to station buildings; the next was in relation to
the machinery; the next about water stations,
&c., &c.
He referred to this to show that the railroad
company, had wisely adopted this plan. Sup-
pose this duty of attending to one particular
thing, was divided among a board of directors.
In all human probability, they would have very
many gentlemen who would know nothing about
the duties they would he sent to perform, and
from a divided responsibility even if understood,
would be neglected It required a long apprenticeship
to understand them. They did not find
the President nor the Directors of the railroads
company, interfering with Mr. Parker, the gentle-
man to whom he had referred. He made his re-
port, and they received it, and acted upon his re-
commendation. He had no doubt but that the
recommendation of Mr. Parker, in relation to
tolls, had great weight with them. He mentioned
this to show that having boards of any kind
was altogether wrong.
As to representing the State, at the stockholders
meeting, of these internal improvement com-
panies, it was a very simple operation. It could
be discharged by any intelligent gentleman,
whom the Legislature of the State might be wil-
ling to vest with the duty. If he had intelligence
and integrity, his character would be sufficient
guarantee, that he would faithfully discharge his
duty to the State. He had heard of this super-
visory committee, of this committee of vigilance,
as it had been called. He begged leave to say
that he thought it would be found that these committees
were very unsafe. He thought it had
been found so, here and every where. He submitted
whether there were legitimate, important
duties, sufficient to cloth this board with: if it was
necessary that it should he created, to occupy the.
attention of the Convention, and hereafter to
distract the people of the State?
For one, he thought not—and he said this af-
ter an experience of ten years in discharging the
legitimate duties of such a board. Of duties to
he superadded of course he did not speak—but
he doubted whether there were legitimate duties
sufficient to warrant the creation of this board.
If he had ever to cast his vote for gentlemen,
he would endeavor to do it for gentlemen of suf-
ficient character to be willing to trust them with
some discretion themselves. He thought the
true precaution they had in all these works was
in the character, intelligence, and fidelity of the
gentlemen they placed over them. Ingenuity
knew how to circumvent these guards, and get
around them, place them as they might.
He could give the gentleman from Carroll,
(Mr. Brown,) a little further information about
estimates.
Mr. BISER. Let us have it, sir.
Mr. BROWN had no particular desire to hear
the information. He spoke altogether from memory,
having been a member of the Legislature
when the estimates were acted on.
Mr. BISER said, that if the gentleman had spo-
ken from memory, he had no desire to hear the
information. |
Mr. DAVIS said, that it would not take him
long. It was a matter of history. They would
gain nothing by concealment, the truth had better
come out. It was known that the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company was raised by various
meetings of gentlemen in different parts of the
State. It first commenced here, afterwards in
the city of Washington. The United States, (he
was not exactly accurate as to the year,) detail-
ed General Bernard, a French Engineer, from
Buonaparte's army, who had acquired great cele-
brity in Europe, to examine the line of the Potomac,
to ascertain what a canal would cost—one
of considerably lower dimensions than now adopted.
General Bernard, in his report, estimated
that a five foot canal to Cumberland would cost
nine millions dollars. So much for these incorrect
estimates. The internal improvement Convention
which assembled in Washington thought
that the estimate was too high, and detailed a
committee of gentlemen to inquire into the cost
of a canal. These were not professional engineers,
but gentlemen at large. This committee
reported that it could be done for from three to
four millions of dollars. Upon this recommen-
dation, the State of Virginia; the District cities,
the State of Maryland, and the Congress of the
United States made their subscriptions, the State
of Maryland subscribing $500,000, upon the con-
dition that the United States would subscribe for
a million of dollars. What had been the actual
cost, with all the impediments that had been
thrown in the way, and a six instead of a five foot
canal? A little over eleven millions of dollars—
the variation from General Bernard's estimate
being not so considerable as was supposed. He
had seen it stated that the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal had cost seventeen millions of dollars,
He confessed his utter inability to count up the
money. He had examined this thing pretty
thoroughly, but had been unable to count it up.
Now, he came to the Baltimore and Ohio rail
road company. This company when it applied
for its charter, stated that the Ohio river could
be reached with a double track for five millions
of dollars. Upon this representation, the State
subscribed $500,000. What had been the re-
sult?
The actual cost of the road to Harper's Ferry,
had been four millions of dollars: the actual cost
to Cumberland had been $8,766,400; and the estimated
cost of the read to the Ohio river was
$6,278,000. This was now the actual cost for a
single track; a double track would cost about
3,500 more than a single track, making a total
of nearly fifteen millions of dollars.
There had been an error not only upon the Potomac,
but in the gentleman's own neighborhood.
He, [Mr. D.,] did not consider altogether fair
to hold up every short coming, every delinquency
to censure, if a person failed to see into the
future; if he failed, in embarking in a new enterprise,
to see all the difficulties that might ensue.
"To err is human." He would ask the gentle-
man if he had not made mistakes, even in mak-
ing an estimate for the building of a barn ?
Mr. BROWN. I have made mistakes. |
