The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-01-12
From the Indianapolis Journal.
GOVERNOR BAKERS MESSAGE.


GOVERNOR BAKERS MESSAGE.
| If the work Of a Legislature can be
facilitated, by full exposition of the
condition of the State, its treasury,
taxes, criminal laws, education and debts
our Legislature has been provided by
| Governor Baker with as much help in
| its labors as it is possible for one man
to give. His message, delivered in
| joint convention of the two Houses,
yesterday, at two o'clock, is exhaustive
It covers every point of necessary leg
! islation developed in the general con-
dition of tue State. and covers it SO en- :
tiraiy that there is little left for the in
members If he had been under con-
| tract TO do the Legislatures work and
his own, too, he could hardly have done
it more completely. He has made, in
consequ uence, an unusually long message
but equally in consequences, he has left
| the Legislature no occasion to look out
side of the message for facts AMI rea-
sons for what is recommended. 1t is
thorough exposition of the estate of
the case,'' and is q monument of accu-
rate investigation as well as judicious
!, craftsmanship. We can not possibly
attempt an epit5me of it, and must con-
ten. ourselves with noticing some Of its
more prominent features, First among
these is the account given Of the con-
dition or the States debt, and the ad-
JUSTIN ent of the claims held by the Gen
eral Government against her.. and by
her against it. This novel episode in
the ordinary course Of our treasury bust
ness, could not be readily under stood
without great deal Of explanation, in
volving no little Of the history of the
State debt, and this forms one Of the
sources Of the unusal bulk of the mes
sage.
Some weeks since we published state
ment Of this affair. but it may be well
here to repeat the substance of it. The
General Goveriaent Till recently. hai3
2l1 of on. states tcnds issued for inter
nal improvement purposes u 1857. All
the rest af our creditors surrendered
theirs. and took h;.ii their pay q the
,Vabas'i canal and half in new bonds
The Government kept what it had, and
held back the money due to rs from land
sales, to discharge the interest on them
as far as it wouldgo. But this did not
pay it all. Last spring Governor Morton
succeeded in getting a bill through Con-
gress to allow US to set off against theae
bonds and the unpaid interest, the
amount that might be due us as reim-
hursement Of war expences. Under that
bin Adjutant General TERRELL, by ap-
pointment Of Governor Baker went to
Washington, adjusted the unpaid inter
est and redeemed one hundred and for
tv one Of the bonds that fell due in 1857,
leaving seventy still due, upon which
interest was fully paid. The bonds have
been returned and that part of the bust
ness ended. But the Government still
holds seventy of these bonds that are
not due, and which can not, therefore, be
paid by amounts taken out Of our war
claims. What is to be done with them?
Governor Baker is unwilling to recon
mend any actiou for he can see none
that will not either look like reputation
or open the door to a demand to take the
canal back and pay the half of our debt,
for which it was taken, in cash. If we
propose to pay the General Govern
ment, other creditors will say. "Pay us,
too. You stabbed us of with good for
nothing canal for half of what you owed
cs, but when you come to settle with
your General Government you paw her
dollar for dollar in cash. Serve us all
alike" And if we serve all alike, then
we must pay the s7,500,00O for which
the canal was given. and all the interest
which will be as much more, and we
can't do that. Besides, as Gov Baker
conclusively argues, we are prohibited
by the Constitution from doing it, even
if we could. Consequently, we must
either pay the Government as we have
paid others, or give the owners Of the
Wabash and Erie Canal, now a set of
capitalists who have got it as specula
lation, S15, 900, 900 for their worthless
ditch.
Setting aside these old bonds, our
debt, that is the part of it which we owe
to other creditors than ourselves, is
only $3,0S1 ,399 79. This is all that we
owe away from home. We owe the
School Fund, that is our own children,
s3,591,3l6 Is, AMI me Vincennes Uni