The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-02-24
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BlOu IaiRLAY6 10 tn9 lubnRSoWeuG. Oh tne
affairs Of Che BlAs Ridge BailrSad, y we
publish the following sSport Of Ae Spe-t
cial Jofsis Como ittees appoinfeE upaer
a resahtien os4he sssssral Assembly !;
as also the report Of the Executive Com
mittee, and President Harrison's state
iment of the bonds ISSUED nnderJtiie ACT
of 1858. It appears to be affair exhibit,
and will go very far towards removing
the prejudice which has heretofore ex-
iisted: ''-'-.'---- '-------------
,sQeIy4RIA, s. c. february a. $780,;
The Special Joint Committee. appoint
ed under Concurrent resolution Of the
General Assembly to investigate the af
fairs Of The Blue Ridge Railroad Com
pany, met at the Office OF the company,
in this city, Wednesday, February 16,
1870.
They were courteously received by the
President, Gen. J. W. Harrison, the
Chief Engineer. Dol. !. p. Low, and by
the members of the Executive Commit
tee, his Excellency Coy. r. L. Scott,
Hon. James l.. Orr, WIN. Gurney, Esq,
J. n. jerks, Esq, all of whom were
present. @
The Committee, in. the outset, desire
to express their qualification for the
courtesy with which- they we're received,
and the, readiness and disgosision evino-
ed by the officers OF tkas abfnpany and
the members OF The ESaoptiye Commit
tee to faeilitats y9nr e6mmittee in the
object Of theiR; ;Kisis. and meet the wishes
The comnittss fSund the records of
the company carefully kept, embracing
a minute detail Of the work, its history,
the reports of it's former and present of.
6cers and engineers, also, the proceed
ings of, the Board. OF Directors and Exc
cutive Committee, together with oil the
facts and Information relative to the
contract with CresWell, & Co., and the
causes which resulted in the resembling
of that contract f7 "
After careful examination of tho re-
cords of the proceedings of the several
meetings of the Board of Directors. and
the Executive Committee, held at
Charleston and Columbia, your commit
tee fully concurred in the opinion and
request Of the stockholders and diEec-
tors, that the proceedings, including the
annual reports OF the President and
Chief Engineer, should not be published
until final adjustment of the contract
with Cresweu & Co., was made. The
committee also find that another reason
why the annual reports to the General
Assembly have been delayed, is, that the
company have had in the field for the
last two months, corps of engineers
running an experimental line, which it
is believed will avoid all the tunnels in
South Carolina, cross the Blue Ridge, or
Stump House Mountain, with tunnel
of but 300 feet in length, be saving of
two miles in distance, great saving Of
time, and q large expenditure in con-
struction. Owing to Indictment weather,
the report of this corps of engineers has
been delayed, the company being desir.
Gus to include statement of this new
survey in their proceedings. The COM
mittee, however, are pleased to state that
all the reports and proceedings are now
being prepared for publication in pam
to be laid before the General Assembly
prior to its adjournment. Your com
mittee, however, directed their principal
inquiries into the facts and particulars
connected with the award, and rescind-
ing of the contract with Creswell e. Co.
After hearing the explanations made by
the Executive Committee and officers of
the road, your committee were fully con-
vinced the company was fully warranted
in Withdrawing from that contract, and
effecting compromise, by which the
company, at the prices for which the
work can now be let, save ut least ST., 400,
600, chiefly by the great decline in the
price of gold, and the prices ut which
labor can be obtained, and the prices
also at which iron and other materials
can now be purchased AS further ex-
planation of this great difference, the
attention of your committee was direct
ed to the price of gold in July last, when
the contract with Creswell & Co. was
made, it then being at 1856, and the pre-
sent price. which is 119. This decline,
of itself, the officers and members of the
Executive Committee claimed, effected a
saving to the company of at least fifteen
per cent.
Your committee, with O view to bring
to the attention of the General Assem-
bly, more fully and particularly oil the
facts and details connected with this
matter, submit with this report some ac-
companying documents, including re-
port of Hon. James l.. Orr, Chairman
of the Executive Committee.
From the examination made by your
committee, it appears that Creswell e.
Co., in their contract, undertook to COM
pleto the entira road to pnaka r. reo5y