The yeas and nays were demanded, and were, yeas 15, nays.21, as follows, to wit: Yeas-Messrs. Clark, Ford, Foos, Godman, Harris, Hazeltine, Latham, Leonard, Perkins, Ream,, Robbins, Root, Thomas, Van Vorhes, and Wade-15. Nays-Messrs. Aten, Barnett, Bartley, Carpenter, Crowell, Dewey,. Goodin, Henderson, Holmes, Hostetter, Mitchell, McConnell, Nash, Ritchey, Sill, Spangler, Stanton, Taylor, Waddle, Walton, and Speak er-21. So the amendments were disagreed to. The question recurring on agreeing to the second division of the question, Mr. Bartley moved the following as an amendment: Strike out all after.the word "the," being the first line, and insert the following: That the acts of the commissioners appointed by joint resolution of the General Assembly of the 23d of March, 1840, to review and re-locate the seat of justice of Lucas county, shall be held to be and they are hereby declared to be as valid to all intents and purposes as if said commissioners had been duly appointed by act of the General Assembly, On agreeing to Mr. Bartley's amendment, the yeas and nays were demanded, and, being ordered, were, yeas 17, nays 18, as follows, to wit: Yeas-Messrs. Aten, Barnett, Bartley, Crowell, Goodin, Harris, Hazeltine, Henderson, Holmes, Hostetter, Mitchell, McConnell, Ritchey, Spangler, Taylor, Waddle, and Walton-17. Nays-Messrs. Carpenter, Clark, Dewey, Ford, Foos, Godman, Latham, Leonard, Nash, Perkins, Ream, Robbins, Root, Stanton, Thomas, Van Vorhes, Wade, and Speaker-18. So the amendment was rejected. Mr. Root moved that the bill and pending amendments be recommitted to the standing committee on New Counties, with instructions to report a bill appointing a commissioner to fix the county seat permanently, and fixing the county seat at Toledo temporarily. Mr. Hazeltine called for a division of the question, and it turning on recommitting, the yeas and nays were demanded, and were, yeas 19, nays 16, as follows, to wit: Yeas-Messrs. Carpenter, Dewey, Ford, Foos, Godman, Goodin,, Harris, Latham, Nash, Perkins, Ream, Robbins, Root, Stanton, Thomas, Van Vorhes, Wade, Waddle, and Speaker-19. Nays-Messrs. Aten, Barnett, Bartley, Clark, Crowell, Hazeltine, Henderson, Holmes, Hostetter, Leonard, Mitchell, McConnell, Ritchey, Spangler, Taylor, and Walton-16. So the Senate agreed to recommit. On motion of Mr. Leonard, The Senate adjourned. Attest: THOMAS J. MORGAN, Clerk: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1842. The Senate met pursuant to adjournment. Mr. Aten presented the following petitions from citizens of Perry township, in the county of Columbiana; which were referred to a select committee of three, and Messrs. Aten, Ford, and Holmes appointed that committee. From 220 males and 207 females, praying for a law to authorize the town council of the town of Salem, in the county of Columbiana, to grant licenses. From 110 citizens from the same, praying for the same. From 15 female citizens from the same place, praying for the same. Mr. Carpenter presented a pétition from 90 citizens of Mount Pleasant, in Jefferson county, Ohio, asking that the law granting li. censes for retailing spirituous liquors be immediately repealed; which was laid on the table. Mr. Robbins presented a petition from 109 citizens of Adams county, praying for the passage of a law to authorize the election of directors of poor houses; which was referred to a select committee of one, and Mr. Robbins appointed that committee. Mr. Robbins also presented a petition from citizens of the same place, asking for the same; which was referred to a select committee of one, and Mr. Robbins appointed that committee., Mr. Sill presented a petition from 63 citizens of Middlebury, Summit county, praying for a law submitting the location of the seat of justice of said county to a vote of the legal voters of said county; which was laid on the table... Mr. Mitchell presented a petition from 70 citizens of Jefferson county, asking for a recharter of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Steubenville; which was Referred to the standing committee on the Currency. Mr. Crowell presented a petition from Doctor Allen and other physicians, of Trumbull county, praying for aid from the state to sustain the Willoughby Medical College of Lake county; which was Referred to the standing committee on Medical Colleges. Mr. Holmes presented a remonstrance signed by 136 persons purporting to be residents of Symms township, in the county of Hamilton, against the erection of a new township to be taken from said Symms and Columbia townships; which was Laid on the table. Mr. Holmes presented a memorial from George W. Phillips, of Cincinnati, praying the passage of a law remunerating him for damages sustained by the Miami canal; which was Referred to the standing committee on Canals. . Mr. Spangler presented a petition from citizens of Licking county, asking for the chartering of a Bank to be established at Hebron; which was Referred to the standing committee on the Currency. Mr. Spangler presented the account of A, Hardy for materials and services in repairing the State House; which was Referred to the standing committee on Claims. * Mr. Waddle, from the standing committee on Roads and Highways, to which was recommitted House bill No. 37, to amend an act entitled "an act for opening and regulating roads and highways," passed March 14, 1831, reported the same back, and recommended its indefinite postponement. On agreeing to the recommendation of the committee on Roads and Highways, Mr. Spangler demanded the yeas and nays, which, being ordered, were, yeas 20, nays 15, as follows, to wit: Yeas-Messrs. Bartley, Carpenter, Clark, Crowell, Ford, Harris, Henderson, Latham, Leonard, McConnell, Nash, Ream, Root, Sill, Taylor, Thomas, Van Vorhes, Wade, Waddle and Walton-20. Nays Messrs. Aten, Barnett, Dewey, Foos, Godman, Goodin, Ha-, zeltine, Hostetter, Mitchell, Perkins, Ritchey, Robbins, Spangler, Stanton and Speaker-15. So the bill was indefinitely postponed. Mr. Bartley, from the standing committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the petitions of sundry citizens of the county of Seneca, relative to the issue of an illegal and fraudulent currency, by the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad Company, made the following report, accompanied by the annexed bill, which was read the first time: The standing committee on the Judiciary, to whom was.committed the petitions of sundry citizens of the county of Seneca, relative to the issue of an illegal and fraudulent currency by the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad Company, have had the same under consideration, and now report: It appears that this railroad company has issued, within the last year, an extensive circulation of checks or orders, bearing the similitude of bank paper, varying in the denominations thereof, from five dollars to twenty five cents, payable at Urbana; and a part made payable twelve months after date, upon some pretended estimates. These checks or orders are signed by a certain person as Secretary, and a certain other person as Engineer, both individuals but little known to the public, and sup posed to be of limited responsibility, and in the employment of said company; and the checks or orders purport to be drawn upon the treasurer of said company-but who such treasurer is, and whether he has a "local habitation or a name," is said to be unknown to the community at large. This currency is struck and prepared by the president and directors of said company, and put into circulation, as it is alleged, under their authority. There is not the remotest probability that this illegal circulation will ever be redeemed by said company, in the constitutional currency of the country. The Bank of Urbana, with which said railroad company deposits its funds, as it is said, and while in a state of suspension itself, receives this illegal currency for some purposes, while it refuses it for others. This illegal and depreciated issue of paper, it is said, has be-. come almost the only currency in those places where it has. gained a circulation, upon the well known principle, that the worse and cheaper currency will invariably expell and drive from circulation the better currency. The consequences are, necessarily, difficulty, embarrassment, and distress in business operations, and general and extensive loss, by the worthlessness and depreciation of the curreney. And the sequel of this operation to be anticipated is, that when this illicit circulation reaches its lowest point of depreciation, the company, through its agents and debtors, will take it up for a small amount, leaving the community at large to sustain a loss almost equivalent to the entire amount of the circulation. Thus the honest earnings of industry and economy will be plundered by a cunningly devised system of finesse and fraud, cloaked under the, specious garb of benefitting the community by the public enterprise of this extensive company. There is no provision in the act incorporating said company, or any amendment thereto, which furnishes the slightest pretext for the authority of said company to issue this circulation. The issue is, therefore, an open and wilful abuse and prostitution of the company's corporate rights and immunities, as well as a flagrant and criminal violation of the existing laws of the state.And the company cannot screen itself by the shallow subterfuge resorted to, in putting it afloat through the agency of engineers and other persons in its employ, in the form of checks on the treasurer. It has, by this unlawful and fraudulent conduct, shown itself to be unworthy of the. confidence of community; unworthy of the high privileges and immunities conferred on it, and unfit to be engaged in that noble enterprise for which the act of incorporation was granted. The majority of the committee, therefore,would have been disposed to have introduced a bill to repeal the charter of this company, had they not been saved the necessity of so doing, by the provision of the second section of the act, passed March 18,.1839, entitled "an act further to amend the act entitled an act to prohibit the issuing and circulating of unauthorized bank paper, passed January 27, 1816;" which pro vides, that whenever any incorporated company not authorized by law to transact the business of banking, shall be guilty of the act which has been done by this company, "the charter of such company shall from thenceforth be null and void for every purpose for which it, was granted, except so far as may be necessary to enable such company to close their business and settle their accounts." If this law is not effective to render the charter of said company a nullity, it cannot be denied, but that the forfeiture of the charter is and. will be, at any time hereafter, liable tobe decreed, whenever the necessary proceedings may be instituted in court. The charter of no incorporated company exempts the stockholders thereof from liability in their individual capacity, as joint debtors for the payment of debts contracted, not authorized by some express power contained in their act of incorporation.-. The stockholders, therefore, of this railroad company, would be liable individually, as joint debtors, for the redemption of this . unauthorized circulation, without any statutory provision on the subject. But it is ascertained, upon examination, that the first section of the act above mentioned, passed March 18, 1839; brings this railroad company within the provisions of the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th sections of the act entitled, "an act to prohibit the issuing and circulating of unauthorized bank paper," passed January 27, 1816, whereby the stockholders, are made liable in their individual capacity, jointly and severally, for the whole amount of this unauthorized paper; and proceedings are authorized to be commenced by the holder of any of these checks or orders, against any part or the whole of the stockholders of said company in their individual capacity. These facts had, probably, not fallen. under the observation of the petitioners, or this company, before this time, would probably, have been checked in its career of vice. The committee are not apprized of the existence of any excuse or palliation which can be offered to extenuate the unwarrantable and highly improper conduct on the part of this company. Its criminality consists not alone in a violation of the laws of the land, and an abuse of those exclusive rights and high immunities with which this company has been favored by the state; but also in debasing the currency, degrading the morals and hab its of integrity of business men, and, in: effect, defrauding the community at large. It is a matter of astonishment and to be deeply lamented, that men who have acquired stations of respectability and extensive influence among their fellow men, should so far forget their moral obligations and duty, as thus. openly to trample upon the laws of the state, abuse high privileges with which they have been clothed, and depredate upon the |