The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1855-02-19
COUNCIL.

Council met-the President, MI. Murray,
in the Chair. !
Prayer having been offered, and the journal
of yesterday proceedings read.
The regular business OF the Council was en-
tered upon.
Mr.. Brown moved to take up the bill to
amend the charter OF the Minnesota and \. w :.
Railroad Co.
The chair decided that the question before
the Council was Shall the bill pass, the OBJ
jections of the Governor to the contrary not
withstanding," and the question having been
put, was decided in the affirmative, by yeas and
nays as follows
Yeas-Brown, Freeborn, Mower, Stearns,
Stimson and President--6. --.. = e.
Nays-Olmstead and Van Etten.
So the bill passed.
Mr.. Brown, from the Committee on Inter-
nal Improvements, reported back to Council,
the House bill, creating an act supplementary
to the act amending the charter of the M. q
NV. r. r. Co., without amendments. The
following is an abstract of the bill q:
The first section provides that the Company
shall construct and equip 20 miles OF their
road north from st. Paul, towards Lake Supe-
riOr, within three years from the passage OF
this act.
OCCOuO ScCtlOu pIONiucS tudt IuC We u ~ 4.
W r. r. Co. shall within six months after the
passage of this act, deposit Sl5O,OOO with D.
L.. Fuller, John r. Irvine, Louis Roberts, We
tai Guerin and Chas. BAIL, of st. Paul, to be
forfeited to the Territory, in case the said Co.
shall not within three years complete SO miles
OF their road. The said trustees to give bonds
to be approved by one of the Justices of the
Supreme Court, and deposited with the Terri
tOrial Treasurer, for the safe keeping OF the
, funds, and the payment OF the money to the
Territory in case of failure on the part of
the company to comply with the provisions OF
this act, or to refund it to the company when
the provisions of the charter shall have been
complied with.
The Sd section provides for a verbal amend
ment in the second clause of section eight OF
the act to which the present bill is amendatOry.
The fourth section gives the territorial legis-
lature power to regulate the rates of toll for
freight and fare for passengers on the road,
provided it is not fixed at lower rate than
that established by the Illinois Central road,
with 10 per cent. added.
The 9th section fOrfeits the lands, property
and franchises of the railroad company to the
| territory, in case the company does not accept
of this act and the act to which it is amenda-
tory.
Ga motion of Mr.. Brown, Council proceeded
to consider the bill in committee OF the whole.
We have not space to follow the debat;
which ensued, but it is sufficient to say that
Messrs. OlmStead and Van Ettcn battlcd against
It's passage with much power and effect.
Mr.Olmstcad moved that the bill be laid on
the table, Lost. Nays 6. Yeas 2.
MR. Olmstead moved that the bill be inde6-
nitely postponed. Lost Nays 6. Yeas 2.
The Council then went into committee Of
the whole. Mr. Stearns in the chair.
The second section being under considerass
ton various amendments were made, and
among them one which apparently the chair
man could not hear or did not understand, and
as he could not do SO, Mr.. Van Etten, the mo-
yer, stated that he would renew. it when the
bill was reported back to the Council.
The committee rose and reported the bill
back to the Council and the second section
being under consideration,
Mr.. Van Etten moved that the depOsite of
100000 be made in the shape Of United
States stocks bearing per cent. interest, and
that the depository be forbade to use said de-
pOSlte III any way or manner. Upon this he
made some remarks showing that the section
as presented, was mere bubble which might
easily be set aside in law-that it neither STA
tCu tlC Nluu vi ueDOcitC, hui ICStI diuSu CLO W.
positOrs from the use oil it--that it was easy
for the company to deposite with the persons
named the sum of $l50000 and after recelv-
ing certificate of depOsite to draw 1t out
again that it was unwise to trust to the
chances and changes of fortunes in individuals,
who though of more than full worth at the
time Of executing the bond required, might,
before the period of forfeiture, be dead or
worth pntbinn Ia 1r;cbo1 tho TorrttOrv fo
have stable, convertible security, indepen
dent OF men, and set apart for the territory,
where and at all times the territory could
reach it, and he therefore moved to amend the
section by requiring the deposte to be made
in the manner prescribed by his motion.
The motion prevailed and the section was
so amended.
AS the bill had not been printed, Mr.. Van
that purpose, and he inveighed sharply upon
the railroad legislation by which it had been
hurried through the House, and was then at
tempted to be thrust Though the Council with
out an opportunity being afforded Of giving to
it that grave consideration which subject of
so great an Importance demanded. He had
not seen it, and had no knowledge of it further
than was afforded by the reading by sections
in the committee of the whole, and had not
had the proper time to consider the bearing or
force Of the language used in the construction
of the different sections.
The bill was laid on the table and ordered to
be printed.
On motion of Mr.. Brown the bill granting
ferry right to Antoine Robert was taken up.
Mr.. Van Etten opposed it on the ground
that general act OF last session gave to the
County Commissioners of each organized
county, the proper authority in such matters.
Mr. Freeborn novel to amend the bill by
provision that the county of Ramsey should be
so divided as to be constituted into two coun-
ties-the lower portion to be known as Ram
sew and the upper portion as Pine County