of life, you would drive much talent and intellectual capacity from the public councils. No poor man, honest and capable, could afford to serve you. His duty to his family and to himself, would compel him to seek employment elsewhere. Your government then would remain only with the wealthy. This is not the theory of our institutions; or else, with those who would seek remunerations for their services, by converting political power to improper and selfish ends." JOHN STOCKTON, Chairman. [No. 18.] Report of the auditor general in relation to the five million loan. AUDITOR GENERal's Office, Detroit, January 14, 1841. To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: SIR-In obedience to a resolution of the House of the 11th instant, I have the honor to submit the following statement: Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, H. L. WHIPPLE, Deputy Auditor General. *Total amount of moneys paid into the treasury $2,922,680 00 2,965,322 62 2,701,479 88 H. L. WHIPPLE, Deputy Auditor General. *Including the sum of $110,000 drawn against instalment due on the 1st April, 1841. [No. 19.] Communication from state treasurer, in relation to bonds issued by fund commissioners. TREASURER'S OFFICE, To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: } SIR-In compliance with a resolution of the honorable the house of representatives, passed 11th instant, requesting the state treasurer to communicate to the house whether he had any knowledge of bonds having been executed by the fund commissioners, under an act to incorporate a state bank, and if so, in whose possession they remain; I have the honor to state, that on the 8th instant, G. W. Jermain, Esq., one of said commissioners, brought into this office, the books containing the proceedings of the fund commissioners, and the bonds, (which were issued on 13th September, 1839,) amounting to five hundred thousand dollars, ($500,000.) On examination, we ascertained that they could not hereafter be used by the state, in consequence of their tenor; and that interest was chargeable on them, from 1839; we, therefore, concluded, that proper precaution required their destruction, which we effected by fire, in this office, and recorded the fact in the fund commissioners book, which was left here for safe keeping. I am, respectfully, sir, ROBERT STUART, [No. 20.] Report of the board of internal improvement, specifying the number of passengers carried on the Central railroad, free of charge. OFFICE OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT, Detroit, January 14, 1841. To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: SIR-In obedience to the resolution of the house of representatives of the 12th instant, (transmitted to this office on the 13th instant,) requesting a statement of the "number of persons that have passed over the Central railroad, or any part thereof, without the payment of fare, since the 31st of March last, and by what provisions of law they have been allowed so to pass, "I herewith transmit the statement required, together with the several resolutions of the present and late boards, on the subject, and respectfully refer your honorable body to the eighteenth and nineteenth sections of the "Act for the regulation of internal improvement," approved March 25, 1840, for the authority under which the present board has exercised its powers. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Statement of free passengers transported on Central railroad, from Detroit to Ann Arbor and way, from April 1, to December 31, 1840. Ministers of the gospel, Commissioners, engineers, agents, superintendents and laborers on public works, on duty, Contractors on do do Stage proprietors and agents, Agents of the post office department, by virtue of a clause to that effect in mail contracts, Masters of steamboats, Paupers, or persons on cars without means to pay their fare, and not turned off, Total number, as above 230 350 174 167 4 6 26 957 Statement of free passengers transported on Central railroad, from Ann Arbor to Detroit and way, from April 1, to December 31, 1840. Ministers of the gospel, Commissioners, engineers, agents, superintendents and laborers on public works, on duty, Contractors on do do Stage proprietors and agents, Agents of the post office department, by virtue of a clause to that effect, in mail contracts, Masters of steamboats, Paupers, or persons on cars without means to pay their fare, and not turned off, Total number, as above, 192 353 158 145 5 6 24 883 Recapitulation. Whole number of free passengers from Detroit to Ann Arbor and way, Whole number of free passengers from Ann Arbor to Detroit and way, Whole number of free passengers from April 1, to December 31, 1840, 957 883 1,840 Resolution adopted by the late board, March 11, 1840. Resolved, That the collectors of tolls on the Central railroad, be directed to issue free tickets for passage over said road, to the persons hereinafter enumerated, until otherwise ordered by this board: Ministers of the gospel, residing in the state and traveling on the duties of their profession; Commissioners of internal improvement; Civil engineers, in the employ of the state; Officers of the road; Ex-commissioners of internal improvement of this state; Attorney general of the state, when traveling on business connected with said road; Contractors on that road, once in each month, during the existence of their contracts, who will at that time be required to exhibit their contracts to the collectors; Captains of steamboats and vessels; Agents and officers of railroads now in operation in this state; Stage agents and proprietors, in this state; Members of boards of public works, and civil engineers of other states; Governors, ex-governors, lieutenant governors and ex-lieutenant governors of this state; Auditor general, and all other state officers not herein mentioned, when traveling on business connected with said road. Resolution adopted by present board, April 9, 1840. Resolved, That the resolution adopted by the late board, on the 11th of March last, relative to the issuing of free tickets to certain individuals therein designated, for passage over the Central railroad be, and the same is hereby repealed. Resolved, That the collectors of tolls on the Central railroad be directed to issue free tickets for passage over said road, to the persons hereinafter enumerated, until otherwise ordered, viz: To all persons employed on said road, or connected with the trains, when traveling in the discharge of their respective duties; To all contractors on said road, or their agents, when traveling to and from Detroit, for the purpose of settling their monthly estimates, who shall exhibit their contracts to the collectors; To such mail and stage agents or contractors, and other persons traveling on official or professional duties, as the acting commissioner shall, from time to time direct. [No. 21.] Special message, in relation to the manner in which the contingent fund has been expended. To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: SIR-I have the honor to state, that yesterday, I received, by the hands of one of the officers of the house, a verified copy of a resolution in the following words, to wit: "Resolved, That the governor be requested to communicate to this house, a statement of the expenditures made by his authority from the contingent fund of this state." And in conformity with the desire herein very properly evinced by the house, I herewith respectfully submit for its consideration, a statement of those expenditures. It will be observed that the disbursements for account of the office of the auditor general, constitute in the aggregate, much the largest item of charge against the contingent fund. In explanation of this fact, I take occasion to remark, that it was the pleasure of the last legislature, to assign to the head of that department, many onerous and most highly responsible duties, not coming within the ordinary routine of his action. His duty as commissioner to negotiate for the purchase of the River Raisin railroad, and to settle the complicated concerns of the state with the State bank, were of this description; while the amount of business devolved upon him in relation to delinquent taxes, and by a joint resolution requiring him to commence new statements of account; reaching back to the period of the first organization of the state, and rendering it necessary to search for, examine and rearrange thousands of vouchers, was such, that nothing short of super-human efforts could have enabled man, to accomplish, without the aid extended to him; to which consideration it is my duty to add, that during some portion of the last season, the aspect of public affairs was such as to render it exceedingly doubtful, whether a special session of the legislature might not be indispensably necessary for the public interests; and looking forward to such a contingency, I considered it my duty to require, that all effort possible, should be made by that most meritorious officer, to accelerate his operations so that he might be enabled to present the pecuniary affairs of the state in a systematic and true light, to the legislature, if it should be so convened. And the more certainly to secure the attainment of that object, and not doubting but that the intelligent citizens of our state would fully sanction the measure, I expressly requested him to employ the aid of such additional clerks, as to his good judgment, might seem indispensable, with a view to these considerations. These remarks will not be found inapplicable to many of the [H. R.] Vol. II. 5 |