The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1850-01-14
INDIANA LEGHsLATURE.
sEPoRrED FOR THE INDIANA STATE JOURNAL.
SENATE.
AFTERNOON SESSION.

OeVaFdI DllIS were redQ tulTu Time ana pas
sed.
The bill! to amend the character of the
Evansville and OIney railroad company be-
ing on its third reading,
Mr.. Rousseau moved to lay the bill on the
table; lost-ayes %, noes %.
The question then being on the passage OF
the bill.
MIR. Rosseau said he hoped the bill would
not pass; that till now, those who opposed
It's passage, had offered no opposition. They
did not wish TO make factious opposition tol
it, nor to throw anything in the way of a di
rect vote upon its passage; they had permit
ted it to pass to a third reading, intending to
content themselves with such opposition as
they could make on it's final passage; that
time had come, and those opposed to the bill
could remain silent no longer Mr.. r. said
his constituents were opposed to the charter
contained in the bill; they resided along the
line of the Wabash and Erie canal, upon
which they depended as an outlet to the
lakes and to the waters of the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi rivers. They had looked forward
with an anxious hope to the completion of
this great work, believing thatit would afford
them all the advantages that had been pre-
dicted by the friends of the State debt ar
Irangement; but if this bill passes, the canal
will not be worth a farthing, fig. 1t would
not very probably, be completed, and when
completed it could not exist with railroad
1t required no argument to prove this every
body new that canal could do no business
where railroad ran ftom and to the same
points that no one would 90 on the canal
when railroad car was in waiting to take
! him. This being the fact, if we admit that
the canal will be destroyed, or if 1t will be
| injured or if the proceeds will be greatly les
Isened, is it not wrong to pass the bill? Is it
good faith iii Indiana now that she had shift
ed this canal off her hands for a valuable
consideration, TO do any thing TO lessen its val
'ue? Was it not like selling man a mill
seat and then turning the water oil from the
same But he said he did not intend to de-
tain the Senate now he only desired to call
its attention to the subject that the matter
might be investigated and understood.
Mr.. Morrison said he thought that the pas
sage of this bill would he violation Of the
faith of the State When the bondholders
took the canal off the hands of the State,
they did it under the expectation that there
by they would reimburse themselves in part
ut least, for the funds which they had
loaned the State. He thought that the faith.
the honor, Of the State was pledged to do no
act which would deprive them Of the means
of attaining that object.
Mr. Dole said he should vote against the
bill, not because he thought it would be a
violation Of The faith OF the State. but be
cause il his opinion ii would be bad policy to
do so.
Mr.. Porter said the citizens of Green coun-
ty were interested in defeating the bill, and
therefore it was the duty Of the Senator from
Green to oppose the passage of the bill He
could not appreciate the reason given by the
Senator from Washington, (Mr. Morrison
for opposing the bill. The granting Of this
charter, in his opinion, was no violation Of the
/ faith of the State. He voted for the surren-
der Of the canal to the bond-holders. He
never understoodsthat the State undertook
to refuse gttcharters for railroads alongs lie
j Line of the canal. Travel will not SEEK, the
lcaTStf, IBe5said that bondholdershad no right
1 to thrsbyk5hstacles in the way oRchaftering
I railroads along the line of the canal
/ = Mr.. Morrison said h@would ask the Sen
ator from HarIson MIR. Porter if the State
at this time owned the canal, and was using
suitable means for its speedy completion. he
would think it right to charter this road
Mr.. Ellis said that the opposition to this
! bill was surprising to him. Senators were
anxious to charter road from Lafayette to
Lake Michigan. What would be the effect
/ of this? 1t would deprive the canal of a
large amount of its business. Are we there
fore tied up so that we cannot charter a road
| from the Wa bash to the Lake? By surren-
derng the canal, has the State deprived it
self of the power of progressing of building
railroads, which, throughout the world, are
superceding canals Gentlemen are mis-
taken when they suppose that travel ever will
go on the canal. The navigation of the Wa
bash has been improved, and travel from
Evansville inwards will take that course.
Mr.. Graham said he thought it his duty to
give the reason why he was opposed to the
passage of this BILL What has created the
new born zeal in the senator from Knox,
! (Mr. Ehs,) for the passage of this bill q
That senator, in advance gave notice that
he would oppose the passage of this bill I'M
Iess il was sent to a selsDt committee Last
winter they obtained a charter from Evans
vile, via Mt. Carmel to Olney They asked
at that time nothing more. They wished to
make it an entering wedge. to violate the
good faith Of the State; and this year they
come here to cOnsummate their designs.
They wish to turn the road from Illinois, and
to take it directly along the line of the canal
to Terre Haute The foreign bond-hulders
never came here and proffered their money
| for the construction of works of internal i'm
pTovement We solicited them to invest
blame for the disasters that fell upon the
State. They invested their money In good
faith, and expect to receive from the State
the interest of their money as 1t became due.
He had no patience with the perpetual cryl
against FOREIGN bond-holders. They were
not in fanlt; and he thought that the faith of
| tho Cto4o - ,,IoJoad 10 he bopd boi1arc