Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-01-03
New York I.egisIature-COVern



ALBANY, J an. 2-The Governors annual
message was delivered TO the Legislature
to-day. He SAYS: Il will be your high
privilege, in the name Of the people of the
of the State, to ratify the constitutional
amendment, which / transmit to you to-
day. ! earnestly recommend prompt ac-
ton. The proposed amendment seems to
contain in part the conditions of safety
and justice indispensable to permanent
settlement He says During the past
year considerable progress has been made
in the work of retrieving the circulation
Of the few remaining banks doing business
under the laws of the State. He recon-
mends the most practical retrenchment and
economy in every department of public
expenditure The State debt is hardly
short of fifty millions, and if to this is
added the county, town, and municipal in
debtedness, the sum is more than doubled
On the first of Janury, 1866, the enrolled
and organized force Of the National Guard
was slightly in excess of fifty thousand
men. The Governor saws there has been
a marked improvement in the National
Guard organization of the State, in disci-
pline, etc, during the year. He directs
attention TO the importance of the breach
leaders, and SAYS he has deemed the mat
ter sufficient Importance TO warrant the APP
pointment of military commissioner.
The revenue from the canal tolls for the
fiscal year, was $4,248,93l' The auditor
of the canal department estimates that by
the close of the fiscal year in 1868, the
whole debt contracted prior TO 1916 will
have been paid or provided for, and that
the entire liquidation Of the general fund
debt of 1916 may be looked for in 1872.
The Erie canal has now, and has had since
1860, tonnage carrying the capacity of four
million tons. In each direction since that
time, ii has not been taxed at any per cent
with business, or the transit OF boats cawy-
ing tonnage, to exceed very little, if any,
seventy-fye per cent. of that capacity.
The Governor spoke Of circumstances that
have conspired to raise charges for the
canal transportation, and the complaint
thereof by the people Of the western
States, and says no portion Of our country
can ask of US more reasonable fairness,
which it is not even more 10 our interest
to grant in this spirit, and with these
views of duty as well as policy. The
representatives of the people ir the
Legislature and in the Convention,
will doubtless act upon this import
ant question. We can construct an
enlarged tier of locks on the line of the
Erie and Oswego Canals, from tide water
TO lakes Ontario and Erie BhiChiwill admit
of the passage Of vessels propelled by steam
of five or six hundred tons burden. Ii may
be admitted that this is the extent Of our
ability, using the present lines of our
works. These vessels would carry three
fold the tonnage of our present two hun
bred ton canal boats, and make the round
trip in half the time. With vessels OF the
tonnage and description have mentioned
propelled by steam complete, engineers
have estimated that the capacity Of the ca
nails will be increased to over eleven mil
lion tons, and the cost of transportation re
duced fifty per cent. From an examina-
ton oftheir surveys and estimates made in
ls64--6j, cannot place the cost at more
than ten millions of dollars.