Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-01-01

In the House of Representatives on the
10Th December, 1868, after the reading of
the Journal of the previous days proceed
ings, Mr.. Pou offered the following pro-
test which we alluded to several days ago,
and which we now print as matter of
record against the passage of Senate bill
No. So lin regard to re-enacting and con-
issuing bonds to and for certain railroads.,
viz:
"The undersigned, members of the
House of Representatives, one of the
branches of the General Assembly of the
State of North Carolina, do dissent from,
and protest against, the passage of the act
ratified December Is, 1868, entitled can
act to ratify and confirm certain acts of
the General Assembly authorizing the
issue of State bonds to and for certain
Railroad Companies" for the following
reasons :
l. Because that portion Of the act which
provides for the issue of bonds of the State
to the amount of 50, 100000 as a subscrip
ton to the capital stock of the Chatham
Railroad Company, is an attempt to give
the credit of the State in aid Of the said
corporation in palpable violation of sec. ),
art. of the State Constitution. The sec
ond division Of this section confines to tr0
descriptions of Railroads the power of the
General Assembly to give or lend the credit
of the State in aid of any Railroad corpo-
ration, 60 u,e!eSS tie SUBJECT be Submitted to a
direct rote QftEe people Of tie State, and be
approved by a majority Of those '0ho shall
role thereon" Tho two exceptions are,
| first, such railroads as are unfinished
at the time of the adoption of the Constltu-
ton and second, railroads in which the
State had, at that time, direct pecunlary
! interest.
| The Chatham railroad comes within
neither exception. True there was, at the
time of the adoption of the Constitution, a
Chatham Railroad Company" having a
road begun but unfinished But that
Chatham Railroad was less than fifty miles
in length, extending westward no further
than a point in the Coalfelds. The Chat
| ham Railroad to which the aid is attempted
to be given by this bill is not less than
one hundred and fifty miles long, extending
westward to the South Carolina line. The
| Convention which framed the Constitution,
by cotemporaneOus ordinance, lent aid 80
an amount not to exceed 81, 900, 900, for the
purpose of enabling the then existing
"Chatham Railroad Company to finish its
| Road" If the completion Tor " finishing }
| of that road bad been let to a contractor,
by the President and Directors. in consid-
Grafton of that sum of $1,000, 900, the Di-
rectors would not have had the hardihood
now to claim that the contract required of
the contractor the completion of what is
now known as the Chatham Railroad.-
With just as little proprlety can the Dlrec-
tors now claim, that the inclusion of the
original Chatham Railroad, within enc OF
the aforesaid Exceptions, also brings the
present Chatham Railroad within the same
exception.
It would be puerile to contend that the
subscription of 100000 to the capital
stock Of the Company, gives the State a
direct pecuniary interest in the Road, and
so includes the Road in the second excep-
ton. Such q construction acoud dnnM the
exception. Since the General Assembly
might then take stock " fer the State in