That no portion of the eurplus of the current fixeal year can be earned until after July next That payments already made, since the i0(h of Septem ber, and Gutstanding dishonored drafts of the Canal Com ioners on the Avditor, are equal to (he estimated sur for the nt yenr. $ Of the work in progress there ave es 404 83 000 00 | So Win the “re- ATS, | submission to the peo- | ks stand as 3 vai realized from | Ao be made. in. the cur- rent year, equal to ,000. That conti continues at the rate of, $00,000 or. 00s, month, when the extirasted warp = Ce are which they are a charge, is al- ly exhau: - i ‘That the paymentialready made in this fiseal year on account of thé completion ot the public works, aad any further payments, are and must be, im anticipation of a surplus, which will not be carned till near the close of the ear. ‘That already, the estimated surplus for the current year, of $300,000, based upon the tolls of last year, is div mimished $27,659 by the falling of of that amoun! of tolls in October. ‘That the estimated cost to finish the work now under contract is about $850,000. ‘s < ‘That the Auditor notified the Canal Commissioners in June last, tbat the condition of the revenues waa auch that not more than, and probably less than, fifty per cent of the monthly estimates of work could be paid; and it is estimated that their outstanding drafts, dishonored by the Auditor for the want of means, including drafte for work in October, amount to about $200,000, ‘That there are additional drafts of tho Canal Commis. sioners, to the amouat of $81,720 drawn on the Auditor and dishonored by him, before the decision of the Court of Appeals, for work performed by direction of the Canal increased to $100,000 or $150,000. on his part of dishon- Canal Commissioners, necessary to prevent the necessit; | oring drafts drawn. pon him, by for expenditures, which are a cl Py on the surplus reve- nues, and totake care, if possible, of the dishonored drafts now outstandin, Thave notified the Canal Commissioners that I can pay no further drafts in favor of contractors, engineers, or for land or other dainages, nor allow any account or voucher, so far as they are a charge on the surplus, until! shall dtherwise advise them, It should be stated, however, that in the estimate of means wanted for n work within the year put down at $375,000, and h is a charge upon the surplus, I omitted the expense of the repair and improvement of the old locks, from Rochester to Montezuma, by the beat enlargement of the their size, for the reason that | supposed, at the time, that the work was to be doneasa repair. Act chap. | 283, of 1849, however, which authorizes it, directs | that the “expense thereof shall be defrayed out of the moneys appropriated, or to be appropriated, for | the enlargement of the Erie canal.” This will add | to the expenses chargeable upon the surplus for the | year, beyond its estimated amount, the sum of about 000. | As the work has been ordered by the Canal Board, and let by the Canal Commissioners, with a provi- sion in tlie contracts that it is to be completed by June 1, 1853,and as there can be no enlargement moneys before, nor for a long time after that date, it is suggested that provision be made by law for the payment of the expense as a repair of the Erie canal, out of the eta serene =: nate in A very important, and perhaps controlling, qual fication of the, estimated amount of the surplus, | “remainder,” forthe current year, applicable to the | completion of the public works, is furnished by the | increased cost of repairs for the first three months of the fiscal year, commencing with the first of Oc- | tober. The estimate that the surplus of the current | year would be $300,000, or $80,000 more than the surplus of the last year, after deducting the tolls from railroads, was upon the supposition that the expenses would be nomore than for that year. Com- paring the adyances already made on the drafts of | | Canal Commissioners and Superintendents, in the , three months named, with similar advances in the corresponding three months of the previous year, the results are as follows :— In 1842—Oct., Noy., and Dec.. Inlgl “ “ | Increase in the last three months. This increase of expenses takes, at vnce, $76,- 966 15 from an estimated surplus of $300,000 for the | enrrent year. A like increase for the remaining | nine months of the year would more than use up the residue. Sncha result would, of course, leave the | treasury without any means ppplicebie to the pay- ment of any of the outstanding drafts of the Canal | Commissioners, or for any new work, or for engi- neering, land damages, or any payment of any de- | xeription, on account of the Erie canal enlargement, | the Genesee Valley or Black River canals, during the fiscal year ending 30th September next. | With these indications, furnished by the first three months of the fiscal year, prudence would seem to | dictate that it should not be relied upon as a ccr- tainty that there will be, either in the current or | in the succeeding year, a surplus from canal tolls | Sufficient to meet the outstanding drafts of the Canal Commissioners, which have been dishonored by the | Xuanor zr Want of means, orfor any of the purposes | | before named. There is no power to borrow for | these cts. If the revenues do not increase, or if the expenses ate not diminished, ong ‘i both, there | is no remedy for the difficulty short of some so: | taxation, It is hardly becoming the dignity or the Commissioners on the alleged contracts made under act. chap. 465 of the laws of 1801, and which will probably be | In view of the foregoing, the Auditor asks the advice of | the Commissioners of the Canal Fund as to the measures | and the interest is understood to have been paid. OBWHGO CANAL LOAN. Sections 1 and 2 of chap. 501 of the laws of 1351, provides as follows:— ‘The Commissioners of the Canal Fund shall borrow, under article 7, sec. 10, of the constitution, on the oredit of the State, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, im the year 1851, and the sum of two bundred thousand dollars in the year 1862, to be oupiet aa hereinafter dt- rected to the completion of the enlargement of the locks of the canal, payable in the discretion of the Soeceseeenes, at and after a period not exceeding ly years. ‘The act directs the interest on the loan to be paid, first from the Fyorns received on it, and then the interest and reimbursement of the principal is made a charge on the General Fund. Contracts are directed to be made for the completion of the locks of the size of the enlarged locks on the Erie canal, 80 as to bring them into use within six months after a single line of enlarged locks are brought into use between Buffalo and Albany. The sum of two hun- dred thousand dollars of the money borrowed is propriated to the enlai ent of said locks, to paid on the beeae of t a beragea of She Casal De- artment, within a year after the passage act, be two hundred thousand dollars in the second year, as the same may be necessary; “ and when the enlargement of the locks sball have been contracted for, any surplus that may. retain over and above the contract price of such locks, whether Spnropriaien by this or any other act, shall be applied to the en- largement of the Oswego canal; but the work oa said canal shall not progress faster than shall be ne- | cescary to complete the eame Wy the time the en- largement of the Erie canal shall be fully completed from Buffalo to Albany.” 3 Section 10 of article 7 of the constitution, which the act refers to as authorizing the loan, is as follows :— fection 10—The State may, to meet casual deficits or failures in revenu for expenses not provided for, contract debts; but such debts, direct and contingent, singly or in the pare shall not at any time exceed | one million of dollars ; and the moneys arising from the loans creating such debts shall be applied tothe purpose for which they were obtained, or to repay the debt so | contracted, and to no other purpose whatever. : The sum of $200,000 was borrowed in 1861, as di- rected by the act, but the additional $200,000, direct- ed to be loaned in 1852, has not been borrowed. The monies borrowed are on deposit in banks at an in- terest of four per cent, Pe annually, while the aes bears an interest of six per cent, payable quar- | terly. Contracts haye Leen entered into for the rebuilding of the locks, as directed by the act, and drafts of the | Canal Commissioners for payments chargeable to | repairs, have been made during the year, to the mount of $62,717 45. i Act chap. 262, of the Jaws of 1847, directs the rebuilding of the locks on the Oswego canal, and set apart, from monies not appropriated or touched by the constitution, the sum of $100,000, with the in- tcrest to accumulate upon it, to meet the difference in expense between the cost of locks of the old and of the enlarged size. The constitution, section 1 of article 7, is understood to direct the “ ordinary re- pairs’’ of the canals to he paid from canal tolls. It aa never been disputed, | believe, that the re- building of a lock on a completed canal is an “ or- | dinary repatr.” Under these directions of the act of | 1847, and of the constitution, and of act chap. 343 | of the laws of 1851, which re-appropriate the | $100,000, and of act chap. 330, of the laws of 1852, which makes an appropriation for the ordinary re- pairs of the canals, I have pald the dratts of # Canal Commissioners from canal tolls, instead paying them from the loan of $200,000, as contem- plated by the act of 1851 ; consequently, as has been stated, the loan of $200,000 remains on hand, and if | 1 am correct in the course I have taken, with the ap- oval of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund, and if the re-building of tho locks of the Oswego canal | is, like the re-building of locks on all other canals, | an ordi repair, payable from the revenues of the | canals, and not an “ expense not provided for,” and for which a debt may he created—the $200,000 which is on deposite in banks at four per cent, while the loan pays six per cent, at a loss to the State of more than $4,000 annually, must remain on hand for an indefinite period, unless some disposition of it shall be made by the Legislature. LOAN POR CANAL REPAIRS. Statements Nos. 8 and 9 show the receipts and payments on account of a loan made “ to provide for raordinary repairs and improvements of the canals,” under act chapter 374 of the laws of 1849. The act is in the following words :— | An act to provide for extraordinary repairs and improve- ments of the canals. Passed April 11, 184%, three-fifths The Pople of the Sta 1¢ of New York reprevented in Se- amet be greats: ee meneed te Be um 2 ~Afiv tho: rs, out of mo- honer of a powerful ‘State to trast the payment of 7 | her outstandmg obligations, now resting under pro- test, to the precarious prospect of a surplus, the earning of which is subject to so many continge as is the “remainder” of the revenues of the ca: beyend the charges made upon them by the co stiluti Xposed as it now is to the unrestricted ion of several lines of railroads. it is not just towards a creditor of the State who holds her dishonored obligations that their payment should be put by and deferred, upon a pretext of awaiting the uncertain means from a particular source of revenue, when the certainly and speedily to procure them. Statement No. 50,shows the receipts and payment: on account of the Blick River und Genesee Valley canals from the c minencement to the present time. 10WS:— « From avails of loons. do. Erie and Cham, do. Tolls on B. R. anc do. Interest on deposits. do. Miscellaneous ... i Total...... canals PAID. Principal of loans. fs Interest on * 33 5 OT | do. — Revenve Certitiertes..- ol Surplus to E.and (. C..... 48 , Canal Commissioners 27 Superintendents, Premium on purchase of stock. Collectors. . . . | Miscellaneous . 346,076 09 stment The totalamount paid is...... - $i Deduct payment of principal of loan And itleaves the sum of... ........ 835,12 ie present cost of the three unfinished worl ing interest on the debt It is seen that of the tota! cost the sum of $23,036,- 59 10 Ma devived from the surplus earnings of the canal. | ‘The sum of $266,095 20 has Leen received for tolls ou the Genesee Valley and Black River canals. CANAL REVENUE CERTIFICATES. Nos. 16 and 17 show the receipts and payments 98 ‘ks, in- | iP hed | for the year on account of canal revenue certificates, issued under act chap. 485 of the laws of 1851. — | The avails of certificates issued have been as | follows :— In August, 1851, proceeds of sale, principal «$1,000,000 00 Premium,...e.+ 9, re principal, In Dee, 1851, do. ” premium, | 502,054 00 Total proceeds... a seseeee Under the provisions jon 3, of the act referred to, paymonts of the drafts of the Canal Commissioners on the Auditor were made therefrom for work performed on the old contracts, previous to the decision of the Court of Appeals in May last, to the amount, with sundry other payments, of 1,056, Stock should be realized by the ex- | change, it would simply restore to other funds what Leaving a balance 0f..s.scescseesesess $400,064 55 This _belance is on hand and on deposit in hanks, | The principal sum of the certificates issued is $1,500, 000, on which interest is payable, half-yearly, at the | rate of six Be cent per annum, on the first days of | | January and July. tion 9 of the said act makes | | an he aah for the payment of the first and | | second years’ interest ‘out of the avails of the sale of | | the certificates, and the premiums received thereon | and the interest that shall accrue on the deposit ot | such avails.” The act directs the interest to be paid | “by the Treasurer on the warrant of the Auditor of | 4, | the Canal Department.” | The last and only warrant | drawn by the Auditor for the payment of interest | | Was on the Ist January, 1952. For the reasons | stated in a letter addressed by me to C. O. Halsted, | | Eeq., President of the Manhattan Company, (sec No. | 70, annexed,) I did not draw a warrant on the | | treasury for the payment of the half-year's interest | due Ist July last, having doubts whether, after the | decision of the Court of Appeals, that the act in its | | “main provisions was unconstitutional,” I should be justitied in so doing. The Manhattan Company hag been the agent of the State in the city of New York, for the payment | of interest on, and for the transfer ond peyment | of the canal debt, since the first loans for the canals | were made, in 1817. Having during thot long yieriod never failed to meet the Pe ment of the interest ou and the principal of the debt of the State on the day it came ne it was but natoral that, leaving the cre- dit of the State out of view, and simply in reference to its own interest, it should feel « solicitude that there should he no question as to the payment of in- | terest on serip, which on its face aeclared it to be | payable at the counter of the bank-—and which, | thongh pronounced bythe highest court to have been | ereated in violation of the constitution, had been | trentcd as State debt by the State of had be: | come the basis of bank circulation—liad entered into | the channels of business, and the proceeds of more | than two-thirds of whieh the State had expended on | the public works, As you are aware, the proffer of | the bank to pay the iatgrest dee July 4,‘ provided | te has it in her power | rie canal enlargement and the , It isas fol- | | provided by law for the | was offered in evidence, showin, Sec. 1. The sum .. “ nies to be borrowed under the provisions a the act en- titled “An act in relation to clsizns upon the caus! funy | and expenses not provided for,” is hereby appropriat | for the purposes of said uct. | The act towhich refer lowing words :— ce is made is in the fol- >w Yor', represented in Se- « fol | See. 1. If the Le, > ioners of the Canal Fund, ime, by virtue of eons enues of the canals are not ‘ion of the constitution, tb Fond shall be authori: the 7th article of the constitat n such tim icable under the re- ‘commissioners of the i, under the 10th section of n, to borrow such sup of not exceeding eighteen such rate of interest, not exceeding en per cent per annum, ay th icemm most bene- to the inieve: ti; and the Comptroller | shall be auth a ock therefor in the manmer issue of stock, in other cases, The sum of $50,000 only was borrowed under the provisions of these laws, in 1849, for which a stock pearing an interest of six per cent per annum, paya- ble quarterly, was created, redeemable in 1865. "the sum of $5,407 was received as a premium on the sale , of the stock, Interest on the $50,000, for nearly two Fears, was paid from the premium. Underact chap. 330, sec. 3, of 1552, the balance of the former year, | and the interest for the last one, was paid from the | General Fund, out of which it must continue to be paid during the life of the stock. : It presents the sin- gular anomaly of a debt created for the repairs of the , canals, which is treated asa canal debt, but the in- terest on which is paid from the General balance of the Ioan on hand is only s¢ 5 | sum is small, but, with the clear con m I have, , that by the provisions of article 7 of the constitu- | tion, all repairs of the canals, and all nec canal expenditures, are to be made from the canal revenues, | and that a debt cannot be created for these purposes | withont the consent of the people, I have tit disin- clined to apply this balance in that way, and I call | attention to it merely that 1 may have advice as to the disposition to be made of it, as it is not probable that nny more debt of a similar character will be ; created, Respectfully submitted. i1., Auditor. A Fearrive 3 Casu iN Prrnavenpnra.— On Saturday morning » hearing took place before Commissioner Ingraham, of Charles Wesley, a youn, | colored man about twenty years of age, charged witl being a fugitive from labor. His claimant is Gideon Ii, Rothwell, of New Castle county, Delaware, who claims to hold the alleged fugitive under the laws of the State of Delaware. He is alleged to have ab- sconded about the first of June last. ‘he story of the hoy is, that ‘the is a free born boy,” and was born | in New Jersey, about one mile from Camden. He lived on a farm with a man named Rowley, for four years before he came to this side of the river. He then went to boating on the canal, and continued that business for tour months. He bas resided, for the last four months, at the head of the inclined Eee and denies any knowledge of the person who jays claim to him. “Wm. E. fenman and Jos. BE. Castello appeared for the claimant, and D. P. Brown and Wm. 8. Pierce for the alleged fugitive. A num- ber of witnesses testified as to the identity of the A and the fact of his being a slave; and the bill of «that the claimant had purchased a boy named Charles Wesley, for $300, of Emory Temple, until he shonld be twenty-eight ‘care of After the testimony for the defence ed been concluded, Messrs. Brown and Pierce | asked for a postponement until Friday morning at 10 o’elock, to afford the defendant an opportanity to send for his friends in New Jersey, to establish hig edom. This was granted, and the case adjourned over until thattime.—-Phila. Pennsylronian, Jan. 24. ENSUS OF ToLEDO. Onto.—The following is an enumeration of the inbabitants of Toledo, and the _ dwellings, stores, and warehouses erected within the last year. The enumeration is of the actual resident ree — Wards. First ward,. Second ward Third ward Fourth «ar Total... Inhabitants. Stores. Dowaltings. 6 ol STa Jew a Bl agen Mvsic vs. Guxvowner—Dr. Charles Zannone, the agent of Signorina Maberlini who says that he was an SJtalian officer, and served his country in the ware of 1848-9, has sent a document to the editors of the Boston Al/as, which has the smell of gunpowder. The agent took offence with a criticism on Maber- Hini’s concert, which appeared in the Atéas of Satur. day, and snys to the editors to retract or send a friend to ce the “ little preliminaries.” Wilt they retract, all we havea duel? As the Colonet is Clerk of the Honse, be must not rin the riak of receiving & canall bit of cold Jead, or being cut inte pieces with an Italian sabré,—Bostom Bee, dan, th, 1 $1 75 p arperte of Salem, My tay, from April Tat ¢ Ish $9 Ap ha striek for and GL