Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1848-02-03
General Assembly.
JANUARY SESSION.
Wednesday, Morning.


Petition of Mary Ann Simons, for liberation,
Concurred.
Petition Of VIM Murphy for Liberation. -
! Concurred.
\ Petition of James Dixon, ct al for sale of
real estate. Concurred.
Il Petition of Cook Borden for sale of real
estate. Concurred.
| Petition of John w. Hazard for poor priso-
ner's oath. Laid on the table
| Bill on petition of n. A. Brown, relative to
violation of Sabbath. Read and referred to
Judiciary Committee.
I A communication was received from the
House on the petition of DIR. Richmond, &c.
relative to the State debt, with vote referring
the same to Committee of three citizens of
this State, to examine and report the facts and
their opinion.
Il Mr.. TlNGLEY said the Committee should
be larger, and that the appropriation culd be
insufficient
Mr.. Potter said the proposition he unCer-
, stood the petitioners were going to make, was
to refer the matter to the arbitration of disn-
terested men from out of the State whose de-
cision would be final. He was not in favor of
that, but it had at least one merit, that it would
put an end to the matter The present propo-
stiOn merely amounted 10 throwing away 50
much money out of the State Treasury. AS
to limiting il to three hundred dollars, it would
certainly cost two thousand. A committee
/ had been appointed who, after great many
sittings, had at great expense made re-
port of the facts, and every member ought to
be as capable of giving an opinion on these
/ facts as committee. The committee now
/ proposed would only 90 over the same ground
! again at as much more expense, and when
! they had got through, we should be just as
wise as we are now. We have now all the
| facts in a report which has been printed and
distributed to the House. Ifthe expense which
! the Assembly had been at in committees and
hearing this petition, had been applied to the
| purchase of the claims, it would have bought
| up considerable portion Off II the petitioners
had managed with discretion, he believed the
matter might have been satisfactorily cOmpro-
missed, and it would have been for the interest
of the State to compromise it, AS to the JUS
tice of these claims, Mr. Potter said he believ-
ed it would not be just to pay them in full
They had been incurred in the time of the
/ Revolution, at a time when we had no cur
rency but paper money, and when every thing
was at exorbitant paper money prices. AND
if we now paid these folks in full, we could no
in Justice avoid going back and paying all tn,
other claims which in revolutionary times haC
cy at more or less depreciation prevailed il
most of the States, and he believed there was
not state in the Union which ever paid theso
debts in full The United States even did moi
pay them in full.
lie believed that il would be for the Interest
of the State to compromise them. If they
should be made receivable for payments into
the State Treasury at the rate of go cents on q
! dollar on the face of them without interest
they would come in gradually, and a smal
amount be absorbed every year and the State
treasury would never feel it. This would
b. the easiest, cheapest, and on the whole
iairest and most just way ofsettling the difficult
". The other holders had received about tha
amount by acts of Assembly passed many
years ago. But he was opposed to the pre-
sent motion for another committee, as II would
be great expense to no purpose. He called
for the ayes and noes.
: Messrs. X. w. Greene, Collins and lIoxi,
were excused from voting.
} Nonc-concurrcd-bv the following vote
f AYEs.-Messrs. Collins, Durfce. Jillson
Manchester, Pearce, Henry Smith, Wibor.-
~.
RI NOES. .-Messrs. Brown, Burgess, Congdon
Eddy, Frances, Hazard, Holdredge, Kenyon
Kimball, Martin, Phillips, f. X. Potter, A
II L. TOtteT, 'oHlppee, llhBty, ldchcT, w hlt
man, Winsor.-IS.
II Resolution referring petitions of Blackstone
Canal Company ct al. to January session
!, lSi9. Concurrcd.
Il Vote of thanks to Directors of Butler Iospi
|, tai Read and concurred.
Petition of ). Staples, Jr., to mortgage rea
estate. Concurred.
r Adjourned to 3 p. NJ.
1 / HOUSE.--Thc Petition of Ezekiel Fowler e
al. for a Railroad Charter having been assign
ed as the order of the day, was taken up.
Christopher Robinson, Esq, counsel for th
petitioners, addressed the House in favor Of tn
petition Adjourned.
Afternoon.
4 SENATE.-Thc Senate concurred in sun
dry votes of the House.
> 1IOUSE.-The order of the day was rcsum
+, ed
, Mr.. Ames addressed the House on the ques
ton until the adjournment.
Thursday Morning, Jan. 81.
II SENATE.-Thc Senate concurred in sun
dry votes of the House.
II HOUSE.-Sundry concurrcnccs were re
ceved from the Senate.
|, Petition of Rufus b. Kinsley ct al, for char
6 ter of Fall River Exchange Bank. Continue,
with order of notice.
II Petition of Charles +. Tinghast, guardian
, for leave to contract respecting real estate
r Act passed.
/, Petition of Horatio Bassett for an act in re-
lation to Turnpike Corporations. Vote passed
An act in addition to an act entitled an ac
To regulate the election of civil officers. Sc
|, cond time read and passed.
4 Petition of Abigail Cranda for the Sale %
real estate. Referred to Committee on Judi
ciary.
' Petition of George Durfee ct al, for incor
poration Referred to Committee on Corpora
tOns.