occasions, and the efficient support they afforded the civil authority, in arresting the progress of lawless violence, and maintaining the supremacy of the laws, reflects credit on them, and vindicates the wisdom which regarded and provided for a well-organized militia as an essential part of our political system.

I have heretofore adverted to some changes in the organization of the militia, which, in our present condition, might be made without diminishing its practical benefits, and by which the burdens consequent upon the performance of militia service might be greatly alleviated. These changes can be made only by the General Government; and whatever the Legislature could do to impress on Congress the importance of acting on this subject, has, I believe, been done already by your predecessors. There are, however, some evils resulting from the present system, which it is believed the Legislature is fully competent to remedy. The present mode of punishing delinquents operates oppressively and unjustly in many cases. The number of regimental and battalion courts martial annually organized in the State, is nearly four hundred; and they have cognizance of all delinquencies for the non-performance of duty, and for deficiencies in equipments. From the sentence of any such court, an appeal, if made within twenty days, is allowed to the officer organizing the court; but no other or further means of redress are prescribed or allowed, however great may be the injustice or error of the decision. Notices to delinquents to appear before these tribunals, may, in case of absence, be served by leaving copies thereof at their usual place of abode; and it often happens, that those who have good excuses for not performing military duty, are sentenced to pay fines and penalties without any actual knowledge of the proceedings against them. Before the parties aggrieved are apprised of the decisions of the courts, the right of appeal is frequently lost by the lapse of time. There are also some obvious objections to confining the appeal exclusively to the of ficers appointing the courts. Relief in cases of manifest hardship, has been formerly sought by applications to the commander-inchief; but I have denied them, from a conviction that the law does not confer upon him the power to reverse or modify the judgment of these courts. I recommend that the time allowed for an appeal should be extended to twenty days after actual notice that a fine or penalty has been imposed, in every case where the

summons to attend the court had not been personally served on the delinquent; and that a further appeal in all cases should be allowed from the decision of the officer ordering the court, to the brigadiergeneral. To authorize an appeal in such cases to be carried to an officer higher in rank than a commandant of a brigade, might not be necessary for the purposes of justice, and would be attended with much inconvenience.

During the last charter election in the city of New-York, the State arsenal was broken open, and forcible possession taken of the public arms by a mob. An act so flagitious in its character, and tending so directly to bloodshed, called public attention to the exposed situation and insecure condition of this establishment. The Executive was directed, by a resolution of the last Legislature, to enter into a correspondence or negotiation with the common council of that city for an exchange of the present site of the arsenal, together with the buildings thereon, for a more eligible one in the upper part of the city. Such a correspondence has been opened; and it is ascertained that the corporation have several pieces of land eligibly situated for the proposed object, any of which they would very willingly exchange, on terms advantageous to the State, for the site of the present arsenal. With reference to some measures regarding the police of the city, they desire that the exchange should be made as soon as practicable; I therefore recommend that you should consider this subject at an early period in the session.

I conceive it to be of the utmost importance that you should provide effectual means for executing with rigor the act passed in 1829, "to preserve the purity of our elections." The expenditure of money allowed by this act is confined to a few objects, and under no conceivable circumstances could it amount to but a small part of the sums which there is reason to believe have been expended in the recent elections. The elective franchise is the source of all power in our political system; and next in importance to its enjoyment is the preservation of its purity. Power corrupted in its source disorders the whole government. The moral and political condition of the electors has hitherto been sufficiently healthful to counteract the corrupting influence of money, and I hope it may long continue so; but they ought to be [Senate No. 1.]

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shielded, as far as legislation can do it, from all assaults upon their purity. I am disposed to ascribe the increased efforts that appear of late to have been made to influence the elections, by the lavish use of money, to the nature of some of the questions involved in our political contests, rather than to any encouragements such a practice has derived from a supposed decrease of virtue in the electors: but from whatever cause it has arisen, it is dangerous to civil liberty, and ought to be repressed by the Legislature.

The constitution imposes on the Legislature the duty of preventing the sale of lottery tickets within this State. In defiance of the existing law on this subject, the buying and selling of these tickets is extensively carried on in various places. Not only the obligation created by the constitution, but the duty you owe to your constituents, to suppress public evils, requires you to provide more effectually for putting an end to this traffic.

An enumeration of the inhabitants of this State is to be taken this year, and if it should be deemed expedient to procure statistical information in relation to other matters than such as are now required by law, it will be necessary to provide therefor immediately, in order to enable the Secretary of State to prepare and distribute proper blanks within the period allowed for that purpose.

The recent and lamented death of our distinguished fellow citizen, Simeon De Witt, will devolve upon you the duty of electing a successor in the office of Surveyor-General, which he filled with great credit to himself and eminent usefulness to the State, for the long and uninterrupted period of fifty years. I deem it not inappropriate to avail myself of this occasion to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of a most faithful public servant, who devoted almost the whole of a long and active life to the service of this State. In the dawn of manhood he espoused the cause of liberty, and became eminent among our revolutionary patriots. He entered into the service of this State in the infancy of its government, and regarded its advancement with parental solicitude. He aided in founding and in building up most of our public institutions, and has left more, if not more enduring, memorials of his useful services, than any other of our numerous public benefactors. His many private virtues shed lustre upon his public character. A life thus commenced by services and sacrifices in the cause of

civil liberty, and well sustained to its end by unremitting labors directed with singleness of purpose to the public good, should be held in just remembrance by those among whom it was spent, and presented as an encouraging example to posterity.

Albany: January 6th, 1835.

W. L. MARCY.