The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-22
TIE NATIONAL RAIL WAY.

In 1867 the New Jersey Legislature passed
an act incorporating the Hamilton Land aud
Improvement Company, one of the sections
of which authorized the laying of rails to
connect with any other railroads then in
existence or with any new road that might be
built. The stockholders of this company
within comparatively recent period became
interested in the National Airline Railway
project, and 30 soon as the proposition to
construct this road began to be agitated the
Hamilton Land and Improvement Company
began to be the object of the enmity of the
Camden and Amboy Company, and all of its
powerful influence has been brought to bear
upon the New Jersey Legislature to procure
from it such action as will prevent the Ma
tional Road from using the seven miles of
track built under the charter of
the Hamilton Company. The theory is
that legislatures represent the people, and
that the laws which they enact are for the
public benefit, and not for the mere pecuniary
profit of few individuals. How much the
practice differs from the theory in the Legis-
iature of this State our readers are we'll
aware, and there is abundant evidence that
the New Jersey lawmakers are not behind our
own in their willingness to lend themselves to
corrupt bargains. The Camden and Amboy
Road, for the purpose of embarrassing if
not of wholly destroying the National Air
line enterprise, has brought strong pressure
to bear upon the New Jersey Legislature, and
bill was introduced few days ago to re-
peal the section of the charter of the Hamil-
ton Land Company which gave it the right
to construct and use the seven miles
of road in question. The real reason
for this measure is obvious, but the
assigned reason is that it is unusual to grant
land company the right to bull railroad.
That the friends of the Camden and Amboy
now in the Legislature are not able to make
a better argument than this shows how feeble
their moral position is, and that they imagine
themselves powerful enough to carry their
point by force in spite of right and justice.
That it is not unusual, at least in New Jersey,
to grant such a right is proved by the fact
that the Hoboken Land improvement Com
pany, an enterprise inaugurated under Cam
den and Amboy auspices, built a road from
Hoboken to Newark, and other land
and improvement companies have done
the same thing.
great number of the citizens of New
Jersey are strongly in favor of the National
Airline Road, as they consider that it will
exert powerful influence in promoting the
prosperity of the State, and the Legislature,
independently of every other consideration,
will undoubtedly not represent public opinion
if it favors the repeating bill above referred
to. The City Councils of Trenton and the
Trenton Board of Trade have both passed
resolutions protesting with energy against the
proposed action of the Legislature, and the
Board of Trade of Trenton has appointed
committee to represent its views before the
Legislature. The resolutions passed by the
Board of Trade of Trenton say that the citi.
zens are generally in favor of a competing
railroad line between that city and New
York and Philadelphia, and that the Legisla-
ture is earnestly asked not to pass the bill
now before it for the repeal of the ninth sec
ton of the charter of the Hamilton Land and
Improvement Company. In the meeting at
which the resolutions were passed, it was
stated that the proposition to repeal was un-
supported by single petition, and it was de-
nounced as an outrage without a parallel.
That competing railroad will greatly benefit
the State of New Jersey none can doubt; and
it will certainly be an outrage of the first
magnitude if an enterprise of the importance
of the National Airline Railway is defeated
merely for the sake of allowing a rival eorpo-
ration to enjoy permanent monopoly.