The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-09-28
COUNTY LOANSa

&
railroad mauia, clearly set. forth, that any
additional words would only weaken their eff
feet The article has double Significance when
We consider that decision to the slme effect,
though on d:ssimiar grounds, has been made in
tour own State. Itwili be seen from this arti-
Gle Of the Ledger, that those who hoped to f r
tify their own position in favor ofthc constitu-
tonuiy Of our own county loans, are widely
mistaken. What is most singular, il is exactly
the reverse, and the Supreme Court of the State
OF Pennsylvania have really and in effect dec-
ded that it is unconstitutional IN lo,oa for cosn
ties TO foan their credit TO railroad ccmpaeies-
The point on which the Chief Justices OF MON
turned, says the Ledger, awas rat as the Com
monweallh has right t. make public improve
ments 30 also it has'ihe Fight 10 dele gate such
power.
Bat in Iowa II has never, and can never, be
disputed that the State has no right TO create a
debt equal to even one of our counties, $780,
900. The Pennsylvania decision makes the
right Of the counties depend on that Of the State,
| and lifts reasoning be correct, every county
loan in this State is Illegal. So much for de.
cision claimed to favor the tremendous Great on
of debts in Iowa But we will detain the reader
no longer of the article
"The decision in the Supreme Court, a,
Pittsburgh settles the question, as far as this
state is concerned, to the cons,itutionality oil
corporate subscriptions to public improve
ments, with the assent Of the Legislature, even
when such improvements are without the cor
porate boundaries. By this decision the City
subscriptions. TO the Hempfield Railroad, the
Water Gap Railroad, and other enterprises are
confirmed. The Court stood, it will be remem-
bered, three to two on the question, SO that there
appear TO have been good grounds heretofore
| for difference Of opinion on the subject For
| all practical purposes, that difference will now
Geese, the Court being the highest tribunal in
the state of Pennsylvania, and there being no
appeal in cases of this kind, to the Federal
Bench. The main points on which Chief Jus.
tice Blacks Opinion turned-which opinion
was sustained by majority of the Court-was
that, as the Commonwealth has a right to make
public improvements, SO also it has the right to
| delegate such power The objections so often
| urged, why this right could not be delegated to
county and municipal corporations, from pecu-
liari,ies incident TO such corporations, exclu-
sively, were set aside as inconclusive. Conse-
quently there will be no limit now to such cor
porate subscriptions, except in the caution Of
citizens, or the refusal of legislative assent.
| This is the practical danger Of the decision
The knowledge Of this danger, we have no
doubt, had much to do with the desire, which
SO many prudent men exhibited, that such SUBJ
| scriptions could be proved unconstitutional
Public bodies are peculiarly liable to railroad
| and other similar manias. Citizens are fire.
quently ready to favor q municipal or county
| subscription, while they would hesitate long
TO subscribe even dollar of their own funds -
The reason is evident. In the latter case the
risk isbrought directly home to the particular
person in the former, it is shared among sc
many persons that the sense Of individual re-
sponsibility is lost. Pennsylvanians are pecu.
liarly open to the perils in question. The rail-
roads through the state are so few compared
with those in New York and New England
while the advantages to be derived from devel-
oping the resources OF the interior are so great
that every man naturally wishes to see as MANY
roads constructed as possible. But to cons rue,
/ these roads capital is wantng-nor can this
capital be raised by individual subscriptions
This is partly owing to the heavy cost of road.
in our billy state, partly TO want Of enterprise
among our capitalists, and parity, perhaps, also
to positive deficiency of means among our cit;-
zcns. Meanwhile the temptation to construc
roads increases annually. The end generally il
TO the road put under contract and ever,
body, except the prudent, entirely satisfied
While these subscriptions continue Unite.
in number the danger is not much at worst tn,
city, borough, or county, can only make a loss O
two. But the practical difficulty is to restrain
the number Of subscriptions. Apply this IL
Philadelphia. Every subscription Is both
precedent, and an argument for a new one
If road through one section of the State
is assisted, the people of another section
Immediately put in their claim; and wher
all sections shall have been assisted, branch
roads, it will be found, viii skfor pids--
"ass x'9 S es's' !. S;s;s,,,. Of
= 800 .e. INSCRIPTIONS willstor. Every APP
,Piscant for help will bring statistics to prove
that bis particular road is sure to be profitable.
In word, what we have to fear, is that the
same spectacle will be exhibited here on
small scale, which was exhibited at Washing
ton under the administration of John Quincy
Adams, on larger one when, in consequence
of the Federal Government having undertaken
few internal improvements, there were appli-
cations, at the seat of government, for public
works of that character, that would have cost
hundreds of millions, and perhaps even ruined
the nation.
We do not mean to say that the Court is res
ponsible for these perils. The Bench has mere.
~ declared the law, not made il and il is with
the citizens that the responsibility rests, after all
The press shares this responsibility in a meas
ure. Newspapers may be led to advocate sub.
scriptions, through mistaken zeal, or from want
Of knowledge, when cooler heads, and thor
ough mastery Of the facts, would compel them
10 a different course 1t remains to be seen.
whether, under the decision, our Pennsylvania
corporations will embarrass themselves, or not
Ten years hence, we shall be able to tell. Mean
time, 1t is the duty of the public press, as we'll
the interest of Taxpayer, to prevent as far as
can, railroad mania. For the danger is now,
not that too few subscriptions will be made, but
too many. Internal improvement is capital
tbing-here 10 nothing better, in in fact-but as
Franklin says. lei Us take care we don't pay too
dear for our whistle