may pass establishing a separate election at the house now the residence of Thomas Hughes, at Oakland crossroads in the northeastern section of said county: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected, there being no notice as required by law. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition and documents of sundry citizens of Fayette county, to them referred, praying that an act may pass creating a new county out of said county within the following boundary lines, to wit: Beginning at the mouth of Gauly river, thence with and along said river as it meanders to the mouth of Meadow river, thence up and along said Meadow river as it meanders with the Fayette county line, and thence with said line to New river, thence down New river to the place of beginning; with the seat of justice at or near the forty or forty-sixth mile post west of Lewisburg on the James river and Kanawha turnpike road, as a majority of the voters of said new county shall determine after its formation: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for want of poll books. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition. of sundry citizens of the counties of Preston, Taylor and Barbour counties, to them referred, together with certain pollbooks for each county, praying the formation of a new county of a part of each of said counties within certain boundary lines in said petition described, the seat of justice whereof to be at Evansville in the county of Preston: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for want of notice required by law and defect of pollbooks, not having taken the vote or opened a poll at all the places of voting in the said several counties. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration a resolution of the house of delegates, directing them "to enquire into the expediency of passing a law authorizing the governor of the commonwealth to have the public lot contiguous to the scalehouse paved; and also to require all persons selling beef cattle in the City of Richmond to have the same weighed on the public scales by the weighmaster appointed by law for that purpose:" Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That it is inexpedient to pass such a law so authorizing the governor, or to require all persons selling beef cattle in the City of Richmond to have the same weighed on the public scales, &c. The committee of claims have taken into consideration the petition of the president and directors of the Lynchburg and Buffaloe springs turnpike company, asking to be paid the amount of loss by said company in the sale of state scrip, and have adopted the following resolution: Resolved, That the prayer of said petition be rejected. The committee of claims have taken into consideration the resolution for refunding to Thomas Towson, late sheriff of Stafford county, the amount of damages and costs paid by him, by virture of a judgment obtained by the auditor against him, and have adopted the following resolution : Resolved, That it is inexpedient to make such allowance. The committee on the militia laws have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of the of ficers of the 47th and 88th regiments of Virginia militia, in the county of Albemarle, to them referred, praying for the restoration of the office and pay of brigade inspectors, and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petition be rejected. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of sundry citizens of the counties of Tazewell, Wythe and Smyth, to them referred, praying that an act may pass forming a new county out of said counties, according to certain boundary lines in said petition described, to be called Polk county: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected, there being neither notice, pollbooks or any place designated for the seat of justice. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of the board of trustees for the town of Lewisburg, in the county of Greenbrier, to them referred, praying that an act may pass extending the limits of said town, so as to embrace the lots of certain persons therein mentioned, and investing the said trustees with power to impose such taxes as they may deem just and reasonable, and required by an enlightened and judicious exercise and extension of the trust confided to them: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for want of notice required under the 23d rule of the house of delegates. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of sundry residents in or near Woodstock, in the county of Shenandoah, to them referred, representing that they form an association under the name of Richabite division No. 31, being a branch of the Sons of Temperance, praying the general assembly to grant them an act of incorporation, whereby they and their successors shall be declared a body corporate, and as such to sue and be sued, and to enforce by law the rules and regulations adopted by its members for their government, and also for the proceedings of the order: Provided, That such by-laws, rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with, or contrary to the constitution and laws of this state; and to hold real and personal property to an amount not exceeding three thousand dollars: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected. The committee on agriculture and manufactures have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of Abram M'Colluck and sundry other citizens of Ohio county, to them referred, praying the passage of a law authorizing the county court of Ohio county at its annual county levy, to impose such a tax on dogs in said. county as in their opinion may be proper; permitting, however, each householder to keep one dog free of taxation, and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of the said petition be rejected for want of the notice required by the 23rd rule of the house. In conformity to the thirty-second rule of the house of delegates, the committee of privileges and elections have examined the returns of the sheriffs and other officers of members of the present house of delegates, and submit the following report: Your committee find that there are returns from the counties of Accomack, Albemarle, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Berkeley, Braxton, Lewis and Gilmer, Brunswick, Buckingham, Cabell and Wayne, Campbell, Caroline, Charles City and New Kent, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Franklin, Giles and Mercer, Gloucester, Goochland, Greenesville, Halifax, Hampshire, Hanover, Harrison and Doddridge, Henry, James City, York and Williamsburg, Jefferson, Kanawha, King & Queen, King William, Lancaster and Richmond, Lee, Logan, Loudoun, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Marion, Mathews and Middlesex, Mason and Jackson, Monongalia, Monroe, Morgan, Nansemond, Nelson, Norfolk City, Norfolk County, Northumberland, Page, Patrick, Pendleton, Petersburg, Pittsylvania, Pocahontas, Powhatan, Preston, Prince Edward, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond City, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Southampton, Stafford, Surry, Sussex, Tyler, Doddridge and Wetzel, Warren and Clarke, Westmoreland, Wood, Ritchie and Doddridge, Wythe and Pulaski. It appears to your committee that there are no returns from the counties of Alleghany, Amelia, Amherst, Botetourt, Brooke, Culpeper, Cumberland, Fayette and Nicholas, Floyd, Grayson and Carroll, Greenbrier, Hardy, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King George, Marshall, Mecklenburg, Montgomery and Pulaski, Northumberland, Nottoway, Ohio, Orange and Greene, Princess Anne, Prince George, Randolph and Barbour, Spottsylvania, Taylor, Tazewell and Washington. Your committee have also examined the certificates of the oaths of the members of the present house of delegates, and find that Thomas S. Haymond, Andrew Brown, James P. Edmundson, John G. Brown, Naason Bare, John M'Pherson, Samuel Gresham, John Gaines, Thomas Robinson, James F. Harper, Shimuel Godwin, John W. Thompson, took the said oaths on the 5th day of December, that Hannibal Chandler, Benjamin R. Floyd, Samuel E. Goodson, James Castleman, John W. Horner, Thomas H. Gillespie, John S. Burdett, John B. Freeman, James P. Schooley, C. C. M'Intyre, John Poindexter, jr., Upton Edmondson, Robert A. Banks, Wiley H. Oldham, Christopher T. Brown, Charles B. Waggoner, William O. Goode, Edwin A. Williams, Christopher J. Beirne, J. W. Breathed, Hugh H. Kelly, Charles Perrow, Samuel Watts, George D. Harper, George T. Yerby, Edwin Nelms, Asa Oliver, Daniel M. Edgington, David Hargrave, Edmund C. Fitzhugh, Alexander R. Holladay, William S. Goodwin, Thomas M. Tate, Daniel Stickley, John N. Hill, William H. Morison, John F. M'Elhenney, Charles P. Dorman, Thomas Davis, Joseph Mayo, John W. Tyler, Thomas H. Daniel, Edward Tatum, Samuel C. Anderson, Anderson N. Newman, John W. Stone, John W. Syme, Buckner Fairfax, Chastain Cocke, William Cackley, Burr W. Harrison, Whitmell P. Tunstall, James Lanier, Sinclair Ballard, Richmond T. Lacy, William Richmond, Wyatt Cardwell, John W. Jones, Daniel F. Slaughter, Henry P. Irving, Robert Wallace, Spicer Patrick, Andrew Hunter, Thomas P. Chisman, William Howard, Lawrence Roane, Overton R. Dillard, John A. Lancaster, H. Hill, William R. Smith, John S. Duncan, George Stillman, R. F. Darracott, Daniel Thompson, Asa Hiett, John C. Carper, James H. Carson, Samuel B. Major, John B. Stovall, William H. Walker, John B. Calwell, John Carroll, Walter D. Leake, James M. G. Dickinson, Richard P. Jones, Cornelius White, Thomas R. Love, Thomas Fox, S. A. J. Evans, John F. Wall, Charles L. Mosby, John Morris, William P. Bocock, George W. Harrison, Thomas Bambrick, James Bennett, Adam Small, William L. Boak, Reaves S. Scruggs, William M. Burwell, Chapman Johnson, jr., Hugh W. Sheffey, S. D. M'Dearmon, Paulus Powell, Lewis E. Harvie, Douglas B. Layne, W. D. Hart, Bazeleel Brown, William B. Finney, James W. Custis, took the said oaths on the 7th day of December; William F. Thompson, Charles C. Lee, took the said oaths on the 8th day of December, Cincinnatus W. Newton took the said oath on the 9th day of December, John F. Maclin took the said oath on the 10th day of December, Andrew H. Byrd took the said oath on the 11th day of December, and that William A. Street took the said oath on the 14th day of December; James M. Stephenson and Robert E. Scott, took the said oaths on the - day of December, and William B. Thompson took the same on the 7th December 1846. It appears to your committee that there is no certificate of the oaths of Henry Sturm and James F. Strother. The committee of finance have, according to order, had under consideration the expediency of reporting bill No. 146 of last session, authorizing constables to collect the taxes, levies and poor rates returned by the sheriff's as due from insolvents, and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of said committee, That it is inexpedient to take action on said matter. The committee of finance, to whom was referred the memorial of Eli Phlegar and others, "praying the passage of a law to prohibit the grant of license for the retail of ardent spirits," have, according to order, had the same under consideration and come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of said committee, That the prayer of said petition be rejected. The committee on the militia laws have, according to order, had under consideration the resolution to them referred, instructing them "to enquire into the expediency of reporting a bill repealing the act passed March 30th, 1839, requiring the brigadier generals of this commonwealth to review the regiments in their respective brigades, so far as that act applies to those regiments which have heretofore or may hereafter avail themselves of the provisions of the act passed January 20th, 1846, whereby it is made lawful for a majority of the commissioned officers of any regiment of militia in this commonwealth, at the training of officers, to substitute battalion in lieu of regimental musters," and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That it is inexpedient to report the said bill. The committee for courts of justice have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of David Keblinger, "praying for a divorce from his wife," to them referred, and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of the said petition be rejected. The committee on the militia laws have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of the officers and privates of a troop of cavalry in the county of Clarke to them referred, praying for the passage of an act authorizing the governor to furnish said company with the customary arms for a company of cavalry, and have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of the said petition be rejected. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of sundry citizens of Brooke county, praying that a separate election be established at the house of in the town of New Cumberland, situate in the upper end of said county; and also at the same time the memorial of sundry other citizens of said county remonstrating against the establishment of such separate election, severally to them referred: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for failure to give the notice required by law, and also in consideration of said remonstrance. The committee of propositions and grievances have, according to order, had under consideration the petition of sundry citizens of the county of Warren to them referred, praying that an act may pass establishing a separate election in the village of Howellsville at the house now the residence of Edward Feagans in said county: Whereupon, Resolved as the opinion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for failure to give notice required by law. The committee of schools and colleges have considered the petition of James L. R. Adkins of Bedford county, asking payment of his claim for teaching poor children in 1844, and the committee have come to the following resolution thereupon: Resolved, That it is inexpedient to make such payment. The committee of schools and colleges have, according to order, enquired into the expediency of paying to Robert Hall the sum of forty-two dollars and fifty cents, on account of the tuition of poor children in the county of Richmond, in the year 1845, and the committee have come to the following resolution: Resolved, That it is inexpedient to make such payment. The committee of schools and colleges have enquired into the expediency of authorizing the payment of $35 17 cents to Leroy Dixon of Matthews county, on account of the tuition of poor children in 1843, '44 and '45, and the committee have come to the following resolution: Resolved, That it is inexpedient to authorize such payment. The committee of schools and colleges have enquired into the expediency of allowing to Lewis C. Booker of the county of Gloucester, the sum of forty-two dollars and thirty-two cents, on account of the tuition of poor children in 1845, and the committee have come to the following resolution: Resolved, That it is inexpedient to make such allowance. The committee to whom was referred so much of the governor's message as relates to the expenditures upon the governor's house, report that they have discharged that duty and examined minutely every change and alteration which has been made in the executive mansion and the buildings connected therewith, and take great pleasure in stating that very ample changes, conducive to the health, comfort and convenience of those who may occupy that building have been effected. The governor's house which for many years, has been in some particular portions of it in a state of dilapidation and decay, has been neatly repaired. The entire subterranean arrangements have been changed, producing a degree of comfort and convenience in the general economy of the establishment highly creditable to the taste as well as the practical good sense of the governor, under whose immediate superintendence the changes and improvements have been made. To complete the repairs so well begun, and indeed to preserve the building entire, a further appropriation of money will be necessary, in order to rebuild and repair the several porches, &c. attached to the house. Your committee are of opinion that the sum of one thousand dollars will be sufficient for that purpose, and accordingly they recommend that the accounts incurred for the repairs already made as well as this sum be allowed for that purpose. The joint committee of the two houses of the legislature raised and "charged to enquire into the arrangement between the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company and the Port Walthall steamboat association, and to report whether the said arrangement was authorized either by the action of the stockholders or by the charter of said company, and also to enquire into any other arrangement made by the said Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company with any other company or individuals, in relation to the use and employment of the funds of said company, and whether the same was authorized by the charter of said company, and to make the said enquiries in relation to the Petersburg and Richmond railroad company, the Petersburg railroad company and the Portsmouth and Roanoke railroad company, and that the said committee enquire into the circumstances attending the late change in the presidency of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company; and to whom the memorial of Robert A. Mayo and others was referred," have, according to order, considered the same, and have caused various persons to appear and testify before them; the depositions of whom, with all the evidence collected and relating to the points of enquiry committed to the committee, are herewith returned. And thereupon the committee adopted the following resolution: Whereas the present session of the general assembly is near its close, and the amount of business of the two houses is such as would preclude any legislative action on the subjects referred to the committee, if any should be deemed necessary; and whereas the evidence herewith returned furnishes the foundation of such legislation as the next general assembly may in its wisdom adopt by way of amendment of the general railroad law, or otherwise: Therefore, be it Resolved, That this committee ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subjects to them referred. Resolved, That the chairman of each committee constituting the joint committee "charged with the duty of investigating the conduct of certain railroad companies," be instructed to ask that an allowance of three dollars per day be made to the clerk for attending the meetings of said committee. WM. AMBLER, Chairman of the Committee on the part of Senate. On motion of Mr. LEE the house adjourned until to-morrow 10 o'clock. TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1847. A communication was received from the senate by their clerk, which was read as follows: The senate have passed the bill, entitled IN SENATE, MARCH 15, 1847. "An act concerning Edward S. Gay of the public guard." (No. 144.) They have also passed the bill, entitled "An act imposing taxes for the support of government," (No. 189,) with amendments, in which they request the concurrence of the house of delegates. The said amendments being read, the second, twenty-first, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth amendments were agreed to; the third amendment was amended on motion of Mr. SHEFFEY, and as amended agreed to; and the residue of the amendments were severally disagreed to. Ordered, That Mr. STOVALL inform the senate thereof and request their concurrence in the said amendment to their third amendment. A motion was made by Mr. MAYO that the house adopt the following resolution: Resolved, That a select committee be appointed to enquire into the expediency of amending the charter of the Richmond and Ohio railroad company. And the question being put thereupon was determined in the negative. On motion of Mr. CASTLEMAN, Resolved, That leave be given to bring in a bill to relieve the sheriff of Clarke county from a fine imposed upon him for failing to pay in due time certain funds arising from the tax on store licenses. The SPEAKER deferred announcing the committee to bring in said bill until to-morrow. Mr. STOVALL, from the committee of finance, presented the following bill: No. 356. A bill authorizing a temporary loan for the use of the commonwealth, which on his motion was read the first time, and on motion of Mr. LEAKE the farther consideration thereof was indefinitely postponed. Resolved, That the said bill be rejected. On motion of Mr. STEPHENSON the following report was taken up and read, and having been amended was agreed to, viz: The select committee have, according to order, had under consideration the joint resolutions of the general assembly of the state of Ohio, to them referred, and beg leave to report, that they have examined carefully the questions in controversy between the state of Ohio and this commonwealth as to the proper boundary of territory and jurisdiction between the two states. The committee are of opinion that the title of Virginia to the territory northwest of the Ohio river, as to so much thereof as was within the limits of her charter, was clear and indisputable, and moreover has been so long recognized and acquiesced in by the governments both of the confederation and of the Union, that it ought not to be considered as open to discussion. The state of Virginia having title to such territory on the 30th December 1783 authorized her delegates in congress to convey to the United States all of such territory "lying and being to the northwest of the river Ohio." A cession thereof was made soon thereafter in pursuance of this authority and in conformity with its terms. The committee are satisfied that according to the true intent and proper legal interpretation of her said deed of cession, Virginia reserved to herself her former title, as well of soil and jurisdiction as of sovereign dominion over the whole river Ohio, so far as it lay within the limits of her charter, and that consequently the true boundary between Virginia and Ohio is the northern or northwestern bank of the river from the western boundary line of Pennsylvania to the eastern boundary line of the state of Kentucky. The committee are also satisfied that the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Virginia is coextensive with the bed of the river Ohio between the banks, at all times, whether the entire bed be at all times covered by the water of the river or not, and that as well in regard to the soil of such bed, when covered by the water, as when it is left bare by the temporary receding of the water. The committee express these opinions with some confidence, notwithstanding the diversity of opinion which prevails among the judges of the general court as disclosed in the opinions of the judges who sat in the trial of the case of "The commonwealth v. Garner, &c." With the utmost respect and deference for that high court, the committee are of opinion that the judgment in that case ought not to be regarded as affecting the right of Virginia to claim the sovereignty and jurisdiction over the whole of the river between Ohio and Virginia. Although a majority of the judges who sat in that case were of opinion that the jurisdiction of Virginia was not coextensive with the whole bed of the river, yet they were only eight judges of a court which when full consists of twentytwo, and these eight judges differed widely amongst themselves, both as to the actual boundary of jurisdiction and the manner in which it was to be exercised. The general court, although the court of highest authority in the commonwealth in criminal cases, is itself an inferior tribunal, and its decisions of no binding authority except in criminal prosecutions. The committee, therefore, cannot regard such judgment as an authoritative exposition of the law, and the weight which an united and harmonious judgment of even this inferior tribunal would have, is greatly diminished by the inconsistent and conflicting opinions of those who concurred in the particular judgment in the case referred to. While the committee entertain these opinions as to the rights of Virginia, diversity of opinion exists in regard to them. The state of Ohio insists upon her right to a different boundary from that which is claimed for Virginia, and certainly she has the same right to insist on her claim as we have to maintain ours. It is a conflict of title asserted by two sovereign states, which has produced, and may again produce exciting controversies between the people bordering on the river, and which may involve serious collisions between the states themselves. It is therefore obviously desirable to both, and the common duty of both, if practicable, to settle by amicable negotiation and treaty this distracting controversy. The state of Ohio has offered to do so. This friendly and frank offer on her part ought to be met in a corresponding spirit by this commonwealth. The effort at compromise may result in settling forever, on terms mutually satisfactory, a dispute which otherwise will be a source of perpetual litigation, excitement and collision. The committee, therefore, recommend the adoption of the following resolutions, which are copied mutatis mutandis, from the resolutions adopted on the 8th February last by the general assembly of Ohio: Resolved by the general assembly of the state of Virginia, That a board to consist of three commissioners, citizens of Virginia, be appointed by the governor of this state, who shall be authorized to meet a like board, to be appointed by the state of Ohio, at such time and place as may be agreed upon, and to enter into a compact with such Ohio commissioners, settling the jurisdiction or boundary, or both, upon that part of the Ohio river which divides the states of Virginia and Ohio: Provided, That such compact shall not be considered as binding until the same be ratified by the said states respectively, and by the congress of the United States. Resolved, That the governor be authorized to supply any vacancy which may happen in the board of Virginia commissioners, and that said board report their proceedings under these resolutions to the general assembly of Virginia at the next session, and that they be allowed the sum of four dollars per day for each day they may be occupied in the business of their commission, and four dollars for every twenty miles of travel, to be paid out |