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Tctrboroitgh, (Edgecombe County, X. C.J Tuesday, December 4, 1832.
Vol IX JYfo. 15.
Ttc "Xorth Carol nn Free Press,"
BY GI'ORGE HOWARD,
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GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
Tolht Honorable the General Assembly of the
State of North Carolina:
Gentlemen: The meeting of the Re
presentatives of freemen, in all countries
where freedom exists, is nt nil times an in
teresting spectacle; and when it is consi
dered t hey come from their homes from
their fire-sides, and relinquish the com
forts of domestic life to attend to their
public duties: When they make great
sadrifices of time, and of their private
concerns, prompted by no other motive
than the public good; claiming nor ex
pecting no other reward than that of an
approving conscience; it is not an easy
task properly to estimate the sum of gra
titude which is due from the people to
their faithful representatives. On the
present occasion, suffer me to congratu
late you upon the appearance of general
prosperity in the State, and for the enjoy
ment of a common share of health by its
citizens, at a time when other portions of
the world have been visited by a most
afflicting maladv. For these blessings
of health and prosperity, we have reason
to be thankful to Almighty God. And it
gives us just, cause to rely with confi
dence upon His continued mercy in avert
ing the calamities which threaten the
peace and harmony of our beloved coun
try. For it is not to be denied nor dis
guiscd from ourselves, that the measures
recommended by an excited portion of
the Southern people, if persisted in, must
have a tendency to weaken the ties which
have heretofore so happily united us to
gether as a nation. Whatever may be
the issue of this struggle, I rejoice that
the people of North Carolina have wisely
avoided any interference calculated to
disturb the public tranquillity. It is in
vain that we look for perfection in any
human institutions: An overruling Provi
dence has ordained it to be otherwise:
But so far as we have been taught by the
experience of nearly fifty years under our
present form of government, we have had
reason to be satisfied with it; and it is
hoped that we shall cling to the Union of
the States as now connected without ad
venturing upon hazardous experiments
to change the terms of that connexion.
Having been appointed by the Presi
dent of the United States, a Commission
. er to treat with the Indians, and for other
4-purposcs, I have thought it my duty to
accept the appointment, inasmuch as the
peaceable settlement and location of the
Indians removing beyond the Mississippi,
is a matter of great importance to the U
nited States, and not less so to North
Carolina; especially, as regards the remo
val of that portion of the Cherokee na
tion now residing within the limits of this
State. It is known to many of you, that
these Indians have for a long time been
orderly and peaceable, and their conduct
has not made it necessary for the Legis
lature of North Carolina to extend the
laws of the State over the territory they
occupy, or in any manner to interfere
with their concerns, except for the pur
poses of protection. They deserve the
fostering care of the General Govern
ment, and I have no doubt will receive it.
In retiring from the duties of my sta
tion, it has been my earnest desire and
intention, that no part of the business
committed to my care by the Legislature,
should be neglected; and it is believed!
that my retirement at this time, will
cause no inconvenience in any depart
ment of the government. With this de
termination, I have devoted my whole
time and exerted my feeble talents in
promoting the success of such special
objects as the Legislature, by resolution
or otherwise, has directed. Under these
circumstances, I have deemed it inexpe
dient and unnecessary' to offer anv gene-
rai recommendations tor your considera
tion; confining myself to the task of ren
dering you a faithful account of the man
ner in which 1 have executed the trusts
confided to me.
A Resolution of the General Assembly
directed that a "contract should be made
with Mr. Ball Hughes for the restoration
of the Statue of Washington, upon the
basis of the principles set forth in the Re
port of the joint select committee on that
subject." In obedience to this Resolu
tion, a written contract was made with
Mr. Hughes, and sometime in May last,
he commenced the undertaking, arid so
far as I was able to judge, in a manner
conformable to I he principles laid down
in the Report. Being desirous of remo
ving his family and materials to this
place, he returned to New York about
the first of July under an express prom
ise to return and prosecute the work in
fifteen days. With a confident reliance
upon this promise, and to facilitate the
speedy removal of his family, his work
men and materials, a sum of money was
advanced, perhaps beyond the portion of
labor done according to the terms of the
contract. Of this, however, I confess
myself not a competent judge. The
whole sUm advanced to Mr. Hughes
amounts to two thousand eight hundred
dollars. Mr. Hughes finding, .'as I un
derstand from him) that sickness prevail
ed to an alarming extent in New lork,
he removed with his family to New Jer
sey, and has not returned to North Caro
lina. He has since requested that the
mould and cats for the repair of the Sta
tue should be forwarded to New York,
where he intended to prosecute the work.
I thought proper to forbid the removal of
any thing pertaining to t ho Statue, as tin;
contract requires that the repairs shall
be made at Raleigh. The contract, to
gether with, the letters of Mr. Hughes,
arc herewith submitted.
A Resolution of the General Assem
bly directs, that "all the Maps, Drafts
and Plans, lately in the possession of the
Engineer of this State, shall be placed in
the Executive Office, and that they be re
paired at the expense of the State, and
be kept under the direction of the Gov
ernor, subject to the farther disposition of
the General Assembly." This duty has
been performed, and the Maps, Drafts
and plans have been repaired, and are se
curely deposited in the Executive Office.
The Resolution directing the "employ
ment of an Agent to arrange in proper
order all the papers belonging to the Se
nate and House of Commons, and others,
which were saved during the conflagra
tion of the State House, and that they be
delivered to the proper Officers of the
State," has been complied with, so far as
the assorting and arrangement; but ow-
innr to the want of sufficient cases and
shelves in the Government House, to
hold the papers belonging to the Senate
and House of Commons, they have been
carefully labelled and filed in a room in
the nffinn f the Secretary of State, sub
ject to such disposition as the General
i r. i- rr i ?
Assembly may ncreaicer maite. 1 nis
arrangement was a laborious one, and
has been failhfullv performed bv mv Pri-
.i
vate Secretary, Mr. William R. Hill, the
former Librarian ot tne s?tate.
The Acts of Assembly establishing
Rail Roads have been attended to. Con
siderable difficulty find delay occurred in
procuring an Engineer to make the Sur
veys required. The sorvices of Mr.
Francis W. Rawle, of Pennsylvania, were
at last obtained, and he has been enga
ged in the survey of both routes, which ii
is hoped will prove satisfactory. As soon
as the Surveys are completed, a particu
lar Report on that subject, as well as on
other objects which engaged the atten
tion of the Board of Internal Improve
ments, will be laid before you, by the re
maining members of the Board.
Pursuant to the Resolution directing
the "Dredging machine belonging to the
State to be secured in such manner as to
preserve it from ruin," I gave directions
for Captain Blaney, in whose possession
it was, to deliver it to Gen. Edward B.
Dudley of Wilmington, for the purpose
of having it secured. On examination it
was found the vessel containing the ma
ts chine was so much decaved as to be un
fit for use; that the machine itself was
greatly injured, and that it would cost
the State u considerable sum of money
to have it taken to pieces and stored in
safety. In the opinion of many persons
the cost would be more than the machine
is worth. Under these circumstances, 1
have directed it to be delivered to the
Cape Fear Navigation Company, in which
the State is much interested; and their
Agent has engaged that it shall be taken
care of.
The Resolution directing the appoint
ment of some "intelligent person to act
on the part of the State, in collecting tes
timony, and causing such surveys as may
be necessary to the just prosecution of
the suit pending in the Supreme Court in
the name of the Attorney General for va
cating certain grants made by this State;"
has been attended to, and I have appoint
ed fur this purpose, Thomas Dews, Esq.
of Rutherford, in whose integrity and ca
pacity I have the most perfect reliance.
With respect to the resolution in favor
of the sisters of the full blood of James
N. Forsythe, 1 have felt myself somewhat
at at a loss how to proceed. No claim
has been made for the money, nor do I
know where the family resides. I have
not made the transfer of the Shares to the
State as directed by the resolution, inas
much, as in my absence, there was no per
son authorized to receive and pay away
the money appropriated for the said four
Shares, 1 have therefore left the Shares
as they were and have deposited in the
State Bank, the money placed in my
hands as Guardian, ex officio, of James N.
Forsythe, amounting to 174 dollars 50
cents. This money is subject to draft of
my successor in office. The certificate
of stock of the four shares, is left in the
hands of the Public Treasurer.
The Resolution requiring the Gover
nor to "appoint some person resident in
the city of Raleigh, who shall correspond
with different persons in this State for
the purpose of procuring copies, of the
Acts and Journals ot .the tjeneral As
sembly," to replace those destroyed bv
the burning of the State House and pub
lic Library, has been attended to; and
Mr. Joseph Gales, of Raleigh, has been
appointed for that purpose. The prog
ress he has made in performing the duty
required, shews that the business could
not have been placed in better hands.
The Resolution requiring the "Gover
nor to make application to the proper
authorities of the United States for as ma
ny pistols and sabres as may be necessa
ry to supply such troops ot cavalry as are
now organized, or are about to be orani-
zed within this Stale, ' has been compli
ed with, and one thousand pair of pistols
and five hundred sabres have been recei
ved from the United States, as part of
this State's' quota of public arms. They
have been partly distributed agreeably to
the law on that subject, and the remain
der are in the Arsenal at Fayetteville.
In obedience to the Resolution direct
ing the "Mathematical Instruments be
longing to the State, and formerly at
tached to the Engineer's Department," to
bo collected and placed under the Gare of
D.H. Bingham, of the city of Raleigh, an
order was issued to that effect, and many
of the instruments are now in the hands
of Mr. Bingham. It is to be regretted
that they were much injured before they
came into his possession, and some of
them rendered unfit for use without re
pairs. A list of those collected, is here
with furnished.
Since the -adjournment of the Legisla
ture, I have received from the Secretary
of the United States, a number of copies
of the Acts of the second session of the?
twenty-first Congress, which are in the
Executive Office, subject to your order
for their distribution. 1 have also recei
ved from the same source, three copies
of the "Fifth Census, or enumeration oi
the inhabitants of the United States, taken
in 1830, to which is prefixed a schedule
of the whole number of persons within
the several districts of the United States,
taken according to the Acts of Congress
of 1790, 1800, 1810 and 1820," one for
the Executive Office, and one for each
House of the General Assembly. This
is a valuable document, and will be deli
vered to you by my Private Secretary,
with this message.
An elegant Map and Atlas, with statis
tical views of the State of Maine, lias by
the direction of the Legislature of that
State, been presented to North Carolina;
and I beg leave to recommend that a si
milar donation be made in return, as soon
as the new Map of this State is completed.
1 have received communications from
the Governors and Legislatures of seve
ral States, which I am requested to lay
before vou. Those .from Massachusetts,
relate to the unsettled question of the)
North Eastern Boundary of the United
States. Those from Tennessee, relate
to the subject of the Public Lands of the
United States, and to the powers of the
General Government to make appropria
tions for Internal Improvements, and ap
proving the conduct of the President of
the United States in placing his veto on
the Lexington and Maysville Turnpike
Road Bill. Those from Louisiana, re
late to the establishment of a Rail Road
from New Orleans, to pass through the
States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Ten
nessee, Alabama, North Carolina and
Virginia, to the city of Washington.
The resignations of militia officers and
Justices of the Peace, received since the
adjournment of the General Assembly,,
are laid before you in the file marked A.
In this last act of my political rela
tions with the State of North Carolina, I
should be ungrateful in withholding the
expression of my unfeigned thanks for
the many testimonies of confidence and
support which I have received from the
Legislature and from the people, in the
course of a public life of forty-seven
years spent in their service, in various
stations: In all of which I have received
the most unequivocal proofs of their in
dulgence.
I have the honor to be, Gentlemen
your obedient servant,
MONTFORT STOKES.
Executive Office, N. Carolina,
November 9, 1832.
CThe Hon. Wm. C. Rives, Minister
of the United States to France, withJiia
family, arrived at New York on the 16th
inst. in the ship Sully, from Havre.
OlTIic people of Michigan have de
cided, by a large majority of votes, in fa
vor of taking the preliminary step foe
State government.
GBufFalo, in the State of New York,
has been visited by a terrible conflagra
tion. More than 60 buildings of all
kinds were consumed loss sustained
from 160 to S200,000. The Buffalo Re
publican states that the fire was undoubt
edly the work of an incendiary and was
ihe third attempt to fire the city in that
quarter, since last June.