Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-10-29
Consolidation aud Lease


road in regard to our opposition to Ia
consolidation of the same road With tut
Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad. Inl
lease is the natural result, according 10 Ill
.L,0HI of Commerce, of the refusal 10 con
soIidota We cannot for the life OF us
even admitting the proposition, see why w
abonld have advocated one wrong to pre-
vent another. While opposing consollda
ton we warned the stockholders that there
was danger OF practical consolidation Will
the roads leading to Norfolk, and especial
~ after the election of the Board OF Dlrec
tors did we urge this matter. We antlcl
nlted it and sounded the alarm at that
fine Yet we could not see that our fears
onolt to have driven US into the support
Of 4 pending measure equally wrong, even
though more in accordance with our sym
pathies. If Wilmington money must be
rsod to build up either Newbern or Nor
folk, we would have preferred that New
bern should receive the benefit of it.
But We DO demur to the charge that
Wilmington acted ungenerously and llilb-
orally in her opposition to consolidation.
This city can show as liberal record upon
internal improvements as any city in the
State. nay, in the United States. Whining
ton has never asked the aid of the State
,util she has shown the disposition to help
herself Her municipal subscriptions to
railroads and the subscriptions of her citl-
1ol
Of it remains to-day heavy tax upon our
people. The Wilmington and Weldon Rail-
road was projected and almost built by the
citizens Of Wilmington. Tile pricate sub
scri0ti0,s Cluz0u,tted TO more Than tile UaLue Of
Hc blcabLe property Of The city al tie time
lboy 1ccre p2dde, and Tie ROAD aChen COM
l,ieted arus lie longest IN the aOOrLd and re-
l.laited SO for Seret gears, ant tCdS Wen
so,Dassed by tie one duU by tie Car Of
Russia. The city subscriptions to the Will
mington ana Manchester, and the Will
mineton. Charlotte and Rutherford Rail
roads were very large, and the unprofta-
bleness Of those roads have caused these
Subscriptions to remain as heavy charge
upon us to this day.
Oar Contemporary is unfortunate in its
.,llusion to the Wilmington, Charlotte and
Rutherford Railroad unfortunate III re
gard to the facts, and donbly unfortu-
nate IT. any reference to State aid to rail
roads. when its only avenue of connection
with the interior is by means of q railroad
built almost entirely by the State Treasury
and aided very materially since the war by
The State It's bondaremain unpaid anda tax
upon tho people, and the road, we believe,
is not to-day self-sustaininG. Newbern
md the tier OF counties looking to it for II
market" do not "cheerfully pay a large
percentage Of the tax imposed to build the
'ilmin@ton, Charlotte and Rutherford
Railroad, and the people Of this city and
ection were opposed and so voted, to the
appropriation of four millions Of dollars to
that road by the last Legislature, upon
which those people do cheerfully pay tax.
The corporation vote of the city would also
have been against the acceptance of the
appropriation, if the control Of the vote
had been in the hands of the tax payers of
Wilmington.
The State, previous to this late appro
GriatiOn, had not given any direct aid to
the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford
Railroad. 1t had exchanged bonds with
the Company. and held Il mortgage for
their full payment. Since the war the
Legislature had permitted the Company to
iHsue First Mortgage Bonds, taking a
Second Mortgage rs security for the Bonds
held by the State This would have ena-
bled the officers to build the road, had not
Governor Holden and his party made po-
Iitical machines of Our Railroad Compa-
MES, by which they hoped to perpetuate
their power at least, if they bankrupted
the Companies and the State IN so doing.
Against this appropriation we protested,
and the Stockholders of this section voted,
and Wilmington cannot be chargable in
anyway with this increase of the public
debt and the taxes to meet it. The appro
priatiOn was not to benefit Wilmington
nor do we believe to complete the road. 1t
was To get control of the Company, to
page party liNOflleS III OHlCC 10 u
the power and wealth of the Ring"
We believe we are consistent, we know
We are honest, III our opposition to both
consolidation and the lease of the North
Carolina Railroad.
Transactions of the Medical Society of
North CaroIina-Engelhari u Price Prfn
tiers, Wilmington N. e. &c.
Through the Secretary of the State
Medical Society, DR.. Wood, we have been
presented with Il copy of the transactions
for 1869.
We are pleased to see that this Society at
its last Convention, worked assiiuously to
put themselves right before the people and
the Legislature as regards the Medical
Board Bill. In fact all the efforts made
"yince earnestness in the right direction
the elevation of the standard of the pro-
fession in the State. This Society, we be-
iieve, is the pioneer in the establishment of
?, State Board of Medical Examiners, and
7heic eyamDla has been nOblv followed nv