Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-03-15


dcred to be printed:
Executive DEPARTMENT
March l.. 1850.
Gentlemen ofHc Senate and House Of DcieydtsS
| On the Goth day OF February last YOU deter
mined to extend the session of the General As
scmbv to the 18th instant The amount and i'm
portance of the business of general and special
character maturcd by the several committees and
reported for your consideration and action, rem
dcrcd nm extension of the session indispensably
necessary Much of tho business of generurin
tcrcst aud great public utility have been disposed
| Of, but vast nnmber of bills many Of them OF
local nature. deeply interesting to tho people inn
mediately to be affected by them, and others moro
general in their objects, remain to be considered,
aud ii you shnll adjourn tho day designated,
will be left unactcd upon.
The Calendar of tho House of Delegates shows
facts to which | solicit your attention. Sixty-four
bills have been laid on the tablc-sevcnty eight
Senate bills hnvc been reported from committees,
| hut not acted uoou-thrlv one bills ON their
! first realing-twu hundred and thirty-tisc bills
NE ON thea srcoud iendiag-one hundred and
| cishty-seten bills arc cngrusacl--uno huulted
and nineteen reports from committees a,c not act
ed upon, and eighteen memorials laid upon the
table.
The Calendar of the Seuate shows thirty ono
bills now un their third reading. fourteen bill. on
their sccn,d reading. eighty bills ongrossol, seHen
| House bills NOT nctcd upon, and twenty Senate
bills read thr second time and laid on the table.
1t thus appears that there nre now leforc tho
House and Senate, in various stages oi forward
ness, the very large number Of eight hnndtrl and
sixty-sx hills. # which the greater portion conld
be disposed ol in the next twenty days. But ii
YOU shall adjourn on the 18th instant. all tho in-
Dor which has been expended by the committee
in preparing aud maturing these bills, and all the
time which has been devoted to their consldern-
ton by the two Houses, will have been thrown
awny and it viii occupy two months Mt least of
the present session to place these hills III their
present situation.
On both calnndcrs are to lac found bills, of the
utmost importance to the dispatch of the public
business. impcrativclv demanding action before
your adjournment. II they shall bo neglected The
public interests must suffer seriously. The qucs-
tions relating to tho boundary lines between MAJ
rylund aud Virginia, and North Carolina and Nir-
ginn, demand prompt nction unless it is your
purpose to allow these matters to remain III their
present condition until the meeting of the next
| General Assembly. The expenses incurred III
this connection havo been heretofore charged up
| on the civil contingent fund-the Legislature hn-
wing failed to mike appropriations for these OBJ
| jects. Clerks are required, in addition to tho
| force now authorized by law, to keep up the bus
ness in the offices Of the First and Second Audit
ors, the Treasurer tho Register Of the Land Office
aud the Adjutant General; md their compensa
| tlOn mas also Dcen upon tnB CIVIL huu hii-
! itary contingent funds. These clerks ought TO be
| provided for by aw--thc number to be employed
| in each office specified, their compensation pro-
| scribcd and such sum appropriated as will be re-
quired to pay them. Such things ought not to be
| left to official discretion.
As little discretion possible should lie left to
| the exercise of public officers. Executive pntrun.
age is always or less eorrupting, and great
lv prefer to it diminished rather than ncrens
| ed. 1t is always inclined to Increase the number
of its dependans, and to enlarge the circle OF It's
influence and power. In II Government like ours,
! nil such dangerous influences should be joalousy
guarded against, and whenever it can DO done, tho
| action of public officers should be regulated by
LAW, and not DISCRETION. II the dispatch of the
public business requires additional officers, it is
your duty to provide them, prescribe their duties,
fix their salaries, and appropriate the money nee
cssary for their payment
Further legislation is necessary in regard to tho
armory which you have directed to he reEtted and
rut i6to operation The act does not prescribe the
duties Of the Superintendent and the Master of
Armorcr with sufficient precision and tins is nee
essary to be done 10 secure the smooth and hnr-
moninus working of the establishment Define
clearly the duties Of each Of these officers. and
conflicts and disputes, disngreeabe in their char
aeter and results, will thus lie prevented. This
recommendation is made from want Of conf
dcnce III the prudence, discretion and Judgment
of either Of those officers but because ] think
each would be better satisfied, aud because think
the original act defecti.o in this particular. !
Commend this matter to your consideration, and
trust that it will be your pleasure to act upon 1t
before You adjourn.
There is another defect in this law that should
b. rcmcdicd. 1t directs me to appoint three COM
missioners, whose duties therein specified, bat
their compensation is not fixed | do not su.pose
that the Legislature expected these gentlemen tu
abandon their regular business AMI engage III this
important service without II fair and just compen.
, .alun. That compensation should be fixed and
provision made for its payment. well as for the
expenses incident to their duties. These gentle
men are admirably qualified for the faithful and
efficient discharge Ut the duties conided to theln
and they have entered upon them with that zeal
and spirit Which expected by all who knew
them.
The present embarrassed condition of the James
River and Kanawl IL Company requires legislative
action before your adjournment, unless all that
the State and individuals have embarked IN ;ls
great enterprise is to be thrown away. Consider
able repairs now needed, and if those repairs
are not speedily made, this liue of communication
will be rendered vaueless. Ii something is not
done ut the present session. navigation on the Ca
nal must be suspended. to the serious injury Of
the iron and agricultural interests Of large and
important section Of the State who are dependent
upon the wafer line for the means OF transporta-
ton Of their produces to market. | will not un-
dertake to recommend any specific measure OF re-
| lief rs | am satisfied you are much better inform
ed on the question than / am. l feel persuaded
that you will adopt such measures in regard to it
| rs will save the work from destruction, and rem
| der it useful to our common constituents.
| The revenue bills have not been considered ly
| you, and these are measures Of the highest i'm
portance and interest to the people OF the State ct
all classes, they should be carefully and deliber-
atcly considered. During the present fiscal year,
we have been called upon to make large expendl-
| tures of an extraordinary character. and which