The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1855-02-03
Reported forHioneer.
SIXTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE
OF MINNESOTA.
COUNCIL.

Prayer by the chaplain and reading Of yes
terday's journal.
The engrossing committee reported sundry
bills as correctly engrossed.
On motion the Council then went into COM
mittee of the Whole on the bills following:
A bill granting to VIM. Sweeney, VIM.
Lauver, Richard Freedom, and Norris Ho-
bart, right to establish and maintain ferry
across the main channel of the Mississippi riv-
er, near Red Wing;
A bill to provide for the improvement Of
the Minnesota river; and
A bill authorising o. II. Kelly to establish
ferry across the Mississippi river, near the
mouth of Crow river;
Which bills were reported back to the
Council without amendment, read a third
time, and passed.
The bill amendatory of the Charter of the
Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Com
pany, was then called up.
Mr.. Van Etten stated that he desired to
offer an additional section in the following
words, to the bill as engrossed:
And be 1t further enacted, That all privi-
leges, franchises, hereby or heretofore granted
to said Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad
Company, shall be void and of no effect, unless
the said Company shall on or before the first
day of August, A. D. 1855, deposite with the
Treasurer of the Territory, for the security of
the Territory, and as pledge for the perform
ance of the stipulatiOns and conditions re-
quired by said company, one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars in United States six per cent.
stocks, upon which the Treasurer shall pay to
the said company five per cent. interest annu-
ally, and in case the said company shall fail to
construct and complete fifty miles of Railroad,
with hin fhrao rouu1roI ~, tba &bsrJ
ton of this act, then the said stocks shall inure
to and become the property of the Territory
or future State of Minnesota; but in case the
Telegraph and the said fifty miles of Railroad
shall have been completed according to the re-
quirements of this act, then at the expiration
Of three years from the passage of this act, the
said stocks shall revert and be refunded to the
said company.
Mr.. VAN ErrEN stated his object in Of
fering this amendment to be, to furnish some
guaranty to the Territory that the Company
would act in good faith. AS matters now
stood, it appeared to him that all the Com
pany wanted was to inveigle the Territory
into legislation on this subject, and thus full.
I'll the requirements of the Act of Congress
granting lands to the Territory for railroad
purposes. That legislation perfected, the
end Of the Company was answered, and
they could accept or reject the amendments
comprised in the bill before the Council, as
best suited their interests. The prerequis-
ties of the granting act would then be COM
piled with, and the Company could laugh at
your amendments, and commence operations
under the original charter, with all its ex.
traordinary grants Of powers, and privileges
If the Company desired the proposed amend
ments made, and intended to carry on their
operations in good faith to the Territory,
the amount of deposits called for in the
amendment proposed by him, as a pledge
for their performance, was certainly incon-
siderable in comparison with the immense
gratuity which it was proposed to confirm
to them. He wanted to test the sincerity
of the Company, and of its friends in the
Council If they were legislating for the
good of the Territory, as they protested,
here was an opportunity for evidencing the
fact. He moved the adoption of the amend
ment, and on the question called the ayes
and noes.
The question being put, it was lost by the
following vote:
AYEs-Brown, Van Etten, the President
%.
NoEs-Freeborn, Mower, Murray, Stearns
a.
Various other amendments were proposed
by Mr.. Van Etten, and lost by votes OF 5
against Q (; Mr.. Brown voting in the mega
tive.
The bill to incorporate the Trausit Rail
road Company was read q third time and
passed.