REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE 
 
 TO WHICH WAS REFERRED THE 
 
 PETITIONS FOR STATE AID 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ALBANY AND SUSQUEHANNA RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 
 Transmitted to the Legislature January 25, 1861. 
 
 ALBANY: 
 CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN, PRINTER. 
 1861. 
 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durs t Old York Library 
 
STATE OF NEW YORK 
 
 No. 17. 
 
 IN SENATE, 
 
 January 25, 1861. 
 
 REPORT 
 
 Ot the Select Committee to which was referred the pe- 
 titions for State aid to the Albany and Susquehanna 
 Railroad Company. 
 
 The select committee to which was referred the petitions of 
 inhabitants of the counties of Albany, Schenectady, Schoharie, 
 Otsego, Delaware, Chenango and Broome, for aid to the Albany 
 and Susquehana Railroad Company, respectfully 
 
 REPORT : 
 
 That they have given the prayer of the petitioners the careful 
 consideration that its importance demands, and in so doing they 
 have not been unmindful of the fact that bills granting the aid 
 asked for, to a limited extent, were passed by the last two Legis- 
 latures, to which the Governor deemed it his duty to refuse his 
 assent, for reasons which it is believed are entirely obviated by 
 the bill herewith reported. 
 
 Since that time the measure has been, to quite an extent, can- 
 vassed before the people of the State, and the present Legislature 
 brings to its consideration the matured fruits of another year of 
 careful examination of the subject, and reflects even more directly 
 than is usual, the popular will. The committee rejoice that in 
 the extended examination they deem it their duty to bestow upon 
 this important subject, any error they may fall into will be cer- 
 tain to be corrected by the intelligence and experience of the 
 Senate. 
 
 The case presented is substantially as follows: 
 The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Company was organized 
 in 1851, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from the city 
 [Senate, No. 17.J 1 
 
2 [Senate ^ 
 
 of Albany through the counties of Albany, Schenectady, Schoharie, 
 Otsego, Delaware, Chenango, and Broome, to connect with the 
 New York and Erie Railroad at Binghamton, a distance of 140 
 miles. The section of the State it is designed to penetrate was 
 early settled, and in natural advantages and the character of its 
 population is equal to any other part of the State. Prior to the 
 inauguration of the great system of internal improvements intro- 
 duced by the wisdom of Clinton and the patriots who acted with 
 him, and carried out to so full a development by the wise policy 
 of the people of the State, they were as rich, prosperous and happy 
 as any of their sister counties. In the development of that policy 
 nearly one thousand miles of canals have been constructed (see 
 table annexed), and many hundreds of miles of railroads, built 
 either wholly by the State or aided by it to such an extent as to 
 insure their completion. That two-thirds of the State have thus 
 been reached by these great improvements, and everywhere pros- 
 perity has followed their construction. The aggregate taxable 
 property of the State has been increased thereby from $250^000,- 
 000 to more than $1,400,000,000, at least $600,000,000 of which 
 can be traced directly to the effect of these internal improvements, 
 the county of Erie alone having increased in its taxable property 
 nearly twenty millions more than the entire State indebtedness. 
 But the section of country through which this road is to run has 
 been wholly overlooked, and the anomaly is presented in the 
 midst of all the general prosperity thus created, of a territory 
 in the heart of the State, nearly or quite as large as the whole 
 State of Massachusetts, embracing an area larger in extent than 
 is accommodated by either of the lateral canals, through which 
 no railroad or canal has been constructed, and whose only share in 
 the great improvements has been that of being roundly taxed to 
 help pay for their construction. The tax gatherer has furnished 
 them their only evidence that the State remembered them, and 
 the steady diminution of their population and comparative re- 
 sources, has been the unchanging token of their attachment to the 
 Empire State. 
 
 It is also alleged that the inhabitants of the several towns 
 through which the road will pass, worn out by neglect, and feel- 
 ing their strength gradually passing from them, in addition to 
 large individual subscriptions, have incurred debts in their corpo- 
 rate capacity as towns, amounting to $1,000,000, in aid of this 
 work ; that in addition to this they are jointly liable with the 
 
No. 11.] 
 
 3 
 
 other towns in the State for the public debt contracted for their 
 benefit; that thus, with less advantages, they are subjected to 
 double burdens, and they appeal to the justice and sense of right 
 of the Legislature, to place them again upon an equal footing, by 
 making a part at least of their indebtedness common to all. 
 
 If these allegations on the part of the petitioners are well 
 founded, it will not be denied by any unprejudiced mind that the 
 State owes them full reparation; and that no considerations of 
 mere convenience should longer delay the payment of so just a 
 debt. 
 
 Your committee have examined the evidence upon which these 
 allegations rest, and are compelled to admit that they are fully 
 and amply sustained by the facts of the case. 
 
 Referring back to a period before the completion of the Erie 
 canal, we find that in 1822 the county of Otsego had five, and the 
 county of Schoharie three, members of Assembly. The whole 
 State had been alike open to settlement, and the natural advan- 
 tages of these counties had placed thjem in the foremost ranks. 
 Their population was about one-twentieth, and their property one- 
 tenth, of that of the whole State. Those advantages were such as 
 God had given them, their citizens had devoloped and improved 
 them, and there was no reason why, if cherished equally by the 
 State government, they should not continue to occupy the relative 
 position they had attained. Indeed, the chances were all in their 
 favor. The gregariousness of the human family leads them to 
 herd together, and alike in city and country, other things being 
 equal, men rush most eagerly where the crowd is most dense, and 
 energy and enterprise find their most congenial field where the 
 most is already being done. Otsego and Schoharie then offered 
 at least as many attractions to the seekers of new homes, as any 
 counties in the State. 
 
 But a new element was now thrown in to disturb the regularity 
 of their development, and to turn the current of their prosperity 
 into other channels. The great intellect of De Witt Clinton, read- 
 ing the future with a wisdom little less than prophetic, had at 
 last, after years of discouragement, impressed itself upon the policy 
 of the State, and the day of its triumph was at hand. But it 
 should not be forgotten now, that when his last great battle was 
 to be fought, he summoned the then youthful Jedediah Miller to 
 his aid, and implored him, with deep emotion, to use his influence 
 and exertions to bring Schoharie county to his support. His 
 
4 
 
 [Senate 
 
 appeal was not in vain. Mr. Miller returned to his constituents, 
 secured the election of three members of Assembly, himself being 
 one, in favor of the policy of Mr. Clinton; and, to the end of that 
 struggle, he had no more efficient, earnest or able supporters, than 
 the members from Schoharie. Jedediah Miller and his associates, 
 for two successive sessions of the Legislature, (1819, '20,) helped 
 turn the scale, and built the Erie canal. They did not stop to 
 consider its effects upon their own county, or their own populari- 
 ty ; they knew that the good of the whole State required it, and 
 those were not the days, nor were they the men, to inquire what 
 influence their votes would have upon their being returned the 
 next year. This same Jedediah Miller yet lives, an honored citi- 
 zen of "Old Schoharie, n and his name heads the thousands of 
 petitioners that now ask part payment of that old debt, in aid of 
 the Albany and Susquehanna railroad. Neither should it be for- 
 gotten, that among all those who, by their wisdonf, prudence and 
 integrity, have done the most to develop the canal interests, and 
 to promote the prosperity. of the whole State, no one has been 
 more appreciated by the people than another son of Schoharie, 
 the late honored Gov. Bouck. 
 
 With the completion of the Erie canal the prosperity of Scho- 
 harie and Otsego were comparatively destroyed. Business sought 
 channels where it could be best accommodated ; towns and cities 
 soon sprang up for its entire length; real estate advanced; new 
 facilities begat new enterprises, and the rapid increase of popula- 
 tion was at once the cause and the fruit of an advance in wealth, 
 influence and power, that was then without a parallel. But this 
 growth was at the expense of Otsego and Schoharie. At the end 
 of twenty years, from the completion of the Erie canal,. the canal 
 counties had increased $67,295,656 ; while during the same period 
 Otsego and Schoharie had actually diminished §775,252 in the 
 assessed value of their property.* 
 
 In Schoharie and Otsego not one city or town of any import- 
 ance had grown up, and the villages had diminished, rather than 
 increased their business and population. The merchants of the 
 western part of the State received their goods, and the farmers 
 sent their produce to market at much less freight than those of 
 Otsego and Schoharie, although the latter were little more than 
 half the distance from New York. Such causes could not fail to 
 produce their legitimate effects, and they are most significantly 
 manifested in the Assembly of this State, where, without any 
 
t 
 
 No. 17.] 5 
 
 change of territory, the five members from Otsego are reduced to 
 two, and the three members from Schoharie are consolidated into 
 one. 
 
 If it should be alleged that any other causes than the increased 
 facilities afforded by State munificence led to this great disparity 
 in growth, it will be effectually answered by tracing somewhat 
 more minutely the effect of the construction of public works upon 
 the tow T ns directly benefited by them. The New York and Erie 
 railroad passes through the southern part of the county of Dela- 
 ware. Ranges of mountains divide that county into two portions, 
 one tending towards, and having its natural outlet by the valley 
 of the Delaware river, and through which the Erie road was con- 
 structed, and the other and larger portion being naturally tribu- 
 tary to the valley of the Susquehanna. Prior to the opening of 
 the Erie road, the northern towns were the most populous and 
 prosperous, the best adapted to agriculture, and the most attract- 
 ive to emigration. In 1848 the railroad was opened, and the 
 census of 1855 furnishes the data for a reliable estimate of its 
 effects. During the ten years, from 1845 to 1855, the whole 
 county gained in, population, 2,759. During the same time six 
 . towns nearest to — and that had the benefit of the Erie road — gained 
 3,586, or 827 more than the whole gain of the county, while the 
 twelve towns that belonged to the Susquehanna portion were, of 
 course, depopulated to the same extent. The State, by giving 
 three millions of dollars to the Erie road, had secured its comple- 
 tion, and the six towns adjacent to it had gained 31 per cent, 
 . B while the twelve towns nearest to the Albany and Susquehanna, 
 not thus favored by assistance from the State, had lost 3| per cent. 
 During the same time the population of Otsego county diminished 
 774. Of that number the rich valley towns interested in the 
 Albany and Susquehanna road decreased 674; and the more rug- 
 ged hill-towns of the north, being a little nearer to that great 
 central line, that State munificence had so richly endowed, lost 
 but 100. 
 
 During the same period, the population of the county of Che- 
 nango diminished 15. The five towns nearest to* and most di- 
 rectly interested in the Albany and Susquehanna railroad lost, in 
 the same time, 465, while the central and northern towns gained 
 450. * 
 
 From 1835 to 1855, the population of the entire State increased 
 from 2,174,517 to 3,466,118, a gain of over 59 per cent. At the 
 
6 [Senate 
 
 same ratio, the gain in Chenango, Otsego, and the twelve towns of 
 Delaware should have been 68,958. Instead of that, their popu- 
 lation was actually diminished 3,435, making a loss from the 
 population to which they were entitled, of 72,493. Schoharie, 
 from its being nearer to market, resisted longer the depressing 
 influence of the Erie canal, and, up to 1850, exhibited a small 
 increase, but in that year it was forced to come into line with 
 the other sequestered counties, and thenceforward its population 
 also steadily diminished. Adding its proportional loss to the 
 others, and it makes a diminution of population sustained by the 
 counties interested in the Albany and Susquehanna railroad, as 
 compared with the whole State, of 84,301. If we estimate the 
 productive value of these white citizens at the very low chattel 
 rate of $500 each, we find an actual loss to the "sequestered 
 counties, " caused by the unequal division of thp bounty of the 
 State, amounting to the enormous sum of $42,150,500. It would 
 take but a few years more of similar policy to m$ke them not only 
 the " sequestered," but the sequestrated counties of the State. 
 
 Thus it is apparent that the policy of the State towards the 
 counties interested in this road has been most disastrous, and that 
 it is due alike to the interest and the sense of justice of the whole 
 State, that full, prompt, and ample reparation be now made. It 
 cannot fail to be a source of deep regret to every citizen, that in 
 the midst of the otherwise universal prosperity that our system 
 of internal improvements has created, one-fifth of the State has 
 not only been directly injured by it, but has actually been com- 
 pelled, year by year, to pay for its own destruction. Schoharie,. 
 Otsego, and the isolated portions of Delaware and Chenango have 
 had no exemption from the taxes that have built up the rest of 
 the State. What share they have had in its benefits, they and 
 your committee are alike unable to discover. They now ask, as 
 they share the burdens, to be allowed also to participate in the 
 benefits, and they are not prepared to be turned away with the 
 cool assurance that they have helped their brethren in other parts 
 of the State so long, and to so much, that now the State is too 
 poor to do justice, or to give them in return a small share of what 
 is so justly due them. The very excess of the liberality with 
 which they have assumed burdens for others, to be made the rea- 
 son why they shall struggle on under the influence of this unnatu- 
 ral competition, unaided and alone. 
 
 It is in this view that the application for the partial relief of 
 
No. 17.] 
 
 7 
 
 towns that have become subscribers to the stock of the Albany 
 and Susquehanna railroad has peculiar force. The debt contracted 
 for the benefit of Oneida or Monroe, is equally the debt of Scho- 
 harie and Otsego. But the debt of Schoharie and Otsego, con- 
 tracted for the same objects of public good, and proportionally 
 much less in amount, they must bear alone. 
 
 Every principle of justice and right, requires that the State 
 should assume it, and place them upon an equal footing with the 
 other counties of the State. Had they asked to be relieved from 
 the whole of it, the committee cannot see how so just a claim 
 could have been denied. 
 
 The committee have not been unmindful of the fact that a dis- 
 tinction has sometimes been attempted to be drawn between pub- 
 lic works, constructed entirely by the people of the State, and 
 those where they delegate the power to build them to a portion 
 of the people associated together as a company for that purpose. 
 They are unable to discover in this distinction, anything but a 
 very thin covering for the spirit that, having got all that it can 
 get, seeks, by every possible pretext, to avoid doing anything in 
 return. Followed to its legitimate result, it establishes the prin- 
 ciple that a State cannot help a college, unless it refuses individu- 
 al aid ; that it cannot clear out the navigation of a river, unless 
 the inhabitants upon its banks let it entirely alone ; that it can- 
 not build one quarter of a railroad, where the want is so urgent 
 that the people along the line are ready to build the other three- 
 quarters themselves, but that if they will refuse to aid it, the 
 State may then build it all ; that they cannot do what is now 
 asked, but if they will ask four times as much, it shall have most 
 respectful consideration. 
 
 This wholesale munificence w r ould be as welcome in the valleys 
 of the Schoharie and Susquehanna, as it has been elsewhere, and if 
 the State is now disposed to exercise it there, the committee have 
 no dcubt that it can at once obtain such full surrender of individ- 
 ual and corporate rights, as would remove the last vestage of an 
 objection on that account. 
 
 Believing that there is no doubt as to the justice of the claim 
 made by the citizens of this " sequestered section " of the State, 
 the committee do not propose to argue its policy at any length. 
 The State of New York is not yet poor enough to be deliberately 
 unjust, or selfish enough to say by its majorities, " We have the 
 power and have taken all, and there is nothing left for you !" 
 
8 
 
 [Senate 
 
 But the teachings of experience elsewhere prove beyond con- 
 tradiction, that the many millions increase in the taxable prop- 
 erty of that part of the State, that would follow the construction 
 of this railroad, would in a few years, be an ample equivalent for 
 the sum that the State is now asked to contribute. In addition 
 to this, the improvement in the condition and comfort of the peo- 
 ple, — the greater advantages that would be afforded to busi- 
 ness, — the development of resources that are now valueless, 
 because unavailable, and the new market that would be created 
 for the productions of other portions of the State, all combine to 
 make it the highest interest, and therefore the highest duty of the 
 whole State, to do at once whatever is necessary to secure the com- 
 pletion of this road. The committee are fully satisfied that if no 
 other result were to follow but the furnishing of a large portion 
 of the people with coal, at the rates that it would be supplied by 
 this road, that the actual saving in its cost, aside from its effect 
 upon the growth of business and the comfort of Yhe people, w r ould 
 be a larger dividend upon the sum that is asked for, than is now 
 received for any money ever invested by the State. The commit- 
 tee have had evidence submitted to them, that has satisfied them 
 that the price of coal in the northern and northeastern part of 
 the State, will be reduced by the opening of this road nearly or 
 quite one dollar per ton. The competition produced by having a 
 new source of supply, and one that was open at all seasons of the 
 year, would of itself cause a considerable reduction. The commit- 
 tee have, for greater safety, preferred to assume but fifty cents 
 per ton, as a saving to be thus effected, and to apply it only to* the 
 quantity that is now received and consumed or distributed from 
 Albany and Troy in each year. The lowest estimate makes that 
 quantity over 300,000 tons, and the direct actual benefit to the 
 manufacturing interests of those cities, and to the people of that 
 part of the State, w r ould not be less than $150,000 per anuum. 
 Surely in such a case, a liberality wise enough to understand, and 
 enlarged enough to make secure the immediate completion of such a 
 work, is the truest economy, even for a State that is somewhat in debt. 
 
 In connection with this interest, the committee have much sat- 
 isfaction in referring to the wise suggestions contained in the first 
 annual message of His Excellency, Governor Morgan, in which he 
 says : 
 
 •' We have no deposits of coal within our limits. It should, 
 therefore, be our object, to open channels and avenues of inter- 
 
No. 17.] 
 
 9 
 
 communication with our neighboring State of Pennsylvania, for 
 the easy and rapid transit through our canals and over our rail- 
 roads, of that necessary article of domestic fuel, the use of which 
 also, enters so largely into all our industrial occupations." 
 
 These views the committee cordially endorse. The State has 
 hardly any interest more important than cheap fuel, and every 
 improvement that tends to secure it, deserves, and should receive 
 its fostering care. Every intelligent mind will see at a glance the 
 importance to the whole State of having the resources of so large 
 a part of it more fully developed. In opening this avenue to the 
 coal regions, the north will have additional means to make avail- 
 able its rich mineral resources — the east a new stimulus to give 
 life and activity to its manufactures, while the south, including 
 the " great metropolis," is always benefited by every improvement 
 which opens up and enriches any part of the country, and the 
 west will have an increased market, and a larger field for its salt 
 and gypsum, and the additional revenue to all parts of the State 
 by the increase of its taxable property will, in a few years, more 
 than pay the comparatively small sum now asked for. 
 
 It is also apparent that the southern part of the State is now 
 subjected to a heavy tax in its communication with the capital. 
 By the construction of the Albany and Susquehanna road a saving 
 of distance of about ninety miles will be made, as compared with 
 the route by way of Syracuse, and 220 miles as compared with 
 the almost as expeditious and easy route by way of New York. 
 The traveler bound for Albany, when at Binghamton, is within 
 140 miles of his destination, and when he has reached Syracuse, 
 after a four hours' journey of 80 miles, is then about ten miles 
 farther off than when he started. As a public convenience, this 
 road has the strongest claims upon the favorable consideration of 
 the Legislature. It will also, in connection with the Syracuse and 
 Binghamton road, furnish increased facilities for distributing the 
 salt and gypsum from Onondaga and Cayuga counties, now spar- 
 ingly used and scantily supplied, through the entire section to be 
 traversed by this road, in consequence of the heavy cost of trans- 
 portation. 
 
 .The committee have also given due consideration to the alleged 
 condition of the treasury, but they have been unable to discover 
 its applicability or force. If the treasury is depleted, it is be- 
 cause its whole resources have been taken for themselves by other 
 parts of the State. The section to be aided by this road has had 
 
10 
 
 [Senate 
 
 no share. The mode of supplying the deficiency is "known of all 
 men," and the fact that the tax necessary for this purpose is 
 only the payment of a part of the debt that by the great princi- 
 ples of equal rights is due to these petitioners, is a reason not to 
 be controverted; why it should be unanimously imposed and 
 cheerfully paid. Repudiation has not yet found its home in the 
 State of New York, and it will not now develop itself in reference 
 to a claim that does not even urge its payment upon the basis of 
 the golden rule that the majority shall rt do as they would be done 
 by," but modestly falls back upon the humbler footing that they 
 shall do as they have been done by. As the measure proposed sup- 
 plies the means of its own fulfillment, the committee cannot dis- 
 cover that it should justly be influencd in any manner, by any 
 supposed wants of the State in other directions, which, however 
 meritorious and urgent as questions of policy,-are yet, as com- 
 pared with this application j wholly deficient in the great elements 
 of justice and right. The other portions of the State — now rich 
 and prosperous — have had repeated and large appropriations, 
 and for whose benefit the secluded counties interested in the 
 Albany and Susquehanna road have incurred a share of the State 
 debt amounting to several times the sum that they now ask for, 
 and the most sanguine friends of the canals will not deny that for 
 several years, at least, taxation will have to be resorted to for 
 paying the canal debt, although the gratifying fact has been dis- 
 closed the past year, of an increase in the canal revenues over the 
 previous year of nearly one million three hundred thousand dollars. 
 Between individuals such a claim could not be met with even hesi- 
 tation, without a forfeiture of all claim to rank with honest and 
 honorable men. Is the State above all the laws of honesty and 
 honor that govern private citizens? Are the people, in the 
 aggregate, ready to do that which, in the individual, they would 
 despise? The committee do not so understand them, and they 
 cannot doubt that their action will justify the confidence that is 
 reposed in them. 
 
 But the argument in relation to the condition of the treasury, 
 loses much of its force, when subjected to a more critical exami- 
 nation. The only reason why the treasury is not overflowing, is 
 because the people have not willed to have it so. By not increas- 
 ing their tolls, the canals, that have depleted it, have built up an 
 aggregate of wealth many fold greater than their cost. The three 
 million dollars given to the Erie road secured its completion and 
 
No. 17.] 11 
 
 added more than twenty times that sum to the taxable property of 
 the State. It would be a very narrow policy for a great people 
 to look only to the revenue to its treasury, and ignore entirely 
 the benefits that result to the people themselves. The canals, 
 estimated by the usurer's standard, would not subject the State 
 to the penalties for usury ; but, measured by the great prosperity 
 which they have created,. the wealth they have diffused, and the 
 blessings they have secured for all coming time, they are and will 
 continue to be an investment of priceless value. The tolls paid 
 upon them are but a tithe of their annual direct benefit to the 
 State. The much larger sum paid for transportation, much of it 
 by the citizens of other States, is so much added wealth. The 
 greater part of it being disbursed among farmers, mechanics and 
 laborers, is precisely as legitimate a revenue to the people them- 
 selves as the tolls are to the public treasury. The argument that 
 they do not furnish revenue enough, so but that the State is too 
 poor to grant the aid now asked for, is precisely equivalent to say- 
 ing, we keep nine-tenths of our real income from these great im- 
 provements in our pockets, not allowing it to get into the treasury, 
 and then plead the emptiness thereto save ourselves from disgorg- 
 ing a fair proportion of the profits we have made. 
 
 The committee are not unmindful of the allegation, that the 
 proposed aid would inaugurate a new policy. To those acquainted 
 with past legislation, here and elsewhere, no answer will be re- 
 quired to this unfounded suggestion. But inasmuch as all have 
 not carefully examined it, they have preferred to go to " the re- 
 cords of our fathers," and learn there the lessons they have taught, 
 and the example they have left us. As early at 1792, and the 
 years immediately subsequent, appropriations were made by the 
 State government, amounting to more than fifty thousand pounds, 
 (a sum much larger in proportion to the then resources of the State 
 than is now asked for) as a I 1 free gift v to the Lock Navigation 
 Companies that were then preparing the way for the Erie and 
 Champlain canals, for the avowed object of aiding them in "de- 
 veloping the resources of sequestered portions of the State." 
 That wise Governor, George Clinton, clarum et venerabile nomen, 
 in his annual message of 1794, announced with evident gratifica- 
 tion, the payment of one of the instalments, that the progress 
 made by the companies had entitled them to receive from the 
 State. He says : 
 
 " The Northern and Western companies of inland lock naviga- 
 
12 [Senate 
 
 tion, having agreeably to law, produced authentic accounts of 
 their expenditures, I have given the necessary certificate to enti- 
 tle them to receive ten thousand pounds, as a free gift on the part 
 of this State, toward the prosecution of those interesting objects. 
 Although the care of improving and opening these navigations be 
 committed to private companies, they will require, and no doubt 
 from time to time receive, from the Legislature, every fostering 
 aid and patronage commensurate to the great public advantages 
 which must result from the improvements of intercourse." These 
 were wise words, and they have lost none of their significance 
 now. It will not be denied, that it is one of the first duties of 
 every civilized government, to aid in thus opening up and. devel- 
 oping the resources of their territory, and in accordance there- 
 with, we find appropriations for roads and bridges, running all 
 through the legislation of the State. The clearing out of rivers, 
 where their channels were obstructed, has been one of its constant 
 cares. Institutions of learning have been built up in different 
 sections of the State, by appropriations of the public funds, because 
 the common good required it; its noble charities have been gener- 
 ously fostered, because it was right and wise to do so. A free 
 people are never so truly great, as when they are intelligently 
 and wisely making sacrifices to advance the common weal. Neither 
 constitutional abstractions, or party necessities, should override 
 the " higher law" that commands us to " be just" and to " do good." 
 The only principle that can justify the taking the money of one 
 portion of the community who have no chileren, without their 
 consent, to sustain our schools and to educate the children of their 
 neighbors, is the same upon which these petitioners now ask the 
 aid of the State, that it is just and right, that common good requires 
 it, and a wise policy for the present and future imperatively demands 
 it. 
 
 If we look abroad we shall find examples that will furnish us 
 but little reason tcplume ourselves upon our public spirit. The 
 large grants of land made by the government of the United States 
 in aid of railroads — the liberal assistance given them by Tennes- 
 see, Virginia, and other States, and the direct action of the State 
 of Massachusetts recently, in aid of the Hoosic tunnel, to the 
 amount of $2,000,000, are all cases that apply with great force 
 here. The government of Great Britain, at home and in its Colo- 
 nies, has been ever ready to advance its credit or its money, to 
 aid in the development of " sequestered " regions, in building ca- 
 
No. 17.1 13 
 
 nals and railroads The wealth of its whole people has been libe- 
 rally expended, to sustain and advance ocean steam navigation, 
 although carried on by private companies, and the commercial 
 sceptre that we had already grasped, has been wrested from us, 
 not because they were able unaided to take it, but because our 
 citizens alone were not able to resist them and their government 
 combined. 
 
 On the continent of Europe, railroads and other public improve- 
 ments have been sustained and supported by guarantees, or direct 
 aid, by governments that we are accustomed to regard as not 
 recognizing the great principle of our political faith, that they 
 "ought only to exist for the good of the governed;" and even 
 Russia, so recently emerged from barbarism, spreads uncounted 
 millions upon her great railroads, and then proposes to place them 
 in the hands of private companies, because they can be so much 
 better managed than when owned by the State. Government 
 never has such right to claim that it was "instituted of God" as 
 when it lends itself with all its energies to develop the resources, 
 protect the labor, encourage the industry, enlarge the commerce, 
 and promote the happiness of its people. The State of New York 
 has had no more loyal children than the inhabitants of the Schoharie 
 and Susquehanna valleys, and although among her eldest, they are 
 not prepared to be turned away from her now with a step-mother's 
 averted looks and cold neglect. In asking only the aid that gov- 
 ernments far less just than our own habitually bestow, they do not 
 expect to be sent empty away. 
 
 The amount of aid to be afforded has also received the careful 
 consideration of the committee. It is manifestly true economy to 
 go far enough to prevent the present resources of the company 
 from being lost, and to enable them to put their road in operation 
 with the least possible delay. The committee believe that the 
 sum asked for by the petitioners will be sufficient for the purpose, 
 and that a less sum would be inadequate therefor. By making it 
 payable in instalments only when portions of the work are com- 
 pleted and brought into operation, all danger can be avoided of 
 the money being used without securing a corresponding public 
 benefit. The justice that requires the State to assist them is 
 equally imperative that the assistance should be adequate to its 
 object ; and it is as wise as it is just, to meet the whole obligation 
 in the way to make it do the most good. By extending the time 
 for the collection of the necessary tax over two years, the amount 
 
14 
 
 [Senate 
 
 to be paid each year will be only about eighteen cents upon each 
 one thousand dollars of valuation — a sum so small that cupidity 
 itself can hardly object to its imposition. 
 
 In conclusion, the committee would sum up the whole matter 
 with the following extract from the first message of Gov." Clinton, 
 delivered January 27th, 1818 : 
 
 " The internal trade of a country is equally essential to the 
 prosperity of agriculture, of manufactures, and of commerce; for, 
 embracing the interests of all, it extends its enlivening influence 
 to every department of human industry.' But it can never be 
 advantageously nor extensively pursued and cultivated without 
 easy and rapid communications by water courses, roads and canals ; 
 and it is among the first duties of government to facilitate the 
 transportation of commodities, by opening and ameliorating all 
 the channels of beneficial intercourse, for in peace or in war it is 
 equally essential to our cardinal interests." 
 
 Having arrived at these conclusions, the committee have pre- 
 pared a bill in conformity therewith, and earnestly recommend its 
 passage. They believe that it is just and right, and that if its 
 claims were otherwise less conclusive, yet that the best interests 
 of the State would imperatively require its immediate passage. 
 They hope it may receive, as they know it deserves, the unani- 
 mous vote of the Legislature. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 J. H. RAMSEY. 
 
 The undersigned, of the select committee to which was referred 
 the petitions for aid to build the Albany and Susquehanna rail- 
 road, refer to their report made at the last session of the Legis- 
 lature, as containing, substantially, their views as to the justice of 
 the claim, and the great benefit its recognition would confer on 
 an isolated portion of the State. 
 
 In view of the present state of public affairs, they are unwilling 
 to commit themselves to an unqualified report in favor of the 
 measure, to a larger amount than is provided by the bill herewith 
 introduced ; and even to that extent, they are of opinion that the 
 favorable consideration of it should be governed by the proba- 
 bility of an increase of our debt, from unavoidable causes. 
 
 THOMAS HILLHOUSE. 
 RICHARD B. CONNOLLY. 
 
No. 17.] 
 
 15 
 
 * Your committee beg leave, in this connection, to refer to a few 
 cases showing the effects of building railroads, in this and other 
 States. 
 
 In the case of the New York and Erie railroad, the increase of 
 the taxable property of that part of the State affected by its con- 
 struction, has been at least one hundred millions of dollars. And 
 in that of the Hudson River road, built along one of the finest 
 rivers in the world, navigable three-fourths of the year, the increase 
 has been from one to two hundred per cent, and in some cases 
 much larger. The railroads of Massachusetts have increased the 
 valuation of that State, between the years of 1840 and 1850, from 
 $290,000,000 to $580,000,000, and this in an old and populous 
 State, where the lands are poor compared with our own State. 
 
 In Tennessee, the building of the Nashville and Chattanooga 
 railroad, almost immediately after its completion, created a value 
 by its influence on real estate, to about five times its cost, adding 
 at least sixty millions to the taxable property of the State. 
 
 It is said that the railroads of Vermont, which have cost 
 $30,000,000, have increased the taxabble property of the State 
 $90,000,000 ; and that the 3,000 miles of railroads in Ohio have 
 added to the value of landed property in that State $300,000,000, 
 which is at least five times the cost of all their roads. 
 
 It is, perhaps, fair to estimate the present marketable value of 
 the lands within ten miles on each side of the proposed road at 
 $25 per acre ; and if we allow only twenty-five per cent for in- 
 creased value given them by the construction of the road, it will 
 give an amount exceeding $12,000,000, to say nothing of its influ- 
 ence outside of the estimated lines, and within the counties of 
 Albany and Broome at its terminii. That $8,000,000 may be safely 
 estimated for the road itself and the increase in the counties of 
 Albany and Broome, making in all at least $20,000,000 increase 
 in the taxable property of the State. 
 
16 
 
 EN ATE 
 
 TABLE, 
 
 Shaving the length and cost of each of the canals constructed by the 
 State, up to the year 1859, taken from the report of the Commis- 
 sioners of the Canal Fund for 1858. 
 
 Canals. 
 
 Length. 
 Miles. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 Erie canal, original cost 372 
 
 Champlain, do 81 
 
 Enlargement. 
 
 j $11,500,000 
 27,500,000 
 
 Black River canal 90 
 
 Chenango canal 97 
 
 Oswego canal _ 38 
 
 Oneida Lake canal 6 
 
 Oneida River improvement 20 
 
 Seneca River towing path 5 
 
 Cayuga and Seneca canal 23 
 
 Cayuga inlet 2 
 
 Crooked Lake canal 8 
 
 Chemung canal and feeder 39 
 
 Genesee Yalley canal 118 
 
 899 
 
 To this should be added the loan authorized by the 
 last Legislature to pay floating debt created by 
 Canal Commissioners 
 
 Total. 
 
 $39,000,000 
 3,000,000 
 2,512,000 
 2,225,000 
 50,000 
 
 87,600 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 305,000 
 841,000 
 5,462,500 
 
 $54,483,000 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 Making the total for construction of canals to and 
 
 including 1858 __ $56,983,000 
 
 The total payments by the State for and on 
 account of her canals up to the year 1859, includ- 
 ing interest and cost of repairs, was 144,000,000 
 
 To this add the loan authorized by the Legislature 
 
 of last year,.. 2,500,000 
 
 And it makes a total of $146,500,000 
 
 From which deduct tolls received, 69,000,000 
 
 $77,500,000 
 
 This immense sum has been raised mainly as follows : 
 
 By various loans, &c, _ $57,725,000 
 
 By taxes levied, 3,147,190 
 
 Auction and salt duties, 5,650,000 
 
No. 17.] IT 
 
 Steamboat tax, $73,000 
 
 Sales of lands, _ 320,000 
 
 General Fund, 1,390,000 
 
 The balance from interest on deposits and investments, and from 
 miscellaneous sources. 
 
 Schedule of Appropriations and Loans to Railroad Companies' by 
 
 the Legislature. 
 
 1. Act passed April 23, 1836, authorizing the issue of State 
 stocks, to the New York and Erie Railroad company, $3,000,000. 
 
 2. An act passed April 18, 1838, authorising a loan to the Cana- 
 joharie and Catskill Railroad company, $200,000. 
 
 3. An act passed April 18, 1838, authorizing a loan to the Au- 
 burn and Syracuse Railroad company, $200,000. 
 
 4. An act passed April 18, 1838, authorizing a loan to the 
 
 Ithaca and Oswego Railroad company, $200,000 
 
 And by act of 1840, to the same. 100,000 
 
 $300,000 
 
 5. An act passed April 18, 1838, authorizing a survey of a rail- 
 road from Ogdensburgh to Lake Champlain, and appropriating 
 therefor $4,000. See Session Laws, 1839. 
 
 6. Act passed May 14, 1840, to provide for a survey of the 
 several routes, for a railroad from Ogdensburgh to Lake Cham- 
 plain, expense to be audited and paid by the Comptroller. 
 
 7. Chapt. 299, Laws of 1840, authorizing a loan to the Schenec- 
 tady and Troy Railroad company, of $100,000. 
 
 8. An act passed April 29, 1840, making a loan to the Auburn 
 and Rochester Railroad company, $200,000. 
 
 9. Act passed April 28, 1840, making a loan to the Hudson and 
 Berkshire Railroad company, §150, 000. 
 
 10. Act passed April 29, 1840, making a loan to the Long 
 Island Railroad company, $100,000. 
 
 11. Act passed May 14, 1840, making a loan to the Tioga Iron 
 Mining and Manufacturing Co., (now Corning and Blossburg Rail- 
 Road Co.,) $70,000. 
 
 12. Act passed May 1, 1840, making loan to the Tonawanda 
 Railroad company, $100,000. 
 
 [Senate, No. 17.] 
 
IS 
 
 [Senate 
 
 Synopsis of legislative enactments making appropriations for the 
 construction of roads and bridges, and for the improvement of the 
 navigation of rivers. 
 
 An act passed March 1G, 1790, appointing commissioners for 
 exploring, laying out, and opening roads in different parts of tlie 
 State, and appropriating nineteen hundred pounds for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Another act passed March 24, 1791, for the purpose of improv- 
 ing roads and inland navigation, which appropriates five hundred 
 pounds for that purpose. 
 
 An act passed April 6, 1790, appropriates for the laying out 
 and making roads and bridges, eleven hundred pounds, specifying 
 the routes through different parts of the State. 
 
 An act passed April 10, 1792, for "laying ojit, repairing and 
 improving certain public roads and highways within the State," 
 and appropriates the sum of twenty thousand pounds, to be paid 
 over to commissioners appointed under the act: also two hundred 
 and thirty pounds for opening a road from the head of Cayuga 
 lake to Owe go. 
 
 An act establishing and opening lock navigation within this 
 State, passed March 30, 1792, two companies established, one for 
 the purpose of opening a lock navigation from the navigable part 
 of Hudson's river to Lake Ontario, and to Seneca lake, known as 
 the Western Inland Lock navigation company in the State of New 
 York; and the other known as the President, Directors and Com- 
 pany of the Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company, with a 
 preamble as follows : 
 
 " Whereas, a communication by water between the southern, 
 northern and western parts of this State, will encourage agricul- 
 ture^ promote commerce, and facilitate general intercourse between 
 the citizens, for the encouragement of the said corporations respect- 
 ively, and to enable them to prosecute the objects for which they were 
 respectively instituted, with ths greater dispatch and efficiency." 
 
 " Be it further enacted, &c," makes an appropriation of $12,500 
 to be paid to the president and directors of each corporation for 
 the use of the stockholders thereof, as a "free gift to them from 
 the people of this State," when it shall be made to appear to the 
 Governor, by satisfactory proof, that each of said companies had 
 expended and laid out, in the prosecution of said inland naviga- 
 tion, the sum of $25,000. 
 
 An act was passed 31st March, 1795, authorising the Treasurer 
 
No. 17.] 19 
 
 of the State to subscribe two hundred shares to the stock of each 
 of said companies, and to pay the sum of twenty pounds on each 
 share to the treasurer of said companies? being a like sum that 
 has been paid by existing stockholders, and the balance to be 
 paid, when required, by the directors of said companies, the same 
 as other stockholders. 
 
 By an act passed 11th April, 1796, the State loaned the said 
 company fifteen thousand pounds out of any moneys in the treas- 
 ury unappropriated, to be secured by bond and mortgage on real 
 estate of the company, at Little Falls, on the Mohawk river. 
 
 An act to provide for the improvement of the internal naviga- 
 tion of the State, passed April, 8. 1811, with a preamble as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Whereas, a communication by means of a canal navigation 
 between the great lakes and Hudson's river, will encourage agri- 
 culture, promote commerce and manufactures, facilitate a free and 
 general intercourse between the different parts of the United 
 States and tend to the aggrandizement and prosperity of the 
 country, and consolidate and strengthen the Union. Therefore 
 be it enacted,' 7 &c. 
 
 The act provides for the appointment of Stephen "Van Rensse- 
 laer, De Witt Clinton and others, as commissioners, to make appli- 
 cation to Congress and to the Legislature of other States to 
 obtain means for the prosecution of the work, and to ascertain 
 the terms upon which the Western Inland Lock Navigation Com- 
 pany would surrender their rights and appropriates $15,000 for 
 that purpose. 
 
 An act to incorporate the Seneca Lock Navigation Company, 
 passed April 10, 1813. 
 
 § 8. Provides that whenevor one thousand shares shall have 
 been subscribed, the Comptroller of the State is required to sub- 
 scribe, on behalf of the State, five hundred shares of $25 each, 
 and to draw his warrant upon the Treasurer, to pay the same 
 from time to time as required. 
 
 An act relative to the opening of a road between the city of 
 Albany and the St. Lawrence river, passed March 14, 1814, appro- 
 priates $20,000 for that purpose. 
 
 An act pa?sed April 12, 1815, provides for taxing the lands 
 along a portion of the route, to pay expenses for opening the road 
 and appropriates $3,000 out of the State treasury for the same 
 purpose. 
 
20 
 
 [Senate 
 
 An act passed April 6, 1814, appropriates $5,000 for improving 
 the road from the village of Angelica, in the county of Allegany, 
 to the village of Hamilton, in the county of Cattaraugus. 
 
 An act passed April 13, 1814, appropriates $1,750 for making 
 and repairing a road, from the village of Deposit to Bettsburgh. 
 
 An act passed February 13, 1813, appropriates $5,000 to lay 
 out and improve a road from Hadley Landing, to the great road 
 leading from Glen's Falls to the Schroon Lake. 
 
 An act passed April 2, 1813, appropriates §5,000, for opening 
 and improving a road in the town of Warrensburgh in the county 
 of Warren, to Chesterfield, Essex county, subsequently increased 
 to $10,000. 
 
 An act passed April 18, 1812, appropriates SlO^OOO for the im- 
 provement of the Hudson river. 
 
 Also acts passed 1799, and 1806, appropriating $10,000 in each 
 year for that purpose. 
 
 An act passed April 15, 1814, appropriates t $5,000 for opening 
 and making a road from the town of Essex to the outlet of Lake 
 George. 
 
 An act passed April 15, 1814, appropriates $2,000 for opening 
 and making a road from Hopkinton to Northwest Bay. [The Elba 
 iron furnace is situate in Keene, and this road is of importance in 
 facilitating the transportation of iron, &c.,aud promoting the set- 
 tlement of the county.] 
 
 An act passed April 17, 1816, in relation to the improvement 
 of the internal navigation of the State, appropriates $20,000 to 
 explore the route and obtain subscriptions for a canal from Hud- 
 son river to Lake Erie, and from Hudson river to the navigable 
 waters of Lake Champlain. 
 
 An act respecting navigable communications between the great 
 western and northern lakes, and the Atlantic ocean, passed April 
 15, 1817, creating the canal fund for that purpose, imposes a tax 
 on salt of 12J cents per bushel, sets apart the auction duties, im- 
 poses a tax of $1 each on steamboat pas-engers for each and every 
 trip on board any steamboat on the Hudson river, for any distance 
 over one hundred miles, and half that sum for any distance under 
 one hundred miles. The proceeds of all lotteries. It also autho- 
 rizes Commissioners to raise $250,000 upon the lands and real 
 estate laying along the route of the canals, (Erie and Champlain,) 
 and within twenty-five miles of the same on each side thereof. 
 An act passed April 10, 1818, appropriates $1,000 to lay out 
 
No. 11.] 2J 
 
 and improve a road through the Caneadea reservation, in the towns 
 of Nunda and Caneadea, Allegany county. 
 
 An act passed April 2, 1819, appropriates $1,500 to improve a 
 State road from Angelica, Allegany county, to the bridge across 
 the Genesee river, near Yan Campus creek. 
 
 An act passed April 16, 1827, appropriates $21,000 for the im- 
 provement of the Hudson river. 
 
 An act passed April 16, 1827, appropriates $1,000 for exploring 
 and laying out a road from Lake Champlain to Hopkinton, St. 
 Lawrence county. 
 
 An act passed April 15, 1828, to loan the Neversink Navigation 
 Company $10,000. 
 
 An act passed May 26, 1841, appropriates $4,000 to aid in re- 
 pairing State road from Glen's Falls to Chesterfield. 
 
 An act passed May 26, 1841, appropriates $4,000 to repair State 
 road through St. Regis reservation, in the county of Franklin. 
 
 Chap. 249, Laws 1850. An act for the improvement of Racket 
 river and tributaries, appropriating $10,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 407, Laws 1851. An act in relation to the Oneida river 
 improvement, appropriates $20,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 492, Laws 1851. An act for improving the channel of 
 the outlet of Piseco lake, Hamilton county, appropriates $1,000 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 362, Laws 1851. An act for the improvement of the 
 Saranac river and lake, appropriates §10.000 for that purpose. 
 River Improvements. Appropriated for and paid from 
 
 the treasury during the fiscal year ending Oct. 1, 1854, $31,250 
 Estimates for the next year, and actually expended for 
 
 same purpose ._ 17,500 
 
 $48,750 
 
 An act also appropriating $2,500 for the improvement of Black 
 river. 
 
 An act passed April 16, 1852, provides that $500 per mile be 
 appropriated lor the purpose of opening a road from the forks of 
 the river Saranac to the head of the upper Saranac lake. 
 
 Chap. 96, Laws 1852. Act amended. § 1, provides that §5,000 
 shall be paid for making a road along the south branch of the 
 Saranac river, from the forks to Franklin Falls, &c. § 2, provides 
 that-$ll,812.50 be appropriated to completing the road along and 
 
22 [Senate 
 
 near the north branch, and along Rainbow and Osgood ponds, 
 instead of the south side, as surveyed. Passed April 4, 1853. 
 
 Chap. 235, Laws 1854. An act for the improvement of Saranac 
 river and lakes, appropriates $5,000 for the improvement of said 
 river. 
 
 Chap. 2G3, Laws 1853, appropriates $329.47 for improvement of 
 Racket river, — balance over and above appropriation of 1850. 
 
 Chap. 329, Laws 1853. An act for the improvement of Big 
 Chazy river, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 427, Laws 1853. An act for the improvement of Ausable 
 river, Essex county, appropriates $6,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 452, Laws 1853. An act for the improvement of Moose 
 river, &c, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose? 
 
 Chap. 178, Laws 1853. An act to provide for draining the 
 Cayuga marshes and swamp lands, appropriates $100,000 for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Chap. 397, Laws 1854, appropriates $700 fior improvement of 
 Owasco outlet. 
 
 Chap. 162, Laws 1854. An act to improve the Racket river 
 and the tributaries thereof, appropriates $10,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 163, Laws 1854. An act to provide for improving the 
 Sacanclaga river, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 200, Laws 1854. An act for the improvement of the West 
 Canada creek, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 205, Laws 1854. An act for the improvement of the 
 Oswegatchie river, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 210. Laws 1854. An act to improve Grass river, St. 
 Lawrence county, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 246, Laws 1854. An act to improve the south branch of 
 the Ausable river, Essex county, appropriates $5,000 for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Chap. 157, Laws 1854. An act for opening a road in Franklin 
 county, appropriates $200 out of the treasury, and the amount 
 paid in from that county for highway purposes. 
 
 Act chap. 207, Laws 1848, giving Sacketts Harbor and Saratoga 
 Railroad company, pre-emption right to two hundred and fifty 
 thousand acres of land, at five cents per acre. This pre emption 
 right was extended by act chap. 122, Laws 1855. 
 
 Chap. 163 Laws 1857. An act to complete the improvement 
 of Salmon river and its tributaries ; appropriates $5,000 for that 
 purpose. 
 
No. 17.] 23 
 
 Chap. 541, Laws 1857, appropriates $55,000, in pursuance of 
 acts of 1853 and 1856, for draining Cayuga marshes. 
 
 Chap. 500, Laws 1859, appropriates $13,380.53 for same pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Chap. 308, Laws 1859, appropriates $3,000 for building piers 
 for a bridge over the Scandaga river, in Hadley, Saratoga county. 
 
 Chap. 570, Laws 1855. An act to complete the improvements 
 in the upper level of the Crooked Lake canal, appropriates $3,500 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 185, Laws 1855. An act for the improvement of Salmon 
 river and its tributaries, appropriates $5,000 for that purpose. 
 
 Chap. 155, Laws 1856. An act to appropriate money for build- 
 ing piers to a bridge across the west branch of the Hudson river, 
 at the village of Fish House, in Fulton county, appropriates 
 $3,000 for that purpose. 
 
/