INVESTIGATION DELAWARE & RARITAN CANAL CAMDEN & .iMDOY RAIL ROAD COMPANIES, CERTAIN CHARGES UY "A CITIZEN OF BURLINGTON/’ DECEMBER, 1848. NEWARK, N. J. A’EKTISBR OFFICE. To the Joint Bonn! of Directors oj the Delaware dp Raritan Canal and Camden Amlmy Rail Road Companies :— Gentlemen,— Herewith you will receive a report made by us, under a llesolution of your Board. We are very respectfully. Your obd’t serv’ts, JAMES G. KING, WM. PENNINGTON, CHARLES PARKER. December 26, 1848. REPORT. To the Joint Board of Directors of the Camden and Amboy Rail Road, and the Delaware and Raritan Canal Companies— The undersigned, by a resolution of your Board, were requested to examine into the affairs of your Companies as administered by their executive officers, with a view to ascertain the truth or falsehood of cer¬ tain designated charges lately made against them by an anonymous writer, >igning himself “ A Citizen of Bur¬ lington.” These charges contained accusations of “ perjury,” “ fraud,” false entries in the books of account, false reports made to the stockholders and to the public, embezzlement of I’unds belonging to the state, and robbery of monies belonging to the stockholders. The undersigned, as they were urged to do by you, instituted a thorough scrutiny into these matters, and for that purpose they rigidly inspected the hooks of account, the recorded minutes of the meetings, as well of the stockholders as of the directors, the vouchers of all descriptions, and likewise the details of administra¬ tion, by calling before them, for examination, the execu- 6 tive officers, and as many of the agents ct the Companies as they thought proper. As the result of their labors, they arrived at this unanimous conclusion, which they now declare:—That there has not been, and that there is not now', any foun¬ dation for the charges enquired into:—that no ground has existed or now' exists for any iinputation upon the ^ character or conduct, personal or official, as connected with their administration of the affairs of the two companies, either of the Executive Officers or of tlie Directors of the Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Delaware and Raritan Canal Companies. That—as a necessary consequence—no monies have been withheld from the state for transit duties upon pas¬ sengers and merchandize legally chargcaltlc therewdth; —none have been embezzled,—and none unaccounted for to the stockholders,—by whom, in their successive meetings, ftill approval and sanction have been given to the acts of the Directors: ail of w'hich tiiey had the fullest opportunity to investigate: That so far as they are competent to judge, the undersigned believe that it w'ould hardly be possible to devise a system of keeping accounts more likely than the one adopted by these two Companies, to produce exactness, to check mistakes, and to obviate wilful errors and frauds, as well as to exhibit at any given period the true state of their concerns in all the minuteness of detail. The undersigned also feel it to be proper for them to say that a more efficient and trustworthy set of officers and. 7 agents than those connected with these Companies cannot in their belief be found in the service of any corporation. They appeared to the undersigned to be men of charac¬ ter, and of qualifications well adapted and fully adequate to the responsible duties which they have to perform. In support of the above declarations, the undersigned beg to refer to the “ Remarks” which follow, and they would ask attention also to the "Tables” appended hereto, which were prepared with much care from the books and vouchers of the companies by their Secretary, Mr. Bradley, (in whose accuracy they have entire confidence,) in order to controvert, more clearly than otherwise could have been done, the facts assumed and the reasoning from them, adopted with a view to sustain the charges which have formed the subject of enquiry. All of which is respectfully submitted. JAMES G. KING, WM. PENNINGTON, CHARLES PARKER. 26th December, 1848 REMARKS. Having met at Bordentown, to enter upon our duties, the Joint Board of the two Companies pointed out, as the charges which we were to investigate, those contained in the lOtli and 11th pages of a “ Pamphlet” which was put into our possession, published in Philadel¬ phia, entitled •' A Review of an Address of the Joint Board of Direct¬ ors of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Rail Road Companies to the the People of New Jersey,” by a “ Citi¬ zen of Burlington.” They are as follows: CHARGES. Fiest. —That the number of passengers has been far greater than has been reported for the payment of Transit Duty. Second. —That the quantity of freight carried on the Rail Road has been far larger than has been reported for transit duty. Thied.— That the quantity of freight carried on the Canal has been far larger than has been reported for transit duty. Fouetji.—T hat the returns made to the Treasurer’s office were false and fraudulent. Fifth.— That the Company or its managers are largely indebted to the State on that account. Sixth. —^That the number of passengers has greatly exceeded the number reported to the Stocliliolders. Sr.vF,NTH.—That the quantity of freight passing on the Rail Road has greatly exceeded that reported to the Stockholders. Eighth.— That the quantity of freight passing on the Canal has so greatly exceeded that reported to the Stockholders, that a large por¬ tion of it has paid neither freight, nor toll, nor transit duty. 10 XixTir.—Tiiat a large portion of the earnings of the Machiner}’ of the Company has never reached the Company’s Treasury. Texth —^That lai^e sums that have reached the Treasury, have snbsequently been abstracted therefrom. Eleventh.— ^That the accounts rendered to the Stockholders have throughout been falsified to cover these abstractions. TwELrrii.—That tlie statements furnished to the State Directors were fabricated for a purpose, and cannot represent any state of things standing, or that should stand on the Companies’ hooks. The pamphlet contains Twelve Letters to prove and maintain these Here it is proper to observe, tiiat .Mr. .Mairs, tlie titate Treasurer, who was originally associated with us, was at the second preliminary meeting, and before tliis examination was commenced, prevented by Ids official duties from devoting the time necessary for the iuvesti- The Joint Board of the two Companies, in accordance with their resolution, gave us access to, and control over, all their boohs of ac¬ count, documents and vouchers, and authorized us to examine any and all persons connected with their concerns in any way, in order to ena¬ ble us to make tne most thoroucdi scrutiny.—which they desired, in behalf of diemselves, of the State, of the Stockholders and of the Public. Tims appealed to, we felt that any body of respectable citizens, charged with a violation of duty in tlie execution of a public trust, had a claim on other citizens in whom they believed public confidence might be reposed, faithfully to examine, and fearlessly to certify their views as to the trath or falsehood of such charge; and being con- scions that we had not the slightest Interest or concern, personal or pecuniary, in the affairs of these Companies, we accepted the commis¬ sion with a firm determination to make a thorough investigation and a true report. Upon this footing we commenced our examination, and appointed as Seoretiii'y of tlie Commission, 5Ir. Joseph P. Bradlej’, of Newark, in whose intelligence, and shill in the accurate investigation of ac¬ counts, the greatest confidence may be placed. Understanding that a Mr. Caiey, formerly of Philadelphia, but now residing at Burlington, was the acknowledged author of the pamphlet containing the charges referred to, in which the author’s great aim was to “hring oiil the Books and Papers;” and being desirous, tlierewith, to have such aid as he might afford, we addressed him a note on the 2d October last, inviting him to meet ns at Bordentown, that he might have an opportunity of sustaining his charges, and of pointing out the foundation on which they rested; informing him, at the same time that the hooks and papers would bo in our hands and open for his inspection. Our note, together with an answei' declining our invita¬ tion, and an article intended to prejudice the public against the inves¬ tigation, and those who were to make it, were immediately despatched by him to the newsiiaper-s, with a copy to us, admitting, at the same time, the authorship of the Pamphlet and its charges. We, nevertheless, proceeded in our duties, and established a rigid scrutiny at various times into the books of the Companies and of their agents, kept in Philadelphia, Bordentown, New York, New Brunswick and elsewhere; also into the original vouchers, way bills, bills ot lading, and other documents npon which those books were founded. Besides which, we have thoroughly examined the agents, collectors, entry clerks, and other subordinates—as well those con¬ cerned in keeping the books, as others. We have also minutely in¬ terrogated the principal Managers and Agents of the Companies;— not, it is true, under oath, which we had no authority to administer, but with an opportunity of comparing their separate statements witli each other, and with the books and vouchers, in such manner as to be quite as satisfactory for the purpose of eliciting truth, as an examina¬ tion under oath could have been. The results of these enquiries we have compared with the several reports made by the officers of tlie Companies to the State Treasurer, to the stockholders and to the public; and due regard has also been paid to the alleged facts and statements contained in the “ Pamphlet.” 12 We have detected several errors in some of printed Reports of die Directors, aU however satisfactorily explained, as will be seen hereafter, and none of them bearing in the least upon the integiity or the honesty of the Board or of the Officers under whose diiections those “reports” were prepared. All the money accovnis in the books, invohing the rights of the state or of tlie stockholders, are exceedingly accurate, and exhibit, as we believe, every dollar of the earnings and profits of the companies, with the appropriation of them, and indeed the whole amount of business transacted. But in order that this may be fully judged of, we present a concise history of the “origin of the companies” and of the “mode in which their business is conducted, and in which their books, statements, and reports are made up.” ORIGIN OF THE CO.IIPANIES. The Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Rail Road Companies were chartered by the Legislature of New Jersey in February 1S30, and in the following year were amalgamated into one concern, the stock made joint stock, the profits to be equally divided, and the Companies rendered jointly liable for the debts and eonti'acts of each other. The capital of said Companies, authorized by their re¬ spective charters, and all actually called in, was 81,500,000 each— making a joint capital of three millions of dollars. The cost of their works, viz. the Delaware and Raritan Canal, the Camden and Amboy Rail Road, and the Branch Road from New Brunswick to Trenton and Bordentown, and of the appendages to those works, togeflier with the investments in Camden Ferry stock, and in that of the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road, as well as in steamboats, steam tugs, &c., as adverted to hereafter, largely exceeded the capital and rendcicd necessary extensive loans, still outstanding, and on which the interest has always been regularly paid. In consideration of completing their Canal and Rail Roads within a limited time, and of transferring to the state of New Jersey 8200,000 of their capital stock fully paid in, and of paying to the state a certain transit duty on all passengers and merchandize transported across the state, the Legislature granted to the Companies, amongst other things, the exclusive right of way across 13 * the state between the cities of New York and Philadelphia, so far as relates to Rail Road transportation, except as to the line of Road between New York and New Brunswick. [transit duties on canal.] The transit duty on the Canal is eight cents for every passenger and for every ton of merchandize transported across the state, excepting coal, lumber, lime, wood, and similar low priced articles which are nsnally oenominated "inferior merchandize,” and for which the duty is only two cents per ton. The transit duty on tlie Rail Roads belonging to the Companies, as finally settled by joint resolution of the Legislature, March 10,1842, is ten cents for every passenger, and fifteen cents for every ton of mer¬ chandize transported from any place on the Delaware river to any place on the Raritan river or bay, or vice versa—whilst there is no duty for a less distance. To secure a faithful account of the passengers and merchandize thus subject to transit duty, the Treasurers respectively of the two Companies are required to make, under oath, quarterly returns to the State Treas¬ urer of the number of passengers and of tons of merchandize trans¬ ported over tlieir respective works. MODE OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. IVe will next consider the mode of conducting die business and keeping the accounts of the two Companies. 1st. On the Delaware and Darilan Canal. The officers of the Delaware aud Raritan Canal Company are Robert F. Stockton of Piineeton, President; John R. Thomson of the same place. Secretary: and James Neilson of New Brunswick, Treasurer. The Company has collectors stationed at Lambertville, Trenton, Princeton, Kingston, Rocky Hill and Boundbrook. . 14 Thej- have also the senices of a General Superintendent of Ac¬ counts who is appointed by the Joint Board, and whose business it is to make monthly visits to all offices of the Companies where accounts are kept, and carefully to examine the same, comparing them and their pass books vrith the banks, with the receipts, vouchers, way bills, &c .—and to meet once a month with the Executive Committee at Bordentown to make his report. Very few passengers travel on the Canal. All merchandize trans¬ ported thereon across the state and subject to transit duty, is examined at the principal Collector’s office at Princeton, and the amount is reported to the Treasurer of the Company in the following manner; Every boat, barge, or other vessel coming from the terminus or from beyond the terminus of the Canal, either way, is provided by the for¬ warders with a manifest of her cargo, similar to that of merchant ves¬ sels on the high seas, specifying every distinct parcel of merchandize on board, with the names of the shipper and consignee, the quantity contained m tlie parcel, and sometimes the amount of freight to be received thereon. This manifest must be shervn to the principal col¬ lector at Princeton. He compares it with the contents of the vessel, estimates, or if he has any difficulty on the point, ascertains by actual weight, the tonnage of the cargo, distinguishing between the ‘superior’ and ‘inferior’kinds of merchandize, as required by the different rates of transit du^, and finally receives the proper toll according to the gene¬ ral toll lists made out by the Company every 3 'ear. His instnrctions are to put down as “superior” any merchandize about whicli any doubts exist. An abstract of the manifest, with the amount of ton¬ nage, superior and inferior, and the amount of toll received, is entered by him in his book, and he thereupon delivers to the boat a clearance shewing these particulars, acknowledging the receipt of the toll, and authorizing the lock tenders to let the boat pass. If the boat belongs to a line which has a general contract with the Canal Company, the same process is gone through except as to re¬ ceiving the tolls. Every day or two this collector deposits the money so collected to his own account in the Princeton Bank, which gives him credit therefor on his pass book. At the end of every month he transfers 15 . the monies to the account of the Treasurer of the, Company, an(^ makes to that officer a return from his book of entries before men¬ tioned shewing the “ through” tonnage, the relative amount of “superior” and “inferior” merchandize, and the amount of tolls received by him and passed to the treasurer’s account or chargeable to contracting lines. The Treasurer after examination, enters the result in his own boohs, and credits the Company with the aunount of moneys received. The clearance which the collector gives to the boat must be exhibited in the subsequent part of the route to every lock tender, and the tender of the last lock retains that clearance, and at the end of the month returns it to the Superintendant of Accounts, who compares it with the Collector’s book. There are four private transportation lines, the proprietors of which pay their tolls monthly, and two of which have special contracts with the Canal Company, and for toll, pay a certain per centage on the amount of freight charged by them on the goods tyhich they carry. These lines are the Merchants and Swiftsure line, between Philadelphia and New York; the Hartford line, between Philadelphia and Hartford, and other places East of New York, (which are the lines having special contracts); the Trenton line, between Philadelphia and Albany and Troy; and the Easton line, between Easton and New York. The general Collector at Princeton keeps an account, as before stated, of the merchandize carried in these lines, and at the end of the month draws on the respective managers thereof in favor of the Treas¬ urer of the Company for the amount due, and deposits the draft in bank for collection. In addition to this, in the case of the Merchants and Swiftsure line, commonly called the Napoleon line, whose business at New York and Philadelphia is conducted by certain Agents, these Agents meet the Executive Committee of the joint companies and the Superintendant of Accounts at the end of each month, and exliibit to them a detailed abstract of the various bills of lading transmitted and received during the month, the amount of merchandize carried, and the freight charged thereon; and adjust and settle the amount of tolls due the Companies for the use of the Canal: which settlement is certified to the Collector, who tliereupon draws on the agents of the line, in favor of the Treasurer of the Canal Company, for the 16 amonnt found to be due. Thus, mutual checks are presented between the officers of the Companies and the proprietors of the vessels pass¬ ing over the Canal; and there hardly seems to be a possibility either for those proprietors to deceive the agents and officers of the Com¬ panies, or for those officers and agents to defraud the Companies or the State. Almost every step of the process is somewhere placed on recordjwhich is subject to the inspection of several different per¬ sons doing duty in different points of the line, and remains a perpetual evidence of every transaction. The undersigned carefully e.vamined these papers and books, as well as the persons engaged in these trans¬ actions, and were convinced that no fraud or concealment was or could be effected to any important extent. The Treasurer of the Canal Company, from the monthly state¬ ments and abstracts received by him makes up his quarterly returns of tonnage and transit duty to the State Treasurer. This is the ordinary and uniform course of tire Canal business de¬ nominated “ through’’ business. In addition to this, there is a con¬ siderable amount of way transportation on the Canal, for which the tolls are gathered at the several points by the various collectors, who likewise make to the Treasurer of the Canal Company monthly re¬ turns, showing the name of every vessel or boat passing during the month, with the amount and kind of freight, the tolls collected, and other particulars relating thereto. The monies thus received are duly passed over to the Treasurer. These monthly returns from all the collectors are preserv'ed by the Treasurer as vouchers to show the amount of funds in his hands. The Secretary inspects all bills, and makes all payments by check on the Treasurer, and preseires all the original receipts and vouchers on which such checks are based. The Treasurer disburses no money, except for transit duties, without the written order or check of the Secretary of the Company; and these checks he keeps on file, as his vouchers for the disbursement. The accounts of these officers are regularly inspected, checked and passed by a committee of the Joint Board of Directors at every half yearly meeting. 17 2ndly. On the Camden Amhoy Rail Road. The officers of the Camden and Amboy Rail Road Company are Robert L. Stevens, President and Ciiief Engineer, William H. Thom¬ son, Secretary, and Edwin A, Stevens, Treasurer and Superintendent. At New York the Company has two disbur.sing and receiving agents^ one for the passenger lines and the other for the transportation lines. They have the same numlier at Philadelphia with like duties. There is also a central agent who superintends the way transportation and the disbursements incidental thereto. The Superintendent of Accounts before mentioned^ being an officer of the Joint Board, visits the offices of these agents once every month, and examines into the cori'ectness of their accounts, and compares them with their vouchers and way bills. Besides these, the captains and clerks of Steam Boats, and the conductors of trains of cars, aid in the performance of the general duties. The general office of the Companies is at Boi'dentown, where a general set of hooks i.s kept, showing the operations, receipts and expenditures of the concern in all its departments and their branches. Abstracts of all the books and accounts kept at the various agencies are returned monthly to this general office, whore the Treasurer emplovs an agent and book keeper to siipejintend the entries in tho general books and accounts of tho Companies. The mode of doing Inisiiiess on tho Rail Road appears to us, from tire checks which are imposed upon the operations of every individual agent, to preclude, without reference to the character of tho men cmplovod, the idea of fraud or embezzlement. The combination to effect citlrcr, must be so extensive, and must implicate so many indi- viduals, that detection would be inevitable. In the passenger hnsitiess the mode is this:—The general agent at Philadelphia delivers to the ticket agent a certain number of tickets, answeninr to tho various nlaces ol destination on the route, and charges him with the full amount of those tickets in money. For this charge the agent is responsible, and must return tho amount in 2 18 money or in tickets. The ticket agent disposes of tickets in his office •or on board the steamer or ferry boat, and makes out a way bill in duplicate, entering therein the name of each passenger with his desti¬ nation. He delivers one way bill to the conductor, and returns in the boat with the other to Philadelphia, where he immediately settles his account with the general agent. The tickets received by the passen¬ gers are examined by the conductor in the ears, and if by chance any passenger is not prorided vvith one, the conductor has always a requi¬ site number to meet such a case, or il’ passengers enter the cars on the way mthout tickets, the conductor is ready to supply them; and all passengers thus supplied by him are, in like manner, entered on the way bills. The passengers on leanng the trains are called on for their tickets at the gate at South Amboy by a different person still, who puts up the tickets received, in a sealed package, and returns them by the next train of cars to the general agent at Philadelphia. The same process is gone through in reference to the trains from New York to Philadelphia. By this arrangement it is evident that each successive agent acts as a check on the previous ones through whom the business has passed; and there would seem to be no opportunity for any of these agents or conductors to defraud the Company—except periiaps in the case of such way passengers as enter and leave the train between the termini of the Road; and with regard to these it is believed that.the arrange¬ ments of the Company are such as to preclude the possibility of fraud bevond a very trifling extent As to the passengers crossing the state, with whom alone the State is concerned, the check is complete. The general agent at each end of the Road keeps a full daily account of the business of each line, and at the close of the month abstracts of these accounts, containing a statement of the number of passengers transported on each line for the month, and of the amount receipts derived therefrom, are returned to the general office at Bordentown, where the results are entered in the general abstract books of the Treasurer. In like manner the disbursements incident to each end of the line are returned at the close of each month in a full abstract, and are 19 then verified by the executive committee of the Joint Board before they are entered in the Treasurer’s books. The iransportation business is conducted under the superintendence of the New York, Philadelphia and Central transportation agents before mentioned. All the merchandize carried in each traiispurtation line is entered on way bills, or bills of lading, with the weight of each parcel and the freight and charges thereon. Tiiis way bill is sent by mail to the agent at the other end of the line, who is to receive and deliver the parcels transported, and to collect the freight and charges, after com¬ paring the same with the way bill which he receives. The receiving agent is charged by the forwarding agent rvith the amount of the way bill when despatched as before mentioned, and he must render due account therefor. Thus, again, each agent acts as a cheek upon the other, and the way bills always remain to be referred to if any iiuestion should arise as to the correctness of the accounts and returns of these officers. The proceeds and results of each way bill are carefully digested and entered, under difl’erent heads, in the books of the several agencies, showing the amount and kind of tonnage transported each day, the amount of receipts therefrom, and the incidental disbursements. At the end of each month the several agents bring their books together for the inspection of the executive committee .at Bordentown, where their vouchers are produced and exiimined, their accounts settled, and a monthly abstract of the business is made .and transmitted to the pas¬ senger agent at Philadelphia, who enters the results in his monthly abstract, which is afterwards returned to the chief office at Borden¬ town. From thence they are carefully carried into the Treasurer’s gener.al abstract book. The monies received by the transportation agents, as well as by the agents of the passenger lines, and not disbursed in the regular course of their business, are from time to time passed to the credit of the Treasurer. We have not been able to discover that these monies are in any way, directly or indirectly, used for private or individual purpo- 20 Ees; and in oar opinion they could not be so used without immediate 3ily. On the Trenton and New Brunswick Bail Raid. The mode of conducting the business in the upper line, by the way of Trenton and New Brunswick, is much the same in its details with that on the Camden and Amboy Rail Road, being managed principally by the agents of the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road Company at one end, and of the New Jersey Rail Road Company at the other. Monthly settlements with the Camden and Amboy Rail Road Com¬ pany, and a division of the receipts are made according to tlie terms of the contract e.\isting between them. Under this view' of the mode of conducting the ordinary business on these extensive works it w'ould seem to be nearly impossible that a p.-issenger or a pack.ige of merchandize should be carried from Phihidcl- phi.ato New A'orh, or from New York to Philadelphia, or anv interme¬ diate distance on lliese iiiies, unless the fact, and tlie charge of trans¬ portation are found recorded in due course in the general books of the Tieasurer at Bordeiitown. Vt c have, by selecti'ig a day's work at each end of the line at dif¬ ferent periods of time, e.vamiiied the course of entiies from the oiiginai vouchers and way bills, tlirough the intei inediate returns and books ol account to the general abstract books, and have found everything set down with exaciuess. In auuiiion lo this, .'Iir Bradley, our Secietary, has, at our instance, gone at length and in detail into a further inves¬ tigation ot the books and papers of the Joint Companies, with especial reference to the allegations of the “ Pamphlet,” and has made to us, as the result of his examination, a satisfactory exr.ihit, hy means of tables and otherwise, of the accuracy witli which those books anti papers are kept Such of these tables as are deemed necessavv, w hereto. vili he appended 21 OBNERAL RECOERCES OF THE COMPANIES. It may be well to state here, generally, that the resources of the Canal and Rail Road Companies are derived, first, from the regular earnings of the works of which they are the proprietors, viz: the Delaware and Raritan Canal, the Camden and Amboy Rail Road, the Branch Road between Bordentown and New Brunswick, and the va¬ rious Steam Boats and Steam Tow Boats connected therewith;— Secondly, from certain sources not strictly belonging to the earnings of these works, such as the rents of portions of the real estate owned by the Companies, the dividends from Rail Road and Ferry Stocks held by them, or in trust for them, and the interest on certain monies due them. The receipts from tliese various sources are regularly credited in the books of the Companies by the Treasurer, and enter into the semi, annual accounts laid before the Dividend Committee, Among the stocks held in trust for the Companies, are 5,500 shares of the capital stock of the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road Com¬ pany. The purchase of this stock was made in 1840—and was sanc¬ tioned by the Stockholders. The arrangements with this Company were made in order to secure the interests of the Companies, by obviating controversies and litiga¬ tions likely to arise.between them, under their respective charters. An agreement had, prior to that time, been entered into, that the Divi¬ dends on their respective stocks should be equalized—so that tke Stockholders in each Company should, for the same amount of stock, receive the same dividend. It is here to be observed, that the question of the expediency of the Grants by the Legislature, to the New Jersey Companies, of an ex¬ clusive privilege of Rail Road Transportation across the State, or of any other exclusive privileges, has not been submitted to us, and we therefore offer no opinion in regard to it 22 lOAhS OF THE C0MEANIE6. We now add a general statement respecting the loans of the Joint Companies. These loans are five in number and are as follows First, a 6 per cent loan of 8800,000 made in 1833. Second, a 5 per cent loan of £210,000 sterling, (8933,333,) made in 1834 by the issue and sale of sterling bonds redeemable in Lon¬ don. These two loans were made to enable the Companies to com¬ plete the main line of their Rail Road and Canal. Third, a 6 per cent loan of £225,000 sterling, (81,000,000,) made in 1837 for the purpose of constructing the Branch Road from Bor- dentown to New Brunsmck. Fourth, a 6 per cent loan of 8367,000; made in 1840 for the pur¬ pose of reimbursing that amount of the previous earnings of the Com¬ panies, which had been laid out in the construction of the different works. The bonds for this loan, to the amount of 844,500, still re¬ main in the possession of the Companies. The remainder, amounting to 8322,500 were disposed of as follows, viz.: 8255,000 were distri¬ buted as dividends among the Stockholders of the Delaware and Rari¬ tan Canal and Camden and Amboy Rail Road Companies, 830,000 as dividends among the Stockholders of the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road Companies, being their share under the agreement between the Companies, and 837,500 were advanced by way of loan to tlie Camden Ferry Company to enable it to place the Ferry in a perma¬ nently good condition. Fifth, a 5 per cent, loan of £185,500 sterling, (8824,444,) made in 1840, by an issue of Bonds to that amount, for the purpose of purchas¬ ing the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road stock. The dividends accruing from this stock are appropriated, so far as is required, to the payment of the interest of the last mentioned loan. The loans thus enumerated are redeemable in the years 1863 and 1864, and amount in all to 83,922,777, less amount on hand, 844,500; say, 83,878,277 outstanding. After these explanations necessary to a full understanding of our 23 further atatements, we proceed to examine the allegations of the “ pamphlet/’ for the moat part in the order in which they are pre- aented. EXAMINATION OF PARTICULAR CHARGES. CHARGES RELATING TO TRANSIT DUTIES PROM PASSENGERS ON THE RAILROAD. [letter second.] It is alleged, generally, that the State has been defrauded of a large portion of its transit duties; and that the Treasurers of the respective Companies have been guilty of perjury, by making false returns, under oath, of the number of passengei's and amount of merchandize transported on the Rail Road and Canal. The Second Letter of the Pamphlet relates to the returns of Rail Road passengers. From certain extracts made from the published re¬ ports of the Directors of the Companies, deductions are assumed, as to the number of passengers properly the subject of transit duty in successive years; and these deductions are compared with the number actually returned to the State Treasurer; and as the numbers returned do not equal the number required by those deductions, the conclusion is drawn that the trae numbers were not returned. Tlie printed reports of tlie Board thus referred to, are as follows i 1st. The report of January, 1840, which exhibits a general view of the operations of the two Companies from their organization to the date of the report. 2d. The small report of January, 1842, which presents a brief view of the business done in the years 1840 and 1841. . 3d. The small report of February, 1843, which relates to the bnsi- ness of 1842, 24 4tlL TTie Email report of January, 1844, referring to the business of 1843. 5th. The report of January, 1845, relating to the business of 1844. 6th. The report of January, 1848, which contains a review of the bnsiness operations of the Companies for the preceding 8 years, from 1840 to 1847, inclusive, and is called “ the 8 year report.” 7th. The report of the State Directors made m January, 1848, 8th. .\n address of the Joint Board to the people of New Jersey, dated June, 1848. These reports, in stating the number of passengers transported on the Road, sometimes state the number of “ through” passengers, some¬ times those from “city to city,” and sometimes those “across tho Stateand being published at different times, and at distant intervals, they do not enumerate uniformly any oue class of passengers. They also contain mistakes which are evidently inadvertent, and some of which might have been corrected by the reports themselves. Differ, ences also occur in consequence of the Companies’ fiscal year having formerly run from the first day of December to the last day of No¬ vember following. Some of the reports, in stating tlie business of a particular year, refer to the fiscal year; others, in reviewing the same period, refer to the civil year. Hence a difference exists in different reports, in the figures given for a particular year. After 1843, a cor¬ respondence of the fiscal with the civil year was established, and of course that source of difference ceased. Now, it is obvious, that the term “ through passengers” may refer either to those passing “through” from “city to city,” or to those passing “through” this State, or “through” the whole line of the road. So, those passing “across the State,” may be either such as come from and go to places beyond the bounds of the State, or to such as pass from one side of the State to the other. The tenns are ambiguous. If these printed reports had been intended to exhibit an account of the bnsiness of the Road on which a settlement of monies was to be made, a greater degree of accuracy in the use of terms would have 25 been required. Butin a brief stafement, intended merely to give a general view of the travel on the Road, such ambiguities and inaccu¬ racies, if not the result of design to .answer some sinister end, (and of this we can discover no trace) are of little consequence. The impor¬ tant question between the Managers of the Road Oil the 0116 part, and the state and stockholders on the other, is, whether the accounts on the books are accurately kept, and the returns from them correctly made, on which tlie settlement and payment of money between the parties respectively are based. The books .and papers of the Company remain as a perpetual me¬ morial of the truth of the case, by which all their returns and all their reports may be tested; showing the actual places, by name, from and to which passengers and goods were earned, and the number and amount' in each case. These we have examined, and find the returns made to the State Treasurer correct. The books are right, and the returns right; and when the printed reports show any variations from them, they have arisen (as is abundantly evident from the investigations we have made) from the causes to which we have referred, and in no instance from any intent to perpetrate fraud or create deception. We make these observations more fully in this place, because they will be found to apply to almost all the assumptions of the Pamphlet on the other branches of the subject, as well as in this. [allsged discrepancies.] We will now examine the discrepancies referred to W the “pam¬ phlet” It is said that a comparison of the returns to the State Treasurer with the tables contained in the printed report of 1840, and with the printed reports of 1842,1843,1844, and 1845, shows that the Com¬ panies have never paid transit duly on any but “ through” passengers, in otlier words, on any but such as were transported from “ city to city.” Also that the number of through passengers in 1838, in particular, as stated by the printed report of 1840, was 164,520; whereas transit duty was paid on only 126,688, being a deficiency of 37,832 passen¬ gers not returned to the state; Also, that the State Directore in their report made last winter give 26 only 218,172^ passengers, both through and way, as carried on the Road for 11 months of the year 1847, whereas 203,925 were returned for transit duty for the first 9 months of that year, and the amount first named is for that and other reasons far below the actual travel: Also, that in the 8 years’ report, the number of “through passengers” for the respective 8 years, from 1840 to 1847 inclusive, has been razeed from the amount given in former reports. Now there are several matters of histoiy bearing on these subjects which the PamplJet has not noticed, and which will throw much light on the matter in hand. The act of February 4th, 1831, entitled “ An act relative to the Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company,” im¬ posed the transit duty on each passenger carried on the said Rail Road or Roads across this state between the “ Delaware River and Raritan Bay.” The Company always returned and paid duty for all passengers transported from one end of their road to the other, Amboy and Camden: but not for such as were taken up or set down at any inter¬ mediate places, understanding that they were chargeable for “through” passengers only. After the lapse of several years the State Treasurer claimed duty ou passengers transported between Amboy and any place on the Delaware, whether Camden or elsewhere. The supplement to the Company’s charter, passed March 15th, 1837, authorizing tliem to construct a Branch Road from New Bruns¬ wick to Trenton and Bordentown, made them liable to pay the same transit duty on passengers and goods transported over the said Branch Road as on fiieir main Road. The Company construed this also to extend to “through” passen¬ gers ; and accordingly retunied only those passengers who came from and were transported beyond the termination of said branch at Bruns¬ wick, in one direction, and at Trenton and Bordentown in the otlier. In this construction, the State Treasurer, at the time, differed with them. 27 These questions were all compromised and settled in March 1842, by a joint resolution of the Legislature, by which the Companies were required to return and pay the transit duty on all passengers and goods transported between any points or places on the Delaware and any points or places on the Raritan. Tlie Companies accordingly made a general supplementary return of all passengers and merchandize which came within the scope of this joint resolution, and which had not been embraced in their previous quarterly returns, and they paid the transit duty thereon, amounting to $6,189 77. The whole correspondence in relation to this subject will be found in the journals of the House of Assembly. The additional number of passengers for each successive year was thus given in this supplementary return: For 1833, . 227 For 1838, 3,019^ 1834, 4474 1839, 17,722 1835, 377 1840, 14,718 1836, 638 1841, 14,208 1837, 122^ i 1842, 4,633 Of this supplemental return no notice is taken ii :i the Pamphlet; yet it affords a complete answer to the first branch of the objections, down to the year 1842, inclusive. The fact sought to be deduced, that the Company returned “through” passengers only, is not denied by them, so far as regards the period from the commencement of travel on the road to the year 1842, inclu¬ ding a portion of that year,—understanding by “through” passengers, not “city” passengers merely, but all such as crossed the whole line of road, coming from beyond one terminus and bound beyond the other. The “way” passengers rendered dutiable by the joint resolution of the Legislature in 1842, had not been returned prior to that lime. As soon as their number could be ascertained from the way bills after the passage of that resolution, they were returned as above stated. The number of these dutiable “way” passengers, prior to the completion of the Branch Road, and the establishment of tlie upper line of travel, was inconsid¬ erable, being, for the most part, confined to passengers crossing the road between Amboy and places on the Delaware, nortli of Camden. After the completion of the Branch Road in the beginning of 1838, the number was lai^ely augmented, as will be seen by the above table. As to the pen'od of time subsequent to that covered by the Supple¬ mentary Return, and the discrepancies of the reports relating thereto, the following observations are to be made. In the report of 1843 it is stated that “ the number of passengers from city to city during the past year (1842) is 144,108.” The 8 year report gives it as 140,725. The cause of the discrepancy is simply this:—the fonnerreport includes excursion passengers, the latter does not The clerk who made out the table of “city passengers” for fbo 8 year report, did not include excursion passengers therein. In the report of 1844 for the year 1843 it is stated that “there have been carried between New York and Philadelphia 103,073 passengers, being an increase in the number of “through” p.assengers over the preceding year of 18,965.” The 8 year report gives it as 138,027. The discrepancy is caused by an error in the report of 1844. Instead of passengers “between Netv York and Philadelphia,” the number 163,073 represents the passengers which were transpoitsd across the Road subject to iransU duty during the fiscal year commencing De¬ cember Ist, 1842, and ending December 1st, 1843. We had before ns the original memorandum furnished by the clerk to the Secretary of the Joint Board (who as it appears was confined at home by sickness at the time) from which the statistics in the said report were taken. The memorandum is not so explicit as to the class of passengers in¬ tended but that the mistake might very naturally have occurred. In the report of 1845 for the year 1844 it is stated “that the num¬ ber of passengers carried from city to city in 1844 was 200,840i,”— which was in fact exactly the number of passengers carried over the Road subject to transit duty. The true number carried from “city to ci^’ corresponds very nearly with that given in the 8 year report, 168,541i. These variations form the principal proof, as famished by the pam¬ phlet, that the officers of the Compauies are guilty of “frauds” and 29 “perjurieB” and of “withholding from the state thousands of dollars of transit duties.” It may be here remarked, that the total sum required to show the number of every particular division of passengers cariied on the road for a year, is to be ascertained by the addition of a large number of figures derived from diflereut places in the abstract books, and without great care a mistake is very likely to occur. As to the alleged deficiency in the returns of 1838, the facts are as follows: The Branch Road from Bordentown to Trenton was not completed till the beginning of the year 1838. Prior to that lime, the passengers by the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road, (which crossed the Trenton Bridge, and came Eastward as far as the Tren¬ ton Depot,) had been taken in coaches from Ti'onton to the Sand-hills in Burlington Co iiity, and fi-om thence transported to Amboy on the Camden and Amboy Rail I’oad. On tire completion of the Branch Road from Bordentown to Trenton, these passengors were taken up iry the Camden and .Amboy Rail Road, at the city of Ti'ontoir, more t'.nu a inib fro.tr Trenton Bridge. Tito PhiliiJololtia a:td Trenton Rail Road came up oir the West side of tiro Caital and the Branch Road camo up on the East side. The passengers left the car's of the former Company, crossed the Canal Bridge on foot, and then entered the cars of the Camden and Amboy Rail Road Comqany. This, it will be seen, was before the settleirrent of tho construction of the law respecting transit duties. The Camden and Amboy Rail Road Company deemed these pass¬ engers to be “ way” passengers, aitd did not include them in the quar¬ terly returns of that year (1838.) This produced a correspondence between the Officers of the Com¬ pany atrd the State Treasurer. This correspondence, in the following winter', was laid befoi'e tire Legislature, and a Committee was ap¬ pointed tn coirfer with the Companies on the subject. Tiro Officers of the Compnny also laid the matter before the Board of Directors: and the fiitai r'esult was, that the Corrrpanies agreed to pay transit duty on these passengers, which they accordingly did in January and March, 1839. The numher of passengers transported over the main Road, that year, was 126,688, and that number appears in the regular quarterly returns of the year as before stated. The numher who were transported by the way of 6ie Branch Road as aforesaid, was 37,8325, for which the b'ansit duties were aftenvards paid as above stated; and this is precisely the amount of the deficiency charged in the Pamphlet. A reference to the payments made by the Companies to the State Treasurer shows that for the year 1838, the sum of 83,783 25 (just the duty on these passengers) was paid, more than would have been due from them without including the said 37,8325 passengers: and that number, it will be observed, added to the number embraced in the regular quarterly returns, makes just 164,520, as put down in the report of 1840. The Pamphlet, without noticing these facts, draws the inference that 37,832 passengers were transported across the Road in that year, liable to transit duty, which were never ac¬ counted for to the State. ir.VACCURACV I.V STATE DIRECTOR’S REPORT.] As to the charge of inaccuracy in relation to the report of the State Directors, the fact is simply this. In Appendix A. of their report, they give a synopsis of tiie business done on tlie Road for the first eleven months of the year 1847, the year not having closed at tlie time they w'ere gathering materials I'or their report. 'I’his synopsis occupies a closely printed page and con¬ tains many items. Under the head of the “ Mail Pilot and V. S. Mail Line via the Branch Rail Road,” they give the number of passen¬ gers at 134,579. Now the number of passengers on this line are not returned by the Secretary of the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road Company, until the end of each quarter; and the abstracts made of the monthly settlements with the New Jersey Rail Road and the Philadel¬ phia and Trenton Rail Road Companies, show only the amount of re¬ ceipts, and do not contain the number of passengers: consequently tile State Directors had before them, at that time, only the number of passengers carried on that route for nine month. This number they 31 inserted, omitting to make a note or memorandum of that fact. This is the while extent of thir offence. [RAZEEING OF “THROUGH” PASSENGER3 IN 8 TEAR REIORT.) As to the number of through passengers given in the table of the 8 yearreport being “razeed” from that given in former reports, it has already been seen that some of the prior reports were erroneous in the statement of city passengers. By an examination of the books, the number given in the 8 year report, for the passengers transported from city to city, exclusive of excursion passengers, are in the main correct. As calculated by Mr. Bradley, they differ from the true re. suit only as follows: Year. Reimrlof 1848. Correct number. 1840 153,1121 152,113^ 1841 153,876J 154,473J 1842 140,725 141,724 1843 138,027 138,026 1844 168,54U 167,588J 1845 188,884i 188,982i 1846 200,096J 200,474i 1847 222,92) 222,5041 N. B. Aa Ihe re.sult, : S97t lUfTerence. The difl'erence ir 1 the two results, in one or two instances, evidently arises from a mistake of carrying a figure in addition ; in the other in- stances, it may have arisen from a little uncertainty in some items of a small amount in the books, as to whether they belonged to the class of “ city” passengers or not—in case, for exi imple, when a passenger has not supplied himself with a ticket at the office, but has procured it in the cars. For exactness sake, we have made these strict enquiries as to the figures of the printed repor^-so much stress being laid on them in the Pamplilet; though they are really of no importance as affording any ground for the charges wliich they are cited to maintain. But one most important thing has been ascertained by the under, signed, that however inaccurate the -printed reports may have been, the books are found to correspond with the Way Bills; and the re- 32 turns made to the State Treasurer, (a duly certified copy of which was laid before us,) have been very carefully and accurately made up from the books, embracing all classes of passengers subject to transit duty by the Joint Resolution of 1842. The charge, therefore, that the State has been defrauded of transit duty upon passengers, we believe to be entirely untrue. CHAEGES EELATISG TO TRANSIT DUTY FROM MERCHANDIZE ON [i.ETTER THIRD.] The subject discussed in the Third Letter of the Pamphlet, is tho charge that relates to the transit duty accruing from merchandize car¬ ried over the Rail Road. It is said that the State lias not received ail the transit duty to which she has been entitled from this source, and that the true amount of merchandize transported on the Road has not been returned. First, it is said that none but “through” merchandize has been returned. Prior to 1843 this was the case. But by the supplemental return to which reference lias already been made, the “icay” merchandize as required by the joint resolution of 1843 was subsequeully duly returned and the duty paid thereon. The amount for each successive year was as follows: For 1833, 2 tons, 5 cwt, &c. For 1838, SSOtons, 14cwt.,&c. 1834, 15 “ 5 “ 1839, 717 “ 14 “ 1835, 96 “ 7 ■■ 1849,1262 “ 1 “ 1836, 219 “ 0 “ 1841, 740 “ 13 “ 1837, 290 “ 0 “ 1842. 947 “ 13 “ Since the period covered by the Supplemental Return, the “way” merch.Tndize subject to transit duty has been regularly included in tho quarterly returns to the State Tre.asiirer. Bat as the pamphlet finds some discrepancies and some matter for comment in the printed reports relating to this period, we shall givo 33 fliem some examination, in order to ascertain whether thfey contain any thing in corroboration of the charge now under consideration. In the report of 1844 for the year 1843, to which reference has already been made, it is stated that 25,508 tons of merchandize were carried between New York and Philadelphia that year ; whereas the transit duty was paid on only 21,027 tons. Therefore it is concluded, in the Pamphlet that 4,473 tons were “smuggledthat the Treasurer of the Ro.ad, who made the returns to the State Treasurer, is guilty of peijury; that .all the other returns may be supposed to be as much deficient as this; .and, therefore, that there must h.ave been smuggled altogether ,at least 100,000 tons; for which, therefore, the Companies must be indebted to the state $15,000, &c., &c., &c. Now upon adding up the items and getting .at the aggregate of the ••through ' merchandize for the year 1843, it turns out that it did in fact amount to the exact quantity of 20,002 tons, 17 ewt., 0 qrs., 1 lb. i lie “w.ay” merchandize, subject to transit duty, during tiie same period amounted to 1024 tons, 5 owt., 0 qrs., 11 lbs. The sum of these two amounts is 21,027 tons, 2 ewt., 0 qrs., 12 lbs., which is precisely the amount returned to the Stats Treasurer, and for which the transit, duty has been paid. But why was the “through” merchandize given at 25,509 tons in the report of 1844? We have already observed, (p. 28) that we have had before us the original memorandum of the clerk from which the statistics given in that report were taken. In that memorandum the clerk says— " through transportation from 1st Dec. 1842 to 1st Dec. 1843, 25,508 tons, 14 ewt., 2 qrs., 9 lbs.” We examined the clerk in reference to this matter, but he was unable to tell how he had made the error. From a close and careful examination of the books it would seem that it arose from adding up one of the columns of figures necessary to be brought into the amount, and setting down the sum in pencil, and then, on a re-addition of tlie same column, inadveitently adding in the first pencil footing up. An en-or, however, it certainly is; and it forms the basis of the Pamphlet, in different places, for proving fraud, perjury and pecul.ation on tlie part of the officers of the Company. 3 34 The Pamphietalso finds several discrepancies between the amount • of transportation as given in the 8 year report and as given in previous reports. Bat they arise either from taking the fiscal year ending on tie 30th November, in one case, and the civil year, in the other; or from a mistake in the addition of columns of figures—as by carry¬ ing one too much, or one too little. For example, in the report of 1342 the '-through” transportation for 1840 is stated as 11,207 tons, 10 cwt., 23 lbs. In the report of 1843 it is stated as 11,325 tons, 5 cwt., 2 qrs., 12 lbs. Now the “through” transportation of the month of December 1S39 was 503 tons, 13 cwt., and that of December 1340 was 721 tons, 8 c^vt., 1 qr., 26 lbs. The difference between the two is 217 tons, 15 cwt., 1 qr., 18 lbs.; which added to the first sum gives 11,425 tons, 6 cwt., 1 qr., 12 lbs., for the civil year 1842—differing, by a mistake of the clerk iu addition, 100 tons from the 8 year report. Again, take the year 1343. Through transportation, 20,002 tons, 17 cwt, 0 qrs., 1 lb. In footing up one of the columns of figures embraced in this amount, the clerk has evidently mistaken a figure 5 for an 0, in the third column of tons. It was first taken iu that way ■when examined by us. This made a difference of 500 tons, reducing the amount to 19,502 tons. .4gain, in carrying the particular items from the abstract book into a separate book for making up these tables, the clerk has changed one item of 1207 tons to 1276; making a difier- ence of 9, and bringing out the result at 19,511 tons, 17 cwt, 0 qrs., 1 lb., which is the amount found in the tables of the 8 year report. But what do all these inaccuracies re.ally amount to I They are evilently not the result of design. They do not, in the slightest denree, affect the correctness of the accounts on the booh. Tlieso accounts and all the settlements and returns on which are based the dis¬ position or payment of monies, are kept and rendered with scrupulous exactness. So far, therefore, from its being true, as alleged, that no way freight has been returned for transit dut}-, the fact is, that in addition to the way freight contained in the general supplementary return of 1842, the following amounts of dutiable way freight have been returned since 35 that time, being iiiclnded in the regular quarterly returns of merchan¬ dize transported across the road subject to transit duty: Tons. Cwt. In 1842 25 18 1843 1041 15 1844 772 12 1845 2136 6 1846 3284 2 1847 6627 14 qr. lbs. 3 3 2 6 1 20 0 24 3 4 3 14 And .as to the main clnarge, tiiat the State has been defriiuded out of her transit duties upon the transportation of Merchandize on the Rail Road, we can find no truth in it; nor any ground, in any of the allega¬ tions of the Pamphlet, for supposing or believing it to be true. To show, on the contrary, witli wliat accuracy the number of duti- .able passengers, and amount of dutiable merchandize, have been re¬ turned to the' State Treasurer, the following table, prepared by Mr. Bradley, from the books and papers of the Companies, is presented: Years. j . pisienscrs from ' 1810 to 1817 inclus¬ ive, ns caliiulntcd b) Mr. lirndicy. to State Treasurer. .Amount of dutiable trausijortntion for choenme ncriod, ns dalculnled by Mr. Bradley. Amount rehimedto State Trenaurer. 1310 161,1231 162,107} Tons. rwt.qr. lb. 11.425, 8.1,12 Tons, cwt.qr. lb. > 11,425, 6,1,12 163,4191 163.419} 14.652, 7.0, 5 14.6.52. 7,0, 5 1812 Ifil.Ud l()1.12l) 14,226,16.0, 1 14,226,16,0, 4 18(3 1(13,121 21,027, 2,0,12 ISIt 2011.811 200.811^ 25,678, 4,o’ 7 25.678, 4,0, 7 1815 227.272 227,272 27 50!), 4,0, 1 27,509, 4,0, 2 23 >.377 230.278 29.912,13.0,12 29,912,130,12 1817 2ro,lG93 285,1633 43,331,19,3,10 43,334,19,3,12 ♦Tiilai, 1,537,4701 1,537,462 ' 187,766,12,2,4 187,766,12,2, 9 N. B, Tim abave re^ull-s show a deficiency in tlie returns for eight years, of 8j- pas- Fcngers, and an excess of 5 lbs. of merchandiy.e. Each of these results, it must be remembered, is deduced, for each year, from the addition of many items, gathered from diflerent pages and places in the bookr, forming together several long .and exten- mineil in tlie Supplerasntary Return; which had to be made out and ascerlaireJ from the original way-Sills, net being carried into the books prior to the Joint Reso'utio.a o 13 J2. The receiple therefrom, however, were always duly carried into the hooks. 36 H7e columns for calculation. The truth is, very great care has been exercised in making the State returns, as well as in keeping the money accounts; bat not so ranch care in ranking tabular state¬ ments for the printed reports, and hence all the seeming errors. We cannot refrain here from the remark lliat men conscious of fraud would have taken more pains to make every thing correspond. The very discrepancies to which we have referred seem to us as it were collateral evidence of honesty of intention in the managers of the Company, even if direct and irrefragable proof of it were not abundant from the vouchers submitted to us. CHABGES RELATING TO TRANSIT DOTY FROM MERCHANDIZE ON [letter fourth.] TTie third principal charge of fraud in the matter of transit duties relates to the iranspoHaliaii on the Canal. The grounds of this charge from the subject of the Fourth Letter of the “Pamphlet.” Tlie charge is, specifically, that the true amount of transportation on the Canal, subject to transit duty, has not been returned to the State Treasurer, and that therein the Treasurer of the Canal Company is guilty of “perjury,” &c. We have examined the boohs of the Canal Company, and compared fliem with the returns, and have found those returns correct. We have also compared the books, at difierent periods of time, selected by our¬ selves, with the original entries from the manifests, and the monthly returns of the several collectors, and have found them entirely to cor¬ respond therewith. To have compared them for tlie whole period of the Canal operations would have been a labor of many months, and would have afforded no batter proof than our ‘‘ad libilum” exami¬ nations. But let us look at the. reasons given for the charge. The Pamphlet (p. 27) makes a table of the returns to the State Treasurer. This table needs some corrections, as well as those of the Companies. 'The 38 Bnperior merchandize for 1846 is put down at 32,840 tons, “scarcely more,” says the Pamphlet, “than in 1835, and less by almost 40 per cent, than in 1838.” The reason is, that an item is omitted in the Pamphlet table of 11,070 tons, which were returned for that year in addition to the 32,840 tons! It is further stated that the returns of the amount of merchandize transported on the Canal do not exhibit an increase corresponding with the increased facilities afforded for it by the Companies. The amount of superior classes of merchandize carried on the Canal has certainly not increased in the same ratio with those facilities. Articles belonging to that head have a tendency to seek the more rapid carriage of the Rail Road. But the fact is not adverted to, that there has been a very great increase of transportation on the Canal in coarse arti-' cles, such as coal, &c. No great increase could be expected in those which in the Pamphlet are denominated “merchandize.” The in¬ crease of business in coarse articles has kept pace fully in proportion with the increased facilities of transportation. A comparison is next made of the Stale Directors’ Report with that of the 8 year report and ^the returns for transit duty, with regard to the business of 1847; and the confident conclusion is drawn that many thousand tons of merchandize have been suppressed. It is needless to go into particulars, but it may suffice to say, that the whole assumption is based on the idea that the eight year report, in its classification of the various articles transported, does not show any amount of general merchandize, and that the several items given are all “through” merchandize. Now there is an item in that report of “86,041 tons of maize,” which is a mere misprint for 86,041 tons of mdze. This simple explanation answers all that the Pamphlet con¬ tains on this head. In addition to this, a considerable portion of the articles enumerated was “way” transportation, not subject to transit duty, The argument of the Pamphlet, therefore, that the amount of tonnage returned for transit duty in that year, is much too small, because considerably less than the gross amount of transportation specified in the Report, after adding thereto 80,000 tons eslimaled for general “merchandize,” (which iz supposed to be missing in the Report) entirelj falls to the ground. The next assumption is also based on the same mistake as to “ through” and “ way” transportation. A statement is annexed to the address of the Board of Directors, published last June, showing tho amount of business on the Canal in May 1847. See Address, p. SO. The Pamphlet assumes that this statement exhibits only “ through” transportation; and from thence it attempts to show how much ought to have been carried by the Canal in the whole year, viz. twelve times the amount there given (taking M.ay as an average month.) It was not remembered that for four months of the year the Canal is closed with ice! This is the basis for making charges of “ perjury” and “ subornation of perjury,” against upiight men. It is aptly followed by a recurrence to the matter of 1846, where the same mistake is made as before, about the 11,070 tons of merchandize returned for transit duty for th.at year, of which the Pamphlet makes.no mention. A long list is then given of tlie steam bo.ats, steam tugs, and freight barges engaged in transportation on the Canal in the year 1846: and the conclusion is drawn therefrom that a great deal more merchandizo must have been transported on the Canal that year than has ever been accounted for. This conclusion is met by the facts themselves, which are directly against it Jloreover, several of the vessels mentioned were not engaged in the Canal trade during that year. In conclusion of this branch of the subject, we sa}’, unhesitatingly, that there has not appeared to us the least evidence or ground for be¬ lieving, that the state has been defrauded of a single dollar of transit duty for transportation on the Canal The Fourth and Fifth general Charges, being immediately con¬ nected with, and dependent on, the first three—or rather identical with them—require no further remark from uc. CHARGES RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS. EECEIPTS A^'D EAKNINGS. We next come to the charges affecting the interests of the Stock¬ holders of the Companies. It is said that large portions of the receipts and earnings of the Rail Road and Canal have never been accounted for. The same course of argument from gratuitous assumptions and comparison of the printed reports, resorted to in regard to the transit duties, has been repeated here. [tETTER PIPTIl] Fira/jit is said in Letter Fifth, (pamphlet, p.35,) that the surplus of 8307,000, reported in January 1840, has not been accounted for—no mention thereof being made, as is alleged, in the subsequent reports. 'Tlie assumption that this surplus has, therefore, been unaccounted for* is entirely gratuitous. That the contrary is true, will be seen on refer¬ ence to a preceding part of this report, (p. 29,) where the various loans of the Companies are stated. The bonds for the fourth Loan were created for that specific amount, and were disposed of as stated in the place referred to. The Pamphlet speaks of that surplus as if it was money on band; whereas it consisted of earnings actually ex¬ pended ill the work of construction. To be reimbursed these earn- ings, the Stockholders authorized the creation of the loan. Again, the tables of receipts and expenditures for the years 1840 to 1847 inclusive, contained on the eighth page of the eight year report, .are compared with the small annual reports and with the report of the State Directors (p. 27) and are found not to agree with them, hut to bo deficient in the amount of receipts. But does that prove that tho managers have not accounte.d for the largest amounts stated as received jn any of these reports ? 40 We will, however, proceed to shew how these reports differ from one another, and then give the true amountof receipts and expendi- tnres, as carefully prepared from the books and papers of the Company, from which it will appear that the Managers have accounted for every dollar which has come info their hands. In the first place the table of receipts and expenditures on the Rail Road is adjusted to the civil year in the report of 1848; whereas the annual reports are according to the fiscal year, which ran front 1st December to 1st December, until December 1st 1842, when the fol¬ lowing fiscal year, including 1843, was made to embrace 13 months, ending December 31st 1843; since which time the fiscal year has coincided with the civil year. This is one cause of the difference. The receipts and expenditures on the Canal, as given in the report of 1848, remain, we perceive, in correspondence with the fiscal year. The tables for the two Companies being made out by different sets of clerks, in diflerent offices, the divereity of the current year, in the two cases, was, probably, not observed. The State Directors in their report follow the fiscal year. In the next place, the entries under the column headed “ Capital ” in the report of the State Directors, which are called in the “ Pamphlet ” a “ fictitious account,” (pp. 37, 40, &c.,)_, are, in trath, a real ac¬ count, showing monies expended on permanent works on the Canal, and not belonging under the head of “ repairs,” nor to the “ current expenses ” of the Canal, nor included under the head of “• expenses,” in the tables of receipts and expenditures for that branch of the works. Our only lemark with regard to this account is, that by an examina¬ tion of the vouchers it appears to be right, with the exception of the item under that head for the year 1846, which is not as large as it should be by the sum of $8,638 38,—that amount being first carried to the acconnt of current expenditures, but deducted therefrom before, carrying out the aggregate total of that account. An account of cur¬ rent receipts and expenditures is kept for each Company, intended to show only the receipts from the earnings of the works, and not from extraneous sources; and only the running expenditures incident to ffiose works, exclusive of payments of interest and other extraneous 41 payments. These extraneous receipts and expenditures will be noticed hereafter, and more particularly exhibited in the tables appended to this Report, The Treasurer of each Company, in his general account, includes these as well as the current receipts and expenses. We will now advert to the discrepancies of the reports referred to by the Pamphlet. (See Pamphlet, p. 37.) 1840. The report of 1842 gives the receipts from the Rail Road in 1840, at.$565,540 67 The expenditures at. 244,636 59 The report of 1841 gives them for the same period, thus:— Receipts,.$548,173 67 Expedte . 265,457 77 “ Making a difference in the net receipts,” says the Pamphlet, “of the enormous sum of above $38,000!” This is so. But it does not prove that the stockholders have been defrauded, as is charged; for the explanation is simple—by referring again to the civil and fiscal years, as forming the respective periods which the two reports respectively embrace. And so considered, these reports in fact virtually agree, and prove each other. Thus: The actual receipts from December 1, 1839 to De¬ cember 1, 1840, were .... $565,540 69 Deduct receipts in December 1839, . . . 54,512 56 $511,028 13 Add receipts in December 1840, . . . 37,145 74 Amount as per Report of 1848, . . . $548,173 67 Actual expenditures from December 1, 1839 to De¬ cember 1, 1840,.$244,636 59 Deduct expenditures in December 1839, 15,636 73 1228,999 86 Add expenditures in December 1840, . . 36,457 91 Amount as per report of 1848, . . . $265,457 91 So much for the difference in the Reports for the year 1840. 42 1841. The Report of 1842 states the receipts of the Rail Road for 1841 at.8678.711 70 Expenditares,. 306.029 69 Batbj the Report of 1848 the receipts for the same period are only.S550.015 69 Expenditures.. 268.644 67 Making a difference in the net receipts, says the Pamphlet, of above 8109.000. The fact stated on the same page of the Pamphlet, that the interest and dividends paid in that year amounted to over 8363.000. ought to have snggested that some mistake had been made in the report of 1848, and not the conclusion that the officers of the Company had ombez- aed so large an amount of money, and took this method of reducing the apparent amonnt of money in thoir hands. Baton reference to the accounts of the Treasurer, and the semi-annual reports of the Dividend Committees, the fact appears that every dollar has been accounted for as exhibited in the largest amounts stated in either of the reports. The amonnt of receipts for the year 1641, as given in the report of 1849, is too small, being an error of the clerk who made out the table from the abstract books. The actual amount of receipts for tho fiscal year, from December 1st, 1940, to December 1st, 1841, is cor¬ rectly stated in the report of 1842, being the sum of 8678,711 79 Deduct receipts of December, 1840, . . . 37,145 74 641,566 05 Add .receipts of December, 1841, .... 28,622 53 True amonnt of receipts of the civil year 1841, . 8670,188 59 instead of 8550,015 69, as contained in the table of receipts and expenditures in the eight year report. The mistake of the clerk occurred in this way: The regular monthly returns of receipts as entered in the abstract books amounted to the snm of 8553,015 68,—the sum stated in tho report of 1849. Bnt at the end of the first half 3 'car, the sum of 831,271 69 came in, for “ extra earnings ” which had not been rc- tamed in the regular monthly abstracts; and at the end of the fiscal year, three other suras came in, in the same way, as follows: 43 From the Philadelphia and Trenton Rail Road Company for carrying passengers, and charter of Steamboat, $60,¥34 75 For carrying U. S. Mail,. 14,366 47 From N. Bruna. Steamboat and Canal Transpor¬ tation Co., for the use of Steamboats between Philadelphia and Bordentown, . . . 13,700 00 Total,.$38,001 22 Add extra receipts of Ist half year, . . . 31,27168 Add regular monthly returns, .... 550,015 68 True amount, as given above, . . . . $670,188 58 All of which monies are duly charged by the Treasurer to himself in his general account current. So that the money has neither been embezzled, nor unaccounted for. Had tlie clerk tu led to the general Synopsis of receipts and cxpen- ditures in the same abstract book from which he took the monthly returns, ho would have found these extra receipts duly entered; and whoever will take pains to examine the Treasurer’s general account book, w'ill find that he duly charged himself, at the time, with tho whole amount, as stated above. The expenditures for tho same fiscal year were as stated in the report of 1842, vir.: . . $306,029 67 Deduct those of December, 1840, . . . 36,457 91 Add those of December, 1S4I, $269,571 76 17,062 91 True amount for the civil year, 1841, - . . $286,634 67 Which exactly corresponds with the amount given in the eight year report i The report of 1S43 correctly states the amount of receipts and expenditures, for tho fiscal year 1842. The ditferenco between these receipts and expenditures iii December, 1841, and those in 1842, ad¬ justs tho amounts given in that report, to those given in tho eight year report. 44 1843 . The fiscal year 1843, as we have before stated, contained thirteen months, commencing Dec. 1 st, 1842, and ending Dec. 31 st, 1843. The true amount of receipts daring that period was, . . 8713,369 50 The report of 1844, in giving the amount of receipts, for this fiscal year, has combined therewith three or four small items of extraneous receipts, not properly a part of the earnings of the road, amounting to,.83,796 53 8717,166 03 Giving the total receipts as. 717,062 56 a slight variance occurring by a mistake in the addifion, or in carrying the items from the book. Add to this the receipts from Canal, .... 100,289 67 Total amount of receipts, as per report of 1844, 8818,352 23 Now the eight year report gives the joint receipts for that year as 8796,400 95, which is, in fact, the real amount of receipts for the civil year 1843, excluding the item of extraneous receipts before mentioned. Thus:—Railroad receipts, 13 months, . 8713,369 50 Deduct receipts of December, 1842, . 18,258 22 And the balance is just the amount given for Rail Road receipts in the 8 year report, 8695,1 ll 28 Add Canal receipts of fiscal year, . . 101,289 67 Total, as per eight year Report, . 8796,400 95 Ibe true amount of receipts in the year 1844, on rail roads, was. 8780,709 17 Tlie report of 1845 has combined therewith some small extraneous items, amounting to the sum of 3,482 06 8784,191 23 46 Receipts from Canal,. 131,490 71 Total, as per report of 1845, .... $915,68194 The report of 1848, not containing those extraneous items, gives, ....... $912,199 88 “ Here” says the pamphlet, (p. 38,) “ the disappearance is less than “ $3,500. The total amount that appears to have been abstracted^ “ after deducting the little surplus of 1843, is $167,000! ” And soon after, (p. 39) this conclusion is made—" The fact that the figures in “ the eight year report have been manvfaciured for tlie purpose of '• covering a large amount of abstractions from the treasury of the “ Company is fully confirmed.” So far from this, the truth of the case is now apparent that no “ abstractions” have been made, and that the officers of the Company had no motive for manufacturing any figures to cover such abstrac¬ tions. The mistake as to the year 1841, (which is the only mistake, in this regard, in tlie eight year report,) was clearly not the result of design, but of inadvertence alone. We had before us the clerk’s own figures and calculations from which that mistake arose, and it is our firm conviction that the Officers and Directors of the Company were as unconscious of its having been made as the author of the pamphlet himself. As to the table given in the report of the State Directors, showing the net receipts, payments of dividends, and net surplus of earnings over all disbursements, for each year,—to which the “pamphlet” makes large reference,—we have examined that table, and find that it is in some respects inaccurate. In giving the net receipts of the Railroad and Canal, it takes the statements of the annual reports, which in two instances, as has been seen, embraced some items of extraneous receipts, amounting in the aggregate to the sum of $7278 59; and it is true, as stated by the pamphlet, that the dividends on only $2,900,000, instead of $3,000,000 of capital stock, ought to have been set down to the dividend account, inasmuch as the dividends on $100,000, the amount of 1000 shares of stock held by the State, are always included among expenditures. 46 being reckoned and paid with the transit duties, in discharge of the annual sum of §30,000 guarantied to the State, by the Act of Marcli 2d, 1832. The State Directors seem to have overlooked this circum¬ stance. The table is simply a matter of calculation, with the exception of the column under the head of “ Capital,” to which we iiave before adverted; and in no way affects, nor does it pretend to state the amdunt of monies in the hands of the treasurers of the companies, or the balances on their books. To have done this, it would have been necessarj- to have gone into a statement of extraneous receipts and expenditures not strictly connected with the current earnings and ope¬ rations of the railroad and canal. It is oar purpose at the close of this report to give a full tabular statement of these matters, because in that way will best appear the scrupulous fidelity, with which the Treasurers and Man.agers of the Companies have accounted for all monies that, from any source, have ever come into their hands. At present we will follow the “ pamphlet ” in regular course. [LETTER SI.vra.] The sixth letter commences with a rejxitition of the frauds com¬ mitted by the Managers of the Companies in dropping oul of Ihe. ac¬ counts “ hundreds of thousands of passengers.” As that matter has been sufficienfly referred to by us, we pass it, with this remark, that at S3 per passenger, the pamphlet makes out an item of-$606,189, embezzled by the managers in this branch of the business alone! Attention is next turned to the receipts from Iransportation on the Rail Road; and, on this point, the 25,508 tons of “through trans¬ portation” for the year 1843,—e.xplained in a former page of these Remarks”—is again made a prominent topic, and the foundation of much inference. First, it is said that the receipts from transportation are stated dif¬ ferently in the annual report and in the eight j'ear report; and this is tree. We will inquire, for a moment, into the occasion of these differences. 47 For the year 1840, the eight year report gives the transportation and the receipts therefrom as follows: TimOBGII, WAT. Tons. Ucceiiite. Tons. Reccipti 11.325 $79,774 13 3,356 $12,885'44 “ In the little report of 1840,” says the pamphlet, (meaning 1842) “ it is said that t: e ‘ merchandize passed through in 1840 was 11,207 “ tons, paying $80,724 70—corresponding nearly with what is given “ above, [in tlie eight year report.] The leoeipts are, it is true, cut " down about a thousand dollars, but we are now so accustomed to “ alterations by tons and hundreds of thousands o, dollars, that our “ feeling is that of thankfulness that it is not greater.” Pamphlet, p. 42. Now in truth not one thousand but eleven thousand dollars, was the amount thus “ cut down" in the eight year report. The little report itself is $10,000 short of the truth, aiid should have read $90,724 70, instead of $80,724 70, a mistake of one having occurred, as we ascertained from the figures, in the addition of the last column. The amount, liowevei, stands for the aggregate receipts of both “ through" and “way” transports ion. The little report of 1842 simply says:— ‘•The receipts from merchandize in 1840, $80,724 20; in 1841, 131,371 02.” The true receipts from the railroad transportation for the fiscal year from Dec. 1st, 1839 to Dec. 1st, 1840, was as follows, viz: For through transportation, .... $78,110 36 For way transportation, .... 12,083 84 Total,. ! 20 .Adjusted to the civil year, it is as follows; Receipts from “ through ” transportation f. r fiscal year,. 78,110 36 Excess of receipts in Dec. 1840 over those of Dec. 1839,. 1,663 77 Total amount (same as in eight year report) . $79,774 13 Receipts from “ way” transportation for fiscal year us above, . . . 12,683 84 171 60 48 Excess of receipts io Dec. 1840, over those of Dec. . 1839,.• . Total amount (same as in eight year report). . 812,855 44 So th t the eight year report, instead of a/l/ing down the receipts, is entirely accurate; the pamphlet being mistaken in assuming the re¬ ceipts stated in the little report to have been “through” receipts alone. For the year 1841 the little report says, “the receipts from mer¬ chandize were $131,371 02.” The eight year reportgives for “through” merchandize, $104,731 49; for “ way” merchandize, $13,583 68. The pamphlet selects the first sum, $104,731 49, and compares it with the sum given in the little report, and says: “here we have a " reduction of $27,000 to cover in part the ‘ abstraction ’ from the “ receipts of that y’ear, as shown in my fifth letter.” The abstraction alluded to has already received our consideration. We will, never¬ theless, proceed to show how these reports come to differ in the figures as above giver. The precise receipts from the transportation business on the Rail Road for the fiscal year, from December 1st, 1840, to December 1st, 1841, were as Mows:— From the through transportation, §104,185 41 From the way transportation, 13,485 61 For use of steamboats on the Delaware, chartered by the New Brunswick Steamboat and Canal Transporbi- Company, 13,700 00 Tota', §131,371 02 Being exacRy the amount stated in the little report of 1842. Ad¬ justed to the civil year it stands thus: Through. Way. For fiscal year, §104,185 41 and §13,485 61 Add excess of December, 1841, over Decemle:, 1840, 546 68 93 7 $104,731 99 813,583 68 Total for civil year, 1841 49 Which sums are wthin 50 cents, the exact amounts given in the 8 year report; which report, it will he observed, does not reckon the item of $13,700, proceeds of the charter of the Steamboats, as a part of the regular receipts from transportation. This is the whole matter. As to the alleged abstraction, in the following year, of 1026 tons, spoken of in the same place, the amount of 13,200 tons given as the through merchandize in the 8 year report should be 14,200, and then it would stand precisely right, a mistake being made in the addition ; but the receipts of money are carried out and footed up right: which disposes of this matter. An .alleged absti'action of $70,000 “and very possibly $100,000” demonstrated to have been effected in the year 1843, by reason of the 25,508 tons of “ through” merchandize, was explained when tlie matter of transit duties was ex.amined. With regard to the following years, the Pamphlet finds that the “through” merchandize, as stated in the 8 year report, does not equal the amount of merchandize returned to the State Treasurer for transit duty, a deficiency of 13,000 tons, in the .aggregate, occurring in that respect in the years 1844,1845, 1846, 1847; and “it is perfectly obvious,” s.ays the Pamphlet (p. 42), “ that neitlier the way traffic nor tevel has ever paid a farthing of duty.” We have already shown that the Pamphlet is entirely mistaken on this point. The returns to the State Treasurer do include, in each of those years, all dutiable “ way” merchandize, as well as “ through” merchandize, and ought, therefore, to exceed the “ through” merchandize alone. In the latter part of Letter Sixth (pamphlet p. 43) a new ground to sustain the charges of “ abstraction” is produced. In the yeiir 1847, the merchandize returned for transit duty amount¬ ed to 43,334 tons, 19 cwt. 3 qrs. 12 lbs., which the author assumes to have been .all “ thfough” merchandize, (although the real amount of “through” merchandize transported that year was only 36,707 tons, 4 50 4 cwt 3 qrs. 26 lbs.) The amount of receipts from through merchan¬ dize is given (and truly given) in the 8 year report as $253,462 27— an amount far below, infers the pamphlet, that which, must, at the known rates of freight, have been received therefor. And in proof of this, reference is made to statement D, in the Address of tlie Directors, of June last, to show what were the rates charged by the Company for “ through” freight in the month of May, 1848. By that statement it appears that for 1933 tons of through merchandize, transported across the Railroad in that month, the amount of freight charged was $21,215, or at the average rate of $10,70 per ton. At this rate 43.334 tons of through merchandize ought to have produc ed an amount of freight equal to $463,67-3,—“ Leaving unaccounted for,” says the Pamphlet, “ the enormous sum of $210,433, and this without claiming any allowance for the smuggled merchandize, amounting as I belieee to 10,000 tons.” (Pamphlet, p. 43.) An examination of the books and vouchers of the Company, however, shows this branch of the accusafron, also, to be untrue. Every dollar has been duly accounted for, and the stockliolders of the Company have received the benefit thereof. To explain the apparent deficiency, it will be necessary to describe the mode in which the transportation account is kept. For many years, and down to April 1st, 1846, the Rail Road Company did not engage in the business of transportation, but furnished the facilities for it, to the New Brunswick Steam Boat and Canal Trans¬ portation Company, connnonly called “ The Napoleon Company,” (of which more by and by) and charged the latter Company for the use of its rail road and steam boats, a toll of S cents per ton per mile, for that class of through merchandize usually transported on the rail¬ road ; amounting, as the distance was estimated between them, to $4,88 per ton for the rail road distance, and $2,76 per ton for the Steam boat distance; in all $7,64 per ton. For way merchandize the toll charged was just one-half of those rates. In the winter season, when the Canal was closed, and it became necessary to carry over the rail road certam coarse articles of merchandize, which were usually taken by the Canal, the “through ” toll charged for such coarse arti¬ cles was $4,88 per ton, and the “ way ” toll $2,44 per ton. The Na- 51 ppleon Company assumed, and of course were liable to pay all loss which might occur by means of damage done to goods in the trans¬ portation, and all expenses incident to the management of the busi¬ ness, like any other individual or Company supporting and carrying on a transportation line across the road. At the end of every month, a settlement of accounts was had between the two Companies, and the amount of tolls, chargeable as aforesaid, was paid by the Napoleon Company to tlie Camden and Amboy Rail Road Company. The amount thus found duo and paid to the latter Company was regularly carried into their books under the head of transportation. The Na¬ poleon Company on the first of Api'il, 1846, discontinued this ar¬ rangement ; and since that time the Camden and Amboy Rail Road Company have themselves carried on the transportation business across their road. But for the sake of convenience the accounts are still kept in the same manner as they were before. That is to say, the same amounts are carried to the transportation account, and of the gross freights received, any balance, after deducting all expenses and disbursements incidental to the business (which are paid, out by the transportation agents as we have before explained) is carried to an ac¬ count called the “ Insurance Account ”; being a surplus remaining in the hands of tlie transportation agents, and standing in reserve so long as prudence requires, to meet any extraordinary losses that may oc¬ cur by means of damages done to goods under their care, and for which tliey may be liable. This surplus has at no time risen to any considerable amount. At the close of the 3 'ear 1847 it had accumu¬ lated, since the first of April, 1846, (being about two years work) to tlie sum of 832,021,39, and was then called in by the Treasurer out of the hands of the transportation agents, and regularly charged against Iiimself in his account current; and accounted for with other monies in hand. From this it will be seen that the amount carried into the books under the head of receipts from transportation, is not the amount of gross freights, but still re¬ mains the same as it did under the arrangement of the Napoleon Company; that is to say, the amount of receipts is duly entered correspondence with the amount regularly coming into the hands of the treasurer, at the rates of $7 64 per ton for part of the through 52 merchandize, and S4 88 per ton for the residue, and at half of those rates for the “ way” merchandize. Thus it happens that the receipts from the 36,707 tons of “ through’ merchandize transported across the road in 1847, (not 43,333 tons as assumed by the pamphlet) are entered m the books at $253, 462 27; and the receipts from 16,892 tons of way merchandize, transported during the same year, are entered as 864,528 57. So that here, too, no monies have, been abstracted or embezzled, and this charge also falls to the ground. [SEVE.Vrn LETTER.] The SE\-E:mi Letter of the “ pamphlet” recapitulates the pre¬ ceding arguments, and contains nothing new except naked assumptions as to the probable amount of business on the railroad for the eight years from 1840 to 1847, inclusive; from all which a conclusion is arrived at, that the total amount of monies received and unaccounted for by the Rail Road Managers during those eight years was not less than $3^ To all which it seems to us, needless to make any specific reply. RECEIPTS FROM THE C.VN.VL. [EIGHTH LETTER.] In the EIGHTH LETTER ai'e investigated the receipts from the Canal, and attention is directed particularly to the year 1847. The conclusion is assumed that the amount now due by the managers must be at the lowest estimate, “ and it is a very low one, (p. 55.).$1,250,000 “ If to this be added the Railroad receipts unaccounted for,. 3,093,431 “ And the amount lent out ‘ on good securiiy,’ $117,000, with its interest for 8 years, say .... 173,000 We have as the amount thus far unaccounted for, - - §4,516,431 53 “ The system,” says the Pamphlet, “ is one of fraud and imposture unparalled in the world.” The $117,000, above alluded to, is a sum advanced to sundry indi¬ viduals by way of loan prior to 1840, for the purpose of enabling them to construct deck-boats to be used in the transportation of coal through the Canal, directly across the Bay to New York, without trans¬ shipment. The object of the Company, was to test the practicability of this mode; and thereby, if it should prove successful, to bring the great coal trade through their Canal. The experiment entirely suc¬ ceeded, and to the advancement of that money, may probably be atti'ibutedthe present flourishing business of coal transportation on that route. The matter is thus stated in the large report of 1840, p. 11: “The business of the Canal is now beginning to increase, and has “ received a new impetus from the arrangement last year made, to take “ the Schuylkill coal through it. For this purpose the Companies have deemed it advisable to advance, on good security, for the construc- “tion of boats, and for developing the resources of the Canal, the sum “ of one hundred and seventeen thousand dollars.” The Companies, as we learn, still hold obligations for this loan, with a pledge of a large amount of other property as security for its repay¬ ment; and among the extraneous receipts of the Companies by their Treasurer, are payments occasionally coming in on account of this advancement. This whole matter, as found from the book of minutes, was fully explained to the Stockholders, at their general meeting, in January, 1840, and was unanimously approved by them, and therefore- no further comment seems needful from us. We, therefore, turn to the alleged abstraction of monies derived from the receipts of the Canal. The amount is stated to be $1,250,000, and is principally made out from an attenipted- aiialydd of the business and receipts of the canal for the year 1847, showing' a deficiency in the receipts of that year, which, if proportionate defi¬ ciencies existed in the receipts of other years, would swell the amount for the whole period of eight years, from 1840 to 1847 im elusive, on a rough estimate, to one million and a quarter of dollafST Although reasoning upon such assumptions may carry little weight; 54 if may be well fo look at this analysis of the business and receipts of the year 1847. Total receipts accounted for are $255,501, as stated in the eight year report It is assumed, by reference to a statement of the canal business for 1847, found on p^e 12, of the same report, that the actual re- ceipte for that year must have been as follows, viz; 429,065 tons of coal at 30 cts.. . $129,000 111,135 “ “20 . . . 22,227 15,133,288 feet of lumber, . . . . 21,000 18,500 tons other inferior mdze. 9,250 Rents for water-power, .... 24,710 tons of iron, "j 8,910 tons of flour, 1 9,981 13,800 tons of grain, | ' ' ' 86,041 tons maize, J 55,000 Total,.$256,342 So that the assumed receipts from the articles thus specified, alone, equal the whole amount of receipts accounted for in that j'ear, without one dollar being allowed for general Merchandize, of which the Pamphlet contends at least 80,000 tons must have been transported through the Canal in the course of that very year! yielding, to say the least, $160,000, and totally unaccounted for! But the facts are thus: The sum assumed as the amount of all receipts from the Canal is $255,501 51. This is the sum stated in the eight year report. This is the sum in the Secretary’s Abstract Book, being the aggregate of fhe current monthly receipts from all the diSerent sources of perma¬ nent income, and from the various collection offices, duly entered in that book; which is intended to exhibit at a glance the regular monthly current receipts and expenditures incident to the Canal. The Treasurer in his book stands charged with the whole amount. But the Treasurer also charges himself with such other irregular and oc- 65 casional monies as come into his hands from sources not connected with the permanent and regular income of the Canal. Now the entire receipts for the year 1847, with which the Treasurer stands charged in his books amount to the sum of $257,729 84; the excess over the permanent and regular receipts being for sales of land, rents, interest, &c. The Company is credited with the whole amount on the Treasurer’s booh, which is examined every six months by the Dividend Committee; and all the monies in his hands, from whatever source, are accounted for to, and disposed of by, the Board of Direc. tors, if not required for disbursements on the Canal or its works. The permanent and regular receipts carried by the Secretary into his abstract books, embrace the tolls collected on the Canal, a few per¬ manent rents, &c. Now, in the first place, the assumed receipts from rents is erroneous. The Company receives no such amount of rents as stated by the Pamphlet. It assigns $9,981 to that source of income, and supposes that the rents must have amounted to that sum, because the receipts of the year as stated in the eight year report, exceed by that sum those given by the State Directors in their report. But the State Directors made their report at the close of the year, before the whole amount of receipts had been ascertained. They made their report as complete as they were able to make it at the time. It will be obser¬ ved that the amount of transportation stated by them does not equa‘ the whole transportation of the year. The true amount of tolls for the year excluding rents, and other incidental and irregular receipts, was $253,196 34. Whereas, the Pamphlet, bv supposing $9,981 of the amount of receiptsgiven in the tables of the eight year report, to have been for rents, reduces the sup. posed tolls to $245,520. But an examination of the monthly returns of the toll collectors, specifying, in the manner we have before describ¬ ed, the various kinds and amounts of merchandize transported and the tolls collected, shows the amount above stated by us to be the true amount. And with this amount the Treasurer has charged himself in his books. These tolls include, amongst other things, the sum of $55,076 04 paid by the “ Merchants and Swiftsure line” alone, being 56 the line belonging to the “ Napoleon” Company, and which the pamph¬ let considers as the Manager’s line, and as paying nothing for the use of the canal. This simple statement would be sufficient to overthrow all the de¬ ductions of the pamphlet on this head. But it may be well to ex¬ amine the “ analysis'^ a little farther. It sets down 831,000 for tolls, derived from I5,133,2SS feet of lumber. Lumber is charged only 50 cents per 100 cubic feet, when cairied in boats; and only SI 00 when floated in the water. Hesays it was 81 30 in 1847. Be it so. 15,- 133,288 feet of lumber, reduced to cubic feet, amount to 1,261,107 cubic feet; and at $I 30 per 100 cubic feet, the tolls would amount to only 816,394 39. At 8100 per 100 cubic feet they would amount to only 813,611 07. The pamphlet sets down 821,000. According to the receipts given in statement E of the address to which reference is made, the tolls derived from 15,133,288 feet of lumber would be $15,- 133 28. The estimates made in regard to the receipts from the balance of inferior merchandize, from grain, iron, and flour, are all supposititious, and not to be relied on. To conclude all, the Pamphlet assumes that 86,041 tons of maize were really transported on the Canal in 1847,in addition to the amount of “ grain ” specified in rfe eight year report; and that an additional amount of about 80,000 tons of transportation ought to he inserted, beyond the business done on the Canal as stated in the eight year report, and as digested in the above analysis. But this item of make, as we have before stated, is a mere misprint in the 8 year report for the abbreviation mdze., standing for merchan¬ dize. Turning this into make, no account, of course, can be found of merchandize; and hence the conclusion, which we have controverted above—by shewing that nothing transported on the Canal or the Rail Road has been either smuggled or unaccounted for; but that every ton of merchandize, as well as the tolls derived therefrom, finds its way to the proper places in the Companies’ books, and is duly accounted for to the state and the stockholders. 67 Another mistake of the Pamphlet is the supposition that general merchandize pays four cents per ton per mile. An examination of the rates published by the Company in their tariff of tolls, shows that this is not the fact, even in the case of transient vessels. And under the special contracts made with the permanent lines to which we have referred, and under which far the greater amount of general merchandize comes, the supposition is still farther from the truth. To the charge that, by these special contracts the Merchants and Swiftsure line, commonly called the Napoleon Company’s line, in which the officers of the Rail Road and Canal Companies are inter¬ ested, pay a less amount of toll than is paid by transient vessels ; if may be observed, that contracts of this kind with permanent lines es; tablished on public works are quite common, and that a fair commu¬ tation for tolls or fare is of generally acknowledged expediency: and there is nothing in the special contract with the Napoleon Company, which, under this view of the case, can be excepted to, as compromit- ting the interests of the stockholders of the Canal and Rail Road Companies, or of the state, which regularly receives an account of all dutiable merchandize so transported. This route of transportation has to compete with the coasting trade by way of Cape May and Sandy Hook; and the Companies are induced to make such arrangements with the lines established for transportation over their works, as will enable those lines to encofciter this competition. The general contract with the Napoleon Company, is for 25 cents on a dollar of all their freight, provided that in no case the share or por¬ tion of the Canal Company shall exceed the legal tolls of 4 cents per ton per mile. This contract cannot defraud the stockholders, for it has the unquestioned effect of attracting a large amount of the coasting trade into their canal, which would not otherwise go there. The fact of the officers of the Rail Road and Canal Companies being interest¬ ed in the Napoleon Company, is known to the stockholders, and not disapprovedof biy them. It enables them, by the influence it gives them in the affairs of the Napoleon Company, to keep a large number of boats constantly employed on the canal; and the subsisting ar¬ rangement seems fair, well understood, and detrimental to no one. 58 In addition to this, the proportional interest of the Managers, is about the same in each company, and it is not, therefore, a matter of much moment to them, which company has the advantage of any arrange¬ ment made. The inferences drawn by the pamphlet from the number of Custom Ho.nse entries and clearances, and from the newspaper record of de¬ partures and arrivals, are so entirely wide of the truth, that it is need¬ less for us to review them in detail. The regular transportation lines send off their barges at the appointed day whether freighted or not. There is no evidence so conclusive with regard to the amount of mer¬ chandize transported on the canal or railroad, as the regular, original entries and returns of the subordinate officers and agents, employed on the different parts of those works. They are surrounded by so many guards and checks, that the supposition of their returns being fraudu¬ lent and false, is not admissible. With regard to the earnings from towage by the steamers and steam tugs belonging to the Companies, respecting which the Pamphlet par¬ ticularly enlarges in the Eighth Letter; those earnings are all regu¬ larly entered in the books. With regard to this, however, it is to be observed that with a view to encourage transportation through their Canal, the Companies put the towage at such rates as will little more than pay the expenses/of the vessels and apparatus employed. Whatever amount is realized above expenses at each end of the line is paid over by the agents to the Treasurer and duly entered among the Rail Road receipts. It may be as well, also, to remark here that the proceeds derived from rneds on the steam boats are duly entered among the receipts of the Rail Road line; and, indeed, every conceivable source of income &om the works, is represented in the account of receipts—nothing being omitted to which attention is in any place called by the “ Pam¬ phlet,” or which we could ourselves suggest, as called for by the various operations of the Companies. 59 Upon the whole, therefore, our general conclusion, that the whole receipts and earnings of the works, and all monies coming into the hands of the Managers, have been scrupulously accounted for to the stockholders, is arrived at without doubt or embarrassment; and none of the allegations or inferences in the Pamphlet, seem to us of sufficient truth or weight, in the slightest degree to prove the contrary. CHAEOES BELATING TO DISBUE8EMSNTS. [letteh ninth.] The Ninth Letter of the Pamphlet relates to the charge of fraud in the matter of Expenditures. It is attempted to be shown that the offi¬ cers of the Companies have claimed vast sums for expenditures which have never, in truth, been incurredthereby indirectly to sustain the charge that large sums which have reached the treasury have sub- sequently been abstracted therefrom. In the first place it is said that in the three years, 1840,1841,1842, the expenditures as stated in the eight year report are made to exceed the expenditures as stated in the annual reports by $47,316 09. If this were so, it would only prove that the reports disagree. The real question at issue, whether or not the managers of the Company have, in their accounts, claimed more for disbursements than they have laid out, is still to be tested by the original vouchers and entries ; at all events, by evidence far beyond and independent of these reports. But the fact is, the eight year report differs from the others only in so far as the expenditures of the fiscal year differ from those of the civil year. And as to the amount of difference, the Pamphlet itself is mistaken. It says “ In the little report of the business of 1841, “ the former [expenditures] is $336,153 76, while in the great one it “ becomes $355,538 76, making a difference of $19,385.” But it is just the reverse. The little report gives $355,538 76, and the great one $336,153 76. This mistake of the Pamphlet being corrected, the aggregate difference between the eight year report and the small reports is reduced from $47,316 09 to $8,546 09, which is the true 60 difference arising from the fiscal year being taken in the one case, and the cisil year in the other. From the fables annexed any one can make the calculation. Another point is, that the reports do not agree as to the amount of transit duties paid, and that the dividends on 1000 shares of the. capi¬ tal stock held by the state have not been paid. To enable the reader to understand this, we will advert to the law containing the 830,000 guarantee as it is called. By the act of March 2,1832, supplementary to the charters of the companies, they were authorized to transfer to the State 1000 shares of their stock; and the exclusive privilege was thereupon given to fhem of constructing railroads across the State between New York and Philadelphia. In further consideration for this monopoly, it was enacted, that “ if within one year from the time that the said •' railroad from Bordentown to Amboy is so far completed that pas- sengers and, merchandize be transported thereon, the transit duty “ reserved by the acts incorporating said companies, and the dividends “ on the stock hereby authorized to be transferred, shall not amount “ to $30,000, it shall be the duty of the said companies to pay such “ deficiency to the Treasurer of this State, out of the joint funds of “ the said companies, before any dividend is made to the stockholders, “ and that each and every year thereafter, such deficiency, if any shall “ exist, shall be paid by the said companies, so as to secure to the “ State the aforesaid sum of 630,000 at least, in each and every year “ during said charter.” Thus the company, by entering into this arrangement, guarantied to the State 630,000 a year from their transit duties and the dividends of.this stock. For several years, those duties and dividends did not amount to $30,000, and the companies made up the difference. The dividends of the companies, therefore, have always been declared, in terms, on 29,000 shares of stock instead of 30,000 shares—the divi¬ dend on this 1000 shares, transferred to the State, being included under the head of expenditures. The same per centage has always been paid to the State on these 1000 shares, as was paid on the other 29,000; but, in the company’s books, it has always gone under 61 the head of expendkures, instead^tof the head of dividends. The companies afterwards, under another act of the legislature, were re¬ quired to give to the State 1000 shares more of their stock; but this having no reference to the guaranty above alluded to, the dividends thereon are declared and entered on the books, like those on the other- stock of the company. The State, therefore, under these.arrangements, was entitled an¬ nually, 1st. To the transit duties, whatever they might amount to : 2nd. To the dividends on the first 1000 shares of stock: 3rd. If these two items should fall short of $30,000, the State was entitled to the deficiency : 4th. To the dividends on the second 1000 shares of stock. Now, the pamphlet says, {p.57) “ By dint of false returns the duties “ were for a long time kept below that amount, [$30,000] and the “sum that should have been received by the State as dividends went “ to her in lieu of double or treble the sum really her due.” Now we have already said that for some years the transit duties, faithfully accounted for, as we have shewn, and the dividends on 1000 shares of stock, fell short of, and were made up to §30,000 ; and in subsequent years, they exceeded that sum, and the excess was paid to the State. The full dividends on the second 1000 shares trans¬ ferred to the State, have always been regularly paid to the Treasurer of the State; all which may be ascertained by turning to his annual accounts as published in the minutes of the General Assembly. If, in any instance, in the settlements made with the State Treas¬ urer, the amount accruing from the passengers and merchandize re¬ turned, and from the dividends on the stock held by the State, has not been correctly calculated, that is a matter of statement of accounts, which is always open for correction. It is highly improbable that any such mistake should have occurred. The whole anterior account with the State was re-stated at the time of making the Supplementary Return in 1842; and a detailed calculation was then gone into in reference to this verv guaranty, in order to ascertain whether the additional returns for any year in which the $30,000 only had been paid, would raise the amount due from the Companies for transit duties and divi¬ dends, to a sum exceeding §30,000. In this re-statement, the divi¬ dends on the second 1000 shares of stock were, of course, not em¬ braced in the “ guaranty ” account. A copy of this re-statement of accounts, it is presumed, is on file in the State Treasurer’s office. The original draft, as well as a dnly recorded copy, and tlie State Treasurer’s receipt for the amount of the Supplemental Return, were laid before us. Besides this, it may be here stated, from actual cal¬ culation, that the payments made to the State since the Supplemen¬ tary Return, and for several of the years prior thereto, coming under consideration in the course of this investigation, have been found ac¬ curately to correspond with the returns of passengers and merchan¬ dize. The correctness of those returns ,—as being the matter to which the charges made against the officers of the companies particu¬ larly applied, has been, before, fully considered and disposed of. But it is said that the amount of transit duties paid to the State, is stated larger in the little reports than it is in the eight year report. This is true, and the difference occurs in this way. The amounts given in the little reports include the dividends on the first 1000 shares of stock; those dividends, as we have just explained, being always carried to the account of expenditures: whereas the amounts given in the eight year report, embrace transit duties alone—the table being made merely to exhibit the amount of transit duties which have accrued from year to year since 1840. Besides, the said table in the 8 year report includes, in the sum given for each year,fthe amount paid for that year on the general Supplementary Return made under the joint resolution of 1842. Again, the transit duties were not always paid within the year in which they accrued; but payments were made in the beginning of one year on the amount which had accrued the previous year. Among the expenditures for each year, the Treas¬ urer of the company puts down under head of transit duties, the money he actually paid during that year. The little reports, under the head of expenditures, show that sum. But the table in the eight year report exhibits, so far as the railroad is concerned, only the amount of transit duties which accrued during each year. 63 These are the causes of the difference between the eight year report and the little reports. We observe that in the column showing the duties accruing on the cnnal, the eight year report retains the sums, as shown by the Secre¬ tary’s abstract book, to have been paid each year. The first of these sums, $5,799 43, for 1840, includes $1352 57 which accrued in 1839, though paid in 1840, Take that amount out of the column, and the aggregate of the remainder of the column exactly equals the total amount of transit duties which accrued on the canal from 1840 to 1847 inclusive—though not distributed among the several years in the amounts in which they respectively accrued. The differences between the reports thus arising, as we have shown, from different grounds and modes of making them up, afford no evi¬ dence of the fact alleged, that the officers of the company, in their accounts, have claimed more for expenditures than they have actual¬ ly laid out. Nor do they throw a shadow of doubt upon their integri¬ ty and good management, as the pamphlet insinuates. Nor is it true, as alleged by the pamphlet, that Ihe dividends on the first 1000 shares of stock given to the State are cliarged first among expenditures, and, again, in the account of dividends paid. There is no dividend account except in the Treasurer’s book ; and, in that, the dividends charged are the dividends on the 29,000 shares of stock alone. Tlie State Directors, in their report, in making out a table for the purpose of exhibiting the amount of the current operations of the companies, put down in the dividend column the dividends on 30,000 shares. But this was a mere inadvertence on their part, and has nothing to do with the accounts of any of the officers of the compa¬ nies. As to the gross amount of expenditures being larger than it should be, much larger, indeed, than in preceding years; the fact is un¬ doubted, that the expenditures have been larger than in former years. 64 But have they not really been incurred ? Have they been unneces¬ sary?, Have they been ill-judged? The two latter are proper ques¬ tions to be asked by the stockholders. The former applies to the character of the Directors for honesty,— namely, whether these expenditures have been incurred, and whether the vouchers for every dollar are in the Companies’ offices. And to this question our examination enables us, without hesitation, to return an affirmative answer. As to the two other questions, it would certainly be contrary to the ordinary principles of human conduct, if the directors of the Companies, who own more of the stock than any, and perhaps all others together, should voluntarily incur expenses which were unnecessary or improper—and all to be laid before and scrutinized by, the stockholders generally. The author sums up the account of expenditures as proved by him to have been over charged, and sets it down at §750,000 : and we insert his statement. “ The amount unaccounted for, as shown at the conclusion of my “ last letter was.$4,516,431 " It has been shown that in the expenditures the game “ of ‘ thimble rig’ has been performed to a vast ex- “ tent. When the books shall come to be exani- “ ined, it will be found that it has been performed to the extent of at least •. 750,000 And the amount unaccounted for will be . . 5,266,431 “ Of which the state is entitled to one fifteenth, or . 351,099 “ And if to this be added the transit duties that remain “ unpaid,.141,967 “ We obtain a total amount due to the state of . . §493,066 To all which we have nothing further to say than that we have been unable to defect any of the defalcations thus specifically stated. 66 [tenth, eleventh and twelfth letters.] The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Lettees do little more than reiterate the statements and deductions of previous ones. In the Tenth some animadversions are made upon the loans of the Companies, but these have already been explained by us. In the Eleventh, the author asserts that on calling at the State Treasurer’s office, in person, to obtain copies of the returns of the present year, he learned that the return for the Rail Road for the first quarter duly sworn lo as usual by the Treasurer of the Company (the italics ate his own,) had been withdrawn on the pretext that “errors” had been discovered in it. We have the clearest evidence that this is un. true. The State Treasurer himself declared to us that the author did not so leai'n the facts at his office. The truth was simply this. The Treasurer of the Company being detained from the general office by some cause which ho was unable to control, his head clerk and agent made out the return complete, with the exception of the oath and sent it in that condition to the State Treasurer (who wished to draw for funds) in order that he might be advised of the exact amount due the state. Thi,s return was afterwards sent back to the Company, as originally contemplated, to hs authenticated by the Treasurer’s oath in the usual way ; which accounts fur its not being in the State Treasurer’s office when the author of the Pamphlet called for it. This disposes of an important fact stated by the author as of his own hiowkdge, and it is shewn to be entirely destitute of any truth what¬ soever—for the identical return, as originally lodged, is now on file at the State Treasurer’s office without alteration in any respect, and was only removed for the purpose of affixing the signature and oath of the proper officer of the Companies. CONCLUSION. In conclusion, we would make the following general remarks. Whilst it is admitted that there are errors and discrepancies in the reports of the Directors, state and other, of the two Companies, we 5 64 have nevertheless shown that in almost ever}' instance they have arisen from mistakes in calculation manifestly clerical, or, more gene¬ rally, from embracing different periods of time. But none of them can be turned into proof, in any degree, of the charges as made by the Pamphlet in question. And after all, these Reports are not Accounts, and many of the differences turn out to be such as ought to exist'in order to correspond with the truth, as applicable to the differ¬ ent periods of the fiscal and the civil year. When we turn to their accounts, which form the true criterion of the honesty or dishonesty of the administration of the works, we find every thing correct and true. Once or twice in a period of eight years, the treasurer of the Rail Road Company, from the complication of the matters under his charge, has made a mis-entry on his books—not in the amount of the sum entered—but in the character of the entry. Thus he has, in one instance, charged himself with a sum which he ought not to have been charged with. The mistake was against his own interest, and upon subsequent discovery, was corrected. Jt may be remarked, here, that the Companies are stated to have charged higher rates of fare and freight on the Rail Road, than by law they are entitled to. This is a subject not committed to us, and we therefore have not considered it, and can give no opinion upon it. The matter, as we learn, is before our courts of justice, and we are content there to leave it. We will add, however, that the Companies have already con- formed in their charges to the rates indicated by the decision of the Supreme Court, although they have taken an appeal from that decision to the highest court of the State. We believe that the tables appended hereto, and carefully compiled by Mr. Bradley from the Companies’ books, will be found free from inaccuracy, and that they may furnish some aid to those who are desirous of understanding, in more detail, the operations of these Companies. They contain also some new matter, and are intended, by their explicitness to prevent any further misinterpretations and misrepre¬ sentations. In the progress of this investigation, it is proper for us to say, we have derived the greatest aid from the industry, perseverance and ability of our Secretary, Mr. Bradley: and we will only add, that in our endeavors to find the truth we have been guided solely by a sense of impartiality and justice. We may, therefore, warrantably presume that the conclusions to which we have come are such as will be confirmed by impartial and enlightened men, who, discarding all prejudices, shall carefully peruse these remarks. JAMES G. KING, WM. PENNINGTON, CHARLES PARKER. Jos, P. Bbadlev, Secretary. 67 TABLE III. Showing the Current Receipts and Expenditures, and Net Balances of the Rail Road including the earnings of the Steam Boats belonging to the Joint Companies; corres¬ ponding in time with the two preceding tables. ■sing been omitted by an oversight, and afterwards credited to the Treasurer on his current account. It is to be observed, that the Transportation Agents, being disbursing officers, the cur¬ rent expenditures incident to the transportation business is not included in the above expenses, and the column of receipts contains only the net receipts derived from that TABLE V. Showing the payments made by the Treasurer of the Rail Road Company out of tho monies received in Ins hands as pet Table IV: .Year. Payments of Payments of Dividends. Total Payments. Batoce 1839- 40 1840- 41 1841- 43 1842- 43 1814 1845 1847 Total, Dolls, cts. 73,939 53 6,000 00 77,203 42 42,608 48 19,981 CO 41.993 71 111,619 87 Dolls, cts. 176,952 07 222,599 63 229,403 69 227.857 04 230,930 30 230.303 61 1 1 215,693 53 1 220.857 .57 Dolls, cts, 174,000 174,000 174,000 203,000 232 OOO 261,000 290.000 318,000 42^1 to •101,599 63 480,67-2 11 430.857 04 .505,533 78 511,236 61 i 517,087 24 |•S0,477 44 Dolls. Ms. 13,864 25 27,333 94 -11,522 03 47,173 03 36,417 53 -21,054 91 12,830 34 -31,522 93 372,414 01 l,7C0,5a(i 49 ! Trensiirers linr 1,856,000 u]s,.l!iiiunry Is ^ 3,939,010 50 1, 1848, 139,719 09 -64.099 92 75 619 17 This balance should be in (he Treasury on (he Is; of January, 1818, after paying the January dividend, and receiving the diviilond on the Philadelpliia and Trenton Rail Road Stock. It agrees with the amount actually reported by the Treasurer as in his hands, within §70 01;—an error to that extent being found in iiis accounts, which had been discovered, and carried to the credit of the Company in the accounts of the present year, before the investigation occurred. Among the extraneous disbursements, in tlie above table, are the loan to the Camden Ferry Company, the sums paid to make up the deficiencies of the I’hilndelphia and Trenton 11. R. dividends, and §60,000 expended during the last year for iron rails, and not included ill the current expenditures. The dividends, in tlie above table, are assigned to the years respectively in which they accrued, altliough tlie second half yearly dividend, in eacli year, was made paya¬ ble in January of tlie year following. The interest of the first loan, of §800,000, being payable on the first of .My and January, is also assigned to ihe year in which it accrued, having to be provided for, and always furnished to the Loan Agent before the close of the year, in order to enable him to make prompt payment. The Dividend Coraniiltees, in their Reports, have not always preserved unilormily in si.aling tiie pajunenls of this interest; and their semi-annual statements may, tbcrelbrc, sometimes differ from tlie ta¬ ble -. but the (inai result is the same, Ii wilt be observed that the interest paid in 1816 is considerably less than the usual amount. T)io reason of this i.s, lliat a large |ioi'lion of tlie fith Loan was, in that year, changed from sterling to dollar lioiids. and tlie intercsl made payable in Ihe United States instead of London. By tliis arrangement, it became unnecessary to raise the funds to meet the payment thereof, until a raonlli or two after tlie usual time; which brought the payment of the second instalment into the following year. The slight variations in the amount of interest in otiier years, after the completion of the several Loans, mostly arise from fluctuation in the prices of exchange. 70 Table VI. Showing the current Receipts and Disbursements of the Canal Company during the 71 TABLE VII. Showing the additional monies received by the Treasurer of the Canal Company beyond the Cm rent Receipts contained in the Secretary’s Abstract Book: Fiscal Year. Net Current Receipts. (Table VJ.) A^ditiOTjal Total, 1839- 40 1840- 41 1841- 42 1842- 43 ' 1845 i 1846 1 1817 i 35,6^ 3% 32,034 36 37,321 93 48,167 0? 84.454 99 107,761 99 ' 82,867 15 Dolls, cts, 6,908 78 512 60 1,750 50 1,289 04 '500 10 695 45 2,228 33 Doha cts. 45,607 10 32,546 95 49;456 11 86,749 22 108,262 09 83,562 60 163,935 39 Total, 1 593,012 87 16,179 03 i 609,191 90 TABLE VIII. Showing the Payments made by the Trea-surer of the Canal Company out of the monies This balance exceeds by $200 73 the amount which the Tfeasuret’s book shows to be in his bands. The vouchers for that amount may not yet have come back to the Secre¬ tary, and found their way in his Abstract Book. The number of passengers for the eight years under considetaUon, appears so fiiUy in the remarks which follow the Report, that it is not necessary to repeat them here. MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS. Boedbnxown, N. J., January 3,1849. At a meeting of the Stockholders of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amhoy Rail Road and Transportation Com- panics, held this day pursuant to public notice, the meeting organized by appointing Edward Harris, Esq., Chauman, and William G. Alex¬ ander, Secretary. The Chairman announced that the object of the meeting was for the purpose of receiving a report of the Commissioners appointed by the Board of Directors to examine the books and accounts of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Companies. Whereupon, Mr. Joseph P. Bradley, Secretary to the Commissioners, presented and read the said report. Signed by Messrs. James G. King, Wm. Pennington, and Charles Parker. And after the report was read, the following Resolutions were pre¬ sented and unanimously adopted: Eesolved, That the report of the Commissioners appointed by the tile Board of Directors be accepted, and that three thousand copies of the same be printed. Resolved, That the Stockholders of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Com¬ panies, having heard the report of the Commissioners appointed to investigate certain charges of frauds, falsifications, and impostures. 78 made in certain publications under the signature of “ a Citizen of Burlington,” against the officers of said Companies, are satisfied that the chaiges are entirely destitute of any foundation in truth, and that the administration of the affairs of the joint Companies lias been marked as much by the scrupulous fidelity with which their accounts have been kept, as by the ability with which their great and diversified interests have been managed. Resolved, That the Stockholders have undiminished confidence in the mtegrity of the ofificers and managers of the Companies, and in the ability with which they have managed their concerns. WM. G. ALEXANDER, Secretary. errata. «, ime lu. insert 8 to., ' so as to read, “ 503 tons, 13 c^s^ 35, 29, m the last column of the table, under the head _ 1313. i»r"2T,509, 4,0, 2," read ^■'27,509, d • 41, “• 12and26,fur-^8543,173 67"read "8343,173 87.” 41, 32,for“$255,457 91 "read ■■8263,457 77.” “ 42, 6, for “ $550,015 69 " read ■“ s350.013 63 " “ 44, “ 14, for “100,239 67" read “10I,-269 67.” “ 47, “ 26,iEad“Tola],. . S-90,791 20.” , 8 lbs.,” &c. of lbs., opjxKite the