546 



NEW YOKE. 



volume of debt can be diminished, and guard against 

 its extension ; how the measure of taxation can be re- 

 duced, and retrenchment made more rigid and sys- 

 tematic. 



In view of these considerations, he thought 

 the great public works of the State should wait 

 until better times. A strenuous effort was 

 made in the Senate to pass the bill notwith- 

 standing the objections of the Governor, but 

 without success, and the other claims for State 

 aid in behalf of railroads were allowed to rest. 



A committee was appointed in the Senate to 

 investigate certain charges of mismanagement 

 brought against the Erie Eailroad. The prin- 

 cipal ground of complaint was a resolution 

 adopted by the directors on the 19th of Febru- 

 ary, for the issue of bonds to the amount of 

 ten million dollars, convertible into stock of 

 the company, and the conversion of the bonds 

 into stock for purposes of private speculation. 

 Two reports on this matter were submitted. 

 The majority of the committee arrived at the 

 conclusion that the issue of bonds had been ob- 

 tained by Mr. Daniel Drew, to be used for his 

 personal gain, "utterly regardless of the inter- 

 ests" of other stockholders in the company, 

 and that Mr. Eldridge, the president, and Messrs. 

 Fisk and Gould, directors, were concerned and 

 probably interested with Mr. Drew in these 

 "corrupt proceedings." The report closed 

 with the following resolution : 



Resolved. That the fraudulent abuses developed by 

 the investigation of the management of the present 

 directors and officers of the New York & Erie Eail- 

 road Company demand that increased penalties for 

 such offences shall be imposed for the protection of 

 stockholders and the community, and the special com- 

 mittee conducting such investigation be, and they are 

 hereby, instructed to report a bill making it a feloni- 

 ous offence for any director or officer to fraudulently 

 issue stock of the company in which he holds such 

 trust, or to convert to his own purposes the proceeds 

 of any stock or bonds ; or to fraudulently take or 

 carry away to another State, or with like intent keep 

 and retain them to evade legal process in this State, 

 the moneys or effects of such company. 



A minority report was submitted, which com- 

 mended the general management of the Erie 

 Railroad, and declared that there was uncontra- 

 dicted evidence that the right of the Board of 

 Directors to pass the resolution of February 

 19th was not doubted or questioned either in 

 the Executive Board, or Board of Directors, 

 and was therefore not a wilful violation of the 

 law. It then recommended that an act be 

 passed legalizing the $10,000,000 of stock as 

 well as various other acts of the directors which 

 had been complained of as illegal. The action 

 recommended by a minority of the committee 

 was favored in the Senate. 



In the Assembly, on occasion of the adoption 

 of a committee report adverse to a bill which 

 had been framed in the interest of the Erie 

 Railroad, the following communication was 

 submitted to the House : 



ASSEMBLY CHAMBER, April 1, 1868. 

 To the Hon. Speaker of the Assembly : 



I, E. M. K. Glenn, a member of this House, from 

 my seat in this House, do charge as follows : 



1. I charge that the report on the Erie Eailroad Bill 

 was bought. 



2. I charge that a portion of the vote on this floor, 

 in adopting the said report, was bought. 



3. I charge that members of this House were en- 

 gaged in buying their fellow-members. 



4. I charge that a portion of the vote on the Harlem 

 Milk Bill was bought. 



5. I charge that some of the committees of this 

 House charge for reports. 



6. I charge corruption, deep, dark, and damning, 

 on a portion of this House. 



I ask the adoption of the following : 



JSesolved, That the Speaker appoint a committee of 

 five to investigate the foregoing charges, that three 

 of the committee be taken from that portion of the 

 House that voted no on the Erie Eailroad report, and 

 two be taken from that part that voted aye, and that 

 the committee have power to employ counsel ^and 

 send for persons and papers ; the committee to sit in 

 this chamber during the recess of the Legislature. 

 The committee may employ a clerk. 



Mr. Glenn's motives in making these charges 

 having been called in question, he declared 

 that he made them in behalf of no company or 

 corporation. He had been offered five hun- 

 dred dollars for his vote, and knew a man who 

 had been offered twelve hundred dollars. He 

 claimed in the name of justice that this matter 

 be " probed to the bottom." A committee was 

 appointed to investigate these grave charges, 

 but Mr. Glenn declined to serve on that com- 

 mittee on account of the feeble state of his 

 health, but asked that he might be represented 

 by counsel in supporting the accusations which 

 he had made. This privilege was not allowed, 

 but a committee was appointed to carry out 

 the investigation. Mr. Glenn being summoned 

 before that committee, was unwilling to give 

 his testimony, because it would implicate one 

 of the men before whom he was required to 

 testify; and on the following day he accused 

 that member of the committee by name before 

 the Assembly of offering him five hundred dol- 

 lars for his vote, and asked that he be relieved 

 from taking part in the investigation. The 

 committee decided that there was no ground 

 for the charges either against the gentleman 

 named or any other member of the House, and 

 Mr. Glenn thereupon sent in his resignation in 

 a letter of some length, in which he reiterated 

 the charges already made. It was decided not 

 to receive this document, as the House had 

 nothing to do with the'resignation of members, 

 if they saw fit to vacate their places. In the 

 discussion on this subject, the general opinion of 

 members appeared to be that the member who 

 was so indignant at the offer of five hundred 

 dollars for his vote must be insane. 



The canal system of New York contributes 

 in no small degree to the commercial prosper- 

 ity of the State. The total length of these pub- 

 lic works, with their feeders, is 894 miles ; the 

 total length of navigable rivers and lakes, con- 

 nected by canals, is 381 miles, thus giving the 

 State about 1,275 miles of inland navigation. 

 The number of bridges on these canals is 1,318, 

 and the number of locks is 565. The value of 

 the work done during the fiscal year 18C8 was 



