The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII, Part 106

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 438

USA > Pennsylvania > The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII > Part 106

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In the course of your deliberations, but few laws of a general nature will require your attention; such, how- ever, of that description, as will present themselves for your consideration, will be of general interest to our constituents, and public expectation will be disappoint- edl, if their enactment should be neglected or postpon- ed. With few exceptions, our civil and criminal codes are sufficiently copious already, and contain provisions and sanctions abundantly comprehensive, as well for the just and equitable administration of the government in all its departments, as for the protection of the citizen in all his rights. The former is under a course of revi- sion by commissioners appointed under a resolution of the General Assembly, who so far as they have pro- gressed in the difficult work, have given ample proof of a determination, as well as the ability, to give the State a code of laws as perfect as human indu try, laborious research, and legal skill combined, c'in make it, and which will, it is believed, require but little more of the action of the General Assembly to give it effect, than its sanction and approval. Several reports have hereto- fore been' made by the revisers, in part, accompanied by bills, some of which still remain to be acted upon by the Legislature; and being for the most part of much general interest, it is believed, that their enact- ment into laws would conduce to the public good. A further report, from the same source, of othier import- ant bill-, may be expected shortly.

The promptitude with which crime is detected; its efficient and certain punishment; the checks and re- straints imposed upon criminals by the provisions intro- duced into our penal code, des gued as well for the re- formation as for the punishment of the convict, it is be- lieved will always furnish as much security to the lives, the persons, and the property of our citizens, as can be reasonably expected from human enactmen's. It may not be improper here to state, for the information of the General Assembly, that our plan of penitentiary re- form, as practised in the prison at Philadelphia, deno- minated "The Eastern Penitentiary," continues to elicit the approbation of all who have had an opportunity of witnessing its salutary influence upon the unfortunate convicts, and to answer the just expectations of its most ardent friends. On the first day of November, last, there were one hundred and thirty-two convicts confin-

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greatly indebted for its efficiency and success. That the depraved and reckless inmates of one hundred and thirty-two cells should be reduced to obedience and submission, without the infliction of stripes, or a more rigorous punishment than solitary confinement without labor, and a diminution of food for the refractory, and separate confinement with labor, the ordinary disci- pline of the establishment, for those who are not so, is not a little extraordinary; but that the punishment, thus inflicted, should be so far efficacious as to reclaim the hardt ned offender, as would seem to be demonstrated by the remarkable fact, that of fifty-two convicts dis- charged from the prison since it has gone into opera- tion, not one of them has been returned, is truly asto- nishing. From the organization of the establishment until the first of October, last, its avails, arising princi- pally from the profits upon the labour of the convicts, have exceeded its current expenses to the amount of eight hundred and fifty-seven dollars and sixty four cents; but there has been an excess of the latter, over the former, for the ten months immediately preceding and ending on the same first day of October, last, of four hundred and eighty six dollars; this is accounted for, partly, upon the ground of the depreciation in the value of cotton goods manufactured at the prison, of which there was a heavy stock on hand when the de- pression took place; partly from the want of capital to pay for the raw material, of which there was purchas ed on the credit of the institution, and used in the ma- nufacturing department to the value of ten thousand dollars, upon which sum, after the usual periods of cre. dit, interest accrued, the payment of which necessarily reduced to a certain extent the proceeds arising from that source; and lastly, from the receipt into the esta- blishment of a large number of convicts who were not mechanics, and whom it was necessary to instruct in some mechanic ait before their labor could become profitable to the institution, and whose earnings until then were not equal to their subsistence. It is believed by those whose opinions are the result of experience, and are consequently entitled to respectful. considera- tion, that if a moderate fund should be appropriated by the Legislature of the State, and placed at the dis- posal of the persons having the charge of the manufac- turing department, thus enabling them to purchase the raw material at cash prices, the advantages resulting to the institution would be found to be of sufficient mo- ment to justify the measure. Without, however, ex- pressing an opinion on the subject, I submit the sug- gestion itself for the consideration of the General As- sembly.

In pursuance of the authority and directions contain- ed in the act of the twenty-seventh February last, "relu- tive to the Western and Eastern Penitentiuries, and the Philadelphia County Prisons;" the Inspectors of the Western Penitentiary have been actively engaged in effecting the alterations in the structure of that estab. lishment, contemplated in the first section of the act; and of the one hundred and eighty-four cells authorised to be constructed, the stone and brick work of a block consisting of one hundred and four cells of two stories in height, adapted to the discipline of solitary confine- ment with labor as practised in the Eastern Penitentia- ry, is nearly completed, and the other work pertaining to them is also considerably advanced. It is confidently believed that with proper exertions this tier of cells will be fit for the reception of convicts early in the month of April next. Other important portions of the work, forming essential parts of the contemplated alterations, consisting of structures of various kinds, are in a state of active forwardness, and will, together with the cells above mentioned, be roofed and closed in, during the present season. When both these establishments shall have been entirely completed, and the system of disci- pline intended to be enforced throughout, shall have gone into full operation, it is not doubted that a consi- derable revenue will be derived to the State from these sources.

Whilst we lament the depravity, and- deplore the frailty of human nature, which give occasion to the ne- cessity for supporting such institutions amongst us; it requires no extraordinary stretch of sagacity to trace their causes, in a great measure, to an entire neglect of mental culture and of moral and religious instruction, which is so alarmingly conspicuous in some parts of our (in other respects) flourishing Commonwealth; and to discover a remedy which, if not sovereign, will at least contribute to a more healthy state of the public virtue and morals; in a suitable attention to an enlightened cultivation of the minds of our youth; to a more gene- ral diffusion of knowledge, and to an enlarged, liberal, and extensive int Îlectual improvement; capable of ele- vating the undertanding above the degrading influence of the passions; the seductive blandishments of vice; or the deceptive delusions that mask the infamy of crime.

UNIVERSAL EDUCATION, if it were practicable to en- force it every where, would operate as a powerful check upon vice, and would do more to diminish the black catalogue of crimes, so generally prevalent, than any other measure, whether for prevention or punish- ment, that has hitherto been devised; in this State, it is not only considered as being entirely practicable, but is enjoined by the constitution as a solemn duty, the non compliance with which, has already stamped the stain of inexcusable negligence, upon the character of the Commonwealth, which nothing short of prompt and efficient measures in compliance with the constitutional requisition can remove. The Legislature has the autho- rity of the constitution to act efficiently, and without. control in this matter. And "to provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the State, in such manner that the poor may be taught gratis," is one of the public measures to which I feel it to be my duty now to call your attention, and most solemnly to press upon your consideration. Our apathy and indifference in reference to this subject, becomes the more conspic- uous, when we reflect, that whilst we are expending millions for the improvement of the physical condition of the State, we have not Hitherto appropriated a single dollar, that is available, for the intellectual improve- ment of its youth: which, in a moral and political point of view, is of ten fold more consequence, either as re- spects the moral influence of the State, or its political power and safety. Let me not be understood, howev- er, as objecting to the expenditure of money in prose- cuting the public works-far from it; but I would re- sp ctfully urge that whilst the one is being successfully done, the other should not be left undone; indeed, judging from the flattering indications already given by the former, there is reason to believe that, from the re- dundant and progressively increasing revenne, which may with great certainty be expected to flow into the treasury from that source, much aid may, at no distant day, be derived to the latter, shou'd it be found expe- dient to resort to that branch of the public revenue for such a purpose.

According to the returns of the last census, we have, in Pennsylvania, five hundred and eighty-one thousand one hundred and eighty children, under the age of fif- teen years, and one hundred and forty-nine thousand and eighty-nine, between the ages of filteen and twenty years, forming an aggregate of seven hundred and thir- ty-thousand two hundred and sixty-nine juvenile per- sons of both sexes, under the age of twenty years, most of them requiring more or less instruction. And yet, with all this numerous youthful population, grow- ing up around us, who in a few years are to be our rul- ers and our law givers, the defenders of our country and the pillars of the State, and upon whose education will depend, in a great measure, the preservation of our li- berties and the safety of the republic, we have neither schools established for their instruction, nor provision made by law, for establishing them as enjoined by the constitution, How many of the number last mentioned would be entitled, within the meaning of the constitu- tion, to be "taught gratis," I have no means of ascer-

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taining, but am inclined to the opinion, that four hun- dred thousand would fall short of the true number; about twenty thousand of these, as appears from the re- turns made to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, un- der a resolution of the House of Representatives of the ninth of January last, are returned as charity scholars whose tuition is to be paid for out of the county funds, leaving, according to this assumption, three hundred | the business of teaching as a profession, in a short time and eighty thousand entirely uninstructed.

I have said that there has not hitherto been an appro- priation made that is available for the purposes of edu- cation; this is literally true, but the Legislature, by the act of second April, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, have made provision for creating a fund, in prospect, for that object, by setting apart for common school pur- poses, the proceeds arising from unpatented lands, fees in the land office and all moneys received in pursuance of the provisions contained in the fourth section of the act to increase the county rates and levies, passed the twenty-fifth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty- one, which, it is estimated, will, on the fourth day of April next, amount to a sum not less than five hundred and forty six thousand five hundred and sixty three dol- lars, and seventy-two cents. This sum, with the amount annually accruing from the increased county rates and levies for the use of the Commonwealth whilst the act continues in force, and that arising from a continuance of the avails of the land office thereafter, is chargeable upon the internal improvement fund, at a compound in- terest of five per cent. per annum, until it shall produce one hundred thousand dollars annually, after which, the interest is to be distributed at the end of each year, and ap- applied to the support of common schools throughout the State. Estimating this fund in its most unfavorable aspect,

mirable nurseries for bringing up and qualifying young men for the business of teaching. Moderate appropri- ations in aid of those literary institutions that have not participated of the Commonwealth's bounty, might place them in a condition to furnish the State with a respectable number of well educated young men, in- structed, as some of those institutions propose to do, in

and at a comparatively trifling expense. These sug. gestions are thrown out for your consideration, should they elicit a more eligible or better plan for attaining the end desired, it will afford me much gratification to unite with the General Assembly in carrying it into ef- fect.

The opinion is entertained by many of our citizens and not a few of our statesmen, that individual enter- prise, in Pennsylvania, has been greatly dicouraged, and in some instances entirely depressed, by the too general and indiscriminate conferring of corporate pri- vileges, creating monopolies in branches of industry which ought to be left to individual exertion alone. Our statute books exhibit a spirit of liberality, in the legislation of the State in that respect, which it might be prudent, in some measure, to restrain. The true line of discrimination would seem to be this, that in all great and important undertakings or enterprises, having for their object the advancement of the public conveni- ence, accommodation or interest, to the accomplish- ment of which individual effort and capital would be in- adequate, acts for the incorporation of companies or associations of individuals, may be safely, and, in many instances, beneficially granted; but, wherever a branch of business or enterprise of any kind can be successfully and advantageously conducted or carried on by citizens the interest will amount to the sum contemplated for dis- [ in their individual capacities, there ought to be no leg- tribution on or about the first of April, eighteen hundred and forty-three; in the mean time, however. there are no available means for commencing this much desired measure of State policy, this true system of republican equality that will level all distinction between rich and poor; that will place the child of the most indigent ci- tizen of the Commonwealth upon a level with that of his richer neighbor, both in the school room and upon the Campus; will instruct the rising generation in their duties as citizens; enable them to appreciate the senti- ment of acquired freedom; and secure the perpetua- tion of civil and religious liberty to our country, by teaching them what civil and religious liberty really im- port and mean. It is to this all-important measure, both as regards our happiness as a people and the se- curity of our invaluable political institutions, to which I would earnestly invite your immediate attention, and upon which I would solicit your prompt action.

islative interference; but the enterprise, whatever it may be, should be left entirely to individual exertion, and to that spirit of competition which never fails to be awakened and rendered sagacious by personal interest or the alluring prospect of gain. Another objection, of much force, is made to the privilege of voting by proxy, peculiar in this country, I believe, to corpora- tions alone, as being entirely at variance with the genius and principles of our government. This scion of arbi - trary power, it is believed ought not to remain engraft- ed upon our institutions, inasmuch asit is often pervert- ed to the basest of purposes, by the individual who has address enough to procure a sufficient number of prox. ies to control the elections of the institution of which he is a member: the provisions of the acts of Assembly on this subject, being either entirely disregarded or shamefully evaded. The tyranny displayed by indi- viduals, resulting from this privilege, is not unfrequent- ly severely felt by the members of the corporation themselves, who become objects of displeasure with him who wields the power, but the whole community within the reach of its influence, is often i ijuriously af- fected by it. Other reasons might be advanced to in- duce legislative interference; enough has been said, it is presumed, to elicit inquiry.

It is time, fellow citizens, that the character of our State should be redeemed from the state of supineness and indifference under which its most important inte- rests, the education of its citizens, have so long been languishing, and that a system should be arranged that would ensure, not only an adequate number of schools to be established throughout the State, but would ex. tend its provisions so as to secure the education and in- Complaints are general throughout the State, in re- ference to the laws now in force, denominated " the Militia System," and the burdens and exactions in which they involve a large portion of the most industri- ous and useful class of our citizens Many of these complaints are doubtless well founded, and require a corrective; but whatever may be the defects and imper- fections of the system, a question worthy of grave con- sideration presents itself at the very threshold of the inquiry, -to determine as to the nature and extent of the remedy to be applied, and how far it is within the competency of the Legislature of a State to apply it. The Constitution of the United States hus expressly de- legated to Congress the power " to provide for organi- zing, arming and disciplining the militia;" reserving to the States " the appointment of officers and the training struction of a competent number of active, intelligent teachers, who will not only be prepared, but well qua- lified to take upon themselves the government of the schools, and to communicate instruction to the scho- lars. Some of our colleges that had been abandoned either from mismanagement, or the want of sufficient encouragement, are about to be resuscitated under en- couraging circumstances; most of these have partaken largely of the liberality and bounty of the State, and would doubtless willingly extend their aid to accomplish an object su desirable. Others have but recently been established and gone into operation, and have as yet, received no share of the Commonwealth's munificence; some, if not all of these last mentioned, have adopted the popular and approved Fellenberg system of uniting labor with study; these, it is believed, would make ad- i of the militia according to the discipline deescribed by Con-

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gress." The act of Congress of the eighth of May, seventeen hundred and ninety-two, entitled, "An act more effectually to provide for the national defence, by es- tablishing an uniform militia throughout the United States," has made provision for the organization, and prescribed the rules of discipline according to which the militia is to be exercised and trained; and has also designated, with sufficient clearness and certainty, the description of persons who are to be subject to the dis- cipline prescribed. That there is a much greater num- ber of militia enrolled and obliged to submit to the al- ternative of training or paying fincs, than there is occa- sion for, or than will be needed or could be usefully employed for the defence of the country, will not. 1 presume, be disputed; but, whether that number could be reduced to the extent desired, without running counter to the provisions of the paramount act of Con- gress referred to and disturbing the uniformity intend ed to be established by Congress throughout the United States, is a question worthy of consideration. The sys- tem, as at present existing in Pennsylvania, is not only grievously burdensome to the people, but is a drain, to a considerable extent, upon the public treasury, and its radical reorganization could not be otherwise than acceptable to the community. To make the militia ef- fective as a military force, its reorganization must be en- tire, and to accomplish that, Congress alone, according to my impression, possesses the power. The Legisla- tures of the States may administer palliatives, but do not possess the competent means to effect a radical cure. I think I am borne out in this opinion, by the" course recently pursued by the Legislature's of several of our sister States, instructing their Senators and re- questing their Representatives in Congress, to use their exertions to procure the passage of a law for the more perfect organization of the militia of the several States of the Union; evidently questioning their own compe- tency to arrange systems for their respective States, in- dependently of the acts of Congress. A communication, containing resolutions to this effect, lias been received from the Governor of the State of New Hampshire, since the adjournment of the Legislature, copies of which are herewith transmitted. I take great pleasure in informing the General Assembly, that from informa- tion recently received, I am authorized to state, that the board of commissioners to revise the Civil Code, have prepared a bill in relation to this distracting subject, which may be expected at an carly period of the pre- sent session; and from the able manner in which the gentlemen composing that board discharge their duties generally, and the thorough examination the subject upon which each bill reported by them is predicated, undergoes before it is submitted to the Legislature, we may expect to derive much valuable information from its arrangement and provisions, and the views taken of the subject by the commissioners, in their report, if we should not approve of the bill itself in all its de- talls.

The loans of two millions five hundred and forty thou- sand six hundred and sixty-one dollars and forty-four cents, authorized by the act of the sixteenth of Februa- ry last, after the usual notice had been given, was taken by Doctor Jesse R. Burden, he agreeing to pay one hundred and thirteen dollars and fifty-one cents in mo- ney, for every hundred dollars of stock, bearing an in- terest of five per cent. per annum. And that of five hundred and thirty thousand dollars, directed to be made by the act of the twenty seventh of March last, was taken, after similar not ce, by Messrs. S. & M. Al- len of the city of Philadelphia, at one hundred and four- teen dollars in money, for every one hundred dollars of stock, bearing a like interest; they having previously become possessed of the first mentioned loan, by trans- fer from the original holder. By these several transac- tions, the State will have realized, upon receipt of the whole amount borrowed, two hundred and fifty one thousand three hundred and fifty-seven dollars and

fifty eight cents, in premiums, or as bounties paid for the loans thus made.

In my last annual message, I stated upon information derived from a source in which I had entire confidence, that most of the new works, then under contract, would be finished in the course of this season. It appears, however. that the expectations then entertained will not be realized to tlie extent anticipated. Various cats- es, not within their control, as I have been informed, are assigned, for their non completion, in the reports of the agents having immediate charge of the works. As a statement of the causes that operated to produce such a result will be exhibited in detail by the board of canal commissioners in their report, I respectfully refer you to that document for the necessary explanations. Whilst, however, it is to be regretted that any portion of the pub- lic works alluded to should, from any cause, remain un- finished, it is nevertheless highly gratifying to learn, that although only seventy-two additional miles of canal and rail-road have been in use during the present season the tolls have been increased to an amount in that time nearly threefold that of the preceding season The tolls received upon our public improvements during the year ending on the'31st of October, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, amounted to fifty thousand nine hundred And nine dollars and fifty-seven cents; those received for the year ending on the thirty-first of October, last, amount to one hundred and fifty one thousand four hundred and nineteen dollars and sixty-nine cents; and this too before the works had become connected, or the people were prepared with the necessary means for transportation upon them. It is confidently expected by those whose means of information enables them to calculate with some degree of certainty, that the tolls to be received for the current year (1834,) will fall little short of, if they do not exceed, a half a million of dollars. Should that be the case, of which there is scarcely a doubt entertained, the public improvements will at once have relieved the people from the payment of the in- terest upon ten millions of dollars of State debt, and to that amount, the debt contracted by the State for inter- nal improvements, may be considered as neutralized if not virtually paid; the improvements being to all in- tents andpurposes equivalent in point of value to the sum upon which their proceeds pay the interest. It is proper, however, to remark that in order to realize this sum from tolls, as well as to secure the trade of the West much will depend upon the enterprize and exertions of individuals. The State at a vast expense will have com- pleted, early next spring, an entire line of communica -- tion between Philadelphia and Pittsburg by canals and rail-ways; upon these merchandize and produce can be transported from city to city, in the short period of eight days, and that too, at a rate of freight so much re- duced, as to enable us to enter into successful competi- tion with our rivals . for the Western trade. But this trade, so important, as well to the revenue of the Com- monwealth, as to the future wealth and prosperity of our principal commercial cities, is not to be secured but by timely and vigorous efforts. The Common- wealth, so far as she was concerned in the general wel- fare, has done her duty in the construction of the pub- lic works; but it is not to be expected that she will line them with boats, or cover them with cars; this must be done, if done at all, by individuals or companies. The importance of securing the trade of the Western States, has for years past, attracted the attention of two of our most enterprising and prosperous sister States, the one on the North and the other on the South, nor have the most strenuous and persevering efforts been wanting on their part to monopolize so important a branch of commerce. A policy on our part that would induce us to remain idle spectators when so much is at stake, would be altogether indefensible, especially, when we have all the advantages of a central position: the shortness of our route: the advantages of earlier and later navigation of our canals: our mineral wealth

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The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII, Part 106

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870 Publication date: 1828 Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ; Number of Pages: 438

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 438