Ans. I believe Mr. Taylor is a stockholder in the steam packet company; I have heard so, but I do not know the extent of the interest. I believe Mr. Taylor is the president of the steam packet company, but cannot speak positively, as I have never seen any thing in writing or in print to that effect.

DEAR SIR,

RICHMOND, VA., SEPT. 25, 1846.

I shall feel it my duty to the large interests represented by me, to take some further measures for securing effectually our travel, unless some arrangement can be made with the James river boats to give up the present system of "through tickets" to Baltimore. On the other hand, I am so well satisfied that an arrangement can be made between us which will be mutually advantageous, that I am reluctant to make this further move, without first making one more effort at reconciling our respective interests. I think if we could have a full and fair conference together, with a mutual disposition to agree, that we should not be found far apart. I would therefore respectfully propose your calling at my office if you can conveniently in the course of the day, or Monday. I can truly say that I have no feeling on the subject other than one of regret, that our interests should have been hitherto in an antagonistic position, and a wish to harmonize them.

Ro. A. MAYO, Esq.

Respectfully yours,

Endorsed in pencil.

MONCURE ROBINSON.

An arrangement I think might be made between the James river boats and the Port Walthall association, on the following terms, viz: That the Port Walthall association should run from Port Walthall, and the James river boats from Richmond on alternate days, at rates to be agreed on between them, but without any connexion in any way with the bay boats or City Point railroad; and that the James river boats should equally have the benefit of "through tickets" to Washington, under the arrangement with the railroad companies, or in addition, a bonus of 4 to $5000 from the Port Walthall association, for a term of years, or so long as there are no "through tickets," from Richmond to Baltimore by the James river boat company, or any other line on James river. In the event of any attempt by the bay company to put on a line on James river, the directors of the Washington and Fredericksburg steamboat company, would, I have no doubt, immediately put on a boat between Baltimore and Norfolk.

Interrogatories to William Sinton by the Respondents.

Ques. 1. Were you not the secretary of the James river steamboat company, to which the Thomas Jefferson belonged? if yea, between what years did you hold the office?

Ans. I was the secretary of the James river steamboat company between the years 1836 and 1844, in which year the Thomas Jefferson was sold, with a view to winding up the affairs of the company.

Ques. 2. Was there ever a daily line by the Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson and the bay boats between Richmond and Baltimore? if yea, at what period did this line exist, and how long did it exist?

Ans. There was a daily line formed by the boats named in the interrogatory and the bay boats about the year 1839 or 1840, but lasted only a few months.

Ques. 3. Whilst the daily line by the Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson lasted, was the charge the same between Richmond and Baltimore as between Norfolk and Baltimore?

Ans. No, the charge was never as low between Richmond and Baltimore as between Norfolk and Baltimore, previous to the Curtis Peck coming on the river, that I am aware of.

Ques. 4. Was there ever a "through ticket" between Petersburg and Baltimore previous to the Curtis Peck being brought on James river?

Ans. Never.

Ques. 5. Do you know to whom the steamboat Jewess belongs?

Ans. I know she ran on the bay, and was considered a bay boat previous to her running in connexion with the Curtis Peck on James river in the spring of 1845, and as she now runs on the bay, she is, I take it for granted, the property of the bay company.

Ques. 6. Was not the Thomas Jefferson withdrawn from the river in consequence of the competition of the steamboats Express and Curtis Peck?

Ans. Yes, she withstood the competition of the Express, but on the Curtis Peck being brought on to run at one dollar per passenger between Richmond and Norfolk, the Jefferson was withdrawn.

Ques. 7. At what rate of fare did the Curtis Peck run when she was first brought on James river, between Richmond and Norfolk?

Ans. A dollar, including meals.

Ques. 8. Was the fare ever as low as six dollars by the James river and bay boats to Baltimore before the Curtis Peck was brought on the river?

Ans. Never, that I ever heard or knew of.

(Signed,)

WILLIAM SINTON.

Interrogatories propounded to William Sinton by the Counsel of the Memorialists.

Ques. 1. In answer to the 3d interrogatory of the remonstrants, you say the charge was never as low between Richmond and Baltimore as between Norfolk and Baltimore, previous to the Curtis Peck coming on the river. Will you say what was the fare from Norfolk to Baltimore, previous to the Curtis Peck coming on the river? Ans. The fare between Norfolk and Baltimore frequently varied previous to the Curtis Peck coming on James river, but was I am satisfied always lower than the fare between Richmond and Baltimore at the same time. Ques. 2. The 6th interrogatory of the respondents is in these words: "Was not the Thomas Jefferson withdrawn from the river in consequence of the competition of the Express and Curtis Peck?" In your answer you say, "Yes, she withstood the competition of the Express, but on the Curtis Peck being brought on to run at one dollar per passenger through between Richmond and Norfolk, the Jefferson was withdrawn." Now we ask, did not the Jefferson run at one dollar before the Curtis Peck came on? And did not the agent, Mr. Southgate, reduce the fare from five dollars to one dollar when or soon after the Express came on the river? Did not the owners of the Thomas Jefferson advertise her for sale before the Curtis Peck was brought on? When was the Thomas Jefferson advertised for sale? When was the Curtis Peck brought on the river? Did the Curtis Peck ever run in opposition to the Thomas Jefferson? If so, how many trips? Did not the Curtis Peck succeed the Thomas Jefferson at the wharf occupied by the Jefferson? How long did the Express run before the Curtis Peck was brought on? And at what rates did she run when she was brought on? Ans. The fare of the Jefferson was reduced to a dollar when the Express came on. The Jefferson may have been advertised for sale before the Curtis Peck actually came on James river, but I am satisfied was not advertised for sale before it was known that the Curtis Peck was purchased to come on James river, and was not withdrawn from the river until the Curtis Peck was brought on, when deeming the opposition a ruinous one she was withdrawn. Whether she ran at all, and how many trips after the Curtis Peck came on, I am uncertain. The Curtis Peck stops at the wharf occupied by the Jefferson, and I believe stopped there immediately on the Jefferson ceasing to run. I do not recollect how long the Express had been running before the Curtis Peck was brought on. She ran at one dollar between Richmond and Norfolk.

Ques. 3. Did not the Express run with the bay lines, and transport passengers to Baltimore at $6 before the Curtis Peck came on? Did not the Thomas Jefferson connect with the bay lines at the same price charged by the Express?

Ans. The Express put on and took off passengers as well as the Jefferson from the bay boats, but I do not believe that passengers were ever transported between Richmond and Baltimore, either by the Express and bay line, or Jefferson and bay line as low as $6, or that they were ever transported as low as $6 by the river and bay line at any time previous to the Curtis Peck being brought on the river. If such was the case it must have been for a very short time, and escaped my observation.

Ques. 4. Did not the Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry reduce their fare to one dollar from Norfolk to Richmond, when opposition was run by the Balloon? When was the Balloon run?

Ans. When the Balloon was brought on the river the fare was reduced, but I do not recollect exactly to what between Norfolk and Richmond. Nor do I recollect precisely at what time the Balloon ran.

Ques. 5. Do you know whether it was the design of the owners of the Thomas Jefferson, or any of them,

to take the Jefferson off the line at any time in April prior to the Curtis Peck being put on the river? Ans. This question has been already answered.

Ques. 6. Have you any letter of Mr. Southgate of the date of 26th of April 1844, suggesting the necessity of a change; if so, produce that letter or a copy of it?

Ans. The letter of Mr. Southgate of the 26th April 1844, accompanies this.

(Signed,)

WILLIAM SINTON.

HENRY CLARKE, Esq.

DEAR SIR,

NORFOLK, APRIL 26, 1844.

I have received your favour of the 15th, advising a draft on me for $278 22, wharfage, for the Patrick Henry, which has been paid. My absence at the north has prevented the quarterly accounts of the

Thomas Jefferson being sent to you earlier than this, and I am sorry to present to you so bad an exhibit of her concerns, shewing a balance due to me on the 1st of the month, of $ 1474 28, and what is wosre than all, daily accumulating, as you must be well aware.

If you can defer your general meeting of the stockholders from Monday the 5th, to Tuesday the 6th of May, (and which the charter permits,) I will be with you, when something must be determined on to change the present state of things, for it is ruin to continue as we now are. I understand a fast boat called the "Curtis Peck," bought by a company in Richmond is expected here daily; she I suppose, will be able to run the Express off, when perhaps some arrangement may be made with them. The Patrick Henry in any event, would have been too expensive (burning too much wood) to continue on the river, has been withdrawn altogether, and is now in Baltimore, where I shall use her engine in the construction of another boat which I have contracted for, to be equal in speed to any other afloat; it will, I suppose, be five or six months before she will be completed.

There are other bills due in the last quarter against the Thomas Jefferson, not yet paid; and there are also some credits for freight, &c., during the same period, not entered in the account, both of which will appear in

the next.

I remain, dear sir,

Yours respectfully,

JNO. SOUTHGATE.

Interrogatories to Capt. Z. Mitchell by the Respondents.

Ques. 1. How long have you been engaged on James river, and in what capacity?

Ans. I have been engaged on James river since the spring of 1840, first as mate and then as captain of the Patrick Henry; afterwards as the captain of the John Marshall, and recently as the captain of the Augusta.

Ques. 2. Have the bay boats and James river boats always or even generally connected in Hampton roads since you have known the river, previous to the running of the Jewess and Curtis Peck in connexion with the bay boats in the spring of 1845?

Ans. No. The bay boats during that time generally connected with the Portsmouth railroad; and passengers going by the way of the river and bay route to Baltimore, were usually obliged to lay over at Norfolk from seven to fourteen hours when the line on the bay was a daily one, and twenty-four hours when it was tri-weekly. Ques. 3. Was there ever a through ticket made between Petersburg and Baltimore previous to one being formed by the Curtis Peck and Jewess in the spring of 1845?

Ans. No.

Ques. 4. Was the charge since you have known James river ever the same between Richmond and Petersburg and Baltimore, as between Norfolk and Baltimore, previous to the Curtis Peck coming on James river? Ans. It never was.

Ques. 5. At what time did the John Marshall commence running on James river?

Ans. In February 1845.

Ques. 6. At what time did the Augusta commence running between Port Walthall and Norfolk?
Ans. On the 16th day of April 1846.

Ques. 7. Do you know whether the Baltimore steam packet company are interested in the steamboat Alice? Ans. Col. Sheppard, the agent of the Baltimore steam packet company, informed me on two occasions that the Baltimore steam packet company owned one third of the Alice.

Ques. 8. Has there been a daily line by the James river and bay boats between Richmond and Baltimore, since you have been on James river, previous to the one formed by the Jewess and Curtis Peck, running on alternate days in connexion with the bay boats in 1845?

Ans.

No.

Cross Interrogatories to Capt. Z. Mitchell.

Ques. 1. What was the charge in 1840, and in each year successively from that time to the first of the year 1847, for passengers from Richmond to Norfolk?

Ans. I do not recollect exactly the fare at each particular time during the periods stated, but know that it varied between $5 and $ 1, between Richmond and Norfolk.

Ques. 2. State what was the charge in the same years by the bay boats from Norfolk to Baltimore.

Ans. It varied during the same years from $8 to $4 between Norfolk and Baltimore-but I cannot recall the exact fare between these places at each particular period.

Ques. 3. When the Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry run a daily line from Richmond to Norfolk, was there not a connection between that line and the bay boats, and was there not through tickets given on this line from Richmond to Baltimore, and from Petersburg to Baltimore?

Ans. No daily line has been run on James river since I have known the river, previous to the Curtis Peck being brought on the river.

Ques. 4. When the Express was running in opposition to the Curtis Peck, was not the fare reduced to one dollar from Richmond to Norfolk? and what was then the fare from Norfolk to Baltimore?

Ans. When the Express was brought on the river the fare was reduced to one dollar between Richmond and Norfolk. I do not recollect exactly the fare between Norfolk and Baltimore at that time.

Ques. 5. When did the Curtis Peck first come on the James river; and did she and the Thomas Jefferson ever run in opposition to each other; and if they did, how long, and what was the rate of fare when so running? Ans. The Curtis Peck came on James river in the spring of 1844. I was in Baltimore at that time, attending to the building of the John Marshall, and do not know whether the Thomas Jefferson ran at all after the Curtis Peck was brought on. I understood that the Jefferson was withdrawn in consequence of the Curtis Peck coming on the river.

Ques. 6. When the Augusta commenced running in April 1845, was the Alice then running, and were through tickets given previous thereto?

Ans. The Augusta did not commence running, as above stated, until the 16th of April 1846. At that time and long before, through tickets were advertised between Richmond and Baltimore by the Curtis Peck and Alice, and I take it for granted were given.

Ques. 7. How much stock do you own in the steamer Augusta; from whom did you purchase your interest, and at what time; and has a bill of sale ever been made to you for her?

Ans. I own thirty shares in the Port Walthall association, to which the Augusta belongs. I subscribed for this stock when the association was made up. I have no bill of sale, but my name is on the books of the association as a holder of the amount stated.

Ques. 8. Why has no bill of sale been given to you? Has it not been because the stock has not been paid up; and is not the bill of sale withheld as a security for the payment of your subscription?

Ans. No bill of sale has been given to me, and none has been given, that I know of, to any other person. Certificates of the amount subscribed for by each stockholder, will, I understand, be given to each stockholder, and I have no reason to doubt that one would be given me on demand. Of course the certificate would shew the amount paid and the amount yet due by me on my subscription. I have paid between seven and eight hundred dollars.

Ques. 9. Is the certificate you speak of in your last answer the certificate of your stock in the Port Walthall association, or a certificate of your interest in the Augusta? And from whom did you purchase your interest in the Augusta ?

Ans. The certificate to be received by me will be given me for my stock in the Port Walthall association, to which association the steamer Augusta belongs. I subscribed for thirty shares of the stock at the time that subscriptions were made by other parties, and have been allowed to suit my own convenience in paying the amount, with the understanding that interest was to be charged me, so far as I was in arrears in my payments compared with other stockholders who paid at the time.

Ques. 10. Is the boat Augusta the property of the Port Walthall association? If your answer be nay, then say to whom the boat belongs.

Ans. This question has been answered above.

Interrogatories to Thomas Dodamead.

ZEBULON MITCHELL.

Ques. 1. How long have you been in the service of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company, and in what capacity?

Ans. I entered the service of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company in September 1843, as superintendent of their workshops and machinery, in which capacity I remained until November 1845, since which time I have also filled the office of superintendent of transportation for the same company.

Ques. 2. Did you not have some conversation with Mr. Luther Libby during the past summer in regard to the competition between the steamboat Augusta and the steamboat line on James river running in connexion with the bay boats; and if so, what did Mr. Libby say in that conversation was received by the James river line from the bay boats?

Ans. I had a conversation with Mr. Libby sometime during the summer in the treasurer's office of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company, in which Mr. Libby stated that the James river boats were paid by the bay line a certain sum for every passenger carried by them between Richmond and Norfolk or Petersburg and Norfolk and Old Point, &c. either up or down; the sum named as paid was, to the best of my recollection, seventy-five cents for each passenger; he also stated that the James river boats received three eighths of the fare paid by passengers going to or coming from Baltimore by way of the James river boats.

Ques. 3. Did not Mr. Libby say to you in that conversation that the James river boats were doing very well? Ans. Yes. He said they were making money, as the sum paid to them by the bay boats had amounted to as much as eighty dollars in one day.

Ques. 4. In the conversation referred to were any remarks made to Mr. Libby in relation to the opposition line between Richmond and Petersburg by the James river boats; if so, what were they?

Ans. In the course of the conversation I remarked to Mr. Libby that I supposed the James river boats paid the City Point railroad all the fare received for passengers carried between Richmond and Petersburg by their boats. He said no, that it was equally divided between them. He also remarked that he did not think they made any money, but their portion covered the expense of furnishing the passengers with meals, as they were obliged to keep a certain supply of provisions on hand to meet contingencies.

Ques. 5. Do you know any thing of the circumstances connected with the Chesapeake running as a passenger boat on James river, and what were they?

Ans. Yes. The owner of the steamboat John Marshall at the time she was running in connexion with the railroad to Port Walthall, having met with an opportunity of disposing of his boat advantageously to himself, withdrew her from the line at only two days notice. The superintendent of transportation of the railroad company, for the time being, thinking the line an important one to the interests of the company, and that it would be injurious to have it stopped at such short notice, determined to place the Chesapeake on as a passenger boat for a few days, hoping in the mean time to make a contract with the owners of some boat more suitable for the line, but failing to do this, and having put the Chesapeake on the line on his own responsibility, and in the absence of the president, and consequently without calling a meeting of the board of directors, he determined to stop her, after having made a few trips; since which time she has not been employed as a passenger boat by the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company or any other parties between Port Walthall and Norfolk.

Ques. 6. Does the train which conveys passengers between Richmond and Port Walthall perform other duty, and if so, what duty?

Ans. The train which conveys passengers between Richmond and Port Walthall to connect with the boat is employed but a short time each day in the performance of that duty, and is employed during the rest of the time in hauling freight, lumber, &c. and as it could not be entirely dispensed with, is thus kept more fully employed than it would be if no Norfolk train were run.

Ques. 7. In what mode are settlements made for wood and other materials, or for work done for the Port Walthall association by the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company?

Ans. At the end of each month the superintendent of the company makes out an account of wood, oil and other materials furnished, and work done during the month for the boat, which he hands to the treasurer of the company, who deducts the amount from any moneys in his hands belonging to the association received for passengers, or the amount is paid him by the agent of the association, if there should not be funds in his hands sufficient for the same. The wood and other materials are always purchased on a credit of four and six months, and the association pays cash at the end of each month. The wood furnished, is a part of the surplus stock which the company are obliged to keep on hand to insure a regular supply of seasoned wood for their trains.

Ques. 8. Has not the travel between Norfolk and Portsmouth and Washington City, and between Fredericksburg and Richmond, by the Richmond and Fredericksburg railroad, in your opinion, been increased by the low fares induced by the competition of the Augusta on James river, and have not the railroad companies been thereby benefitted?

Ans. Yes, I am very sure that the low fares on the river have induced many persons to visit Richmond for the purpose of going to Old Point and Norfolk, that would probably not have done so had not the fare been at such low rates; and I also know that passengers between Washington and Norfolk, and Fredericksburg and other points on the Richmond and Fredericksburg road and Norfolk, have frequently passed through without taking through tickets, as the difference of the price between the local and through tickets was very trifling from either point, and from some there was no difference, and of course made it no object for passengers to take through tickets.

Ques. 9. What was the date of the completion of the branch to Port Walthall?

Ans. The exact date of the running of the first trains over the Port Walthall branch, I do not recollect; but the first vessel loaded there completed the taking in her cargo on the 15th of February 1844, the trains were running probably some two or three weeks previous on the road.

Ques. 10. At what time was the steamboat Chesapeake purchased by the Richmond and Petersburg railroad company, and when did she commence running on James river as a towboat?

Ans. The Chesapeake was purchased of the Washington and Fredericksburg steamboat company, on the 20th of January 1844, and was immediately carried round from Washington and commenced towing in a few days afterwards, the precise date not recollected.

January 30th, 1847.

THO. DODAMEAD.