Tri-Weekly State Times. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1854 Page: 1 of 4
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TRI-WEEKLY
VOL. 1.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1854.
NO 38.
FIFTH LEGISLATURE.
BEBATES IN THE SENATE.
J. T. FLI\T, Reporter.
Mr. JOWERS: No sir; I did not
tKink it necessary to make that statement
in the report.
Mr. GAGE—Mr. President: I do not
think the rule that governs the Senate
ought to govern in committee. It would
be proper to report the fact, that the
committee were tied, in a case of this
kind, instead of reporting that the amend-
ments were lost. I think the facts of the
case should have been reported, and no-
thing else.
[Mr. HOLLAND here withdrew his
motion to lay upon the table, to give
Mr. Lott an opportunity to make a few
remarks.]
Mr. LOTT—Mr. President: I pre-
sume that the Sehate is aware that if that
report is adopted, that the amendments
will be lost. It does not seem to me that
Saturday, Dec. 31.
When the amendments to " An Act to
establish the New Orleans, Texas, and
Pacific Railway Company, for the exten-
sion of the New Orleans, Algiers and
Opelousas Railway through Texas," came
up, with the bill which had been made the
special order for to-day, 11 o'clock, Mr.
Holland moved a call of the Senate.
Mr. ED WARDS said—Mr. President:
I hope that the call of the Senate will
not be ordered JEhe senator froitf Smith
is the only member absent, who has not
been excused; and that senator was in
,. , .i i „ .i . i*ii twin do lost, ii aoes noi seem 10 me inax
his seat on yesterday, when the two bills i, . . . e f .
, c - i o J , _ „„„ • i the report put the action ot the commit-
now before the ¡senate were the special ¡, P -1. , 0 ^ x , ,
i f , i . i -i >11 a r ¡ tee fairly before the Senate. It has been
order for to-day at 11 o clock. Although . / . . . . e ■
, • *. i ,i • i^- i stated, to the satisfaction ot every senator •
my health is not good, nothing but sick- , \ A J ,, ,. i
e ® i ' , ii i here, that the committee was equally di- i
ness of a serious character could have! ., \ T, , . 1 .J., -
i . , o . i . i t ! vided. It occurs to me, that in a spirit ot :
kept me out of my seat on to-day; and 1 r \ ,1.
cannot conceive that it is rightthat fhe f*'™ess and. Justn.ess', l'at the clf ™?n i
business of the Senate shonldbe suspend-! f tihe. c0™m'tee shonW ^ave reported the,
i ,ii _ , ,i „ i1 i facts lust as they were. 1 hope that the
ed or retarded on account ot the absence i v .„ . i j_ j 1 . T ii
e r Tf „00 i report will not be adopted, as 1 would
of one member. It is his business to be!^ ^ , 1 ' !
here. The bill before the Senate was in- j,lke *°.sce the "mendmente come up up- ¡
«reduced on the second week of the scs-! °" t ,en' own merlt.8,; a°il ,f Senate ¡
sion. I fed an interest in its passage. I th,n¿\ T cons'derahon that they ,
It is but doing an act of justici to my; °"Sh' <° be ac!oPted' 1 bel,cve 14 wl"
constituents to pass the bill now before j a T. . ^
the Senate. We ask for nothing morel ^r- JOWERS Mr. President: Ij
than has been granted to other sections, I sha11 not contend very strongly for the
or to other roads. ' j adoption of the report, though I would
The citizens along the proposed route j Prefer !hat ? should be adopted. If the |
have manifested a deep interest in form- jreport is rejected, and the^ gentleman S|
ing the connection proposed in the amend-
ments, not by public demonstrations and
amendment adopted,. I will be satisfied if
the amendment which I offered is adopted j
windy speeches, but by subscribing libe- j a]s0- ^ am filing
I am willing to vote for the ori-.
I/OV1 1WJUC | 1 1
rally for its construction. If the amend-1 ginal bill, without the amendment offered |
ments are to be adopted, I desire to knoAv I by the' senator from Smith (Mr. Lott); j
it; and if rejected, I am equally anxious bnt as he insisted upon his amendment, I
to know the fact. I trust the Senate will
not order a call, but that we may have a
direct vote upon the bill before us.
Tho rail was mr„de.
offered one as a compromise. If both are j
adopted, it will be satisfactory. We are
willing to a compromise upon those terms, 1
though it does not leave us in as good a
( situation as we would be under the ori-
Monday, Jan. 2,1854. ginal bill. Legislation is a matter of
The bill to be "entitled "An Act sup- ! compromise, and we will meet the gentle-
plementarv to an act to establish the ! man m that spirit, for the purpose of get-¡
New Orleans, Texas and Pacific Railway j ting the bills through. If we cannot get i
Company, for the extension of the New . a whole loaf, we will take half a loaf rath-
Orleans," Algiers and Opelousas Railway !er than get no broad. I shall not. ™n-
tend for the adoption of the report, be-
cause if it were adopted, all the amend- i
ments would be rejected; and in that;
event, I fear that both bills might be lost. ¡
Mr. LOTT—Mr. President: I will
7 c V
through Texas, with the bill to be entitled
" An Act to incorporate the Tyler and
Dallas Railroad Company," which had
been referred with it to a select commit-
tee, beingjbefore the Senate, with the re- ¡
port of the committee, it was determined j make a few remarks upon the merits of ¡
to take up the bill to incorporate the Ty- ¡ the bill. I did not think it would meet j
ler and Dallas railroad company first. * ! with any opposition. It was introduced, |
Mr. HOLLAND moved to lav the re- not for my constituents alone, but for the ¡
port upon the table. * people of a large portion of the eastern j
He said, that the report of the commit- ! part of the State: it was to place them ■
tee was made upon a tie vote in regard iin the same position as others, in regard i
to the amendments which had been sub- I to railroad improvement. I introduced i
mitted, with the two bills, to the commit-; Jt at their request, and not with the view ;
tee. He thought that the report recom- j of striking a blow at any other charter or j
mendm" the rejection of the amendments, ; railroad enterprise. So far as my own |
was notwarranted, as the committee was ¡ constituents are concerned, (it it is a
tied; and that the chairman of the com- j charter at all, it will call for my county •
roittee should have reported that fact, j and my town,) and my own individual in- j
instead of recommending the rejection of1 terests, it matters little whether the New
fhe amendments. 1 Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western ;
Mr JOWERS—Mr. President: I will1 Railroad crosses the Sabine above or be- ¡
explain why I made that report as I did. ¡ low 31° 30;" connecting with ours, it
I adopted a rule of the Senate in making ! still would run through my county; but j
that report, as there was a tie, as I could the case does not stand the same with
sec no reason wliv it should not govern in ! some other counties, upon some of which ¡
committee, in like eases. It is a rule of | it would be a great hardship to say that j
this Senate, that when a question is put j the road should not cross the Sabine north ;
and there is a tie vote upon it, that the ! of that point. I hope a spirit of liberality |
question shall be lost. The question of; has ever governed rae m my legislation; i
recommending the adop tion of the amend- and that gentlemen will do me the justice j
ments was put in committee, and a tie j to believe that I did not offer the amend-
vote had upon them, and so I reported merit, upon a former occasion, to obtain
them lost. 1 did it in accordance with -any undue advantage: but to place the j
that rule of the Senate referred to. I people which I represent, in a position to
hope the action of the committee will not construct their road, in case the charter
have any influence upon this body, one ! for the extension of the ^New Orleans, Al- ¡
way or the other, in regard to those ¡ giers and Opelousas railroad through ,
amendments, as the facts are before us, Texas should fall to the ground. The '
and every gentleman can act independent, question submitted by the amendment of-
of that report. fercd by the gentleman from Anderson
A<'am. as to that rule of the Senate, I (Mr. .Towers) is, whether or not the peo- i
must say that I can see no reason why it pie of fifteen counties shall be brought
should not govern a committee as well as i down, in the construction of their road,
the Senate. I reported the facts as I be-! to a certain line or mark—not to suit
lieved them to be; because I believed the 1 themselves and the larger portion of the I
tie vote rejected the amendments. Í j people of that section, but the people of j
knew it would be st..ted, here, that they | a particular locality ( So far as my con-
were rejected wn a tie vote. i stituents are concerned, they will not be
Mr. HART: Does the report of the i benefited or injured by being confined in j
committee state that the amendments ! the crossing of the Sabine to 31° 30" or |
were reiected bv a tie vote? 32, or even down as low as 26°, if you j
please: for if the road should be con-
structed, it will go through my county.—
I am unwilling to cast a vote that will do
injustice to any portion of the State, and
would not advocate the adoption of the
amendment which I have offered, if I
thought it would injure the rights of
others. We ask permission to form a
connection with the Louisiana road, in
case the other road fails to do so. The
gentleman from Anderson seeks to con-
fine us down to a particular point in cross-
ing the Sabine. Is it not more reasona-
ble to leave that question open to be de-
cided by the interests of the companies,
and those whom the road is intended to
benefit? The amendment which I pro-
pose, merely calls for a connection with
the Louisiana road, in case the road which
the gentleman from Anderson represents
should not be constructed. His railroad
is not tied down to any particular point
to cross the Sabine—nothing being said
in the charter, as to where it shall com-
mence or cross that river; but the rail-
road which interests my constituents, and
the people of some fifteen counties, must
be, by his amendment, confined to 31°
30" at the crossing of the Sabine. Docs
that show a spirit of liberality and fair-
ness? Have not the people of my sec-
tion rights, as well as those whom he rep-
resents ? I was accused of having a good
deal of "liberality" and "patriotism,"
during the discussion upon the Pacific
road bill. I hope that 1 have some of it
still; and in the spirit of concession and
compromise, do not ask to connect with
the Louisiana road, unless his company
fail to do so. What can be fairer than
that proposition ?
It seems to me to be extremely illiber-
al to seek to tie our road down to a point
not to start above latitude 31° 30" at the
crossing of the Sabine. Leave it open
to the directors, so that they may decide
upon any crossing of the Sabine, that
the interests of the company may de-
mand, and it will be quite likely to sub-
serve the interests of the greater num-
ber of people. That would be placing
us emphatically, and nothing more than
upon an equal footing with others—upon
an equal footing with his [company, and
that is all that we ask. I believe and
hope that the railroad that the gentleman
from Anderson is so much in favor of
will be constructed. It may be the
main trunk road through the State; but
it argues nothing against the road for
which I ask a charter. Because they
have the advantage in soil and subscrib-
tion to their stock, to a certain amount
already obtained; docs that argue that
we shiill not have a charter ? Let our
road call for a connection with the Lou-
isiana road, in ease theirs fail to be con-
structed. If better investments can be
made at another, why compel us to come
down to a certain point ? It would be
actually unjust to require us to do so.
Mr."JOWERS—Mr. President: The
Senator from Smith (Mr. Lott) has
been unfortunate in the statement of
some of his facts. He has said that our
road is not confined to any point upon ;
the Sabine for its commencement. If
we are not confined to any particular ¡
point, we are confined to some point be-;
tween two points, and beyond which we;
cannot go. (Here Mr. Jokers read
from the original charter showing that j
they could not begin their road upon the;
Sabine, south of 30° 30" nor north of'
32°.)
When the gentleman from Smith (Mr.
Lott) introduced his amendment I did
not think our interests would be safe if j
it should be adopted—so I introduced ;
an amendment which I though would
protect us in a measure at least, an
amendment which confines the New Or- j
leans, Opelousas, and Great Western
road to a crossing on the Sabine, not:
north of 31° 30". 1 should not have j
done that Sir, had it not been for the j
amendment introduced by the Senator |
from Smith. I felt that it was neccssa-j
ry for our protection. The hardship;
that it would be upon the Tyler and Dal-
las road has often been spoken of in
case we should not construct ours. I
admit that in such a case, it would be
a hardship upon them, and might be
willing to the amendment if that was all
that it contemplates; but it goes farther
! than that; it will allow the Tyler and
1 rruiil to unit.#* with thf T.mi¡q¡.inn
road, and thus cut us off entirely from
the benefits expected to be derived from
the latter roads entering the State.
Does not this Senate know that if the
amendment is adopted which was offered
by the gentleman from Smith, without
my amendment, that this charter of ours
is a dead letter upon our statute book ?
Would not that be doing a great injus-
tice to us ? We have subscribed one-
half million dollars to our capital stock,
and have paid in to defray the necessary
expenses of the company one-fourth of
one per cent., amounting to about $2000
and notes have been given for the pay-
ment of the three-fourths of one . per
| cent, still dueof the first assessment up-
on the capital.
j I\ ow all this will be lost to us if the
| gentleman's amendment is adopted, un-
j less mine is adopted also. I could Sir,.
; if it were necessary introduce letters
| from men of high standing, urging the
i passage of the bill which I have offered
in order that they may go to work in
earnest for the construction of the road.
I would speak of James H. Starr, a fine
man, of talent und ability as well as of
political influence, who among others is
soliciting this legislature to do some-
thing for our road that they may go to
work upon it. If the amendment of
the Senator from Smith is adopted we
shall never be permitted to connect with
the Louisiana road, for it will cross the
Sabine so high up as to be beyond our
power to connect with it. That would
be a hardship upon us which I believe the
good sense of this Senate will not per-
mit. As I remarked before, if Senators
are willing to adopt all of the amend-
ments, I shall be content; though 1
should prefer the rejection of them all.
The Senator from Smith says that he
asks nothing, but what should be
granted. It is strange that the gentle-
man should not have thought of the sub-
stance of that amendment of his and ^in-
troduced it into his original bill in the
first place, if /there is so great a proba-
bility as he would make you believe that
our road will not be constructed. I ven-
ture to say that he has another object in
view, beyond that of forming a connec-
tion with the Louisiana road in case we
fail to construct ours; I will not pretend
to say that it is so, but I fear an outside
influence induced that amendment. All
that we ask is to have our rights protec-
ted.
Mr. LOTT—Mr. President: I do.
not think that anything unreasonable
has been asked. Is it unreasonable to
ask even handed justice ? Then my de-
mands have been unreasonable. There
| is one thing that I know—it is this: if
the legislature refuse to grant the char-
ter which I have introduced, the people
of some 15 counties will have their
rights taken from them, and those privi-
leges which they are entitled to enjoy
will be transported 150 miles south. If
we are to be confined to a certain point
upon the Sabine, it would seem right
that their road should be confined too; if
they are to be allowed to swing to any
point, justice would give us the same
privilege. All we ask is a fair chance.
I believe this legislature is disposed to
give the people of eastern Texas equal
justice—that with a liberal spirit, and en-
lightened views, they will not willingly
and knowingly trample upon the rights
of the people of any portion of eastern
Texas.
Mr. SUBLETT—Mr. President: In
as much as I am to vote upon the ques-
tion, involved in the bill and amendments
before the Senate, and in as much as
the arguments of the Senator from
Smith (Mr. Lott) have assumed a plau-
sibility well calculated to deceive the
Senate, and place those who may differ
with him in a false position before the
country; I beg leave to give my rea-
sons why I shall not vote for the amend-
ment offered by that Senator.
I flatter myself Sir, that I know some-
thing about the condition and wants of
the people of Eastern Texas, and espc-
pecially the Southern and older settled
portions of that country. The charter
for the Opelousas railway (as it is com-
monly called) through Texas, authorizes
the company to designate the point upon
the Sabine river, at which they will meet
the Louisiana company. The Texas
comnanv have designated Fulton Bluff
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Ford, John S. Tri-Weekly State Times. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1854, newspaper, February 9, 1854; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth181741/m1/1/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.