Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1855-05-18
A Town subscription.


ers of the town of Wilmington. at Office May 10th,
1885, present, His Honor the Mayor, John MoRae,
H. P. RUSSELL |. Northrop. w. S. Anderson, T. W.
Brown, A. A. Brown, W. L. Beery, the following
order was passed
Ordered That the 7h day of June next at 10 O'clock
A. NJ polls will be opened and remain opened until 81 o.
clock P. M, at the Court House in the Town of Whining
ton determine the of the citizens the question
authorship subscription by the Commissioners said town.
of not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars to the
capital stock of the Wilmington Charlotte and Rutherford
Rail Road.
This is matter Of too grave character to be pas
sed over ightly-too momentous in It's consequences
TO be made the subject of passionate discussion or
party electioneering. 1t must be met calmly and
coolly and decided upon it's own merits after full
and candid review of all the interests involved and
likely to be effected by it. Indeed, serious ques-
ton does it appear to us, that for days past we have
forebone reference to it, and even now approach II
with uniegned reluctance.
From the first We regretted that the amount au'
thorzed by the bill large, because the maxi
mum is the amount which is always looked for in such
cases, and individual effort is relaxed precisely to
the extent that reliance is placed in corporate SUBJ
scrption and this not only here but along the line
OF the proposed road. The law says that Whining
ton may subscribe four hundred thousand dollars
the people along the line put it down that she must
and arW subscribe it, and their calculations, their
efforts and their sacrifices for the graduated
precisely upon scale adopted after that has been
put down as certain. Upon this account We cannot
but regret the Iargeness of the amount AS We re-
gret the largeness of the amount authorized in the
bill, so also DO we regret the largeness of the
e. a.
still farther relax individual efort-give another
pledge that Wilmington must and will go the whole
figure at once, and this effort being at once made
will leave for emergencies in the taxable
power of the people and no disposition among indi-
viduas to subscribe The building of this Road is
four mile race and propose to throw out our full
force on single dash of mile.
We know the advantages which the town is expec.
to realize from the construction of the Wilmington,
Charlotte and Rutherford Road, and we agree, in the
main, with even then sanguine. We understand,
or think we understand what is meant by patriotism
and public spirit, and, if we know ourselves, will
ling to submit to any sacrifice that their requirements
may render necessary. But there are rules and lin.
its to evcrything-princples and calculations by
which to be guided and, in the absence of which, all
these things become simply unreasonlng impulses 1t
is fair question whether the greatest good of the
greatest number would be promoted as much by any
road, as it would be jeopardized by doubling, pres
ent or prospective, of town burdens whether
even in case we ignore all these questions and look
only to the success of the road, the unconditional
pledge, by the town of Wilmington, of four hundred
thousand dollars for to that it would amount at last
would actually hasten the road an hour-whether it
would not merely take the place of individuals that
might otherwise come up to the scratch. These seem
grave considerations, however they may appear
to others.
Some time ago, when this question was first agi-
tated, we expressed our views at some length, and
we can see no reason for change but the contrary
feel in the convictions then entertained
The town subscribed one hundred thousand dollars
for the Manchester Road, when it was in very
tight place. and that, too, under conditions highly
favorable 10 the town, and when we were neither
hard up, heavily taxed we now are. For
our own part cannot go for authorizing four times
that amount at first burst to a new work, without
any of those favorable conditions, while everybody
is pressed beyond measure, and the sherifs book
will show how hard it is to get in the present rates.
The position in which we, individuals, feel our
selves placed is simply this. We want to vote for
corporate subscription, but cannot feel justified in
voting in the affirmative upon the proposition SUBJ
med TO the people of the town. Others we know
are in the quandary If it was one hundred
and fifty, two hundred thousand dollars, we
might feel easier. We want the road but pressed as
the town is she can't stand the price that is asked
Charleston has gone her death on the way Of corpo
rate subscriptions, and gentleman as reliable and
we'll posted as any there, informs that real
estate has yielded to the pressure imposed upon it,
and fallen one-third to one-half Let us pause and
! think We can't stand it.
Beag~ The Wilmington Herald of Wednesday makes,
as usual, very strange assertions, of which,
totally unsupported by proof, is that majority of the