Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Ans. The organization of the Norfolk and Port Walthall association, and the running of the Mount Vernon during the past season between Acquia creek and Baltimore, by the steamboat company, were, in my opinion, measures of the first importance to the interests of the railroad company; and I know of no other measures that would more effectually protect its interests-but for those measures the railroad company would certainly have lost a large amount of its legitimate travel, and would not have been enabled to have paid a dividend of 6 per cent. to the stockholders.

Ques. 7. Please state your opinion as to the expediency of the arrangement made in 1844 between the companies on the inland line and Messrs. Jacob Peters & Co., for running stages on the Baltimore and Washington City turnpike?

Ans. The arrangements with Peters & Co. for running stages between Baltimore and Washington, were eminently successful, in consequence of which the fare on the Washington and Baltimore railroad has been very much reduced, and I have no doubt that the benefits which have already accrued to the inland route, independent of the future, has more than compensated for any amount expended under that arrangement.

Ques. 8. In the testimony of Mr. J. M. Wickham it is stated, "I may here add, that regularly at every meeting of the board of directors of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, I enquired of the president, Mr. Moncure Robinson, whether the Port Walthall association was paying expenses upon their undertaking, and that he regularly answered that they were about paying expenses, and that I had no suspicion that any other loss was incurring except that of the wear and tear of the boat, until Mr. Robinson, in the presence of this committee, acknowledged that a loss of about $ 6000 had been incurred upon the transaction." Will you please state your recollection of Mr. Robinson's answers to enquiries made at the meetings of the board of directors, in regard to the operations of the Port Walthall association?

Ans. Whenever the enquiry has been made at the meetings of the board of directors of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, whether the Port Walthall association were paying their expenses, the general answer by the president has been that they were not. There may have been one or two exceptions when the statement was made in reference to a particular or limited period of time. It was well understood by the subscribers to the Port Walthall association, as far as I knew them, that they expected to lose by the line in the beginning, for which reason an amount of capital sufficient for that purpose was provided.

Ques. 9. It is stated in the testimony of Mr. J. M. Wickham, that at the time of ordering the Mount Vernon the president "proposed to build a boat in Philadelphia to be called the Mount Vernon, of great speed and adapted to ice navigation." The Powhatan was stated to "be wholly unfitted for this purpose." Did not the president on the contrary state to the board as a reason for ordering the Mount Vernon and selling the Augusta, that the Augusta was wholly unfitted for ice, and that another boat was wanted like the Powhatan, adapted both to winter and summer service, but of as high speed as was consistent with the qualities of an ice boat?

Ans. The president was authorized to have a boat built, and when she was nearly completed she was named the Mount Vernon. She was to be built for an ice boat, as well as for a summer boat, and to have as much speed as was deemed practicable and prudent to give a boat of that description. He stated as a reason for selling the Augusta, that she was unfit for an ice boat, and it was necessary to have another boat like the Powhatan, adapted both to summer and winter, to be used in case of injury to the Powhatan. This was indispensably necessary in case of a protracted season of ice on the Potomac, as no one boat would be able in such a season to keep the river open for any length of time. I never heard it stated by him or any one else that the Powhatan was wholly unfit for an ice boat, on the contrary it was always stated and known to me (at least) that she was a very superior

ice boat.

Ques. 10. Was there ever an order of the board for employing either of the boats of the company on the Rappahannock, and has either of the company's boats ever been employed on that river, and was it not one of the purposes of the board in employing the Mount Vernon on the Potomac between Acquia creek and Baltimore to have this boat whilst she was employed within reach, and under their immediate control in the event of an accident to the Powhatan?

Ans. There never was an order of the board for employing either of the boats on the Rappahannock river, as the record will shew, nor have either of the boats been so employed. The reasons for employing the Mount Vernon on the Potomac are as stated by that arrangement she lays at Acquia creek at least three days in the week ready to take the place of the Powhatan if required, and did make the trip to Washington on one or more days when repairs to the Powhatan were necessary.

Ques. 11. Has not the Mount Vernon been constantly since she was built, at least three days of each week at Acquia creek?

Ans. I have answered this in the preceding interrogatory.

Ques. 12. In the testimony of Mr. J. M. Wickham it is stated: "I frequently reminded Mr. Robinson at the board of directors of the inconsistency of this arrangement, the fast boats being employed elsewhere, and the Powhatan, the slowest boat, and without any relay in case of accidents, being the only boat on the Potomac." Have you any recollection of any such remarks at the board?

Ans. I have no recollection of any such remark of Mr. Wickham at the board.

Ques. 13. Is not the question always taken on every subject submitted to the board?
Ans. It is.

Ques. 14. Was not the last dividend on the stock of the steamboat company declared by the president and directors, sitting as a board of directors of the steamboat company, without any additional order for the payment of the dividend being deemed necessary by the president and directors, sitting as a board of directors of the railroad company?

Ans. I was not present at the meeting of the board when the last dividend on the stock of the steamboat company was declared, but the record shews the fact, and no order was deemed necessary for the payment of the dividend by the railroad company.

Ques. 15. Is it not the duty of the monthly committee to examine the books of the company as well as the account of monthly receipts and expenditures so far as they deem necessary?

Ans. It is necessary in examining the monthly statements of receipts and expenditures to refer to and examine the books of the company, as far as the same may be necessary for a correct understanding of the accounts. Ques. 16. Has not Mr. M. Robinson's intercourse with the board of directors, as well as yourself, been always courteous and conciliatory?

Ans. It has.

Ques. 17. Has not any unpopularity of Mr. M. Robinson as president of the company been in your opinion mainly ascribable to his devotion to its interests?

Ans. I have no doubt that any unpopularity which may exist against Mr. Robinson is owing to his steady and untiring devotion to the interests of the railroad company. Personally I believe he is on the most friendly and courteous terms with all the presidents and directors of the different railroad and steamboat companies except the president of the Petersburg railroad company, whose course (I have understood) has been so personal and acrimonious towards him as to forbid it.

JAMES BOSHER.

Interrogatories propounded to Mr. G. A. Myers.

Ques. 1. Are you a director of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, and since what time have you been a member of the board?

Ans. I am a director of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, and have acted in that capacity either as a director appointed by the Board of public works, or by the stockholders since June 1836.

Ques. 2. Are you a stockholder of the company; and if yea, what amount of stock is held by you in it? Ans. I am a stockholder of the company, and hold in my own right thirty shares of the old and twenty-one shares of the new stock, and the estate of my father, Samuel Myers deceased, of which I am executor, holds 25 shares of the old, and 18 shares of the new stock of the company.

Ques. 3. Was not the purchase of stock in the steamboat company by the railroad company deemed not only a most advantageous investment in a pecuniary sense, but an object of the highest importance to the railroad company on account of the control it was expected to give to the railroad company in the management of the steamboat line?

Ans. I considered it of the greatest importance to the railroad company that it should have the control of the steamboat company by making an investment in the stock of the latter, to an amount sufficient to effect that object. I was very apprehensive that without it, the whole travel between Washington and Acquia creek by the Potomac, might be arrested through the want of suitable boats on the river, and thereby produce great and serious loss to the railroad company and extreme inconvenience to the public; while I was satisfied that if such control were secured, all these evils would be averted, and the railroad company acquire great pecuniary advantages. Entertaining no doubt of the legality of the investment, I therefore unhesitatingly approved it.

Ques. 4. Was it not distinctly understood by the board of directors at the time that the steamboat stock was purchased by the railroad company, that it would be requisite for the railroad company to advance a considerable proportion of the amount required for the purchase of a second boat adapted to winter or summer service, and when the president was authorized to contract for such a boat under the resolution of the president and directors sitting as the president and directors of the steamboat company on the 15th day of October 1845, did you not consider it the intention of the members present, that the payments for the boat authorized by the board of directors should be made out of any disposable funds of either company?

Ans. I recollect distinctly that soon after the railroad company acquired the control of the steamboat company, at a meeting of the directors of the latter company, the president informed the board that it would be necessary to procure a new boat adapted both to winter and summer service. It was, as I understood, known to the board, that the steamboat company had no funds at the time, and that consequently whatever funds might be requisite for the purpose indicated, must be advanced by the railroad company. I am strongly under the impression that this subject was canvassed at the board of the steamboat company, and that the president further stated to the board, that as the boats of the company would be under the control of the railroad company, and were insured

to an amount more than sufficient to cover any advances which would be made by that company, and that the steamboat company would as a matter of course pay interest upon the advances; and it being also known that all the funds of the steamboat company would pass through the hands of the treasurer of the railroad company, I, as one of the directors of the steamboat company was satisfied that no risk whatever would be incurred in making the advances, and therefore approved of the purchase with the above understanding.

Ques. 5. Do not the statements of the monthly committee of accounts which are spread regularly before the board of directors at their meetings and entered on their minutes, shew the amount of the receipts of, and disbursements on account of the steamboat company? and do not the books of the railroad company shew at all times the state of the account between the railroad and steamboat companies?

Ans. The statements of the monthly committee of accounts, which are laid before the board of directors of the railroad company at their meetings, are open to the examination of every director, and are spread at large upon the minutes of the board. These statements shew distinctly the amount of the monthly receipts and disbursements on account of the steamboat company; while the books of the railroad company at all times open to the inspection of the board, shew the state of the account between the railroad company and steamboat company at all times. Having acted repeatedly as a committee of accounts, I will add that my practice is invariably to examine the disbursements minutely, comparing each charge with the voucher produced to sustain it, and adding up each item in order to ascertain whether the aggregate of the whole is correctly extended. I also add up each column of the journal to test its accuracy. There can of course be no vouchers for the receipts, but the sum of the disbursements being deducted from the sum of the receipts, or vice versa, the smaller sum being deducted from the larger, exhibits the balance. The cash balances are from time to time examined by one of the board. Ques. 6. Was there any occasion for the resolution of the board of directors of the railroad company adopted on the 13th January, directing that "a statement of the accounts between the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, and the Washington and Fredericksburg steamboat company, shall be made out and ready to be presented to the meetings of the board of directors of each company at least once in each quarter;" and was not that resolution in your opinion adopted by the board merely because it was moved by a director, and there was no objection to it?

Ans. As the information called for by the resolution mentioned in the interrogatory was at all times procurable by any director, I saw no necessity for the passage of the resolution-it was passed without objection, however, because it appeared to be the wish of the director moving it.

Ques. 7. Have you ever heard of any complaint being made on the subject of the advances on account of the Mount Vernon previous to the meeting of the 13th January 1847.

Ans. It is only within a short time that I have heard any complaint made about the advances on account of the Mount Vernon. I cannot fix the precise day when I first heard such complaint, but do not think it was previous to the period stated in the interrogatory.

Ques. 8. Will you state your opinion as to the selection of president recently made by the board of directors, and whether you think a more advisable selection could have been made?

Ans. If I had not been entirely satisfied that the recent selection of president was the best that could be made under the existing circumstances, I certainly should not have voted for it. Entertaining that opinion, in which I was fortified by that of other stockholders far more largely interested than myself, I gave the vote without hesitation, and I do not think a more advisable selection could have been made.

9. Question by the Counsel of the Railroad Company.

Will you please say what has been the value of the services of Mr. Moncure Robinson to the railroad company, and what change in its condition was effected by his administration?

Ans. It would be extremely difficult to express my estimate of the value of Mr. Moncure Robinson's services to the railroad company. I will say in brief, however, that all that a thorough and accurate knowledge of all its concerns, and a steady and devoted attachment to its interests, could effect to its advantage has been perpetually manifested by Mr. Robinson from the time he was elected president to the present moment. The change in its condition which was effected by Mr. Robinson's administration, was from one of great depression, to that of great prosperity, in which I now regard it as being.

10. Question by the Counsel of Robert A. Mayo and others.

Are you a partner in the Port Walthall association-if so did you sign any article of agreement-and if you did was that article of agreement a transcript of the resolutions of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company-if there was any addition to those resolutions, please inform us in whose possession such agreement is?

Ans. I am a partner in the Port Walthall association, and did sign articles of agreement, which I believe were a transcript of the resolutions of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company. I know of no addition

to them, except only an agreement in writing by the persons signing it, to take the shares specified opposite to their names-I have never seen the paper since I signed it, and speak only from my present recollection. I do not know in whose possession the agreement is, but understand that it is in the possession of Mr. Wirt Robinson, the president of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company.

Additional Interrogatories propounded to Mr. Gustavus A. Myers.

Ques. 1. In the testimony of Mr. J. M. Wickham, he states at the meeting of the board at which Mr. Edwin Robinson was elected president of the company, as follows: "After a few matters of no consequence had been transacted, Mr. Moncure Robinson rose from his seat to relinquish the chair, intimating that the election would be proceeded in; in advancing to the door, he turned to me, who was understood to be the only opposing voter, and with a very pale face and excited manner, addressing himself to me said: 'I have too large an interest in this company to consent to part with the control of it.'" Do you recollect any such incident as Mr. Wickham describes, and did Mr. Robinson make the remark ascribed to him by Mr. Wickham?

I was present at the meeting of the board of directors of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company when Mr. Edwin Robinson was elected president, and have no recollection of the incident described by Mr. Wickham, or of the remark being made by Mr. Moncure Robinson which is mentioned in the interrogatory.

Ques. 2. A great deal is said in the testimony of Mr. Wickham of the increase of Mr. M. Robinson's salary as president of the company, of his receiving a salary also as president of the Washington and Fredericksburg steamboat company, and in relation to charges for hack hire and tavern expenses, and of "murmurings" among the directors on these subjects? Will you please state the facts in regard to such increase of salary of Mr. Robinson as president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad company, and whether there has been any payment of money in any way or under any head to Mr. Robinson, without full and proper authority and to which he was not entitled?

Ans. By reference to the records of the company, it will be perceived that Mr. M. Robinson's salary as president was increased by the stockholders in general meeting in May 1844, the increase to take effect from the first day of April preceding; and that this measure was approved by all the stockholders except Mr. Munford one of the state directors, and the proxy of the state, Mr. James M. Wickham. Prior to the completion of the railroad to Acquia creek, Mr. Robinson had received as engineer a salary of $1500, in addition to his salary of $2500 as president of the rail-road company. Upon the completion of the road to Acquia creek his salary as engineer having ceased, it was thought by the stockholders that the services he rendered to the company as president were fully worth the additional sum of $500, and the increase accordingly took place as mentioned above. I have never, when acting as à committee of accounts, or at any other time, known of any payment of money whatever to Mr. Robinson without full and proper authority, and to which he was not justly entitled. I have never heard any "murmurings" among the directors on the subjects referred to in the interrogatory.

Ques. 3. Will you please state whether there has not been at all times the fullest and freest conference between the president and yourself on all subjects connected with the affairs of the company, and whether there has been, on the part of the president, any disposition to act either without or against the authority of the board? Ans. I do not think that any measure whatever of importance to the company has ever been undertaken by the president without the fullest and freest conference with myself; and I certainly have never discovered any disposition on his part to act without or against the authority of the board. The fact is that Mr. Robinson's complete familiarity with all the details of the company's business, and his intimate knowledge of its interests, render his suggestions, in my estimation, at all times most valuable, and entitle his recommendations to the highest respect.

Ques. 4. Could not any one acquainted with accounts, at any time on examining the account of the steamboat company, on the books of the railroad company, ascertain the precise state of the account between the two companies ?

Ans. I cannot conceive that a person acquainted with accounts would at any time find it difficult to ascertain the precise state of the account between the railroad company and the steamboat company. It is only necessary to refer to the ledger on which the account of the latter is separately kept, and should the ledger be not posted up to the exact time of the investigation, the subsequent entries in the journal being examined will give the exact result.

Ques. 5. Has a decision ever been pressed on any subject at any meeting of the board, when the members present were not prepared for the question, or when any member desired delay?

Ans. Not to my knowledge or within my recellection.

Ques. 6. Is it not your opinion that the organization of the Norfolk and Port Walthall association, and the running of the Mount Vernon during the past season, between Acquia creek and Baltimore by the steamboat company, were measures of great importance to the interests of the railroad company, and do you not believe that

but for the adoption and continuance of these measures, the railroad companies between Petersburg and Acquia creek would be obliged either to give up competing for the through travel, or to take it at such reduced rates as would make it impracticable to pay a dividend of six per cent. or even less to the stockholders?

Ans. I should not have approved of either of the measures mentioned in the interrogatory if I had not been of opinion that they would be highly promotive of the interests of the railroad company. I believed then and do now believe that without these defensive measures the railroad companies between Acquia creek and Petersburg would be unable to compete for the through travel, or if they obtained it that it could only be accomplished by a reduction of rates so serious as to deprive this company certainly of the power of paying a dividend of six per cent.

Ans. At the time that the arrangement was made between the companies on the inland route and Messrs. Jacob Peters & Co., I thought that it was expedient and proper in order to compel a reduction of the high rate of fare on the Washington and Baltimore railroad, which was operating injuriously upon the inland line. The success attending the arrangement proved its propriety. The fare alluded to has been considerably reduced, and I am of opinion that the consequent increase of travel on the inland line has more than counterbalanced the expense attending the arrangement.

Ans. I have always understood from Mr. Robinson in reply to any enquiries upon the subject, that the Port Walthall association was losing money. It did not take me by surprise, however, for as one of the subscribers I expected that such would the result at first; and I knew that an amount of capital had been subscribed sufficient to meet and provide against such loss.

Ques. 9. It is stated in the testimony of Mr. J. M. Wickham, that at the time of ordering the Mount Vernon, the president "proposed to build a boat in Philadelphia to be called the Mount Vernon, of great speed and adapted to ice navigation.” The Powhatan was stated to "be wholly unfitted for this purpose." Did not the president on the contrary state to the board as a reason for ordering the Mount Vernon and selling the Augusta, that the Augusta was wholly unfitted for ice, and that another boat was wanted like the Powhatan, adapted both to winter and summer service, but of as high speed as was consistent with the qualities of an ice boat?

Ans. I cannot recall the exact terms of the president's explanation of his reason for urging the procurement of the Mount Vernon. I knew however from that explanation that the Augusta was not an ice boat, and that another boat was wanted, adapted both to winter and summer service, and of as high speed as was consistent with the qualities of an ice boat. I also knew that there was one ice boat already on the Potomac, the name of which I did not recollect, and I clearly recognized the propriety of having more than one boat of that description on the Potomac to guard against the danger of accident. I also understood that the Augusta was advised to be sold because she was unfitted for ice.

Ans. I never heard of an order of the board for employing either of the boats of the company on the Rappahannock, until it was mentioned by Mr. Wickham in his testimony before the committee, and I find no such order upon the records of the company. I have never understood that either of the company's boats was employed on the Rappahannock. The purpose of procuring the Mount Vernon was as I have stated, to provide against accident to the other boat, the name of which I understand is the Powhatan, and I certainly was under the impression that the Mount Vernon was always employed within reach and under the immediate control of the board, so as to take the place of the Powhatan in case of accident to the latter.

Ques. 11. Has not the Mount Vernon been constantly since she was built, at least three days of each week at Acquia creek?

Ans. According to the arrangement of the Mount Vernon's trips, she has I believe always been at Acquia creek at least three days in the week since she commenced running.

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