Mr. CLARKE. What shall be done with the
bank stocks?
Mr. STIRLING. I am perfectly willing to sell
the bank stocks.
Mr, CLARKE. And the Northern Central
Railroad ?
Mr. STIRLING. We may as well sell that out;
it is a mere mortgage interest; and pay the
debt. It has a value, dollar for dollar.
Mr. CLARKE. Then I understand the propo-
sition to be to sell all the works except these
three canals. I will ask the gentleman whether
he would like to leave the sale of these other
works to the legislature without any written
direction in this constitution how that sale
shall be made, who shall have the power, and
furthermore without providing that they shall
be sold for the extinguishment of the public
debt, as without any provision on the subject
would be the effect?
Mr. STIRLING. I stated the other day, as I
state now, that I am perfectly willing to vote
for the proposition of the gentleman from
Prince George's embodied in the majority re-
port,with the amendment I put in. If it comes
up I shall vote for it,
Mr. CLARKE. If that be the view of the gen-
tlemen who act with the gentleman from Bal-
timore city,it gets rid entirely of the view taken
in the minority report that plants itself upon
the basis that there shall be no action of this
convention. I understand that to be waived
now, and therefore it is unnecessary to discuss
it. I merely refer to it to show the position
in which the convention will leave this ques-
tion if nothing is inserted upon the subject in
the constitution. If nothing is inserted the
legislature has the power to sell The legis-
lature has the power to sell any part they
choose. The legislature has the power, after
it is sold to make any disposition it may think
proper with reference to the proceeds thereof.
This whole subject is left entirely to the con-
trol of the legislature. Is that wise? Is it
prudent, if we are to have a sale ?
What does the majority report do? It does
not, as argued by the gentleman from How-
and (Mr Sands,) and by other gentlemen upon
this flexor, undertake to dispose of the public
works at all, except, in reference to the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad, in which case it pro-
vides for an exchange, and upon which ques-
tion there seems to be almost a unanimous
opinion. That proposition is not to be contro-
verted. We have not therefore to vote upon
the proposition whether they shall be sold or
not---that is not the question—or whether
they shall be sold to-day instead of to-mor-
row, next year instead of ten years hence
But if you say nothing, the legislature has
the Dower to sell. Is it wise or prudent not
to make such a disposition of this question
as to throw safeguards around the action
of the legislature? And that is all we pro
pose.
In the first place, here is your board, the
26 |
officers of the State most competent to judge
correctly of the financial affairs of the State.
Has that board power to sell as they think
proper? Nut atall. It is to be done subject
to such regulations and conditions as the leg-
islature may prescribe. Therefore the legis-
lature has got to lay down the rules and reg-
ulations to govern them, before they can act.
Not only that, but under the proposition I
propose to offer, you take out three other
works, in which large interests are involved,
the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, the Chesa-
peake and Delaware canal, and the Tide Wa-
ter canal, and you say not only that they shall
be sold subject to such regulations as the leg-
islature may prescribe, but that there shall be
an additional safeguard around the sale, that
although they may act subject to the regula-
tions and conditions prescribed by thelegisia-
ture, as they might misconstrue them, there
shall be a subsequent ratification of their action
by the legislature, before the sale which they
make shall be valid. Whatcould better insure
the safety of the public works and the carrying
out of these directions of sale, so as to pro-
tect the interest of the State?
The proposition of the majority ofthe com-
mittee also provides for the use to be made of
the proceeds. If yon insert no article, the
legislature can do anything they choose with
the proceeds. Do you wish that to be so?
Do you not know that the faith of the State
is pledged to pay the public debt from these
works? Do you not know that the legisla-
ture may sell these works, and squander the
proceeds in the appropriations which they
may make from time to time, and that the re-
sult would be that when these demands be-
come due, we should have no means to pay
them, and should have to keep up a heavy
taxation upon the people of the State. There-
fore this proposition is made so that when you
get rid of the public works, you shall extin-
guish so much of the existing public debt.
There is this additional reason for putting that
provision into the constitution.
I will now, in the last place, examine the
two propositions; that offered by the gentle-
man frrom Baltimore (Mr. Stirling,) and that
which I propose, to submit. The gentleman
proposes to exempt from sale the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal, the Chesapeakeand Delaware
canal, and the Tide Water canal; that there
shall be no sale. I propose that the sale shall
be made subject to the regulations and condi-
tions prescribed by the legislature, and sub-
ject further to ratification by the ensuing leg-
islature. Therefore it is a question now to be
decided whether we will say that under no
circumstances shall the sale be made, whatever
amount of money can be got for them; ^^
whether we shall say that they shall be sold
subject to these wise regulations and safe-
guards.
In the first place, there is the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal. It is unproductive stock. |
