party impulse in your legislature. It frequently happens that one party has two-thirds in the house of assembly, and if these, together with a bare majority of the senate, can remove the judges, they will be exposed to removal upon party grounds. It should be borne in mind, that one section of the report of the committee provides that a majority of the house of assembly may impeach, and two-thirds of the senate convict. If, therefore, there are specific charges against a judge which can be substantiated, he can be removed in this mode. The section now under consideration provides for the removal of a judge, without assigning any charge. This seems, at best, to be a very arbitrary proceeding, though I can readily imagine cases in which it may be proper to adopt it. It does appear to me, however, that it is a remedy which ought not to be resorted to, but by the assent of two-thirds of both branches of the legislature; and if, by adopting this amendment, you sanction the resorting to it by any number short of that, I very much fear that you will place your judiciary upon a very fluctuating establishment. It ought, sir, to be borne steadily in mind, that the regulations which may be adopted for the government of the judiciary, are not made for the good of the judges, but for the good of the people. The welfare of the people of this state, requires that we should have a judiciary establishment, and that a certain range of duties should be assigned them. To enable the judges to perform those duties, it is necessary that they should enjoy a certain degree of independence-not for their good, but the good of the people. It is, therefore, deserving of our serious consideration, whether, under the regulation proposed, they will enjoy that independence. In my humble opinion, they will not. GEN. ROOT remarked, that, as the senate was organized in a way to secure a great degree of permanency, one half of its members would always be found ready to oppose popular caprice and sudden excitement. The independence of this country, he said, was placed on mistaken grounds. We had borrowed the idea from England; but in that country, the independence of the judiciary was obtained to secure the people against the encroachments of the crown. In this country, the people represent majesty, and the analogy would lead to the idea that it was therefore necessary to secure the people from the usurpations of the people—or, in other words, to protect them from themselves! The honourable the Chancellor has told you, that for himself he has no apprehension in relation to the provisions of this section. He places his hand on his heart, and assures us that he is supported against the fear of popular imputation by the mens sibi conscia recti. And does he suppose that his brethren are destitute of that support and consolation? If not, why does he wish to hedge them in from public investigation? Why the extraordinary efforts to protect them? Political judges might indeed want some shield-some security against the scrutinizing eye of investigation. But, said, Mr. R. render the judiciary a judiciary, and nothing else. It will then be safe, and enthroned in the affections of the people. The question on Col. Young's motion was then taken by ayes and noes, and decided in the affirmative, as follows: AYES-Messrs. Barlow, Beckwith, Briggs, Brinkerhoff, Brooks, Burroughs, Carpenter, Carver, Case, Child, D. Clark, R. Clarke, Clyde, Collins, Cramer, Day, Dubois, Eastwood, Fenton, Ferris, Frost, Hogeboom, Howe, Humphrey, Hunt, A. Livingston, P. R. Livingston, M'Call, Park, Pike, President, Price, Pumpelly, Reeve, Richards, Rockwell, Root, Rosebrugh, Ross, N. Sanford, R. Sandford, Seely, Sheldon, Starkweather, Steele, Swift, Tallmadge, Taylor, Townley, Townsend, Tripp, Van Fleet, A. Webster, E. Webster, Woods, Woodward, Wooster, Young-58. NOES-Messrs. Bacon, Baker, Breese, Buel, Dodge, Duer, Dyckman, Edwards, Fairlie, Fish, Hallock, Hunter, Huntington, Jay, Jones, Kent, King, Lansing, Lefferts, Millikin, Moore, Munro, Nelson, Paulding, Radcliff, Rhinelander, Russell, Sanders, Seaman, Sharpe, I. Smith, D. Southerland, Sylvester, Van Horne, J. R. Van Rensselaer, S. Van Rensselaer, Van Vechten. Verbryck, Ward, Wendover, Wheaton, Wheeler, Yates-43. GEN. TALLMADGE moved further to amend the section, by adding, at the end of the proviso, the following words: "That the cause or causes, for which such removal may be required, shall be stated at length, and inserted on the journals of the respective houses of the legislature." Lost. The question was then taken on the whole section, including the proviso as amended, and carried without a division. On the 11th section, requiring the assent of two-thirds of the members present in both houses to the passage of any act of incorporation. MR. RADCLIFF thought the provision too broad, and would be glad to hear the reasons which had induced the committee to propose it. MR. KING said the committee had looked upon the multiplication of corpora tions as an evil. They have been created for a great variety of purposes. These corporations, he said, were exceptions to the common law; they could not be proceeded against in ordinary way of prosecutions against individuals in ordinary courts of justice. Twenty years ago they were considered as heresies. The first attempts which were made to introduce them were resisted and defeat. ed; but they had since become very common; and he believed, were generally admitted to have produced great public mischief. MR. CHILD moved to insert between the words, "bill," and "creating," the words, "appropriating public monies for local purposes, or." Amendment carried. MR. RADCLIFF said, we appeared to be going from one extreme to another. He would agree to some restriction on the too great facility of extending corporations, particularly with regard to monied institutions. The report would go to require two-thirds of the legislature to incorporate a village, bridge, or turnpike. He would, therefore, move to insert after the word, "any," the fol lowing words: "bank or monied institution in this state." MR. SHARPE was in favour of the amendment as reported. would never be wanting to incorporate a village, or a turnpike. Two-thirds Mr. KING had understood, that a law of this state had already provided for turnpikes and religious societies, that they may be formed without coming to the legislature for an act of incorporation. That the common law abhorred monopolies, was a doctrine well known to the most superficial reader of jurisprudence. We ought not to increase them, but to diminish them as far as we can consistently with the preservation of vested rights. MR. RADCLIFF withdrew his amendment. MR. WARD moved to insert the word, "elected," in lieu of the word, "pre sent." Carried. MR. HUNTER proposed an amendment, the purport of which was, that the legislature should never in future grant a bank charter, except upon the condition that the individual property of all the stockholders should be holden for the redemption of all the notes or bills they might issue. Lost. MR. DUER moved to insert the words, "or private," after the word, "local," in the amendment of the gentleman from Saratoga, (Mr. Child.) Carried. The question was then put on the section as amended, and carried. Twelfth Section. This provides for the inviolable preservation of the school fund; and that the tolls collected on the canals, the duties on salt, and on sales at auction; shall remain an inviolable fund to be applied to the payment of the in terest, and reimbursement of the capital of the money expended and to be expended in making the said canals. MR. KING explained the views of the select committee, particularly on the part relating to the school fund, and moved to divide the section, so as to include that clause only in the present discussion. Agreed to. MR. WHEATON moved to insert (from the report of the select committee, of which the honourable Mr. Radcliff is chairman) after the word," that," in the first line, the following words: the proceeds of all lands belonging to this state, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, together with." COL. YOUNG proposed to amend the ame ent, by inserting after the words. to this state," the following worde all lands that may hereafter acquired by the state." GEN. J. R. VAN RENSSELAER was opposed to both the amendments that had been offered; they would lead the people to suppose, that the lands thus appropriated were of vast value, and would supersede the necessity of all other funds, when in reality they were not all worth, perhaps, a hundred thousand dollars. There was, to be sure, nine or ten hundred thousand acres, but much of it could never be inhabited. In the valleys, there were some lands that would support a small population, and there were quantities of iron ore, which might be useful hereafter, as well as a great deal of valuable timber. But he would much rather have a constitutional provision that the state should give a certain sum of money annually for the promotion of education. He was deeply impressed with the importance of making provisions for the furtherance of useful science to every class of the community, as on that depended, in a great measure, the happiness and prosperity of the state. He would go as far as any other gentleman to accomplish that object; but it did appear to him, that giving these lands would not accomplish that object, and would afford a mere pretext for not doing that which would be useful. It will probably be said, we have given for this purpose near a million of acres of lands-this is certainly very liberal; when at the same time, no man would receive it as a gift, and be compelled to pay the taxes on it for thirty years. Such an appropriation would be a name without the substance. MR. SHARPE hoped the amendment would prevail. We had, he said, disposed of the greatest part of the public lands, with an unfortunate degree of profusion. It was desirable to appropriate the scanty residue to a valuable purpose. Applications were continually pressing upon the legislature for the making of side-cuts, lowering of riffs, &c. and it was high time to devote what was left, to the better, and higher, and more permanent interests of the state. MR. RADCLIFF was also in favour of the notion. He expressed his deep conviction of the immense importance of the diffusion of knowledge among the people. It was the surest bulwark of our liberties. Without it no republic could survive, and with it, despotism would cease. Where rights are generally understood, they will be defended. Tyranny can never long maintain its sway over the empire of intellect. Its sceptre falls with the diffusion of knowledge. A sister state, (Connecticut,) with a territory, population, and resources vastly less than ours, has a fund devoted to this great and invaluable object that almost equals our own. It was a state distinguished for its intelligence, patriotism, and virtue. Every effort that should be successful in disseminating knowledge through the community, was, in his opinion, contributing not only to the happiness of the recipient, but to the prosperity and political liberty of the state. The provisions before the committee would enlarge the school fund far beyond what had been supposed. It would, in his opinion, create an additional fund, greater in its extent than that already existing, and have a prodigious effect in the advancement of education. Mr. R. considered it as important a provision as any that had been made; and in order to show its extent, he craved leave to present the following statement, which he had obtained from the comptroller and surveyor-general. "In 1814 the surveyor-general reported to the legislature the quantity of unsold land, belonging to the state at that time. See senate journals of 1814, page 19. The following is a copy of part of his statement: Tract between the Scaroon branch of the Hudson's river, the townships of Hoffman and Totten, and Crossfield's purchase, Acres. 16,322 Oxbow tract, west of Benson township, 48,938 Ecorner of Palmer's purchase, 7,643 River head tract, partly in the towns of Keene, Elizabeth, 19,183 Military tract, in scattered parts, about 2,000 Stirling township, chiefly fragments of lots, out of which grants have been made, pursuant to acts from time to time passed by the legislature, 7,062 On the west side of Lake George, N. of North-west Bay, 7,464 4,253 465 3,670 7,850 8,784 "The islands in the Niagara river, and Carleton island, and the isle on Long Sault in the river St. Lawrence, not having been surveyed, nor any means of ascertaining their contents obtained, are not comprised in the estimate. Also, the lands reserved for village lots and their accommodation at Oswego, Black Rock, Lewiston, and the Oneida Castle, and the Stedman farm on the Niagara river. Besides which, there is a gore left between the old military tract and the tract granted to the Canadian and Nova-Scotia refugees, to supply deficiencies, and also a gore along the Pennsylvania line, left for a similar purpose. It is yet uncertain what will remain after the purposes for which they are left, shall be answered. It will, however, not be considerable." Some of the above lands have been sold since the date of the surveyor-general's report, and other lands have reverted to the state. The comptroller, in his last annual report to the legislature, stated the amount remaining unsold at 970,000 acres, and it is about the same at present. To make an exact account of the unsold land in each tract, would require considerable time and labour, and would, perhaps, be of very little more use than the one now presented, which, it is hoped, will be sufficient for the purposes of the committee. With respect to the value of the unsold lands, it is believed, that by far the greatest part of them are not worth more than from twenty-five to fifty cents an acre. They are mostly in the northern parts of the state, in the counties of Essex, Warren, and the eastern part of Montgomery, being mountainous, rocky, and barren. Besides the above mentioned lands, there was purchased, about fours years since, a tract from the St. Regis Indians, of which there remains unsold about 6400 acres, valued, by the surveyor general, at six dollars per acre, amounting to 38,400 dollars. This value was estimated in 1817. It is proper also to state, that the Oneida Indians still retain about And the Onondagas 15,000 acres, 300 22,300 acres Which the surveyor general, in the same year, valued at 10 dollars per acre, making 223,000 dollars. These lands may hereafter come into the possession of the state. (See note at the end of this statement.) There is also the Onondaga Salt Springs reservation owned by the state, which the late comptroller supposed to be worth 300,000 dollars, appropriated to the canal. See act of 30th March, 1820, chap. 117. Exclusive of all the above, the state owns the following lands, which are appropriated for particular purposes, viz. For the literature fund, about For the support of the Gospel and schools, a number of lots, quantity unknown. For the Common School fund, all the lands in the military Lands, given by the Holland Company, Mr. Hornby, Mr. 3,500 acres. 100,632 acres. 4,000 104,632 acres. The proceeds of Grand Island, in the Niagara river, are also appropriated by law to the canal fund. COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, September 15, 1821. After the preceding statement was made out, it was revised by the surveyor general, who added the following note: In the plan of Black Rock village there are remaining unsold lots to the amount of In Lewiston Stedman's farm Fort Niagara Amount on Niagara river, except islands In the Oswego villages between 600 and 700 acres. 604 acres. 327 511 716 2228 acres. In the St. Regis reservation there remains yet belonging to the Indians about 16,000 acres, besides the 640 acres or mile square, on Grass River. The motion was further opposed by Messrs. Sutherland, M'Call and Russell, and supported by the mover and carried. MR. KING moved further to insert after the words "by the state,” the following "except such part thereof as may be reserved or appropriated to the public use, or ceded to the United States." Carried. GEN. J. R. VAN RENSSELAER moved further to add the following provision; "It shall be the duty of the legislature annually to apportion, and add to the fund denominated the school fund, at least the sum of thirty thousand dollars, until the said fund shall in the whole amount to the sum of $5,000,000; and the interest on the whole fund shall be annually distributed and applied to the sup port of common schools," |