No. 1. LEGISLATURE, 1861. GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: The Constitution of our State makes it incumbent upon the Executive, at the close of his official term, to give to the Legis lature, "information by message, of the condition of the State, and recommend such measures to them as he shall deem expedient." Before entering upon this duty, allow me to congratulate you upon the prosperity and happiness that the people of our State have enjoyed since you last met in these halls. We have been blessed with health. Peace, good order, and contentment have been our lot. The earth has yielded for us her richest fruits. Our granaries are filled to overflowing, and our hearts should be as full of gratitude to the Giver of all good for the rich gifts He so kindly bestows upon us. We have steadily increased in improvement, population, and material wealth, and the complete development of our natural resources, alone is wanting, to make Michigan one of the first States in this great Confederacy. Proper and judicious legislation, followed up by the energy and perseverence of our people, will soon "mako the wilderness blossom like the rose." We have now within our limits seven hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. This is but a small population in comparison to what our State is capable of sustaining. By far the greater portion of Michigan is as yet a wilderness. It is this portion that most needs your fostering care. But while I say this, I would not have you neglect the older and more populous parts of the State. You are the representatives of the whole people, and equal and exact justice to all should be your governing principle. STATE DEBT. The indebtedness of the State, and the payment thereof, will demand your serious consideration. In January, 1859, twenty thousand dollars of the State debt fell due and was promptly paid from the Treasury. Forty thousand dollars fell due in January, 1860, twenty-seven thousand dollars of which has been paid, and the balance, being thirteen thousand dollars, in bonds, has been deposited with the State Treasurer by the Michigan Insurance Company, under our banking law, the payment of which has not been demanded. The State debt as it now exists, with its date of maturity, as reported by the Auditor General, is as follows: Penitentiary Bonds, payable on demand,........$ Internal Improvement Warrant Bonds, payable on demand, 13,000 00 50 00 Full paid 5,000,000, Loan Bonds, due Jan'y, 1863, 177,000 00 1,737,185 00 50,000 00 216,000 00 Temporary Loan Bonds, due January, 1878,.... Total,... $2,193,235 00 The part paid 5,000,000 Loan Bonds, ($159,000,) outstanding, when funded will amount to,....... 91,992 63 Outstanding Internal Improvement Warrants,. . . . . 3,615 16 Total, Canal Bonds, guaranteed by State, $100,000. $2,288,842 79 |