THE BREVIER LEGISLATIVE REPORT.
TWELFTH VOLUME.
INDIANA LEGISLATURE.
IN SENATE.
TUESDAY, January 17, 1871.The Senate met at 2 o'clock p. M., pursuant to adjournment under the rules--the LIEUT. GOVERNOR in the Chair.
The session was opened with prayer,by the Rev. Frost Craft, of the Third Street Methodist Church.
The journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and approved.
RAILROADS.
Mr. CARNAHAN, by leave, introduced a bill [S. 83] to extend the time for the completion of certain railroads, and to legalize the acts of their board of directors, which was read the first time and passed to the second reading.
WABASH AND ERIE CANAL.
The LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR announced the order for this hour--the consideration of Mr. Brown's concurrent resolutions declaring that the State will make no provision for the payment of the principal or interest of the old internal improvement bonds, except as provided in the acts of 1846-7; and Mr. Hughes' amendment heretofore offered thereto; and Mr. Caven's joint resolution [S. 1] for a constitutional amendment that the canal stock shall never be recognized as a debt; and a memorial presented in behalf of the holders of said canal script.
Mr. HUGHES moved to postpone all that portion of the special order except his own resolutions, in order that a test vote might be taken as to whether the Senate will investigate and act on this question or not. Before he had concluded his remarks made at this time he modified the motion and put it in this shape, as to the indefinite postponement of the memorial.
Thereupon a debate sprining up and was protracted till near seven o'clock Messrs. Green, Dwiggins, Martindale, Hughes, Brown, Gray, Rosebrough, Scott, Hooper, Johnston and Hamilton participating. [It will appear in the appendix to the BREVIER REPORTS.]
And then--
The motion to indefinitely postpone the memorial was agreed to.
Mr. HADLEY offered the following amendment to the amendment submitted by Mr. Hughes on the 13th inst.
Amend the amendment to the 2d resolution by striking out of the original resolution all after the word "dollars" in the 9th line thereof, and inserting the following: "and in the settlement of the interest on sixty-nine Wabash and Erie canal bonds, amounting to forty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars, as stated in His Excellency's message, delivered January 8th, 1869, was unauthorized by any law of this State and he is hereby authorized, in the presence of the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate, the Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means of the House, the Secretary, Treasurer, and Auditor of State, after having caused the same to be properly registered in the office of the Auditor of State, to burn the bonds and coupons so redeemed from the National Government, and required to report his action in the premises to the General Assembly.
Amend the amendment to the third resolution as follows, to-wit: Strike out all after the word "old" in the last line of the copy thereof, and insert the following, to-wit: "Bonds of the State issued prior to the year 1841 and not surrendered under the legislation of 1846 and 1847, known as the Butler bills, provided that the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana, or the Supreme Court of the United States decide that such old bonds are a lien upon the public works inaugurated by the legislation of 1836, or any thereof," so that said third resolution will read as follows:
Resolved, By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring, that this General Assembly of the State of Indiana will make provision for payment of the principal and interest of the old bonds of the State, issued prior to the year 1841 and not surrendered under the Legislation of 1846 and 1847, known as the Butler Bills, provided that the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana, or the Supreme Court of the United States decide that such bonds are a lien upon the public works of the State inaugurated by the Legislature of 1836 or any part thereof.
On motion of Mr. DENBO this amendment was laid on the table by yeas 27, nays 17--as follows:
YEAS--Messrs Armstrong, Beggs, Bobo, Bradley, Brown, Carnahan. Cave, Caven, Denbo, Dittemore, Dougherty, Francisco, Fuller, Glessner, Gray, Gregg, Henderson, Hooper, Hughes, Johnson, Keigwin, Morgan, Rosebrough, Sarninghausen, Stroud and Williams--27.
page: 100[View Page 100]NAYS--Messrs. Andrews, Beeson. Collett, Dwiggins, Fosdick, Green, Hadley, Hamilton, Hess, Hubbard, Martindale, Miller, Robinson, Scott, Steele. Taylor, Wadge and Wood--17.
Pending the roll call--
Mr. CAVEN explained that although he concurred in the main with the amendments, he was not prepared to vote for the destruction of the bonds, therefore he would vote aye.
Mr. DWIGGINS explained that he voted "no" because he was opposed to disposing of the resolutions in this way, and not because he favored the amendments, for he did not concur with it.
So the amendments was laid on the table.
Mr. DWIGGINS submitted the following substitute for Mr. Brown's resolution and the amendments thereto:
WHEREAS, For some months past it has been stated in the public prints that an effort would be made to have the present General Assembly of this State purchase the Wabash and Erie Canal, and in payment thereof a sume the payment of the canal bonds, the payment of which by the act of January 19th, 1846, and the act of January 27th, 1847, supplementary thereto, commonly known as the Butler Bills, is charged exclusively upon said canal its bonds tolls and revenues; and whereas, His Excellency Governor Baker did on the fifth day of November, 1868, allow the United States a credit on the allowed war claims held by the State against the United States of two hundred and seventy-seven thousand three hundred dollars, which the United States surrendering to His Excellency, one hundred and forty-one old internal improvement bonds of the denomination of one thousand dollars each, and interest thereon to the amount of one hundred thirty-six thousand three hundred dollars, which improvement bonds were issued prior to the year 1846, under the laws to provide for a general system of internal improvement in this State, which said bonds were purchased and held by the United States Government in trust for certain tribes of Indians, and were not surrendered under the provisions of said Butler bills; therefore
Be it Resolved, By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring. That it is inexpedient to take any legislative action on the subject of the resumption by the State of the Wabash and Erie canal except for the purpose of submitting the matters in some appropriate form to the people of the State, and to protect the canal from sale and its revenues from sequestration.
Resolved, By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring, that the action of His Excellency, the Governor of this State, on the 5th day of November, 1868, in the settlement,of one hundred and forty-one of the old internal improvement bonds, the principal and interest thereof amounting to $277,300, is hereby approved by this General Assembly.
Resolved, By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring, that this General Assembly of the State of Indiana will make provision for the payment of the principal and interest of the old internal improvement bonds, not heretofore surrendered under the provisions of the acts of January 19, 1846, and January 27, 1847, commonly known as the Butler bills.
Mr. DWIGGINS addressed the Senate in support of his substitute and Mr. BROWN spoke at length in reply.
On motion by Mr. JOHNSTON, it was
Ordered that when the Senate adjourns it adjourns till ten o'clock to-morrow.
Mr. GLESSNER made an ineffectual motion that the further consideration of this subject be postponed and made the special order for Friday week at two o'clock P. M.
Mr. HUGHES demanded the previous question, and the demand being seconded by twenty-six Senators--
Mr. HUGHES demanded a separate vote on each resolution.
The first resolution embraced in the substitute was adopted by yeas 33, nays 11--as follows:
YEAS--Messrs. Andrews, Armstrong, Beardsley, Beeson, Beggs, Caven, Collett, Denbo, Dittemore, Dwiggins, Fosdick, Glessner, Gray, Green, Gregg, Hadley, Hamilton, Hess, Hooper, Henderson, Hubbard, Hughes, Martindale, Miller, Morgan, Robinson, Rosebrough, Sarninghausen, Scott, Steele, Taylor, Wadge, and Wood--33
NAYS--Messrs. Bradley, Brown, Carnahan, Cave, Dougherty, Francisco, Fuller, Johnson, Keigwin, Stroud, and Williams--11.
The second resolution embraced in the substitute was rejected by yeas 21, nays 22 as follows:
YEAS--Messrs. Andrews, Beardsley, Beeson, Caven, Collett, Dwiggins. Fosdick, Green, Hadley, Hamilton, Hess, Hooper, Hubbard, Martindale, Miller, Morgan, Robinson, Scott, Steele, Taylor, and Wadge--21.
NAYS--Messrs. Armstrong, Beggs, Bobo, Bradley, Brown, Carnahan, Cave, Denbo, Dittmore, Dougherty, Francisco, Fuller, Glessner, Gregg, Henderson, Hughes, Johnson, Keigwin, Rosebrough, Sarninghausen, Stroud and Williams--22.
The third resolution embraced in the substitute was also rejected, by--yeas, 21; nays, 22.
The question then recurring on the adoption of the substitute as a whole--
It was rejected without a division.
The question recurring on Mr. Hughes' amendment to Mr. Brown's first resolution, it was agreed to by--yeas, 26; nays, 17.
Mr. HUGHES, by consent, struck from his proposed amendment to the second resolution all after the word "laws."
It was then agreed to by yeas, 36; nays, 6.
Mr. HUGHES' third amendment, which makes Mr. Brown's last resolution to read: That this General Assembly will make provision for the payment of the principal and interest of the old internal improvement bonds--
Was agreed to by yeas 22, nays 21.
The question recurring on the adoption of Mr. Brown's resolutions as amended--
Mr. BROWN demanded a division of the question.
The first resolution was adopted without a division.
The second resolution was rejected by yeas 20, says 23.
The third and last resolution, as amended, was adopted by yeas 23, nays 21.
The first clause of the preamble was agreed to.
The second clause of the preamble was also agreed to.
Mr. HUGHES moved to reconsider the vote adopting the first part of the preamble because it is inconsistent with the resolutions as amended.
page: 101[View Page 101]Mr. BROWN made an ineffectual motion to lay this motion on the table.
The motion to reconsider was agreed to.
Mr. HUGHES moved for unanimous consent to strike out the word "exclusively."
Mr. BROWN objected.
On motion by Mr. MARTINDALE the preamble was laid on the table.
And then--at 7 o'clock--the Senate adjourned till ten o'clock to-morrow.
