Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1844-12-19


meni TO you, earnestly recommending
that you will speedily end generously
provide for il.
The remaining work enumerated al
amongst those requiring the aid OF he
State, is that committed to the James riy'
er and Kanawba company. This work
has been regarded, and justly so, for more
than half century, as the principle one
in the State, and hence il has been aided
again and again by successive Legsa-
tues. with peculiar and great Iibe-ali,y.
Not only is the State a subscriber for
three fahs Of the capital stock of the
present company, 10 which this work is
confded, bu, she advanced it large sums
out Of her own funds, and has gusran.
teed the punctua! payment Of still larger
advances which have been made 10 it by
others. The actual condition of the work
and Of the company undertaking it, IS
therefore subject OF habitual interest to
the legislature and The public. Having
treated somewhat minuiely Of the lorna.
lion and progress Of this company ia my
former message, it will be enough at pre-
sent to say, that when it was incorpora,.
ed, It was charged upon pain Of forfeiture
with the duty ofcompletlng, in prescrib.
ed manner, The whole line of improve
men: from tide water at Richmond to the
Ohio river, distance Of near FIVE hun.
dred miles, within twelve years after its
first ofganzat IN. OF The twelve years
thus given, ten have expired, less than
one third Of the distance has been finish
ed; the capital stock has been expended,
and loans 10 ac amount exceeding mil
lion and half oS dollars, and now exist
ing as an outstanding debt against the
company, have been expended also.
Under these circumstances, the enquiry
necessarily rises, what is the company
ao!e TO do towards the prosecution and
completion of the residue Of lis work.
To this enquiry it may be answered,
that the means of the company are three
iuld-its nigh: to call upon its members
for further and voluntary subscriptions 81
stock its credit and It's income. To the
first Of these means The company has new.
er yet resoded, and could not, it is be.
leyed, in the present condition OF its af-
fairs, with any reasonable probability Of
success. SO 9either has it ever resorte1 10
its credit separately from he guarantee
Of the State, and as even that guarantee
has not been sufficient at all times TO pro.
tect it from injurious sacrifices, it is in
no respect probable that it would of itself
be basis which any considerable sum
could DO borrowed.
As to the income Of he company, con.
sisting OF its tolls and water rents, il is
burdened with an amount of demand up
on it already, which is almost, if not al
together equal TO its capacity. The or.
binary aud current expenses the an 1uI-
ty of twenty-one thousand dollars due to
the stock holders of the old James river
company interest upon its one mil
lion and four hundred thousand dollars OF
guarantee debt--the interest also upon
its two hundred aud fifty thousand dol
lars OF State loan, not to mention smaller
liabilities, have oil Of them to be paid off
before a dollar Of income can be applied
by the ,mpsny to the resumption and
COlilluuutIou VI It's WOih.
From this brief sketch, il may be con-
fdently assumed that the company has
no means Of IFS own, and none at its COM
m md, with VIII CHI it is at all able to com
plete tho unfinished part of the great
work contided to its hands. In this stu.
alton OF things, as the abandonment of
that work is in no deg.ce possible, it is a
matter Of no little embarrassment to de.
termine what .s best to be done. Sever.
al different courses present themselves,
each Of which has its difficulties, and
each also in some form, requiring the pre-
vious conseu! Of the company. One Of
these courses is, that the State, which is
now the owner OF three iiths Of the CAPT.
tai stock, and which either owns IN It's
own right. or is bound by its guarantee
foI the outstanding debt Of the company,
shall, buy out the other shareholders at
some agreed and equitable compensation,
and then 90 on to finish what is yet to
do, as its ju igmeas and ability may di.
rect.
Another is, that the State shall divide
The line Of improvements with the com
pany, leaving TO it all that it has been
able to finish, and taking upon herself the
completion OF the residue. Another is,
;hat the State shall advance such amount
Of funds to the company as shall enable it
to finish either some particular and suf.
ierng part Of the work, or the whole Of
it.
After comparing these several plans
with one another, no one Of them appears,
upon the whole, to be suited to the actu-
al necessities Of he case, so little pe'pex-
ed with pra ,teal difficulties, or so consist.
ent with the general duties of State to
her people, as that Of taking back, with
the consent of The company, such part oil
the work undertaken by it, as i, is una
BILE TO accomplish, and leaving i, in the
fall possession and enjoyment Of every
dollars worth which it has actually done.
BY this arrangement, the company, on
its part, would relinqush in efiec, but its
difficulties. II would relinquish its strug-
giles to accomplish an improvement to
which lis means are unequal, and would
at the same time retire not ouly with d
quiet title to such portion Of the work as II
had been able 10 do, bat would have the
profits and the value oftnat portion great
ly enhanced by the execution Of the un-