The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-03-11

payment cf perpetual annuity 81 twenty one
Thousand dollars, winch has been imposed UPON the
company and In fact she herself the greater
part thereof snd that she has thus, In this shape,
received from the company q very large portion oil
| for It. ~ = g
Thsrd-That the policy Of carrying on this work
BY means Of borrowed money, in the policy Of the
state, imposed by her upon the company, and re-
FbartA-That the State having required and taken
from the company mortgages upon all its property
for her indemnity andsecurty, thereby rendered It
impossible for the company 10 borrow money from
any other person body but herself so that whilst
she required the works to be carried on by means
OF borrowed money, she alone could be expected to
lead it.
Ftu-That the act Of the State, in putting
stop % the Improvement above Lynchburg in 1872,
CAUSED loss TO the company of nearly $4S2, 428 81
which sum had been borrowed from the State and
expended upon the works prior to their suspen-
sion.
&stt-That the State having authorized the com
pany 70 rrsume the work in 1S47, and lent it the
sum OF 81 236 600 for the purpose of carrying 1t on
to Buchanan; and having since lent the company
other large sums for the purpose of on and
completing the work, after she had paid for the
company interest to the amount of 1926 204 &c. and
having funded that debt and taken mortgage for
and received interest upon it, she thereby express
ly and implicitly waived any forfeiture of the mort.
cages arising out of the failure of the company to
pay that interest. ss5sssssa - -
Sereath-That the policy of the general assembly
and its past action authorized the company to ex.
pect her aid in the payment of its interest whenev-
the condition and the circumstances of the COM
pany rendered that aid necessary, without rigidly
exactlng the forfeiture of the mortgages
Egltut-That the company regularly paid its int.
rest from 1S47 until 1852; and that the difficulty in
making the payments them arose from the fact that
the whole cost of constructing the canal from the
mouth of North river to Buchanan had been in
there had been large expenditures upon the dock
connection, and the south side and kivanna con-
nections, which were still unfinished, and therefore
producing nothing to the company
Auh-Ihat the passage of the bill for the sum
Sl200O0, in June 1852, with the facts that tram
spired in connection with it, and which were com.
municated to the board by the president of the
company, gave arrangement the character of an
assurance, and almost of positive contract the
part OF the legislature, that if the company would
allow its revenues to be applied to supply the des
fciences of appropriations, the legislature would
provide the sum OF $4,000 to pay interest on or
before the LIST day Of January 1858, and that the
president and directors were therefore justified in
allowing the revenues to be so applied
1enfh-That the causes of embarrassment which
existed in 1852 were temporary. The canal to Bu-
chanan is now in operation, and accomplishing even
| more than was promised. The Rvanna and three
Of the south side connections far completed
| as to be used, and are beginning to make
turns and the dock will be completed within few
| months, when, without doubt, it will add imme>
diately large amount to the revenues of the COM
pany.
Elerenti-That the money advanced by the State
to pay interest for the company has borne and made
interest from the time of its advance, and in fact
and substance, whatever it may be in name, is
loan t, the company for the completion ofits works.
much any of the loans for that object, ex-
pressiy so called
| 7aoelfh-That the difference between the mode in
which this work has been conducted, and the mode
Gfatn tryc IL
scrpton for stock is that the State receives interest
upon her outlay from the time she made the advance
to this work, whilst in the others she must lie out
of her money without remuneration until the work,
or at least part of it, is completed and put into
operation. And in this case, she has in effect
ceiVed 81 030 428 "a for interest, when if the work
had been done by the State or by subscription she
must have completed one OF the large sections of
the work before she could have received any return
upon her investment; and for eighteen years she
has been receiving interest upon her advances,
whilst the private stockholders have received no.
thing.
l have thus at the instance of the committee, en-.
deavored to present my views upon the enquiry
which they were instructed by the general assem-.
bly, to make. | have done so cheertully, because /
wished the committee and the gen eral assembly to
be satisfied that there is neither justice nor pro.
priety in the proposition. At the same time, may
be permitted to add that have entertained no APPS
prehension that the mortgages would or could be
foreclosed so long as the facts bearing upon the
question remain as they now are. forl Is not 10
be presumed that the holders of 50 100000 of stock
in company, possessing many of the elements CT
substantial wealth and prosperity as this company
does, would permit the whole to be forfeited and
lost for the comparatively small of S126O07 90
cents.
In conclusion, I would most respectfully, but
with all earnestness ask the committee and the
general assembly to permit the company to proceed
to the completion of the work; to grant us the
sstance which we need, in the mode in which
ask it, and in which the general assembly have been
accustomed to grant it; and to relieve US from any
forfeiture for failing to carry the work through to
the Ohio river in the time prescribedstill looking
to that end ultimately: and when the work is cons
pleted to Covngton, then to consider and determine
whether you will still hold towards us the relation
you at present sustain, of creditor and surety,
whether you will become stakeholder for the
amount you have lent and for which you are
bound, and share the large profits of this great
work, which promises to augment, in so remarkable
degree, the trade, commerce ana revenues of the
State.
All which is most respectfully submitted.
ri 1908 THOMAS II. ELLIS,
PreSt Of the James Ricer and KaRoaghd Co.
RICHMOND. January &c. 1854.
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