The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1844-01-06

there should DE carefully prepared PROVE
sions. eflectualIy guarding the supervisory
and controlling power of The State, as
/ sovereignty, INTO. and over The proceeding
and acts Of these immense corporations
By their charters they are res lricted from
increasing the rate of their tolls beyont
a specified maximum, or from reducing
them below certain minimum. The
range between these points is sufficient tr
allow of the exercise of great injustice Il
the public. As matters now are, there il
a sure guaranty against such injurious
exerton of power in the representation
which the State has in the several boards
of directory. Our interest once parted
with, this security is gone, unless the
terms of transfer be sufficiently protective
of the rights designed to be secured by
the rcp' esenlation of the State in all their
proceedings. The creation of the wolks
was authorized, avowedly, for the public
convenience and the public good. To
relieve them Of all restraint, except that
prescribed by their charters, might delea,
the very purpose of their creation.
Operating capriciously within the lin .
its Indicated by their charters, they might,
as has been frequently the case with corr
porations in this country, and elsewhere.
eflectuate the ruin Of such Of the enter ,ri-
sing citizens If the State, who should
bring their skill and enterprise in compe.
tlton with the facilities for public travel
and transportation of merchandise, afIor-
ded by such companies. Were the rates
OF toll increased in all cases, to the man-
mum allowed, and the public unreason-
ably taxed, private enterprise would hest
tate long, bei' re it would engage to COM
pete with such power; for, the individu
al capital embarked in any such under
taking, would, by q sudden reduction of
the tolls, be rendered almost instantly, Of
comparatively little, or no value. The
stability and uniformity of reasonable
rate of tolls, on the line of these works,
constitute one of their chief advantages to
the public, for whose benefit they were
originally authorised. A huctuatng svs-
lem OF tolls, would be not only annoying,
but a source of serious oppression.
| The reservation of power to the State,
should be such as to pres ervc Its soyer-
eighty over its entire territorial limits
Although these corporations should be
held amenabc TO the authority Of the
State, 'here is no reason to apprehend it
would be exercised in manner injurious
t. the rights of those who may have in
vested their means in such enterprises
The past history of the State authorizes
the firm belief, that such persons, in no
event, will have just cause to apprehend
that it will, under the right which such
a reservation of power would confer, in
terlere beyond the line prescribed by the
stern demands of the public interests
so far from the affairs of corporations be-
ing arbitrarily, or detrimentaly interlered
with by the Legislature, unfortunately, as
past events too clearly establish, the i'm
mense power they in general enjoy, for
the most part, has secured to them per-
feet immunity for any conlumacy of the
law of the land. While, therefore, such
guards and restrictions, are Of the first i'm
porlance to the people, TO shield them
from effects of an improper exercise of
corporate power, they can with 10 pro-
prlety, occasion alarm to those whom
they are intended to restrain.
By some, the hope is entertained. that
the balance of our debt remaining, after "a
sale OF the public works is effected, will
be assumed by the General Government
Even cursory examination of the diff
cultles In the way OF any such assumption
must show, that this hope is delaslve in
the extreme and can never be realzed.-
Apart from the fact, that there is a total
absence of all constitutional power, on the
part OF Congress, to adopt any such mea
sure, there are causes operating against it
which render the measure wholly imprac-
licable. 1t ought not to be presumed, that
the states that have followed wise coun-
sells, and thus kept themselves free from
the painful and mortifying annoyances OF
"a heavy public debt, will ever consent to
bear the burden imposed by the rulnous
lmprovidence of others. There is no
reason, founded in justice, that can require
ii of them, but on the contrary. every
idea ofjuslce lorbids that they should be
called upon to do so.
Any attempt to cas-, the burden from oil
our own shoulders on to those oGindltlcr-
ent parties, must be met, on their part, by
an opposition which will defy all success
full resistance. Calamtous as a refusal of
state to pay its debts would be, confes.
eddy, it ought not to be avoided by COM
pelllng others TO pay them, in no way
concerned in their contraction.
The proceeds of the sales of the public
lands are looked to in all the schemes
tevised for throwing State debts upon the
General Government. II, in defiance of
the constitutional inhibition. and the most
obvious dictates ofjuslce, Congress was
TO undertake the payment of that portion
| of orr debt now hearing nnnn the Trea