Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-01-16
VIRGINIA LFGTsLATURE.
House of Delegates,
WEDNESDAY,, Jan. Is

bills for the relief of Alva Teiter and
John Slack. Also an act authorizing the
| re-assessment of certain lands belonging
Ito VIM. D. Farnsworth. Also House
bill amending tue Code.
Mr.. RUPFSER presented the petition of
citizens of Fayette county; asking that E.
W. Rylaud, Esq, be admitted as member
| of the House. Also a petition from citi-
Gems ofLogan, Fayette and Wyoming couu-
ties, asking that the militia in those coun-
ties be re-organized.
Mr.. KRAMER reported a bill from the
Committee on Military A&airs.
Mr.. WEST, from Especial Committee,
reported a bill authorizing the Board of
Public Works to hire out certain con-
victs.
Mr.. VANCE, from the Committee appoin-
ted to examine the accounts of the treas
urer, made report which was laid on the
table and ordered to be printed.
Mr.. RoLLYsoN offered resolution that
the Committee an Privileges and Elections
inquire into the expediency of reporting
bill changing certain places of holding
elections in Braxton county. Adopted,
Mr.. CRoTHERs offered resolution that,
the Senate concurring, our Senators and
Representatives in Congress be instructed
to vote for tax upon railroad passengers.
Objection was made by Mr.. Porter, and
The bill authorizing the appointment of
commissioners to declare dividends for the
branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia
at Weston, was passed.
The order of the day, the bill to amend
the charter of the Holidays Cove Railroad
Company, which we have already twice
published, was taken up.
Mr.. CROTHERs said he had the utmost
faith in the ability of the gentleman from
Hancock to discuss this question, and he
believed he should not trouble the House
with any remarks.
Mr.. Smith said he regretted that he had
not had the opportunity to investigate the
matter as thoroughly as he might have de-
sired. He said that the parties interested
in the passage of this bill were the Penn
| sylvaniR Railroad and the people of North
western Virginia. The people of Hancock
are not interested. The cause is Jacobs
cause, but the hands are those of Esau.
| There is not man in Northwestern Vir.
GINA whose interests are not identified TO
some extent in the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road. The umpires in the cause are the
members of a Northwestern Virginia Lepfs-
lature. Mr.. Smith read an article from the
Wel'sburg Herald, (Which opposes this
Panhandle Railroad,) to show that the
people of Brooke and Hancock are not in
favor of this bill. He then proceeded to
show that the President of the Pennsylva-
mia Railroad Company and the Western
Transportation Company, which companies
alone will be benefited by this bill, were
foremost in urging the adoption of the
compromise which the bill now proposes
to repeal. He said that the overpoweriug
influence of the Pennsylvania Railroad had
enabled the rebels to carry off thirty miles
of the Baltimore / Ohio Railroad. The
OBJECT of the bill was to deceive the House,
and sacrifice the interests of Northwest
ern Virginia. Will the Legislature of Vir-
GINA lend itself to such "a scheme MS
this The bill says the Holidays Cove
Railroad Company 'smaY" build branch
railroad via Wellsburg to Wheeling When
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wilson) pro-
posed to amend by striking out "may" aud
inserting ''shnll, the gentleman from Han
, cock, sprung to his feet and said that this
amendment would kill the bill. Does not
that show that it never was intended to
to build this road to Wheeling. The whole
object is to give the Pennsylvania Railroad
Hsence to violate II solemn compact and to
increase an already vast monopoly. The
bill was proposition of the most uu blushing
atfrontery every heard Of 1t was prop
osition to make even the wreckers of Shylo
blush. 1t was proposed to violate a SOL
emn compact and give the violators all of
. wv SSoSAGS VI GuS NlOlALlOns NIT. SmlL1
: said he had been informed that the Penn
sylvania Railroad had offered the people
OF Brooke three hundred thousand dollars
for the right of way through that county,
and to build q branch Rrilroad to Wells
burg besides. How the gentleman from
Brooke could come here and sell his peo
pie, he could not understand
Mr.. CRoTHERs-There is not one word
of it true.
Mr.. SMITH then read an extract from the
WellSOurg Herald which had sort of
squirting at a confirmation of what he had
Z stated. Mr.. S. continued to demonstrate
that this Railroad would not benefit the
people of Brooke and Hancock. They had
already every travelling facility that a
people could desire. He questioned wheth-
er they would ever get depot, or wheth-
er the cars would stop long enough in Haa-
cock county to say good morning. The
gentleman from Hancock spoke upon the
increase of revenue by the construction of
this road, in the way of taxes upon pas
sengers. The tax was one mill for every
mile a passenger was carried through the
State. The proposed route will only pass
hVe miles through the State, which would
/. be i've mills upon each passenger. The Bal
tlmore road carries passengers through two
or three hundred miles of the State. And
. this IS the way the gentleman proposes to
: enrich our Treasury. The whole object
OF the bill is to gut"the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, and to transfer every pound of
her freight, and every single passenger to
the Unsuitable nav of the Pennsylvania
Railroad.
If this bill passes the grass will grow in
the streets of Wheeling, and the smoke of
her factories will cease to roll heavenward,
lncalculable injury is sought to be infict-
ed upon eighteen thousand industrious cit
liens to benefit some half dozen persons
IN Hancock county who own land along the
proposed route. He had no personal in