OCR Text |
Show A NOVEL BILL. 1 Vuatuiduy uioroiDu's IIkuai.u cou- j taint! a bill introduced into the lower house ol cniirCH.i on February U t ' t li , by Mr. Cliipman, dul'ite from the ! JJistriot or L'ulumbia. We are itukbud , I, Hon. W. IJ. Hooper i'-jr a. copy of tliiri bill, wbuh U ratln-r uii'mue in. homo nin'ClH. Apart from tlie pro- vi-iorn cnnlaiueJ in it, l Uert U an air 1 oi' respectability in tlm openiiiK lines tliat awiiH plebeian rciublieanisui. It in a sj.udal a:t of incorporation, ami among tlio incorporalor?, astlic bill informs in-forms tlie iublie, are a lieutenant-colonel and a baronet, the baronet being ul.io a member of parliament, though of what parliament we are not informed. It might be that of Canada, or of the Hawaiian UunJs, but wc think it is not cither, for the baronet in the Canadian parliament are not very numerous, nu-merous, and we have not heard that his Hawaiian majesty has yet invented an order of knighthood, 'i'he conclusion, therefore, u that the Kmjlih parliament parlia-ment is meant; but why the American house of representatives should be ter rified with this display of aristocracy shaken in its face, has not yet been made to appear. Were a bill introduced intro-duced incorporating President Urant, ex-governor Seward, senator Simmer, ex president Johnson and general Sherman for a bimilar purpose, they would appear in it as plain Ulysses S. (Jrant, W. H. Seward, Charles Suuiuer, Andrew Johnson and Win. T. Sherman; but as among the proposed incorporators are gentlemen of aristocratic position and title, who are above the plain, simple rules of (jommon sense popular sovereignity, it is proper Americans should know the fact. Recognizing the magnificent snobbery with which the bill starts out, and which plainly says that being in Home they don't design doing as tho Komansdo, we will bow to its majestic presence and proceed. It is a uniquo bill in that it provides for the creation of "a body politic and corporate in the Territory of Utah and adjoining Territories," which body corporate cor-porate may either spread itself over iho several Territories at its option, or oscillate from one to the other as it may feel inclined. It is to have a capital cap-ital slock of live millions, or twenty-live millions; flic amount is a trilling matter. mat-ter. It is proposed that this body politic may develop the resources of the Territory and Territories aforesaid, by the construction of rail, wagon and oilier roads and telegraph lines, beginning begin-ning where it chootes, running in whatever direction it may desire, ending end-ing where it pleases, commencing on the work whenever it likes, and stopping stop-ping al its pleasure without finishing a single mile of road, if it so suits the incorporators They are to be incorporated, more particularly, for the purpose of constructing "railroads connecting the mineral districts of South Utah with the railroad system uniting the Atlantic and Pac'ilio seaboards sea-boards both to the south and north of Salt Lake city;" and as tho bill docs not bind them to build any spcciGed number of miles of road in a given time, they may, if so disposed, butfd a mile a year, keep other parties from manifesting the requisite enterprise, enter-prise, and block railroad progress until they can sell at a high Ggure the extensive ex-tensive franchise thus lovingly provided pro-vided for, if such is their good pleasure. pleas-ure. Besides, they can "open mines and coal-fields cf all descriptions, erect smelting, reduction and other works, manufactories and industrial pursuits;" and, in fine, would bo empowered by act of congress, did the bill become law, to engage iu enterprises so numerous, nu-merous, so varied and of such tuagot-: tudo, that the stipulated maximum capital of twenty-five millions would do little more than make a commencement. commence-ment. And as a further evidence of the plenary character of the power with which this body politic is to be invested, it "may make and dispose of its bonds or other obligations in such amounts, at such rates, and on such terms as it may deem host for its interests, in-terests, for the purpose of borrowing money for the purposes aforesaid; and may secure the same by a mortgage upon all or anv part of its property, and all its franchises, and may make tho same and the interest thereon payable at such place or places as it may deem proper.'1 No restrictions, no conditions, condi-tions, uo quilt ideations except that it shall be subject to the general laws of ; the Territory and Territories named, j or the States that may be formed from . ihem. We have said that this is ;w novel bill; wo repeat it; and should it, by oue of those unexpected aud peculiar accidents which do so:iiotiuics occur, pas congress and become law, if the incorporators do not make lorlunes in the speediest possible time and iu the most nvpoerably f-ishionible, manner possible, it will lc bce;iuc i hoy will have develoid a decree of honcaiy almost unparalleled iu this remarkably honest age. Ceriainiy they have every ehanee iivcu them to do a vast amount of huh-toned public robbin in the etsiest maimer imaginable. |