TO EXAMINE INTO AND REPORT UPON THE CONDITION OF THE VARIOUS RAILROAD COMPANIES IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI, APPOINTED UNDER JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE, Approved March 5th, 1855. JOINT RESOLUTIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS TO EXAMINE CERTAIN RAILROADS IN THIS STATE. WHEREAS, The people of the State of Missouri have a deep interest in the projected Internal Improvements now being constructed in said State, particularly the several Railroads to which the credit of the State has been loaned; viz: the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad; the North Missouri Railroad; the Pacific Railroad; the South-west Branch of the Pacific Railroad, and the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad; and, whereas, causes (real or imaginary) have conspired to prejudice the minds of the people against the present management of said railroads, and to induce the fear, in many, that the means applicable to the construction of said roads have not, or may not be applied in good faith, causes calculated to injure and retard proper legislative action on that subject; and, whereas, information communicated in a reliable way, of the causes, if any, of such prejudice and fear is desirable and important before future legislationimportant in the speedy completion of said railroads; therefore, Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, as follows : — SECTION 1. That so soon as this preamble and resolutions shall have been passed and approved, a Committee of three members of the Legislature, one of whom shall be of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and two of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, who shall have power, and whose duty it shall be to inquire into and investigate the several reports of said railroads, the surveyor's estimates, expenditures, assets and liabilities; and generally, all material facts, calculated, in the judgment of said Committee, to develop the true condition of said Railroads and Railroad Companies, and report to the adjourned session of this Legislature. SEC. 2.- Said Committee shall have power, for the purposes aforesaid, to employ such competent assistance as may to them appear necessary and proper, and shall, for that purpose, have power, from time to time, on a statement, in writing, signed by the chairman of said Committee, and filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts, showing the amounts required, draw from the State Treasury, such sum or sums of money as shall be necessary for the purposes aforesaid; and it is hereby made the duty of the Auditor, upon the filing of said statement, so signed by the chairman of said Committee, to draw his warrant on the Treasurer of the State in favor of such chairman for the same. These resolutions to be in force from their passage. APPROVED, March 5, 1855. INTRODUCTION. THE Joint Committee of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, respectfully submit the following REPORT: Immediately upon their appointment, the members of the Committee met, and organized by the appointment of C. C. ZIEGLER, Chairman. They have since then, and during the whole of the recess, devoted to the duty assigned them, much the larger portion of their time. Your Committee could not fail to be deeply impressed with the weight and importance of the duties imposed upon them. The very wide range which it was necessary to give to their investigations, and the multiplicity of the topics to be considered, in order to answer the object for which they were appointed, have involved much careful and patient labor. The magnitude of the interests depending upon, and intimately connected with, the successful and speedy prosecution and completion of the great railroad enterprises in this State, has filled them with intense anxiety to do all within the sphere of their duties, that might throw light upon the actual condition of the various Companies and their respective works, and aid in the solution of the difficult questions arising in regard to them. At the same time, the nature of their duties, and the fact, that they were required to scrutinize closely the acts of those entrusted with the administration of the affairs of the Railroad Companies, for the purpose of ascertaining whether abuses had grown up, and whether the State and the people had been justly dealt with in their management-whether errors had been committed, and, if so, by whom, and to what extent-have rendered their position one of extreme delicacy. Your Committee take great pleasure in stating, that during the entire progress of their investigations, they have been treated with the utmost courtesy by all persons connected with the various Railroad Companies, included by the terms of their appointment. All the desired information has been freely furnished; very essential aid has been given, and every facility offered, which would simplify and relieve their labors, and secure the accomplishment of the desired object. Not the slightest disposition has been at any time manifested by those connected with any one of the Companies, to obstruct or shrink from the examination, or to conceal a solitary fact; but the Committee have been struck with the eagerness with which all have invited the strictest scrutiny of their affairs. After this general statement, it will not be considered unjust to the other Companies to state, that if any of them has displayed greater solicitude than another, to have the examination so conducted as to leave no fact or transaction hidden, it may be said to have been the case with the Pacific. Justice to that Company, perhaps, requires this, more particularly in view of the fact, that, probably because of the greater magnitude of its work, and of the much larger expenditure by it than any other, in addition to other causes, it has been regarded in some quarters with more suspicion than others. So far as any evidence of perfect propriety of intention and action throughout their whole administration, could be afforded by the |