sitting of the joint convention, reported that they had discharged the duty assigned them.

Report accepted and committee discharged.

The Sergeant-at-Arms announced the Honorable Senators, who were conducted to seats.

PROCEEDINGS IN JOINT CONVENTION.

The joint convention was called to order by Honorable Morgan Bates, Lieutenant-Governor and President of the Senate. The roll of the Senate was called by the Secretary thereof, and a quorum of the Senators were present.

The roll of the House was called by the Clerk thereof, and a quorum of the Representatives were present.

The President of the Senate announced that the two Houses had assembled in joint convention to receive the message of His Excellency Governor Baldwin.

Representative Ingersoll moved that a committee of three be appointed to wait on His Excellency the Governor and the State officers, and inform them that the two Houses are assembled in joint convention, and are ready to receive any communication that His Excellency may be pleased to make; Which was adopted.

The President of the Senate appointed Representatives Ingersoll and Gay, and Senator Williams, as such committee.

After a short absence the committee reported that they had discharged the duty assigned them, and announced His Excellency Governor Baldwin, and the State officers in attendance. The Governor then read to the joint convention his message. After which,

On motion of Senator Rich,

The joint convention adjourned sine die.

HENRY S. SLEEPER,

Secretary of the Senate,

N. B. JONES,

Clerk of the House of Representatives,

and Secretaries of the Joint Convention.

The honorable Senators then retired.

The House was called to order by the Speaker.

The roll was called, and a quorum of the members were present.

Mr. Ingersoll moved that the message of the Governor be printed in the Journal, and referred to the committees on judiciary and internal improvements, jointly.

Mr. Miles moved as a substitute for the motion, that the message be ordered printed in the journal, and referred to a special committee of seven;

Which motion did not prevail.

The motion of Mr. Ingersoll was then agreed to.

The following is the message:

SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES:

I have deemed it my duty to call you together in extraordinary session, to submit for your consideration, subjects directly affecting the honor and good name of the people of our whole commonwealth.

The powers of government are divided into three departments: Legislative, Executive and Judicial; the duties of each are distinct and well defined; no one may discharge or infringe upon the duties of another.

To the Legislative branch of the government, has been committed the law-making power, subject only to such restrictions or limitations, as are contained in the Constitution of the State, or of the United States.

To the Judicial department has been entrusted the province of deciding what is law, and of annulling unconstitutional enactments.

Legislatures, Executives, and Courts are composed of individuals and may err. Legislatures may pass and Governors may give their approval to acts, which the Judiciary, in the exercise of its rightful functions, may decide to be unconstitutional; but the original and ultimate sovereignty is with the people, by whom Constitutions are made, and may be altered or amended.

Changes in the fundamental law should not be frequent, or made upon slight pretexts, or upon doubtful expediency; but should be made where serious doubts exist as to the proper construction of important provisions; or where experience has shown the necessity of such alteration; and certainly, where without such change, injustice and wrong would be done to any portion of the people.

A series of laws enacted at five successive sessions of the Legislature, and with the exception of a single act, approved by three successive Executives, have, by a recent decision of the highest judicial authority of the State, been pronounced unconstitutional and void. These laws are somewhat different in their provisions, but all of them were intended to enable the people of either counties, townships, cities, or incorporated villages, in their corporate capacity, to aid in the construction of railroads.

The general law of 1869 was considerably more restrictive and stringent in its provisions than the special acts of previous years. In the act of 1869, townships, cities and incorporated villages-but not counties-were authorized to aid, to a limited amount, in the construction of railroads, by loan or donation. When such aid should be voted by the people, bonds might be made and deposited in the office of the State Treasurer, but could not be delivered to any railroad company until such company had completed its road-bed, and ironed its road with such rail as should be used by first-class railroads, from its initial or starting point, through the municipality issuing the same; nor until the company should have fully complied with whatever conditions said municipality might have imposed in voting its aid.

Under the authority contained in these laws, securities or bonds for a very considerable amount, have been delivered and are now held by parties who have purchased them in good faith. Judging from the most reliable information which I have been able to obtain, I am of the opinion that far the larger part is

held by persons of moderate or small means; in not a few instances, the entire means of aged persons, of women, and of orphan children, are known to be invested in these securities. It is scarcely necessary to say, that without provision for their payment, in many cases great inconvenience and suffering must ensue, and this must be the case to a greater or less extent, even by the delay of payment of any one or more of the installments of interest.

In some cases the municipalities directly interested, have, through their municipal boards, expressed the desire and determination to acknowledge and provide for the payment of these liabilities; but it must be remembered, that however earnestly such authorities may desire to avoid the repudiation of their honest debts, and to keep inviolate the faith of their respective corporations, there is now no authority of law by which such provision can be made. No tax can be lawfully made or collected to provide the means for paying either principal or interest; any such tax placed upon a tax-roll would not only be void and uncollectable, but might vitiate the entire tax of such corporation.

It has been supposed by many, that these bonds, or at least most of them, were issued under the law of 1869; that the act was passed under circumstances of much popular excitement on the subject of the real or supposed benefits to be derived from the extension of railroad facilities.

It is certainly true, that a portion of the municipal railroad aid bonds now outstanding, were issued under the authority of legislative acts of 1869, but these comprise only a little more than one-fourth of the whole amount now in the hands of parties who have purchased and paid for them in good faith.

It is undoubtedly true, that no small portion of the people of the State, have felt a deep interest in and a strong desire for the construction of railroads, and have been both willing and desirous to grant municipal aid for that purpose.

Whether it is or is not wise to construct railroads, under any circumstances, to a greater extent than can be done by

individual or private enterprise, need not be discussed in this connection, but however this may be, the bonds now outstanding are not the result of any sudden impulse, or the excitement of a day, or of any one Legislature.

The following summary will give, as near as may be ascertained, the amount of such securities now outstanding, under the various enabling acts:

Special acts of 1863, and of the extra session of 1864,

approved by Gov. Blair...............

$858,600

Special acts of 1865, approved by Gov. Crapo...

312,700

Special act of 1867, passed over the veto of Gov.
Crapo...

28,000

Laws of 1869, approved by the present Executive...

447,000

Total....

$,1,656,300

It will be observed, that one-half of the whole amount was issued under the laws of 1863 and 1864, nearly one-fourth under the enabling acts of 1865 and 1867, and a little more than one-fourth under the laws of 1869.

Our own State has not been singular in passing enabling acts of this character; not less than twenty-two of the States have similar laws upon their statute books; in most, or all of these, the constitutionality of railroad aid legislation has been the subject of judicial adjudication; in all of these States such legislation has been sustained, save in Iowa and Wisconsin, and originally in these also.

The States were but following the example of Congress, which body, as is well known, has made extensive grants of lands belonging to the people, as well as large subsidies in bonds, to railroads. In 1841, Congress gave to the State of Michigan, and to each of eight other States named in the act, and to each new State thereafter admitted into the Union, five hundred thousand acres of public lands, "for the purposes of internal improvement, said lands to be disposed of, and the net proceeds of the sales applied to the building of roads, railways, bridges, canals," &c.