Daily Kennebec journal., 1870-02-26
NO.. 40.
LEGISLATURE.
Remarks of Mr.. WassOn of Surry,

Remarks of Mr.. WassOn of Surry,
IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,, Feb "a,
on the motion to reconsider the vote whereby Re.
solve Ill favor of Wilton Academy passed 10
/ be engrossed
Mr.. SPEAKER When this resolve was
under consideration on Wednesday last, |
was giving some of the reasons which
would influence my vote, when ,as doubtless
arranged by the programme, the previous
question was sprung upon us to stitle de
bate.
Before reaumng the thread, broken by
the fall of the Speakers gayel, | say,
that | do not believe in the hasty use Of
arbitrary parliamentary rules simply to
gain some petty advantage. Every such
movement cyinces fear, that something
which does not appear upon the face of the
proposition under discussion, may be dis
covered and exposed by the light of de-
bate.
The first reason assign for my vote
to-day, is that the State is too poor to go
out into the "higlways and hedges to
look for objects of charity.
The gentleman from Augusta has
told us in most vehement tone, that
the State is rich, and not at all embarrass-
ed With our shipping interest destroyed,
our forests swept away, our public lands
gobbled up, our State shackled with a
debt OF more IS ,000, ,000, our municipalities
with enormous balances against them, and
our people grooming under the weight OF
onerous taXes-where is our wealth
Where ore our riches?
To-day we are running the government
on money borrowed, for which we are
paving m annual interest OF nearly half
Il million dollars. The very money we
propose TO donate To these institutions, is
not ours to give. 1t is borrowed, every
dollar OF il. Al the close of this session.
after We have .iyen our time and labor to
the State, because she is too poor to pay
for 1.-THE little pittance we may receive
to liqudate in part our board bill, will be
/ borrowed Why, a few days since the
State was too poor to afford us even a few
postage stampS-too poor to donate few
dollars to n diving member. Has any
- ''heir-loom' but that of poverty descended
to u?
hear it reported ''that the State is rich
and can afford out of the abundance of its
riches. to give to these statement-ofJ0
academies, liberal share" Let us
examine the estimated expenditures for
the year upon which we have entered,
and see if the circumstances OF the peo-
plc authorize" the endowment of these
intermediate seminaries. The people OF
the State must be assessed S97 900 on the
sinking fund of 1865. $4,000 on that of
1868, So 900 for INDECENT soldiers, S59,-
900 for insane persons, Sl4 900 for the Re-
form School, ) 10 600 for the Agricultural
College, S490, 900 for interest or Sl,269.-
9i0; equal to Sl.Sl to each inhabitant i'll
the State.
Talk about the States being rich, when
the Treasurer Is issuing paper currency by
the cari-load when our State bonds are
under par value, and holders are COM
PEELED to sell them at a discount.
Gentlemen tells Us THAT we must speak
these things softly-it must not be heard
beyond the confines Of the State, else our
railroads will not be extended and our
water power utilized" Let us, say, tell
the truth, and back it up by business like
evidences OF financial sanity.
/ We are poor-the evidences are too nu-
merous in shin-plasters spread all over the
State---the utmost tarthng Of which must
be redeemed by excessive taxation. We
have been told in sneering tones that
"taXatlon was not SO very Durdensome.'
Those who avail themselves Of the doubt
ful honesty Of investing in government
bonds out OF the way OF and leyond the
reach OF taxation, may escape the burden.
But to the sweating brows and blistered
hands, tugging and toiling to earn an
honest penny to meet the ineXorable de-
mands Of the taX-collector, it becomes no
''play-day dream" And we have thous-
ands in our Stae to-day who have not
solved that most trying problem Of their
lives, how to raise money to pay their tax
es. And that very money which some OF
them have mougaged their last COW to
raise, we are asked TO give to institutions,
which puposely created debt for the
State TO wipe out.
Let us look at facts as they are. To pay
the State tax for 1870, requires per capita
tax ot S!.!5. The county tsx viii increase
it to &2.0o-add the municipal taxes, and
we have Il tax Of 500 to every man,
woman, and child i'll The State, or tax of
So 60 per family, yet guiltless OF the act
OF fashionable murder.
Superintendent Johnson has been quoted
as "backing' these claims by his official
endorsement Says the Name Farmer
"When he rolled up his sleeves and enter
ed upon his duties, he resolved not to enl-
ploy his time in refining over the different
phases of special culture l can but hope
he has not abandoned that resolve, and
''rolled down his sleeves" for il so, our
common schools are without a head.
1t is said by the advocates of these State
aid institutions, "that we need them to fit
teachers for the common schools" re-
ply that we want them for no such pur-
pose. Our district schools have been
with this class OF unmethodical, unskilled,
and superficial masters" and mistress
es," long enough. We have had enough
OF this kind of teachers, too many of whom
possessed but few accomplishments be-
yond that OF patience 10 W0rTy through the
district term distribute rewards of mer-
it" at the close, and pocket our money
Again, the necessity, did it exist, of en-
dowing such seminaries, is fully met in
the Normal schools, which are answering
an almost universal call for class of
trained teachers, practically and seientifi-
cally acquainted with the best principles
OF teaching,
The method which the friends of these In
stitutions have chosen to push their pet pro-
jccts through this House, is open to objection.
y ,t5