aid are meritorious, and the early completion of the roads is of great importance to the districts which they are to traverse. They will doubtless add greatly to the valuation of property subject to general taxation, and there seems to be entire unanimity in the counties to be affected by the bills, in favor of the local exemptions proposed. No exemption is asked in regard to State taxation. In view of these considerations, and without committing myself as to any future action in cases not presenting the same special aspects, I think it my duty to approve these bills." May 15. Veto of an act entitled "An act to encourage and aid the building of railroads." The records of the Executive Department contain the following: "STATE OF NEW YORK: EXECUTIVE Department, Hon. FRANCIS C. BARLOW, Secretary of State. DEAR SIR: Near the close of the recent session of the Legislature, the bills herewith transmitted were presented for my approval, in which provision is made for extending the aid of the State to railroad corporations in modes not hitherto adopted. In view of the novelty of the forms for relief proposed, and the importance of the interests involved, I think it due to the public to make a brief statement of the considerations which control my action in regard to these bills. I transmit to you without my signature the bill entitled, 'An act to encourage and aid the building of railroads.' This is a bill appropriating public moneys to an indefi nite amount-not exceeding $500,000-to encourage and aid companies duly organized in the construction or completion of railroads, and adding to the State tax one-third of a mill for that purpose. Its important provisions are as follows: 'Section 1. Whenever any railroad company or companies duly organized under the laws of the State, shall within two years hereafter build and complete twenty continuous miles of railroad in any part of the State, where a parallel road is not already built or in process of building, within an average distance of ten miles thereof, the said railroad company or companies shall receive from the Treasurer of the State, from the general fund, to be paid upon the warrant of the Comptroller, five thousand dollars per mile for each mile so constructed; provided that no such appropriation shall be paid, unless accompanied with the certificate of the State Engineer and Surveyor, that the said road is complete and in good running condition for at least twenty miles; and the provisions of this section shall apply to all such portions of any railroad now organized and in process of construction, as may hereafter be constructed or completed. § 2. A state tax of one-third of a mill upon every dollar of the valuation of the real and personal property of the people of the State, for the year 1867, or so much thereof as shall be necessary to raise a sufficient sum to carry into effect the provisions of this act, but not to exceed $500,000, shall be levied, assessed and collected by the collectors of taxes for the several counties, and all the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the treasury by the county treasurers to the credit of the General Fund, and the same is hereby appropriated to pay for the work designated by this act, and the said sum is hereby appropriated for public purposes, to aid in the construction of railroads. The Comptroller shall draw his warrant upon the Treasurer, from time to time, for the proceeds of such tax as the money shall be required to pay for the work herein authorized. § 3. Every railroad company that shall apply for aid under this act shall, within ninety days after the passage of this act, file with the State Engineer and Surveyor a general description of the road and the number of miles to be constructed during the year, and on the first day of June, 1868, and in 1890, (meaning 1870) the State Engineer and Surveyor shall certify to the Comptroller the number of miles of road completed according to the terms of this act, and if the sum hereby appropriated is insufficient to pay five thousand dollars per mile, the Comptroller shall divide pro rata to the said roads according to the number of miles completed, according to the terms of this act.' The practical effect of the bill is to direct the levy of a State tax for half a million of dollars, and to offer that sum as a bounty to any and all railroad corporations, which may choose to comply with its provisions, by constructing or completing the construction, of twenty continuous miles of railroad. The amount to be paid to any particular company, as well as the amount to be paid to the companies in the aggregate, is not determined. It is not, however, in any event to exceed the sum of $500,000. The corporations to whom the gift is to be apportioned, are not ascertained; the sums to be given to them respectively are contingent, and the amount of the tax to be levied on the people of the State is uncertain, except as to its maximum limitation. The assistance is tendered without reference to the locality or utility of the roads, the necessity of State aid in building them, or the wealth or resources of the corporations engaged in their construction. The bill in my judgment is in conflict with the provisions of our State Constitution. The eighth section in the seventh article of that instrument provides that no money shall be paid out of the treasury, except in pursuance of an appropriation by law' and that every law making such appropriation, shall distinctly specify the sum appropriated, and the object to which it is to be applied; and it shall not be sufficient for such law to refer to any other law to fix such sum.' The thirteenth section of the same article provides that every law which imposes a tax shall distinctly state the tax, and the object to which it is to be applied; and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax or object.'* The intention of these restrictions is illustrated by the language in the twelfth section, prohibiting the contracting of any debt in behalf of the State, unless such debt shall be authorized by a law for some single work or object, to be distinctly specified therein.' It was, obviously, the purpose of the framers of the Constitution, to prohibit appropriations from the treasury, unless by virtue of a law fixing the particular sums appropriated, and distinctly specifying the particular object to which they are to be applied. They declared that it should not be enough, even that the specific object or sum be distinctly defined by law, unless so defined in the particular act making the appropriation. In this case, there is not only no such distinct specification, but there is none in any other law. The particular sum to be paid, and the particular objects to which they are to be applied, depend on the future pleasure of the various railroad corporations, and not on a precise declaration in the bill of the present will of the Legislature. It is not sufficient to say that the sums appropriated by the bill, though now indefinite, will be made definite by the subsequent action of the several railroad companies; this would be to defeat the actual purpose of the prohibition. It is not even an answer to the objections to say, that though the specific objects to which the particular sums are to be applied, are not distinctly stated in the bill, there is a statement of the general purpose of the Legislature, to aid in the construction of railroads." * See People ex rel. Hopkins v. Kings Co. (1873), 52 N. Y. 556. VOL. V. 52. The mischief it was intended to guard against by the constitutional provisions, was the appropriation of public moneys for general objects, not specifically defined in the body of the proposed act; and the remedy was to require the particulars to be stated and submitted, each upon its own merits, to the deliberate judgment of the Legislature. Entertaining these views, I cannot affix my signature to the bill." Following this veto, and in the same communication, the Governor stated his reasons for approving the Oswego and Midland and Southern Central Railroad bills as set forth in the foregoing memorandum. For convenience of reference, and in accordance with the general plan of this work, the memorandum of approval and the veto are presented separately. The communication to the Secretary of State bears the Governor's signature. 1868. JANUARY 7. LEGISLATURE, NINETY-FIRST SESSION. Through the favor of Almighty God, the year which has just drawn to a close has been crowned with the blessings of peace and prosperity. The great and diversified interests of our State impose duties of the utmost delicacy and responsibility upon the legislative department of the Government. The condition of our finances naturally presents itself as a leading subject of consideration, intimately connected as it is with our |