OF THE HONORABLE SENATE, NOVEMBER SESSION, 1832. WEDNESDAY, Nov. 21, 1832. The General Court of the State of New-Hampshire, convened this day, at the Capitol in Concord, pursuant to adjournment, and the Senate assembled. Present, From District No. 1, Hon. Daniel P. Drown, No. 2, Hon. Aaron Whittemore, No. 5, Hon. James Farrington, No. 12, Hon. Jared W. Williams, No. 6, Hon. Benning M. Bean, President. John Whipple, Assistant Clerk. On motion by Mr. Whittemore- Ordered, That the Clerk inform the House of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate have assembled, and are ready to proceed to the business of the session. On motion by Mr. Drown The Senate adjourned. AFTERNOON. Met according to adjournment. The Hon. Eleazer Jackson, Jr. the Senator from district No. 10, appeared and took his seat. The Hon. Jesse Carr, the Senator from District No. 3, also appeared and took his seat. A Message from the House of Representatives by their Clerk"Mr. President-I am directed to inform the Hon. Senate, the! a quorum of the House of Representatives have assembled and are ready to proceed to the business of the session." And be withdrew. A Message from the House of Representatives by their Clerk"Mr. President--I am directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives have passed a Resolution appointing Messrs. Harvey of Sutton, Nesmith, and Page of Gilmanton, with such as the Senate may join, a Committee to wait on his Excellen cy the Governor, and inform him that quoruus of both Branches of the Legislature have assembled and are ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate." And he withdrew. On motion by Mr. Jackson- Resolved, That the Senate do concur in the appointment of a Committee agreeably to-said Resolution. Ordered, That Mr. Farrington be joined to said Committee on the part of the Senate. Ordered, That the Clerk notify the House of Representatives accordingly. A Message from the House of Representatives by their Clerk"Mr. President-The House of Representatives have passed a Resolution appointing Messrs. Graves of Brentwood, French of Newport, and Dodge of Society Land, with such as the Senate may join, a Committee to nominate a suitable person to officiate as Chaplain to the Legislature during the present session." And he withdrew. On motion by Mr. Whittemore Resolved, That the Senate do concur in the appointment of a Committee agreeably to said Resolution. Ordered, That Mr. Drown be joined to said Committee on the part of the Senate. Ordered,. That the Clerk notify the House of Representatives accordingly. Mr. Farrington, from the joint Committee, appointed to wait on his Excellency the Governor, and inform him that a quorum of both Branches of the Legislature are assembled, and ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make, Reported, That the Committee had attended to the duty assigned them. A Message from his Excellency the Governor, by Mr. Metcalf the Secretary. "Mr. President--I have a communication in writing from his Excellency the Governor, for the Honorable Senate. And he withdrew. The Message from his Excellency the Governor was read, and is as follows: f Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : Is conformity with the existing law relating to the choice, of Electors of President and Vice President of the United States, you have again assembled, and under circumstances which I am hap py to believe, are generally gratifying to us, both in our State and national relations. Since you hast separated, the various returns from our agricultu ral industry have been such as to satisfy all the reasonable hopes of those concerned in that cardinal interest, and to give us the assurance of an abundant supply of the fruits of the earth, until the return of another harvest. A merciful Providence has hitherto granted us an exemption, which, it is hoped, the salubrity of our climate, and the frugal, temperate, and moral habits of our popu lation may continue to us, from the dangers threatened by a destroying pestilence which has come near us in its progress, and carried terror and death into many less favored portions of our country. We have again passed happily through the agitating scenes of an excited political contest. An important issue involving the choice of the two first officers of our Republic, and, with it, the character of our national policy for the next presidential term, in regard to many questions supposed to be of vital consequence, has been recently submitted to the American people for their decision. The result will, I trust, be found to be auspicous to the continued prosperity of the best interests of our beloved count try. The express purpose of your present meeting, though of high importance, will, from its nature, detain you but a short time; yet you will probably not separate, without entering upon the consideration of such other subjects as have usually engaged the at-" tention of the Legislature at each recurrence of this particular period, or of those upon which legislative action has commenced, and which may therefore be considered as already before you. It has heretofore been usual, at the November sessions corresponding with this one, to make a new apportionment of taxes throughout the State, in compliance with a provision of the Constitution which requires a new valuation of estates to be made once in five years or oftener. The act of your last session, providing for the return of inventories, was doubtless intended as a step preparatory to this measure; and it may therefore be presumed, that much of your time and attention during the present session, will be Occupied with the consideration of this subject. Every thing connected with the business of taxation, has peculiar interest in the view of a people careful of their rights. Of all the powers delegated to their agents, that of providing the means of defraying the public charges of government, is, perhaps, the most reluctantly conceded, and watched in its exercise, with the most suspicious vigilance. No legislative acts relating to other subjects, are, in general, canvassed and sifted with so jealous n scrutiny. Although disposed to be sufficiently liberal in providing for all objects of acknowledged general benefit, yet the people not only demand in the public disbursements and expenditures, a cau tious selection of the objects of appropriation, and a severe and rigid economy in the administration of their finances, but also, an exact and uniform distribution among its several parts, of the bur dens necessary to be imposed upon the whole community. No duty, therefore, which devolves upon Legislators, is found to be so pregnant with difficulties and perplexity, as the exercise of the pow er of levying taxes, and consequently none which demands of them a more entire and faithful devotion of their time and services to the purpose of rendering its performance acceptable to their constituents. It must be difficult, and, it may be, impossible to determine with absolute exactness the amount of the public charges which should justly be borne by each town in the State, yet a full, patient and searching investigation of the subject in all its relations, will, without doubt, enable you to arrive at a proportion that will be considered a very satisfactory approximation to it. Based, as taxation is designed to be with us, upon means of payment, no representations, however specious, or evasions however artful, should be permitted to save taxable property from the equitable operation of the law. Direct taxes, always unwelcome, become intoler·able when a perfect confidence in their equality is wanting. By a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d of June last, I was "requested to take proper means to ascertain the number of deaf and dumb persons who are proper objects of assistance from this State and also the number of insane persons in this State." As the most direct and least expensive method of complying with the request, I addressed letters of inquiry con- . taining copies of the resolution, to the select men of the several towns in the State, requesting them to furnish me, sensonably, with the information desired. In one hundred and forty-one towns, being all from which returns have been received, there appears to be of indigent deaf and dumb persons between the ages of ten and thirty, exclusive of those who have been, and now are, at the American Assylum at Hartford, forty five; under the age of ten years, twelve. The whole number of insane, reported to me from the same towns, is one hundred and eighty-nine; ninety males, and ninety-nine females, one hundred and three of whom are paupers. The whole number of those now in confinement is seventy-six, of whom twenty-five are in private houses, thirty-four in poor houses, seven in cells and cages, six in chains and irons, and four in jails. Of those not now in confinement, many are stated to have been, at times, secured in private houses, some have been hand-cuffed, others have been confined in cells, and some in chains and jails. The sums ascertained to have been expended for the maintenance and security of a part only of those reported to me, amount, annually, to nine thousand three hundred and ninety-six dollars and fifty-eight cents. Estimating the expense of the remainder to have been in the same proportion, the aggregate annual cost of supporting and taking care of the whole number returned, is found to amount to the sum of fourteen thousand five hundred and fiftyseven dollars. The letters received, together with abstracts of their contents, presenting a more particular view of the claims of the deaf and dumb, and of the situation and sufferings of the insane, will, in due time, be communicated to the House of Representatives. It may be expected that returns from the towns not yet heard from, will considerably increase the numbers of each of these classes. I am informed that in the rapid extinguishment of the national debt, two thirds of the three per cent. stock held by this State has been lately redeemed, and the money deposited in the United States Branch Bank at Portsmouth; that the interest on the same ceased on the first day of October last; and that the remainder of the said stock will be paid off by the first of January next, the whole amounting to the sum of sixty-six thousand two hundred and ninety dollars and fifty-one cents. A long course of enlightened reasoning and successful experi ment has brought our system of laws to that degree of maturity, when it may be well, perhaps, to adopt, as a useful guide in future legislation, the safe maxim of exercising extreme caution in effecting, either sudden or important changes in the spirit or principles of our institutions, or extraordinary variations in their form, or accustomed manner of operation. It may be the wiser course to tolerate trivial and inconsiderable defects in our laws, rather than incur the hazards and inconveniences of incautious and mutable legislation. When, however, evils of acknowledged magnitude are discoverable, wisdom and duty concur in saying that the Legislature should not hesitate to provide and apply the requisite remedy. Our militia system is now almost universally admitted to require essential alterations, and it is destined, I hope, to take some forin at your present session, which shall divest it of its objectionable provisions, secure its efficiency, and remove from the legislature a constantly recurring subject of discussion. Before closing this communication I cannot forbear adverting to a subject which deeply concerns all who feel interested in preserving and perpetuating our institutions and form of government. No one accustomed to watch with any degree of attention the course of public affairs, can have been an indifferent observer of the progress of certain new and dangerous opinions in regard to the respective powers of the general and state governments, which have been gradually spreading until they have unhappily placed one of the members of our confederacy in an attitude of hostility and almost defiance to the Union. Wide, and perhaps irreconciliable differences of opinion, have, it is well known, long existed in regard to the extent of the powers conceded to the general gover |