Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-04-23

trolling power ia the hacds of the Executive Of
the State. Without this valuable franchise, in
tho opinion of the undersigned, the stock would
hot have been taken. The opiDio has alway 9
prevailed, among Oug best 8n8 wis ST mGn that
the keen eye uf private interest vii aiwgva man
age the afAire ot ao5iror:tf ioo With far more
prudence aud ulscretlOu thRli any Board OF drec-
tiOn which owes its Srpnintme 10 partC IN fin
ence. 1t has always been the tha TIE Gov.
crnor OF ihe state, lii alakllG tsis arpoiGtncIlts
has been greatly controlled by the poll cai fila
tiOLs Of his appOintees aud il cannot new ue cy-
pectcu that les party frai'ty will bo exhibited
thau on former acc =siuns The road thart fore
in the opinion OF the untiers gued instead Of be-
ing, as heretofore under he centro! of stoekhold-
ers chosen without regar'i to the political orin-
ions, Will become piece Of mere party ma
chinery, used 10 ln.rAr favCritc< or supply COM
fortahl" places fnc hungry patty Ineudscants-an
OF which viii TIC q the expense OF the stock
holders.
Secondly, tie amenti,,r MS demani d sacrifice
without Etrlr% a NAlnaHi- consider alton. Even
upon the -'9pp'eItisJrI thar The sale puG-G II tllc
General ar en.tly in passing the atuendDents
was to henSht tn" ""n!':.y, II Will be touDl, I
ciai condition OF lLe state. VII fail far short OF
accom- plishinS 'ts ends. With he already heavy
debt bearing upon the neopIe their crippled pecu-
mary condition, a1d the cOneeQuent gloomy pros
psct of paying the interest, capitalists viii not
venture to make loans nrod public securities, ex
cept upon margin 50 WIDE as to pay for al the
ha2 trds incurred, The eum 10 he realized. there
fore, from the bonds of the state, which are to be
given for the inTatuable franchise Of &. verning
ourselves will not be much more than haIF the
nominal amount. Thus the stockholders, for
what L cOnceiN @ to be ilusOry benefit, ban lgain
away one OF the n est valuable rights conferred
by the act Of incorporation. ...
Trir6ly. because the SAID acceptance is an
actual ndorseplent Of runous system of waste
Iulness which must bring upon the people a load
of debt which wise ana prudent Inen can but con-
template with dread. Admitting, for the sake of
argument, that the power OF self government is
of no yare, AND that the I" state" will be gov
erned in making its appointments solely by de-
sire to advance the public interests, it Is held to
be the duty Of all good citizens to arrest as far as
possible by every available means, all further in
crease of taxation, until the condition Of 'he pco
pie is such that they afford t. meet iho obi
cations incurred. Tie act OF Assembly vas
mere = ilchOate. 1t bound no one until rat'tie3
10y the stockholders, and it thus in their
pnwer to prevent the mere of the public dtbt
to the extent OF four million of dollats, by re-
fusal to accept the atneudmeD:. his Increase
was neither asked n0r expected by the stockhOl1
who supposed to feel the keenest interest IN
the welfare of the company, with The Board OF
Directors who had been charged with lts man.
agement On the contrary, the Board believed
that, if let alone, it WAS in their power, in due
course of time to build the road without impOsiog
an overwhelming debt upon the conpa0y or upon |
toe people of the State.
For these and other reasons, which he has not
the time to enumerate, the undersigned most ear |
nestly protests against the action aforesaid, be-
leviug that the boon offered is but another
more than Grecian strategy, to accomplish pur |
poses fal different from those which held out
to yio".
WAITER l.. STEELE.