KENTUCKY. 



431 



the loan or forbearance of money which may 

 be agreed on by the parties to such contract, 

 not exceeding ten dollars upon one hundred 

 dollars for a year ; and at the same rate for a 

 greater or less sum, and for a longer or shorter 

 time ; and that no contract, for the payment of 

 a greater rate of interest than six per cent, per 

 annum, shall be binding in law, unless a mem- 

 orandum thereof shall be made in writing, and 

 signed by the party chargeable thereon. 



The bill for the construction of the Cincin- 

 nati & Chattanooga Railway, passing through 

 Central Kentucky, commonly styled "The 

 Southern Kailroad Bill," giving the Cincinnati 

 trustees of that road the right of way in the 

 State, with other privileges, usually granted in 

 such charters to the companies concerned, was 

 looked upon with general and great interest 

 by the people. The proposed road would trav- 

 erse the State for a length of some two hundred 

 and fifty or three hundred miles. The inhab- 

 itants of the places in or near which this line 

 would run were mostly in favor of the bill. 

 In the State at large, also, it had many advo- 

 cates ; but its opponents were more numerous. 

 The latter admitted such a road to be desira- 

 ble, and acknowledged the advantages likely 

 to accrue to the Commonwealth from its oper- 

 ation, but they were nevertheless decidedly 

 opposed to the measure, because, under the 

 circumstances and in the form in which it was 

 proposed, it subjected Kentucky to a sort of 

 domination of the Cincinnati trustees in a por- 

 tion of her territory. It was said : " If Cin- 

 cinnati really wants a road to our southern 

 boundary, let her subscribe stock to a Ken- 

 tucky corporation ; and, if the laws of Ohio at 

 present do not allow her to do that, let her get 

 them amended." 



The bill introduced at this session was warm- 

 ly debated, and acted upon in both Houses, 

 with different results. In the House of Repre- 

 sentatives it was put to the vote on January 

 29th, when it was defeated by a majority of 

 one yeas 43, nays 44. This vote was, on mo- 

 tion, reconsidered on the 26th, and the bill put 

 to its passage again, when it passed by a 

 majority of one yeas' 46, nays 45. It was re- 

 marked that one of the members opposed to 

 the bill was this day absent from the hall. 

 The measure, however, was finally defeated, 

 the Senate having, on February 8th, rejected it 

 by a vote of nays 23, yeas 12. A motion to 

 reconsider was also rejected nays 22, yeas 7. 



In the beginning of February, 1871, the 

 Governor of Georgia appointed three commis- 

 sioners, accredited to the Governor of Ken- 

 tucky, for the purpose of expressing to him 

 and the General Assembly the desire of Georgia 

 1'or a speedy opening of a railway through 

 Central Kentucky, connecting the two States 

 by a more direct communication, for the ben- 

 efit of both. Two of the commissioners ar- 

 rived at Frankfort on February 9th. 



The Governor transmitted to the Legisla- 

 ture a written communication addressed to 



him by the commissioners on the object of 

 their mission. In this paper the commissioners 

 point to some features of the new railroad sys- 

 tem inaugurated in Georgia, as well as to the 

 results expected from its working and prospec- 

 tive enlargement; averring that the coopera- 

 tion of Kentucky, by opening through her cen- 

 tral regions a closer connection with Georgia, 

 will further the practical realization of that 

 plan, to the common advantage of the two 

 States. 



Soon after the rejection of the Southern 

 Railroad Bill by the Legislature, the Cincinnati 

 trustees invoked the action of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment, endeavoring to obtain from Congress 

 what Kentucky had refused to grant them. 

 On the 9th of February, 1871, a Senator from 

 Ohio introduced in the Senate at Washington 

 a bill to promote the construction of the Cin- 

 cinnati Southern Railroad, giving the company 

 incorporated in Ohio a national charter to con- 

 struct and maintain its railroad and telegraph 

 line from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, which was 

 referred. This bill does not mention Kentucky 

 by name, but necessarily implies that the road 

 it provides for must pass through her territory, 

 as it mentions one of the stations on the pro* 

 posed line, at Covington. The press in the 

 State raised a general cry of condemnation, 

 characterizing the bill as an open act of con- 

 gressional interference in State matters. The 

 same sentiment and conviction animated the 

 members of the State Legislature, and united 

 them. Even those who shortly before had 

 warmly advocated and voted for the construc- 

 tion of that road by a charter of the State, ex- 

 pressed now their decided opposition to its 

 being built by congressional charter. The fol- 

 lowing joint resolution, with its preamble, was 

 offered in the House of Representatives on 

 February llth: 



Whereas, It appears that a bill authorizing the city 

 of Cincinnati, through her trustees, under the pro- 

 visions of an act of the Ohio Legislature, known as 

 the "Ferguson Bill," to construct aline of railway 

 across the State of Kentucky, has been introduced 

 into the Senate of the United States ; and whereas, 

 the passage of this bill by the Congress of the United 

 States would be an interference with the rights of 

 this State to control its domestic affairs and to grant 

 acts and powers of incorporation to all companies 

 and persons to exercise corporate privileges and 

 powers within the limits of the State of Kentucky ; 

 and whereas, a failure on the part of this General 

 Assembly to protest against congressional interfer- 

 ence in this question might be construed as a tacit 

 indorsement of such interference, which would result 

 in the establishment of a precedent at once repug- 

 nant to the people of this Commonwealth and at war 

 with the reserved rights of the States : therefore 



Resolved, by the General Assembly of the Common- 

 wealth of Kentucky, That our Senators' are instructed, 

 and our Kepresentatives are requested, to oppose the 

 passage of said bill; and the Secretary of State is 

 directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to each 

 of our Senators and Eepresentatives in Congress. 



The select committee to whom the matter 

 was referred, reported unanimously in favor 

 of the passage of the resolution. In the dis- 

 cussion which took place, some members of 



