Newspapers / The Wilmington Sun (Wilmington, … / Jan. 10, 1879, edition 1 / Page 1
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$7.00 a Year. THE LEGISLATURE. ' SEt'OXD DAY. Covernor'n Meage--X Other .! l'roedine of Importance . j Josiab Turner Expelled from j Democratic Cau , I - cnPartT Well Or- i " ganlxed No Bolt 1 : j Tills Year. . . Special JHpate. t RxLEtcn, N. C.i January 9, 8:50 p. m. Nothing of jpecial interest or of general importance ." transpired in either bouse to day. ": ' j The Governor's message was read at 12 o'clock. Copies had been sent you by imail and by express. j The genera l-caucus of the Democratic party last nijjht expelled Josiab Turner, of Orange, he having bolted the action of the caucus in the Speaker's election. All other independents have been recognized as in good pa ty standing. - There will e no bolt or attempt at sub version of party will this year. The 'can-, cus will express the will of the Democratic parly and all members will abide by it. The election iof Mr." Moring, a bolter of 1872, as Speaker, has no. significance un favorable to 0ov. Vance. On the contra ry the friends of the Governor regard it as a peace offering on the altar of party, and 'fixing as it does all Merrimon men in cau- cus, it strengthens party organization in .. . .... which is the Gov. Vanc great hope and strength of II. GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE; y.e print tWay the full text of the Gov- V ernor's Message to the General Assembly To the Hoiiorable the General Assem bly of ' Nor th Carolina : In compliance with the Constitution and the time-hon ' . ored custom of my predecessors, I have the honor to greet you as the representa tives of the people and to confer with you in regard to the state of our Common wealth. To kn Executive desjrous of serv ins well his State, the meeting: of the General Assembly is always the occa sion of rejoicing, as it not only brings, to f Iisjtid the jwise counsels of legislators tfresh from their constituents, but relieves . him of much Embarrassing responsibility ; I therefore dladly welcome you to the capital and promise to co-operate most heartly with you in devising means to pro mote the public good. , . I It is known: to you that owin rr in ni ncps which I need jnot here attempt ; date, the people of the United and in a Great measure of the to eluci- States civilized worled have been for some years past, and still are, passing through a period of most remarkable financial trouble, producing everywhere much distress and even disas ter. Of course North Carolina has shared these calamities and her prosperity has been retarded. as lias that of others. But I be- lievel can truthfully say that she has suf fered a9 little if not less, by these hard times than her sisters. Looking at the whole State land comparing her condition with others, Iwe have abundant reason to be thankful and take courage for the future. Theipublic health has never been better ; whilst the pestilence has played with pitiless jfury among the homes and pleasant places of our Southern and Wes- em neighbojrs, especially of our great daughter Sjennessee. . The profpundest quiet andTmbst reverential obedience'to legal authority have prevailed throughout our borders while noting, robbing and defiant lawlessness have disturbed the peace of muny States north and west of us, accompanied both by arson and blood- shed. I . i . The crops bf the last two seasons have been excellent and the means of subsis- tence have never been more abundant and cheap. The industry of our people has been notably increased and diversified; their farms, stock and agricultural lmnle- ments show considerable improvement: and -w s - cj a ' - 1 a i wane me prouuciion or our casu siapies has steadily Enlarged, the amount of bread- stuffs purchased abroad has visibly dimin ished. Thisjis an undoubted evidence of progress. Biut manufacturing enterprise and the legal class of speculation requir ing more capital have not equally advanc ed, owing to Ithc nnancial derangement re ferred to, in! consequence of which there has been somje distress among oun mechan ical population, and prices of all products, including labor, have ruled low. itememDeEing that jNorth" uaronna is pre-eminent an agricultural State, your. legislation should be directed towards the improvement of that interest mainly. In i this connection I beg to call your attention to the fact that the first and perhaps great est w of dn agricultural people, thinly scattered ovr a wide extent of territory, is that of gooq highways and easy transpor - tat ion for persons and products. As a general rule.jfrom the lowland belt west ward the highways of our Stateare as bad as, if not worse than ahv to be found in the Atlantic) States: f beld system of locating them and keeping them in repair, adopted bv our fathers more than a hun dred years ago, is still in use, though its utter inefficiency for nearly that length of time has beep apparent. Of the iuconve nience, cost iaDd depressing tendency upon all industry ihich such roads occasion, I j need not step to remind you ; I shall only beg. your earpest attention to the necessi ty for a change, and express my decided opinion thatjno permanent prosperity need be expected j unless this grievous eeil is remedied. Certain great leading thorough fares through the most convenient " cen i tres, and all pouring intd the nearest rail- road lines, might be cheaply and thorough ly constructed by convict labor, the' coun ties through "which they pass supporting the convicts.) And as to the other, roads "discharging into these, I advise that some ' other method for their construction and re pairing be devised. I am happy to be ablelo state that an increased interest is manifested among all . passes in : popular education. This is I Jheve mainly due to the action of the I Legislature in appropriating money I lot thd establishment of Ntmnal Schools. la accordance with the law the Board of i Education established one for the whites at the University and. decide to locate one for the blacks at Fayettsville, in a build ing tendered by the colored people of that place. Tbey were established on some what different systems, a regard being had to the circumstances of each race, it was considered that the white race had, al ready many educated teachera who simply needed instruction in the art of teaching, while the blacks needed teachers in structed in both the elements of learning and the art of teaching. For the one therefore a six weeks school was held at Chapel Hill during the summer vacations, and for the other a permanent school was established in Favetteville. Both have been remarkbly gnccesful:at; the first session of the white school 225 teachers attended, and at the Becoad one the pa&t summer, more than 400 teachers were pres ent, representing about sixty counties. An excellent corps , of instructors was em- tdoved. the Lniversitv cave the use of its buildings, its liberties, laboratories and apparatus. The railroads very generously gave reduced rates, the agent of the 1 eabody fund supplemented the appropri ation with a handsome donation, and every dollar that could be spared was used to equalize the benefits of the State's bounty by paying the travelling expenses of the more indigent. . Lectures by distinguished citizens of the State on popular themes we're delivered almost daily with the best results. The undoubted effort of the whole was to arouse an enthusiastic inter est in behalf of . popular education among a large portion ot our people, and to excite a spirit of honest pride in their noble call ing among all the teacher3 present, which will, it is hoped, do much good, lhe accompanying report of 1 resident Uattle is referred to lor particulars. The colored rsormal School at iayetteville was put lft charge of Mr. Robert Harris, a native col ored man .of excellent character and ca pacity, supervised by a. board of local managers selected from the best business citizens of the town who took a great in terest in its welfare. It has been managed with, unexpected success. The- fir4i session Opened with fifty-eight pupils- about forty ot whom have re eived certificates as teachers, some of high grade ; the second year began with seventy-four pupils, and is now in progress. I he same donation ' was made to this school by the PeaUody Fund as to the white school,, and the same scheme adopted to equalize its benefits. The report of Mr. Harris to which you are referred will be as surprising as I am sure it will be pleasing to all who desire the real welfare of our colored citizens. I sincerely hope the appropriation for both schools may be renewed, and the law be made to embrace both sexes. For though females have attended both schools by per mission, yet the. Board of Education did not feel at liberty to expend any State money in their aid, which appeared a little mngal laht for so christian a people as ours, who are so well aware that as a general rule our female teachers are better than the males. The excellently worded memoria1 of the teachers themselves, which accom panies the report of President Battle, is especially commended to your favor. BOARD . OF AGRICULTURE. The establishment, 'by the last Legisla ture, pursuance of the Constitution, of a Department of Agriculture was a very im- portant step indeed to the welfare of: this State. As was to have been expected the law has in some respects proven defective, and wilt require some amending at your hands, but in the main it is an admirable one. It is the first special effort ef er made' in the direct interest of agriculture! and has been hailed by our farming peopMe with great satisfaction. So far this Bureau has cost the people nothing, the tax on the license to sell fertilizers halving yielded sufficient revenue for all ltpurposes. As soon as possible after the passage of the law in 1877, the organization of the Board of Agriculture was completed by the elec- tiou of the two intelligent larmers who i now occupy seats in it, a Commissioner was elected, a Secretary and Treasurer chosen, and work began immediately. For the results of the first two years I refer you to the accompanying !report of the Commissioner, CoK L. L. Polk, which sets out everything in detail, I regard the be ginning as excellent, lhe clnet .difficulty in the way of doing any new thing among a Deome so conservative as otirs is in se- i.r i . . curing" their prompt co-operatiOn. , It was I r i ' Tt a. 12 a fonnd verv difficult at hrst to awaken an active interest - in the operations of the Bureau, but the' impression once pro duced is lasting and enlarging. Special attention has bea-n- given to the analyzing ancj classification of fertilizers, including marls; to the restocking of our rivers with fish, and the preparation of a hand-book of information-Cijncening the State and its resources. Much good has been effect ed, I am sufe, and an interest excited that will lead to still more. A serious drawback to fish propagation is the "num erous dams and obstructions of the streams; and public sentiment is in many- places prevented from bearing ;upon the owners of these obstructions bv the sneers of the ignorant and the incredulous. This will disappear when the results are seen, and J the laws passed in aid of this important 1 matter will then be helped in their execu tion by a wiser papular opinion. The trou ble with regard to the preparation of a proper hand book has been the actual im possibility of getting statistics. The duties required of tax listers under the 6th section of the act establishing the Department, have been in seven cases out of ten evaded or openly and defiantly refused. Additional legislation is needed to make this law effectual. And in this connection I beg permission to remark generally, that the vital defects of our laws lies in 1 the ma chinery provided for their execution. The genernl tenor of our legislation is excellent, as all who philosophicially examine our statutes for a hundred years past will con fess; but a large portion of them often of a most beneficent character lie dormant and inoperative. There is no power given to the Chief Executive,Vor any head of a Department, to quicken the diligence or rebuke the criminal neglect of his subordi nates; and many of our best laws take the chance of local favor or disfavor wittrwhich they may be regarded, and arealive or dead as. they may be. Proof of this is found in the number ot new Statutes m relation to subjects concerning, which excellent , ones are already in existence. It is no.t a good thing or a healthy sign, perhaps, for a people to multiply greatly their list of criminal offences, but for the curing of thii serious defect in the administration of our laws I can see no better way than WILMINGTON, N. the imposition of heavy penalties for the omission or refusal, on the part of any public officer, to perform any duty which he is required to perform. , It lias not only becn-vfound impossible to get the statistics required under the act establish ing the Board of Agriculture, as before remarked, but also to get proper and time ly re terns from the county school boards and managers ; whilst several counties in the la$t election for Congressmen failed to send full and proper returns of the votes cast, and some even failed to return any at all; and so on 1 through the list. It is to the last degree discouraging to those who earnestly desire to do something for the publb good to find that those whose special duty it is to help will not doso, and can refuse to do so with.impunity. As to the work on the Agricultural Bu reau, I desire to call your attention to the subject of our forests. I will not undertake to point out the many and most important functions which they fulfill in the economy of nature, and which the investigations j of scientific men are every day bringing to the attention of the world, but will con tent myself with referring! to them as a source of wealth, health' and fertility, and to the fact Of their rapid and wasteful de struction. Depleted as they are, onr for ests are to-day perhaps, worth more in trinsically, properly managed, than the lands they stand upon; whilst the value of those especially which shadow the high lauds round about the sources of our riv ers is simply incalculable considered with reference to rainfalls, destructive floods, &c. The proof a f this is plain to any one who has observed , the condition of those valleys whose hillsides have been entirely stripped of timber and converted into that shame of Southern agriculture old fields; and yet, in the face of the increas ing value of timber and the decreasing value of lands trom which it is ruthlessly swept, the destruction goes .en. Many counties already feel the evil keenly, and not many years hence, if some remedy benot applied, the outcry will be general. I confess I do not see any way dear to th:U remedy. I am aware of the difficulty apT the danger of interfering! with the owner's legal wright to do What lie pleases with hi3 own. If he sees - proper tto cut down all ! his timber, dry up the springs which feed our streams, and precipitate his soil into their channels, changipg their currents and deluging all the low lands bejow him, and impoverishing himself and his children, I can't ; see how he is to be hindered. But the people of other nations are finding means by bonuses, exemption from taxation and other devices to restore the forests and denuded lands; and many of our counties are adopting .laws, with regard to enclosing the lands, the effect of which is to reduce the expenditure of tim ber lor farming purposes to the. minimum. As guardians of the interests of an agri cultural people, I commend the whole subject , to your serious attention. Lam requested by the Board of Agriculture to say that they concur in the recommenda tions of the Commissioner. I call your special attention to the re port of Dr. Ledoux, director of the Fer tilizer Central Station It is gcatifying in the extreme, you will perceive, that the quality of the fertilizers sold in the State has steadily improved, and the marked value of' the improvement amounts' to more thafn $100,000 in two years !. This is caused obviously by the tact that, knowing their wares were to be subject, to a rigid scientific test, the dealers were careful to make them come up to the mark, and many others have quit the mar ket altogether. PENAL AND CHARITABLE IXSTITUTIOXS. I am happy to say that the affairs of the penitentiary and the two asylums have been well managed by their respective boards, and are in a satisfactory condition. The Deaf arid Dumb and Blind Asylum makes perhaps a more satisfactory exhibit than it has ever done: since its establish ment. With a large increase of pupils there has been a decrease of 16 per cent in the total of expenses. .. As you will see by the Superintendent's report, with a re j i - aucea appropriation irom iormer years, the Board of this Institution have saved 15.056.12 out of the amount, with which they have erecteJ an elegant and much needed addition to the main building, at a cost of $7,576.55, and have still to their credit in their Treasury $7,489.57. : . 1 hough results have not been quite so satistactory with the Insane Asylum, yet, on the whole, it has done well. Notwith standing the number of its inmates have increased, and some extraordinary and costly improvements have been made, ex penses have . been kept ,down, and it has Uved within its appropriation. 1 recom mend that the Beard-be authorized to build on the grounds a separate residence for the Superintendent, and that his pay be fixed in cash as are the salaries of all . .1 1 Mr j . the other principal otneers ot the various institutions of the State.- I also recom mend the, repeal of section 29, chapter 6, of Battle's Kevisal, under which the State pays fop transporting all patients to and . trom the Asylumto whom the cleiks of I the Sunorior Conrts will o-ivp n. fprtifif:itn that they have not prapsrty sufficient to pay their own expenses. Under that act the State is often imposed upon shamefully. It is the nature of public charities to invite such abuses, custom legitimates them and they become a base for greater abuses. The only safe way is to use the knife promptly on their first appearance It is kjiown that much of the laws, as they now stand on the statute book in relation to each o the Asylums' and the ' Peuitentiary, was aorogated ty. the decisions of the supreme Court in the litigation concerning their management about 1872, and some legisla tion has been bad since in consequence thereof. The laws now have to be read with the decisions of the Court to arrive at the meaning. Implication also has to be resorted to in order to sapplv deficien cies. .lnismaKes it extremely inconve nient for the Board and all concerned, who sometimes have to consult counsel before performing a plain duty. I recommend that the various acts regulating these in stitutions be re-enacted striking out those features declared void bv the Court, and the whole simplified and connected so as to be easily understood by all. The .work on the Western Insane Asy lum has been fully commensurate with the aDnrom-iations. The report of the Com.. missioners will give all the particulars. No work ever undertaken lor- the Biaie nas been done better or more cheaply, and when finished, all its surroundings coosid ered.it will, in the opinion of many, be C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1879. the most desirable isstitntion of the kind in the United States, .1 trust that m ihffi--cient appropriation will be made to finish the wing new so near completion, and furnish : it for the reception of patient. Thij can be done at an early period it the summer of 1879 and wilLjpve much relief to many distressing cases which can not find room id the Asylum atRaleigh. For reasons well known to all who are acquainted with the state' of the Treasury but little has heen done toward providing an Asylum for the colored. Ah appropri ation of $20,000 was made by the last Legislature, but no tax was levied to raise money", and at an early day the Treasurer notified me that he would not pay my war rants. Unwilling to do nothing toward an object so much needed, I appointed a Board of Commissioners, as the act re quired, and requested them at least to se lect a location and make a begining. After proper deliberation and examination the Board finally located the Asylum near Geldsboro, as being near 'the centre of onr colored population, and purchased a beau tiful site containing 170 acres on the rail road and Little river, within one mile of the town, for 85,000, a large part of which is farming land. A design has been j ac cepted and the foundation of the building laid, as will appear by report of the Com missioners. It now remains for you to provide the means to erect the buildings, which I respectfully recommend b done. The care of our insane is a heavy and grow ing burden, but humanity and the consti tution are alike imperative that it sha.l be done at State expense. Let us not try to invade a plain duty, but face it manfully, using due care to prevent extavagance and waste in the manner of doing it. ; THE PENITENTIARY. The penitentiary system of dealing with our criminals is comparatively new in this State, and as it is now by far the most costly of all our institutions, and is almost daily becoming more so, everything pejr- l taming to it is deserving oi your earnest attention. The maiu idea of such a system to punish offenders with hard labor, either to reform or deter them and other3 frotfi the commission of crime. The economic problem is to mase this labor support the institution. The plan adopted at present is much more than doing' this if the work being done by the convicts wa? paid for in cash. The number of convicts now on hand and their distribution isshown bv the report of the very competent and energetic Board of Directors and Superin tendent, sent herewith, lhe able force sept in the enclosure has been constantly employed upon the ,wralls and buildings, and by placing a cash valuation upon the work done, it will be seen that they have earned handsome wages over and beyond their Keep, a the returns irom those en gaged on the various railroads show great er wages, valuing their works by Engineers' estimates. These estimates are very liberal toward the company for whom the work is done, yet it will be seen that the convicts have earned more than four times ; the minimum fixed by the Legislature at which the companies should be charged. VALUE OF CONVICT LABOR. From this we may draw some valuable conclusions : 1. 1 hat convict labor is almost if : not quite as valuable for road construction as hired labor. 1 2. That convict labor is more valuable used in this kind of work than employed at trades and mechanical work m close confinement. 3. That the health and general tone of the convicts is better in outdoor work.: In fluenced by these considerations I am in duced to say, that m my opinion, it is our policy to provide labor tor them on pnbhc works altogether, after the completion of the .f enitentiary buildings, leaving within us wans only sucn as irom feebleness or the nature of their crimes" cannot be sent outside. In addition to the completion of the roads begun by the State, and to which labor has been already assigned, there are a number of local railroads and turnpikes greatly desired m many parts of the State, and valuable swamp lands to be drained, at which convicts might be employed with great pront to the State, the counties or communities supporting tne convicts think that whenever any county or com ....... w munity will obtain a charter for building a railroad or a turnpike, or draining a swamp, or dyking a river, and will under take to support the hands they should be given the convict labor There are many fertile valleys of greater or less extent, re mote from railroad facilities, such as the great valley of the Yadkin from Salisbury to Patterson, where well-to-do farmers, 1 am sure, would be induced to attempt the building of narrow-gauge railroads if they were given the necessary labor; and many excellent turnpikes would be constructed as feeders to our, railroads, and many! rich swamjs might be drained in the same manner. In thi3 way the increasing' cost of the Penitentiary would be kept down, and a vast benefit to the people be accom plished. .' t ! DYKES FOR TIIE ROAXOKE. ! ! As a further illustration of this ideal I beg leave to call your attention to the sit uation of that rich and once productive region, the Roanoke country below Wel do. At one time the Egypt of our State and a source of great wealth to our people, those splendid and inexhaustible lands are fast becoming ia wilderness by reason of the destruction of the levees which j con fined the Roanoke within its banks. In the demoralized state of labor, there and the reduced condition of the planters; it has been found impossible to replace them, and the whole region will be lost to the State for generations if something is not done to reclaim st. If the counties or citi zens interested will undertake to support the conviets and their guard, I recomtnend that sufficient force be furnished them to rebuild those levees and thus rescue! that important portion of oar State from ruin, and enable the - citizens thereof to recover their prosperity, and increase greatly the public wealth. It i3 entirely practicable as I am informed. . RAILROADS. The public works have been pushed for ward with energy and economy I regret exceedingly that the management has not been able to have the cars on the v estern North Carolina railroad .running across the Blue Ridge by this time, as was ! con fidently expected when your predecessors aajournea. imo energy or uevcrinui.iuu has been wanting, but insuperable obsta- cles were found in the nature of the coun- try and the insufficiency or funds. 'Naked labor can make little progress in tach a woric as catling a railroad track through our Western mounUins, unaided by" all the uiuuern appliances ana ma terms bow used in such onerstioos. and wiutii cot mom money than the company could command. uwing to tne geological peculiarities of the formations throuirh which the track is cut, rast slides of earth and rock, some of them as great as fifteen acres of surface, have been continually falling into the track as fast as it could be removed. But the track is now almost done, daTlirht is nearly through the great tunnel. In a few weeks from this day the engine will pass the summit and the track can be completed to Asheville easily by midsum mer. -. - - , , . Owing to the condition of the Treasury, did not purchase the whole amount of iron which I was authorized by law to buy, though greatly tempted to do so by the low price for which it was oftWd About twelve miles of rail onlr were nur. chased, the cost of the whole being a lit tle over . $75,000. The remainder of the appropriation will furnish the iron neces sary to reach Asheville, unless it should rise greatly in the market. By the reports of Major Wilson, President, it will be seen that the earnings, bv'his estimates rs engineer, of 427 bands (aboiit the average numoer iornisned nun have been nearlv 100.000 per annum, or $200,000 for the years 18i -8. being about $230.00 per annum per hand, gross. The cost of sup porting, guarding and overseeeing them has been tor the same time about 898.000. Their health has been excellent. A nearly as can be ascertained their net earnings, deducting everything, and in cluding the sick, the women and all others not at work an the road from anv cause, is $121.50 per hand. Un the whole the experiment of con structing .that road, by the convict labor has been a success. I hope it will be con tinued, the number kept up, and every necessary step taken by your body to finish the road to its Western connections as heretofore agreed upon. lhe squad of hands : employed on the Georgia and North Carolina Railroad has finished grading to the town of Murphy, in Cherokee county. I have received no official report of the work Col. L. C. Jones, President of the Wes tern Railroad, make3 a very flattering re port of the prpgess of the work done by the convicts on his line. Having deter mined to extend it in the direction of Greensboro, the company began work at ornear Egypt in March, 1878, with 100 convicts, and there is a good prospect of sooa seeing this road completed to, Greens boro. It will open out a fiae section and be a great benefit to the country through which it passes, to Fayetteville and to Wilmington. The hands on this road have earned net about $ per head. The Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad Company has finished its line to Dallas, in Gaston county, and the grading to .Newton, on the Western North Caro lina Railroad. From that point to Lenoir, the greater part of the grading is done, and the work is being pushed with energy They have been furnished with fifty con victs, and the number has been kept up I cordially commend this enterprise to your favor. It is reaching out in a direction perhaps more important to the welfare df the State than that of any other railroad, except the Western North Carolina. It not only points towards the most remarkable and extensive iron and copper mines in the South Cranberry and the Ore Knob but also the salt, lime and plaster deposits of Washington county, Virginia, the cheap importation of which would probably do more to renovate tne agriculture ot our State than anything which could perhaps be devised, l regret to say that work on the Spartanburg & Asheville Railroad has been suspended, just as it has attained the crossing at the Blue Kidge, into the beau tiful valley of the French Broad. Two hundred hands had been -kept with that company under a contract made before fearae into office, at a small hire, which contract was respected by my Board unti last September, when finding the company in a falling condition, and unable to pay the hands were withdrawn, and placed on the Western North Carolina work, beyond the Ridge. - The Atlantic and North Carolina Rail road has been environed with difficulties ever since my accession to : office, some o which were called to the attention of the last Legislature : a suit begun in the State Courts to impeach the validity of the mortgage bonds, on the ground of usury, was followed by a counter suit in the Federal Cpurts to foreclose the mortgage and sell the road. These have at length been compromised, on terms which it is thought will enable the road to live and meet its-interest promptly hereafter, the accumulated, interest being funded, and time of payment extended, the bondhold ers surrendering S10.000 of bonds and coupons to be caBceled. When it came into the hands of the present Board, it was apparently in the last extremity of exhau- tion. Its road-bed, track and bridges, worn out and unsafe, its rolling stock run down, it3 employes unpaid, its interest really twelve months in default, and a floating debt of about $27,000 due all thi3 has been changed. The road bed, bridges and rolling stock, are now much improved; the floating debt has all been paid, employes are paid ofif weekly, arrange ments made to adjust its bonled debt,, an old tax debt due. the United States, com promised at $6,500 is being paid at the rate of $500 per month, $1,500 being already paid ; and the President reports $10,000 in the Treasury on the 1st of January to meet the interest when the first instalment becomes due m July next Its gross re ceipts for 1877 were about 12 per dent, greater than the year previous, and upjto date of report were still greater for 1878. These are certainly very gratifying results, and give positive assurance that the road can take care of itself, if run on business princi ples and by business men. It is a source of much regret to me. that the plan adopt ed by the Board and approved by me to reach this end caused such local opposi tion, and subjected all concerned to the imputation that the great desire of the Board and myself to save the State's pro perty was pursued without due regard to private interests. 1 beliave and earnestly hope that when results are seen, these un just impressions will be removed.. AXOOLA BAT. Tt is also a scource of regret that the work of catUng a canal through Angola 1 Bay was not undertaken as provided by uw. ioeiiorrd were readv to do o t my truest, and Jfcrcd tbe'eonvieu; bat found it practically impoatibW .v! -work, owing to the omtioa of the act u praride neccesaarr means fr . tion, there being authority for neitWr survef . to be made, overseers to be Ployed, nor implements to b purchased by the Board. A little amendct to the w ia inn respect will enable the work to uc uoac promptly. AViaABUt WATUUU It is gralifvinr to see that the Government has begun to take an iaterest in the improvement of oar n;M. waters. Surveys or the Neuse, the Yad- uv c vmihi arc in TtroereM contemplation; and if reported upon Uvor- ably, I would saggeat a resolution of roar 1 1 . . -, . . uvuv.auiv uvajj iu taia ucoau wom i ma terial ry strengthen the hands of aur rerpe sentatives iu Congress in obtaining the nee. ccssary sppopriations riXANClAlJ The Treasurer's report will enrage your earnest attention. You wUTsee that whiUt the utmost economy has been practised yet the funds in his hands have not been sufficient to meet all the objects provided v; a u 4tWVU 13 3IUJLMV tuiib luC legislature . increased the appropriations without increasing the. taxes. But little . aav over half of the $140,000 aorironrUted 1a buy iron for the Western North Carolina Railroad has been expended, noaeot-the o.ouu appropriated to the Colored In sane Asylum, whilst $15,000 of the sum given to the Western Insane As vlum was paid out ot this year's taxes. All other small- items which could be so postponed have been carried over into this year s ac- . 1 . . t m . . caum in oruer mat tne t reasurer should not be compelled to borrow. This defi.. ciency, it win be noted, is only in regard to the special appropriations, and is to some ex tent attributable to the lengthening of, the fiscal year from October to January. it is to be regretted, ami I have no doubt is very surprising to the Finance Com mittees of the last General Assembly. who thought the tax bill would yielt sufficient revenue ; and 6o it would ana more, unaer a Deiier scneme oi assess ment. I cannot conceive it possible to devise one which, would operate more unequally, unjustly or prejudicially to the Treasury. The rule for every county, town and township is different, and the values of property situated in the same locality and of the jsame char acter, are as variant and unequal as the avoided, arbitrary, and often indif- ferent opinions of the assessors may chaice to be. Very little property is assessed to anywhere within the neighborhood of its value, but that does not matter ; the essen tial idea is to have the assessment bear the same tfniform proportion to the true value of the property taxed. Unless this is secured, one man pays a vastly higher tax than his neighbor, and one township or couuty than the adjoining township or eounty, and it is in the power --and often happens in practice of the county assessors and commissioners to de defeat the will of the legislature by lower ing the assessments. It becomes also a heavy tax on honesty, and compels the conscientious man to pay sometimes doable or treble the tax paid by his less scrupul ons neighbor. A remedy for this evil is demanded alike by justice and good policy. What thjrTmedy shall be your .wisdom must demise. Yc do not want an increase .of taxes btHajft-aiualization of taxes, and a faithful collection of those wkich are levied. Iy own opinion is that the Treas urer, Auditor, or other State officers, be authorized to act as. a State Board of As sessors.with power to supervise and equal ize the assessment of the county officials whose lists should be submitted to it ; and it should have authority to summon wit nesses, hear testimony, &c, and if the county assessors were chosen by this Statie Board it seems to me we would almost have a guaranty that uniformity could be secured. . So, too, some disposition should be made relative to the lands sold-for taxes and bought in for the State. For ten years these lands have been accumulating, until, as the report of the Secretary of State in forms me, there are now in his office Sher iff's deeds for 1756 tracts and lots-of real estate, representing taxes to the amount of nearly $17,000, on which the time for re demption has expired, and the State's title is absolute. In mostcase3 the owners con tinue happily in possession, whilst their defaults go toswell the taxes of their neigh bors. I refer to the Treasurer's report for a statement of the annual expenditures of the government, which is clearly set forth as to need no comment from me. PUBLIC PEBT. ThP ttnblir. debt, it will be seen by the Treasurer's renort. amounts to $16,960- 045 principal and $10,160,182 25 interest. This is known as the recognized debt, as nnhtrftdistincrnished from the special tax kn,ia What otiftll he done with it is a fcat rloervM VOUr beet CODSW1- ation. - It is out of the question for us to ottomnt tA it at its face value. Indeed I do not conceive that there is anj moral lob- HnHnn Mi mtA llftaO: IlOf do OUT CmUtOTi elpect it of us. Quite one-half of our prop nnr honds wero baea as wantonly destroyed by consent of a large ma- jority of those who new mem, -Ir oi iirinn the earth would permit Atmv MiPiiiaif of his ecunty, and claim full payment out of remainder. r i.et cuiifin. constituunjr tn Governor, Treasurer and Attorney-Jiencnd tn n..rr with oar creditors, eave no power to make or accept y Proportion -,1 an Invitation tXf VlJt eW v.l- rnnfor with the bolder of out bond was declined, as the accompanying corre spondence will show. Besides this, no t t, nrwn neflTitlatiOHS Wltll ha been made. Bat I have ground v. -.!.-, tKot wprv rcaonable tenn indeed can be be obtained if we evince a determination to settle the question and be . x. T AT1tia1v(l tO WDll 1 i. t.,.nn!rprl' debt. So fT the special tax bond are concerned my optn x ,i n rmir nmdieessors remain unchanged-that they are not blndlnff eltlu-r in law or good moral, uniew a very small fraction boneUj PPro?rtd-t the Sutes' use and accepted by her. or onel tow mv readines to co-operate with joa w the fall extent of my power An method and bearing the burtheni .of snbon orable adjustment of aU our 1 " something which sooner or later J?8 be done alike for the sake of oar good name and our future prosperity. f i rKDKRALWTEBraaEXCK WITH STATB COCBT8 - I also call your attention certain mat ters which have occurred since your last session, and which give rise to W0 difficulty and of grave importance, ov- 3 Cents a Copy It1?.?!1 l Sl NlwW theUwt 4 w tniicq states and bcm of U jtu At the Fall Ter. l8Tt Ctmtf of Gail ford oHo othen wm nxijctrd far as aM.li Marck. 18T. fWdcfemlaata batia W. nrta, filed is !ht oCc af tW (rinmit crt of tW United Ute far the WraUra mnci ot .Nttrui i'arolma, tWir rwlitio 3deToth. Ui whka they set forth that - rrr water or ia mumal B oir tV pwUbrat of IV t a U aad Ual tW rrfd nibt t- v. -!-. aicuneat I Uve eaU.M were toBUUd KSJ?1 f:-aslaal iWn JooM U i irmoTi from Ua Juu iWtU, T Crt, la pururerf aa art of eTMa matatea nf ta l'.ttl Hi. , pnwiW tKt rrimJnal Tvnk d ta aav roart of a fuu mtmi Uw of U, I nitcd ut .t.t ... clattr u&4r c4if of hU offl.-. mav fct r uroe rr trla) b. retoovI for trial taki'UM Unrult Court vtil to be boUro hi lh dUtrlct -rrrucB prorBu.io are nradfnri Tb rajer of the j--litkw ha vto U rrtntcd, a ih ; titrh of M.rch, 18T7, r upnatbt clerk ol.u aiW CVart of liuUf.rd county, atd rnu,n? Spring Term of that court, the tw ,u called, the defetidatiU ob. Jtl W JurtSirKicrrdloffi ta tba U! Curt, uj.tixb' ifrouftd that lb court ik Knjfrr hJtirtdieUon of the ca. Vv,, spruftM-nt liopt the lino. WUuam K. ts, then holdiujj iht liuflford SuirWr t?wnt that fm.-rr wa of opinio that be could pn cfl oo far1fr la ihe tntUer, a&4 o decided, f rora hi derUioa the Solkitor tnr j(h &UI apiealnl to the Supreme Coart. RrebUt6x the iraprunt and dHlcate nature of the que, tion prrrntd, I dreinrd tt to be my duty U awit the deliberation of the Supreme Court rlth arjrument from rouaael learned the Uw ; : I acconllnglj employed counwl to aid the' At torney General In prrenUn to the court the view euUrutned by the roTernmeal of the bute. After a full dUraQ by couorl, the Supreme Court, with one dUetjtiftir v4r,j af1 Armed the opinion and judjrtneut of tb lower court, and dUmbl tn ameal. The asm quellou wa preacnied to tle Supreme Court at the Mme time to the ca of the ftUte againt William Dearer appealet it the Sprinjr Term, Hr7,of the Superior Court of Kutherfurdcountr. from lhe lodmrbt or tha Hon. John M . Cloul, the JuAg preUi!nc. iVaver and another hj two Indicted for a con i racy to extort money from one Henry Summit and had obtained from the Circuit' Court of tht Untied St tea an order of remor. al similar to that obtained by 1 1 a kin. l ' The decUion of the Supreme Court wsi the same-in both raes. . i Impreed with the Importance of haTttif the arlieroible aettlcment of a quealkm of eo preat moment, I directed the State' coutiM-l Ui carry, by writ of error, both eaae to the Supreme Court of the United State, where alone tuch quettlona of aueh a nature nan be finally decided. Transcript 1 of th cam's have accordingly been prepared and for warded, and the case are now depending in the Supreme Court. I am adruvd, however, by the State's counsel that there may be diolcul ties crovrinjj out of the peculiar Constitution of the Federal Supreme Courtr which iH prevent an adjudication in these cases of the question 1 delred to have presented. 1 have rcsuon to tH litvc that similar difficulties have arWu In other States, and that public alien.. tion and discuseion has been excited thereby. I, therefore, refer it to your honorable body to decide whether I shall further prosecute the cases now ' depending In the Sureme Court of the United States; or whether dt more comports with the dignity and gravity of the question, that yotf should Instruct your Senators and request yotir Kepresentatlrea in Congress to call the allenUon of that honora ble Uxly to the fact that persons inducted un der the criminal laws of this State are seeking and obtaining Immunity from prosecution un der a Federal law nacted for Jie only ur pose of protectinjr the collections of the; In ternal Revenue of the United fetatcs. STATE rBOECCTIOJ?S. An Indictment lnauxuratel by Gov. Cald well, in ?ak Sunerior Court in 1374, acalnsl O. W. Swrtison and M. S. LlHlcflcld, having tiecn tried, as was alleged before Judge Watt 111 l?i, inu tMru uj nruuiwi. iu mt premeXourt, and being continued there until August last, wa then decided ujion and case remanded for a new trial." The clrcumtanc are all set out with particularity ln said deci- ; sioun, rejiorted in 7J N.,:to which yon are re fcrred. Under a reslaton of the LegUla ture ratified on the 16th of February, 171, I employed counsel to alst. lA.n amended bill aialnst both deletwlanu walouna ior oo- Uluing money under falso pretenses, and tha cse now stands for trial. It I alleged, how-. ever, that a compromise wa made between parties acting for Swenson ani tne esiern . Wrision of the V. N. C. K. K. qo., which, by impllcatJon, bind the State not to piweeote. I did not wui), u poseseat.nengnv,ioa. tiie reiKnslbllltf-of deciding whether It doe g or does not, and so refused to interfere with the due coarse of law. I respectfully ak our will in the premises, and forbear farther rnmirii mimirtuT unorvuer uviu m .mmv fcow before the courts.; j -jj. f STATS TBOrEBTT- HSLD BV TBB tr Kl .,. STATES. ' . .1!. f The property of the Bute, once called the Con federate Hospital, now known a the Unite! Bute Barrack in this city, nas.been ,-.,.,.,,1,1 i,-r th Inlt-1 State ever since 1965; iv -y - - and although the troop nave long since prr removed, possession, or pay meat for It use, have both been refasedi contrary, as it seem to me, to both law and public comity In accordance with a resolution of th last General Assembly, I also applied to the Sec retary of War to restore the official letter book of the Executive ofllce of tht State, mit me to .make a copy to supply the place of the original in thl office. Both request were refused. Tne correspondence Dexweeu m Secretary of Wai and myself in relation to the barracks and the letter-doors is orrxvj submitted. My opiuion In regard to these matters being intimated In the corresponaence itaelf, I make no farther comment, jj , STATE OEOtXKJIST. The State Geological Survey haringjbeen ture, it usefulness ba been there by rreaUj mcreaseu w piw. -- - - - be made stfll more to meet the PPa1,r"n' I recommend that it P?rhich the SUte Geologt is ex-offldo a ..a e is- uAard of EducatJoo.aaatpw r . i , .... Aiimm.UICUOn tton of our people from tS1M tndimpemawwu..,--- pona ,h ubors of the or tne -T.TU m which the ma- of the latter oara -- . t. . 0gT,h.3c feel mmt immediate to Jority of the pnbuc ie" , eontU. The W t.tl a it I. co nreJT r " od result may be anudpao- .- . -j-jia v " t tk ancces which has attended the effort to rtvlSthTuteralty 1 tW?S the -tVrne The number of studenU la eon 22Srlncreaing, a Urge proportion of wJxom reive tuition free the course of study U oracUcal and thorough, the eorp of profe oril ample and excellent, and the adminl txation of President Battle has proven able aad untirii.g. I commend most heartily to your favor this cherished memorial of the wisdom and patriotism ef our fathers, i To the unceasing energy and perseverance of Adjutant-General Jones we are indebted for the nucleus of an excellent , vol COXCXUOKO ox rotrRTB raox. i
The Wilmington Sun (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 10, 1879, edition 1
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