ADDRESS 
OF THE 
DIRECTORS 
OF THE 
CAMDEN AND AMBOY RAIL ROAD 
AND 
DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL COMPANIES, 
TO THE 
PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY- 
TRENTON: 
PRESS OF THE EMPORIUM. 
1846. To the People of Acw Jersey. 
The subject of a canal to unite the waters of the Delaware 
and Raritan rivers, has occupied the attention of the peo- 
ple of New Jersey for more than half a century. Its value 
and importance to the state and to the union were well un- 
derstood and appreciated ; but the people were never so well 
satisfied in regard to its success as a financial measure, as to 
induce them to contract a debt for its construction. But af- 
ter much discussion and legislation, which extended over a 
period of at least twenty-six years, a charter was granted in 
the year 1830 to tho present Delaware and Raritan Canal 
Company, by whom it has been successfully accomplished. 
At the same time a charter was granted to a company to 
make a railroad from Camden to Amboy ; and these two 
companies were in the year following united by an act of the 
legislature, and made one joint company. 
Believing that the history of these companies-the connex- 
ion existing between them and the state, and the deep inter- 
est the state has in their prosperity, are not properly under- 
stood by many of our citizens, the following sketch of the 
various legislation of New Jersey in regard to her internal 
improvements by railroad and canal across the state, and a 
briof examination of the policy of the system finally adop- 
ted, are respectfully submitted to the people of New Jersey, 
for their consideration. 
The first act of legislation in reference to a canal to con- 
nect the waters of the Delaware and Raritan rivers, may 
be found in the charter granted in the year 1804, to William 4 
Patterson and others, vho shall become subscribers and asso- 
ciates for the purpose of opening a communication by water 
from the riv^r Raritr n at or n ar New Brunswick to the tide 
water of the river Delaware, at or near Lamberton." The 
power to use the streams on the line, viz : the zlssanpink,Sto- 
nybrook, Millstone and Raritan, for this purpose;-to improve 
the navigation of them by dams, locks and other devices, 
and to make canals to connect the said streams, was given 
to this company by the legislature. But after a survey and 
examination had been made it was not deemed advisable to 
prosecute the work. It did not contemplate a supply of water 
by means of a feeder from the river Delaware, but relied alto- 
gether upon the capacity of the streams along the route- 
and this was not found sufficient to insure the public confi- 
dence in its practicability, and the project was accordingly 
abandoned. 
In the year 1815, a citizen of New Jersey, the late John 
Stevens, of Hoboken, obtained from the legislature, a charter 
to make a railroad, " from the river Delaware, near Trenton, 
to the river Raritan, near New Brunswick," with ample 
powers, and for a period of fifty years. This act also, was 
never carried into effect, because the scheme was then deem- 
ed so wild and visionary, that few persons could be found 
willing to risk their money in so uncertain a speculation. 
But the importance and necessity of a canal across New 
Jersey, had been made more apparent, by the difficulties 
which attended the transportation of military stores, and 
other property, during the last war with Great Britain, than 
it had previously been, and a route was surveyed in the 
year 1816, under the auspices of the late Thomas P. John- 
son, Esq , of Princeton, from the Delaware to the Raritan, 
by the way of the Heath Cote and Lawrence Brooks; but 
there was no further legislation on the subject, until the year 
1823. 
In the year 1S23, George Holcombe, L. Q. C. Elmer and 
Peter Kean, were appointed commissioners by the state of 5 
New Jersey, " for the purpose of ascertaining the practicabili- 
ty and expediency of a canal to unite the waters of the Dela- 
ware and Raritan rivers," "and to report to the legislature, 
the probable expense, and revenue to be derived therefrom, 
and generally, on every other matter, which, in their opinion, 
would be useful, to be understood by the legislature, in the 
premises." These commissioners made their report, recom- 
mending that the state should undertake j.the work, and 
pointed out the mode, by which the means were to be raised. 
These communications were referred to a committee of the 
legislature, Messrs. Griffith, Woodhull, McDowell, Drake, and 
Wurts, who made a full and elaborate report, in which they 
say, " that all unite in proclaiming the canal to be an object 
eminently worthy the encouragement of a patriotic and en- 
lightened legislature. The committee have on the other 
hand reflected, that although the prospects are flattering, 
yet the success of the project, like that of all new experi- 
ments, is in some measure problematical, requiring an im- 
mense expenditure, but with uncertain promise of a corres- 
ponding profit; under these considerations, your committee 
are induced to recommend the incorporation of a private 
company, by a charter, that will secure to the state by sub- 
scriptions to the stock, or other means, a reasonable part and 
interest in the profits, and direction of the said company 
believing that, in this way, most of the benefit, expected, may 
be realized to the state, without assuming the great responsi- 
bility, w'hich must be incurred by its undertaking, the ex- 
pense and future risk of the canal, and its management as a 
state property." The committee then reported a bill, which 
was passed into a law, by a vote of thirty-one to eleven, in the 
Assembly, and nine to four in Council, on the 30th of Decem- 
ber, 1824, by which an act of incorporation was granted to a 
company, to construct a canal from the Delaw are to ihe Rari- 
tan river. This act contained a provision of the most effective 
protection against both canal and railroad competition, and 
corresponded, in this respect, with the protection of ten miles. 6 
secured to the Morris canal, against any rival work. By the 
seventeenth section, it was provided, that " it should not be 
lawful for any person or persons, body politic or corporate 
whatsoever, to construct any canal or railway within ten 
miles of any point of the said canal or feeder, without the 
consent of the said company," and that it shall be the duty 
of the chancellor of the state, upon an application made 
therefor, by bill, in due form of law, by the said company, 
to issue his injunction to stay and prevent the erection and 
construction of any such canal and railway. These were 
among the first acts passed by the state of New Jersey, 
in reference to canals or railways, in which the principle of 
protection, or as it is now termed, monopoly, was incorpo- 
rated. But the principle in regard to bridges, and other 
public works, was as old as the legislation of the state. 
A new system had now become necessary. The people, 
before whom the subject had been discussed, and by whom it 
was thoroughly understood, had decided through their repre- 
sentatives in the legislature, that the internal improvements 
of New Jersey, if made at all, were to be made by private 
corporations. And what capitalist, without protection, could 
be induced, by any prospect of remuneration, to engage in 
their construction? Hence it was not only a wise and salu- 
tary, but indispensable condition, and without it, there would 
not be at this day, any important or costly canal or railway 
in this state. 
We say it was a wise policy. Pennsylvania may denounce 
it, and so may New York; but in their own works they in- 
variably act upon it. What would be thought of an appli- 
cation by an individual or a corporation to construct a rival 
work to the Columbia railroad or the Delaware canal? How 
long would such an application be entertained by a Pennsyl- 
vania legislature? The idea of countenancing for a moment 
a measure conflicting with the interests of the state in her 
own works of internal improvement, could never be tolerated 
for an instant in their hall of legislation. Their monopoly is 7 
of the most exclusive character, and it is worked by them- 
selves, and they wisely permit no interference. The monop- 
oly of New Jersey, on the contrary-that is, her right of 
way-is not worked directly by herself but leased to tenants 
to work for her. Practically, and substantially, the only 
difference between these states, is the same as that which is 
to be found in an individual tilling his own farm, or renting 
it to another. And what says New York, to permitting a 
Jersey company to avail itself of the rich treasures which 
will be brought to their very borders by the Erie railroad ? 
Or to permitting even her own citizens to participate in the 
manufacture and profits of her salt works. This manufac- 
ture and sale, much more than the sovereign right of way, 
may be esteemed a monopoly of the most oppressive kind, for 
it acts upon all classes of the people, and the article monopo- 
lized is essential to human existence. New Jersey has acted 
more wisely than either. She had determined to have her 
public works made at private expense in the first instance, 
securing at the same time, the largest contingent interest 
without any risk on her part, and reserving the right at the 
expiration of a limited period, to purchase them if she shall 
elect to do so. New Jersey has no coal lands or salt springs 
to be converted into monopolies ; but she has a most envia- 
ble geographical position in the Union, which it is her duty 
to improve for the benefit of her citizens. She has done so, 
in the manner deemed most advisable and profitable; and 
has reason to be proud of the wisdom which dictated her 
policy. The costly public works in and near our cap- 
ital, reared by the means derived from her canals and rail- 
roads-the revenue already equal to the interest on one mil- 
lion of dollars, received from the Delaware and Raritan Ca- 
nal and Camden and Amboy Railroad Companies; and free- 
dom from debt, attest most eloquently the wisdom and fore- 
cast of the fathers' of our system of improvement. But to 
return to the history of this canal company. 
At the time of the passage of this act of December 30th, 8 
1824, no question was raised as to the power of the legisla- 
ture to grant such protection, or its wisdom in doing so. But 
circumstances of private embarrassment prevented the indi- 
viduals who had purchased the charter from carrying it into 
effect, and it was surrendered to the state and the bonus paid 
by them-one hundred thousand dollars returned. At the 
session of 1827 and 1828, notwithstanding the expression of 
public opinion as to the state's embarking herself in this work, 
the subject was again brought before the legislature, and a 
bill authorizing the state to construct the work was passed in 
one branch of the legislature, but was lost in the other. 
Again, in 1828, this subject was brought before them, and 
the governor was authorized to appoint a person to collect 
the necessary information, and a committee raised, who, du- 
ring the recess prepared an elaborate report, in which the 
question "ought the state to undertake the work," was ably 
discussed, and the committee conclude by saying:-"believ- 
ing that the proposed canal will be of immense advan- 
tage to our citizens, to the state, and the union, beg leave 
to report a bill authorizing its construction by the state." 
The bill never passed into a law. It met opposition from 
a portion of the state which at one time had been in favor of 
it, but which could derive now little, if any advantage, from 
the construction of a canal uniting the waters of the 
Delaware and Raritan rivers; and who supposed that a rail- 
road from Camden to Amboy, might be forever prevented, 
provided the state should engage herself in the construction 
of a canal, as proposed by the report and bill of the com- 
missioners. At this day, railroads were but experiments. 
But the Liverpool and Manchester railroad, was in process 
of construction, and the most sanguine hopes and expecta- 
tions of its success were entertained by its projectors; and 
West Jersey, from its locality, was deeply interested in this 
mode of communication with New York. The experience of 
the past, showed the unwillingness of the people to embark, 
in a hazardous and expensive undertaking, and the extreme 9 
caution and prudence which have been ever characteristic of 
New Jersey legislation, shrank from the hazard of an outlay 
of one million of dollars, for the construction of a work which 
might not realize the expectations of its friends;-these and 
the local feeling and interest of the western section of our 
state, intensely excited in opposition to the canal-all uniting 
in opposition to the measure, again defeated it, and rendered 
its future success hopeless in the extreme. Such was the 
condition of things and state of public feeling, when in the 
year 1830, a charter was granted to a company, to construct 
a canal uniting the waters of the Delaware and Raritan-and 
another to make a railroad from Camden to Amboy. The 
stock of the Camden and Amboy railroad, was immediately 
subscribed, but for the stock of the canal after three days of 
attendance on the part of commissioners at Trenton, Prince- 
ton and New Brunswick, only 1134 sharesof the 10.000, for 
which the books were opened, w'ere subscribed. At a subse- 
quent period, a citizen of New Jersey, Robt. F. Stockton, 
came forward and subscribed an amount necessary to save the 
charier. Public opinion had by this time, taken so strong a 
direction in favor of railroads, as a more cheap and ex- 
peditious mode of communication and transportation than 
canals, that the greatest difficulties were experienced in re- 
gard to the canal. Thedirectors of this company, under such 
circumstances of embarrassment, finding it impossible to con- 
struct the canal which was regarded by them, and by the 
state and union, as a work of paramount national impor- 
tance, deemed it necessary to make an application to the 
legislatnre of New Jersey, in the year 1831. to aid them, by 
granting to them the privilege of constructing a railroad from 
Trenton to New Brunswick, without which it was alleged, 
the canal could not be constructed. But this application 
was not entertained by the legislature. It wras regarded by 
them as a breach of faith on the part of the state, to the Cam- 
den and Amboy company, and it was also held, that the inter- 
est of the state required that no more works should be con- 10 
structed, for the purpose of intercommunication with the 
cities of New York and Philadelphia, than were absolutely 
necessary-because the right of way, was the property of 
the state, and had not been parted with, but merely leased 
for a limited term of years, with the right of resumption on 
terms most advantageous, with all its improvements, and 
within a period not more than sufficient to develope its re- 
sources. 
Let us now pause for a moment, to enquire what would 
have been the effect of any other system of legislation? 
Suppose the state had thrown open to all applicants the 
right of way, what would have been the consequences? In 
the first place, a competition would have taken place between 
all the rival companies, ending as all such do, in the ruin of 
all-and after that a union of all, by which the most tyranni- 
cal monopoly would have been established, and the public 
interest entirely disregarded. And again the state would un- 
doubtedly have reserved the right of purchasing these roads, 
after a certain time, and in case it should be deemed advisa- 
ble at that time to do so, she would be compelled to purchase 
an indefinite number of bad roads, at an enormous aggregate 
cost, instead of one perfect and productive improvement. 
The safety and interest of the public, also require the ab- 
sence of competition on railroads. It is a dangerous mode of 
transportation, w'hen not regulated by the greatest prudence;- 
and the spirit of rivalry and competition, where there was a 
struggle between contending lines, for the earliest arrival at 
their points of destination, would occasion disasters far exceed- 
ing in horrors, the steamboatexplosions on our western waters. 
In Great Britain and throughout the w'hole continent of 
Europe, where this matter is well understood, the public are 
protected from the fatal consequences of railroad rivalry. 
The interests and lives of their subjects are wisely protected 
by the most stringent laws, in regard to the mode of construc- 
tion of the roads; but no two roads are ever authorized to 
- e points. In the case of railroads, more than 11 
any thing else, there seems to be required, for the safety of 
human life, such a degree of protection as to secure such 
an amount of patronage as to enable the company to keep 
their road always in the best possible condition. The histo- 
ry of railroads in the United States, shows conclusively the 
fact, that wherever they have been injudicously located and 
badly supported, instead of being public benefits they have 
been public evils. In this respect we derive instruction 
from the history of the turnpikes of the country. The mul- 
tiplication of them connecting the same points has invariably 
resulted in all ^'xn^bad, instead of there being one good one; 
and for this plain reason, that there has not been business 
enough to keep them all in proper condition. 
Such, undoubtedly, would have been the case with the rail- 
roads in New Jersey, had the right of way been injudi- 
ciously throw n open to all applicants for charters to construct 
them. Those who had obtained the first charter, instead of 
constructing a road of the most safe and durable description, 
would have made it in the cheapest possible manner, to realize 
in the shortest possible time, the largest income. Others fol- 
lowing, would have done the same, and our state between the 
Delaware and the Hudson, would have been cut up by rail- 
roads, worth no more than the Jobstown road, recently sold 
for a sum less than the value of the iron which had been laid 
upon it. Or in the other case-one company, more power- 
ful than the rest, indirectly, w'ould become the owner of 
them all, and thus establish a gigantic, irresponsible and 
hydra-headed monopoly. Neither the interest of the state, 
or public convenience and safety, would have been subserved 
by such a system - whilst by the wise policy adopted by the 
state, and thus far steadily pursued, a large revenue is deri- 
ved from her works-a measure of safety to human life-and 
certainty in regard to all the operations of the companies, 
have been attained, which no state in the union can equal. 
Such were some of the reasons and arguments which in- 
duced the legislature at that time to refuse the application of 12 
the canal company for a rail road from Trenton to New 
Brunswick, and the bill which had been presented for that 
purpose, failed to become a law. But the legislature deeming, 
most wisely, the canal a great state and national work, and 
believing that the only mode by which it could be construc- 
ted, was by connecting it with a railroad, agreed, by a vote 
nearly unanimous, to unite the Delaware and Raritan Canal 
and Camden and Amboy Railroad, provided the construction 
of the canal was guaranteed, by the joint companies, and fur- 
ther, ^iat it should be enlarged to dimensions which would 
make it the most capacious work of the kind in the world. 
They also secured to themselves in the acts which united and 
protected them, one thousand shares of the stock, upon which 
all the instalments should be paid by the companies; and what 
was still more valuable to them, a change in the mode of col- 
lecting the transit duties, provided in the charter of the rail- 
road company, from a rateable tax upon passengers to a speci- 
fic one, which more than doubled their receipts from this 
source. They also provided in the same act, that the rail- 
road, at the expiration of its char ter, should become the prop- 
erty of the state, if it should elect to take it, not "with refer- 
ence to the value of the stock, but to the actual value of the 
said road, which should not in any event exceed the actual 
cost and expenses incurred in the completion of the said 
road." 
So far, then, it cannot be delnied, the benefits and advanta- 
ges were all on the side of New Jersey. The state had secured 
a magnificent canal, and a railroad across the state, without 
incurring the risk of a dollar in their construction, providing 
at an early day for their resumption by the state, if it should 
deem it advisable to do so, (which of course, would depend 
upon their productiveness,) and meanwhile deriving from a 
transit duty on passengers and merchandize, passing over and 
through these works, a revenue far exceeding the ordinary 
expenses of the government of the state. 
But legislation, in regard to these companies, did not 13 
«tqp here. By an act passed in March, 1832, in considera- 
tion of a further grant of protection, an additional one thou- 
sand shares of stock was transferred to the state: a guaran- 
tee was given by the companies that the transit duties and 
dividends on one thousand shares of the stock should annu- 
nlly amount to thirty thousand dollars; and an obligation was 
entered into, in order to accommodate the middle region of 
the state, to construct a railroad thirty-two miles in length, 
from Bordentown to New Brunswick:-all of which stipula- 
tions and obligations have been, on the part of the compa- 
nies, faithfully complied with, r\t this point, terminates all 
important legislation with regard to these companies ; and 
it cannot fail to be perceived, upon a calm review of it, that 
upon every occasion in which the affairs of the companies 
were made the subject of legislation, additional burdens were 
imposed upon the companies and additional advantages ob- 
tained by the state. 
To recapitulate-a canal has been secured to the state and 
nation, which never would have been constructed but for the 
union of the canal and railroad companies, a work which has 
cost but little less than three millions of dollars, and has not, 
as yet, realized an interest of a little more than one per cent, 
upon its cost. 
2d. A change of the principle of the payment of the tran- 
sit duties on the railroad, from a rateable to a specific tax; 
and also, as to the time when the payment of the tax was to 
commence, by which the revenue from this source to the 
state was greatly increased, if not doubled. 
3d. A change as to the manner in which the railroad should 
be valued, at the expiration of the charter, not with reference to 
its productiveness or value of its stock, but with reference to 
its actual cost, a difference in favor of the state, of nfillions 
of dollars, in case she shall elect to purchase it when she has 
a right to do so. 
4ih. A prohibition to charge more than three dollars for a 
passenger between New York and Philadelphia, instead of ths 14 
rates allowed in the original charter, which would have 
authorized a charge of at least nine dollars. 
5th. The penalty of a forfeiture of the railroad, in case the 
canal should not be completed within the time limited in its 
charter. 
6th. The guarantee that the transit duties and dividends 
on one thousand shares of the stock held by the slate, should 
amount to at least thirty thousand dollars a year, and the 
deficiency, if any, made good by the companies. 
7th. The obligation to construct a lateral railroad from 
Bordentown to New Brunswick. 
8th. The imposition of transit duties upon passengers and 
merchandize transported on the road, from and to Trenton, or 
Bordentown and New Brunswick. 
9th. The transfer to the state of two thousand shares of the 
capital stock of the companies, worth, nearly two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars. 
And for these sacrifices on the part of the companies, and 
acquisitions on the part of the stale, what has the state given 
as equivalents? Absolutely nothing, but the extension of the 
canal charter from thirty to fifty years. For the protection 
she extended to them was her obvious policy, demanded by a 
regard for her own rights, immediate and prospective, and for 
the safety of her citizens. Is it not then true, in view of all 
these facts, that there has been no act passed in reference to 
these companies, since their incorporation, which has not re- 
sulted greatly to the benefit of New Jersey; and that the 
various legislatures, instead of being overreached or defraud- 
ed, in every instance, have made contracts far more advanta- 
geous to the state than to the companies. 
And now we beg leave to enquire, how stands the state, 
and how stand the companies in relation to the public as 
monopolists? What is the monopoly? And who are the 
monopolists? The monopoly, forsooth, is the right of way, 
the possession of the state of New Jersey, in her sovereign 
•apacity, the use of which, by its agents, has interfered with 15 
no man's business, and has taken away from no one any rights 
he ever before possessed; and this right of way the state has 
leased for a term of thirty years, to a company of her own 
citizens, to improve for her benefit, and upon terms most ad- 
vantageous to her and onerous to the lessees. This is the 
monopoly 1 
In order to ascertain who are the monopolists, it will be 
only necessary to enquire who are the greatest gainers by the 
monopoly. And here we find no difficulty in coming to an 
immediate conclusion. The state of New Jersey, without 
ever having paid one dollar, has derived from her lessees 
and partners in this monopoly, two thousand shares of stock, 
worth as before stated, nearly two hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars-has received in transit duties and dividends, up to the 
1st day of January last, no less a sum into her treasury than 
five hundred and thirty-one thousand two hundred and thir- 
teen dollars and four cents; and during the last year, fifty- 
nine thousand four hundred and ninety-seven dollars. Its 
receipts last year were equal to one fifth of the nett re- 
venue of the works-the dividends paid during the year 1845, 
to the stockholders, twenty-eight thousand shares at nine 
dollars per share, amounted to two hundred and fifty two 
thousand dollars, whilst the state received fifty-nine thousand 
four hundred and ninety-seven dollars, or nearly twenty per 
cent of the whole amount. Can then, we ask again-can the 
contracts which have been made with the state be regarded 
with truth or justice, hard, except upon themselves? And 
who are the monopolists ? !! 
It were reasonable to suppose, that works in which the 
state had so great an interest, would be cherished and favored 
by it, even on the selfish principle of protecting and improv- 
ing its own property. The state has now, as has already 
been shown, a direct interest, equal to one-fifth of their nett 
revenues; and it is, therefore, perfectly plain, that it is in 
that proportion interested in increasing them. The sums 
received into the public treasury from these works in the 16 
year 1845, is equal to the interest of one million of dollars, 
and yet, notwithstanding these facts, which would be so con- 
clusive in the ordinary business of life, there appears to be a 
strong disposition on the part of many of our citizens, to em- 
barrass the operations of their own agentsand partners, and 
to abate, rather than to increase, their prosperity. This 
might, perhaps, be understood and explained if the receipts 
of the companies were derived from their own citizens, and 
were regarded as taxes upon them, or as impositions upon 
the travelling public; but so far from this being the case, 
the fares are reasonable, and they arc derived almost exclu- 
sively from strangers, and persons not living in New Jersey. 
The injustice and unkindness with which these companies 
have been hitherto treated, and the jealousy which was mani- 
fested almost as soon as their works were completed, induced 
them, in the year 1836, to offer to surrender all their works 
and privileges, upon terms, not only liberal on their part, 
but most advantageous to the state. It was well said, in the 
letter of a committee of the companies, " The value of per- 
sonal property and private rights, like the inheritance of 
liberty, depends, in a measure at least, upon their quiet as 
well as their permanent and secure enjoyment. The large 
mass of the stockholders of these united companies are Jer- 
seymen-all are citizens of this great Republic-and they 
feel as sensitively as the purest and most jealous of their 
countrymen, in relation to every question of political expe- 
diency or policy which agitates the public, of which they 
form a part. With honorable and patriotic purposes and 
motives, they embarked their fortunes, some of them, their all, 
in the hazardous and arduous enterprise of constructing 
these great works, which will descend to posterity as noble 
and imperishable monuments of the genius and wisdom of 
the age. They hoped when their toils and hazards were 
ended, not merely to reap the ordinary and usual pecuniary 
reward of successful enterprise, but to receive the approba- 
tion of their fellow citizens. 17 
They have been disappointed-the watchful, perhaps salu- 
tary spirit of the age, which looked silently upon their long 
struggle for success, has discovered at the moment they had 
reached the goal, that in the grants, under which they had 
prosecuted and completed their labours, there were princi- 
ples lurking, hostile to popular liberty, and the people's 
rights. They are branded as monopolists, followed by slan- 
der, and reproached with selfish and ambitious purposes. 
They have borne this injustice in silence, but they desire to 
be relieved from it; and they come to lay down at the feet 
of the legislature, the grants they have received, with the 
results of their labours, asking only, what injustice to them- 
selves they are bound to ask, the common recompense of hon- 
est industry and enterprise." 
The proposition made by the companies was not accepted 
by the state, and they have gone on ever since that period, 
in the quiet and faithful discharge of their duties to the 
state, the public, and the stockholders, without permitting 
for a moment, under any circumstances, the excitement of 
party, or politics, to influence their conduct. But we think 
they have good cause to complain of the injustice of their 
fellow citizens. The hazard of untried experiments was 
theirs. A canal, which has cost nearly three millions of 
dollars, they have made. When legislature after legislature 
refused to incur an expenditure of eight hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars for it-a work which, though unproductive to 
themselves, has enhanced the value of property of every 
description in its vicinity, and has thus added greatly to the 
agricultural wealth of New Jersey; whilst the facilities which 
are afforded, and the cheapness with which the richest 
manures have been furnished by this means, have changed 
the whole appearance of the country in every direction 
along its course, and created productive farms out of barren 
and uncultivated wastes. Millions of dollars have also been 
expended in improving the communications between the two 
great cities of the union ; and, instead of being cheered and 18 
encouraged by a state they have enriched, and a com- 
munity they have benefitted, " they are branded as monopo- 
lists, followed by slander, and reproached with selfish and 
ambitious purposes." 
In the fierce denunciations indulged in by some persons, the* 
fact is overlooked or disregarded, that the state's share in 
transit duties and dividends of every three dollars nett mo- 
ney received for through passengers, is 60 cents, and in the 
same way on every passenger between Trenton and New 
Brunswick, 25 cents. They condemn the companies as if they 
were themselves the authors of the hard laws to which they 
are bound to conform. Nor is it for a moment considered, 
that with such enormous taxes, the companies are deprived of 
the ability to indulge their own feelings and wishes, in regard 
to the reduction of the fare between such points, as are taxed 
by the state, without doing great injustice to their stockhold- 
ers. But nevertheless, in regard to way fares, about which 
so much has been said and so little understood, it will occa- 
sion surprise to many, to learn by the following table 
that in no state in the union are the fares on railroads so low 
for way passengers as in New Jersey, except between certain 
points, where the heavy hand of state taxation has been laid 
upon them, and that in no state are the citizens so well and 
so cheaply accommodated. From this it will appear that the 
average charge per mile on fifty-five roads, is three cents and 
forty-nine hundredths, and the charge on the Camden and 
Amboy Railroad, for through and taxable way passengers, is 
three cents and thirty-seven hundredths per mile, and on 
way passengers not taxed, one cent per mile. 19 
TJ1BLE of Running Time, Rates of Fare, and Length of 
Rail Roads, Compiled principally from "DisturnelVs 
Guide," March, 1846. 
LENGTH 
MILES. 
TIME. 
H. M. 
MILES PER 
HOUR. 
FARE. 
fAre per 
MILE. 
N. J. Rail Roads. 
Camden and Wood- 
$ 
Cts. 
bury, 
8 
.25 
3.13 
Morris and Essex, 
22 
.75 
3.41 
Patterson, 
Elizabethtown and 
16 
.50 
3.13 
Somerville, 
26 
.75 
2.89 
New Jersey, 
34 
1.00 
2.94 
Do. to New 
Brunswick, 
31 
.50 
1.61 
Do. to Newark, 
9 
.25 
2.78 
5 
7)1989 
2.84 
Penn. Rail Roads. 
Reading, 
92 
5.20 
17.25 
3.50 
3.80 
Columbia, 
Harrisburg and Lan- 
70 
^7 
15.28 
2.50 
1.50 
3.57 
4.06 
caster, 
37 
15.28 
York & Gettysburg, 
13 
14.20 
.62 
4.77 
4 
4)6201 
4)1620 
15.50 
4.05 
N. Y. Rail Boads. 
Mohawk & Hudson, 
16 
1.00 
16.00 
.50 
3.12 
Utica & Schenectady, 
78 
5.30 
14.18 
3.00 
3.84 
Syracuse & Utica, 
53 
3.30 
15.14 
2.00 
3.77 
Auburn & Syracuse, 
26 
2.00 
13.00 
1.00 
3.84 
Auburn & Rochester 
78 
6.00 
13.00 
3.00 
3.84 
Towanda, 
43 
5.0C 
14.80 
1.45 
3.37 
Attica & Buffalo, 
'31 
14.80 
1.05 
3.39 
Erie, 
53 
3.42 
14.13 
1.50 
2.83 
Harlsem, 
26 
1.42 
14.82 
.50 
1-92 
Troy & Saratoga, 
31 
2.00 
15 50 
1.50 
4.84 
10 
10)145.40 
10)3476 
14.54 
3.47 20 
TjJBLE of Running Time, Rates of Fare, and Length of 
Rail Roads, Compiled principally from " DisturneWs 
Guide" March, 1846. 
LENGTH 
MILES. 
TIME. 
H. M. 
MILES PER 
HOUR. 
FARE. 
EARS PER 
MILE. 
Eastern R. Roads. 
t 
Cts. 
Long Island, 
96 
2.00 
2.08 
Boston & Providence, 
Providence & Ston- 
42 
4.00 
22.25 
1.25 
3.00 
ington, 
47 
22.25 
1.50 
£19 
Boston & Worcester, 
Norwich & Worces- 
44 
4.30 
24.44 
1.25 
2.84 
ter, 
66 
2444 
2.00 
3.03 
Eastern, 
Portland, Saco and 
54 
5.15 
20.00 
1.50 
2.77 
Portsmouth, 
Boston & Maine, Ex- 
51 
20.00 
1.50 
2.94 
tension, 
17 
3.30 
20.86 
.44 
2.59 
Do. Rail Road, 
56 
20.86 
1.46 
2.59 
Boston & Lowell, 
26 
21.71 
.65 
2-50 
Nashua & Lowell, 
15 
3.30 
21.71 
.35 
2.33 
Concord, 
35 
21.71 
.75 
2.14 
Fitchburg, 
50 
2.30 
20.00 
1.25 
2.50 
New Bedford and 
- 
Taunton. 
20 
1.04 
18.75 
.75 
3.75 
Old Colony, 
37 
1.00 
2.70 
Western, 
Albany and West 
118 
9.12 
16.95 
3.60 
3.05 
Stockbridge, 
New Haven & Hart- 
38 
16.95 
1.15 
3.03 
ford, 
Hartford and Spring- 
36 
1.50 
4.16 
field. 
26 
1.00 
3.84 
19 
15)312.88 
19)5503 
20.86 
2.84 21 
TJIBLE of Running Time, Rates of Fare, and Length of 
Rail Roads, Compiled principally from " DisturnelVs 
Guide," March, 1846. 
,ENGTH 
MILES. 
time. 
H. M. 
MILES PER 
HOUR. 
FARE. 
FARE PER 
MILE 
Southern R. Roads. 
Washington & Balti- 
more, 
Baltimore and Phila- 
delphia, 
" Way Fare, 
Baltimore and An- 
napolis, 
Baltimore and Cum- 
berland, 
" Way Fare, 
Baltimore and Sus- 
quehanna, 
York and Maryland 
Line, 
Wrightsville, York 
and Gettysburg, 
New Castle and 
Frenchtown, 
Charleston and Au- 
gusta, 
Georgia Rail Road, 
Montgomery, 
Wilm ington, 
Portsmouth, 
Winchester and Po- 
tomac, 
Richmond, Freder- 
icksburg and Po- 
tomac, 
Richmond and Pe- 
tersburg, 
Petersburg to Wel- 
don, 
40 
97 
41 
178 
36 
21 
13 
16 
136 
130 
42 
162 
78 
32 
70 
22 
6U 
17 
2.30 
6.00 
> 9.30 
11.00 
3.30 
8.00 
16.00 
16.17 
18.50 
14.73 
14.73 
14.73 
11.82 
12.00 
20.00 
17.33 
10)15.601 
15.6( 
$ 
1.60 
3.00 
1.50 
7.00 
1.25 
.75 
.50 
.75 
6.75 
6.50 
2.25 
6.00 
3.00 
2.00 
3.15 
1.00 
3.00 
) 
Cts. 
4.00 
3.06 
3.57 
3-66 
3'93 
4.00 
3.75 
3.57 
3.84 
4.68 
4.96 
5.00 
5.36 
3.70 
3.84 
6.25 
4.50 
4.44 
4.88 
19)80.99 
4.26 22 
STATEMENT showing the Average Rate of Fare per mile, 
and Average Speed per hour of the principal Railroads in 
the United States, compiled principally from J. DisturneWs 
Guide Book, published, March, 1846. 
RATE OF 
FARE PER 
MILE* 
RATE OF 
RUNNING- 
MILES PER 
HOUR. 
New Jersey, 5 Railroads, 
cts 2.84 
HOURS. 
Pennsylvania, 4 " 
4.15 
15.50 
New York, 10 " 
3.47 
14.54 
Eastern, 19 " 
2.84 
20.86 
Southern, 17 (( 
4.26 
15.60 
\ Total, 55 
17.46 
66.50 
Average charge per mile, on fifty-five roads, cents, 3.49 
Average speed per hour, on thirty-nine roads, 
being all from which information was obtained, 16.62 23 
Rates of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, embracing their 
principal depots. 
MILES. 
fare. 
FARE REC'D 
Taxable passengers, 
Phila. to N. York, 
Deduct ferriage, 05 
{t state tax, , 10 
90 
$3.00 
15 
$2.85 
Ditto to ditto, forward deck, 
Deduct ferriage, 05 
" state tax, 10 
90 
2.25 
15 
2.10 
Ditto to South Amboy, 
Deduct ferriage, 05 
" state tax, 10 
61 
2.75 
15 
2.60 
Ditto, to New Brunswick, 
Deduct ferriage, 05 
" state tax, 10 
60 
2.50 
15 
2.35 
Trenton to New Brunswick, 
Deduct state tax, 
$11.5-00, divided by 328 miles, equal to 
3.37 cts.per mile, 
27 
1.25 
10 
1.15 
328 
11.05 
Way passengers, not taxed, 
Trenton to Philadelphia and return, 
Deduct ferriage, (both ways,) 
• 66 
75 
10 
65 
From Bordentown to Philadelphia, 
Deduct ferriage, 
27 
374 
05 
32J 
Ditto to ditto, (market line,) 
Deduct ferriage, 
27 
25 
05 
20 
Ditto to Burlington, regular line, 
Deduct ferriage, 
$1.37| divided by 138 miles, equal to 
1 ct. per mile, 
18 
25 
05 
20 
138 
Steamboat rates, Philadelphia to Bur- 
lington, 
Ditto to Bordentown, 
New York to Amboy, 
62| cts. divided by 76 miles, equal to 
. 82-100 of a cent per mile, 
19 
29 
28 
121 
25" 
25 
76 
62J 24 
To this we add a review and abstract of the laws in reference 
to the companies. 
The Camden and Amboy Railroad Company was incorporated 
4th February, 1830, (2d volume of New Jersey laws, page 284.) 
By the 20th section the state reserved the right of subscribing 
to the one-fourth of the stock, till the first day of January, 1831, 
and in the event of becoming a subscriber for the one-fourth, the 
state was to appoint two directors of the company. This right 
of subscription the state never embraced. 
By the twenty-second section the legislature may, at the expi- 
ration of thirty years after the completion of the road, cause an 
appraisement of the roads and appendages to be made, and the 
state have three years to make their election to take the work at 
the amount of the appraisement. 
By the twenty-third section, it is provided, that after the com- 
pletion of the road, the treasurer of the company is required, 
under oath, to make quarterly returns of the number of passen- 
gers and the number of tons of goods, wares and merchandize 
transported upon the roads, to the treasurer of the state, and 
thereupon to pay the treasurer of the state at the rate of ten 
cents for each and every passenger, and the sum of fifteen cents 
for each and every ton of merchandize so transported thereon. 
This section imposes a rateable transit duty and was not payable 
till the completion of the road, and the company had nine years 
in which to complete thejoad. 
By the twenty-fourth section, the company is relieved from 
the payment of transit duties, if the state should authorize the 
construction of any other railroad for the transportation of pas- 
sengers across the state from New York to Philadelphia, within 
three miles of the commencement and termination of their road, 
and such other railroad should be liable to a tax not less than the 
amount payable to the state by the company. Here was a com- 
plete protection, by a relief from all transit duties, and imposing 
upon the new company a like transit duty. 
The Delaware and Raritan Canal Company was incorporated 
the same day with the railroad (2d vol. of N. J. laws, 275.) 25 
The eleventh section of the act contains a description of the 
canal and feeder. The canal was to be at least fifty feet wide 
at the water line, and the water therein to be at least five feet 
deep throughout, and the feeder to be not less than thirty feet 
wide and four feet deep. 
The nineteenth section of the act protects the company against 
the construction of any other canal within five miles of any 
point of the canal of the company. 
By the twenty-fifth section, the state may take the canal at 
the expiration of thirty years from the completion of the canal 
and feeder, upon an appraisement to be made. 
By the twenty-sixth section, the treasurer of the company is 
required, after the completion of the canal and feeder, to make 
quarterly returns of the number of passengers and tons of mer- 
chandize transported thereon across the state, to the treasurer of 
the state, and thereupon to pay to the treasurer of the state, the 
sum of eight cents for each passenger, and each ton of merchan- 
dize so transported thereon, excepting the articles of coal, lum- 
ber, lime, wood, ashes and similar low priced articles, for which 
two cents per ton shall be paid. It is apparent from this section 
that no transit duty is chargeable on merchandize taken from one 
place to another place, if not across the state. 
On the 3d of February, 1831, (2d vol. 330) the legislature 
passed a supplement to the canal charter, and by it extended the 
time mentioned in the twenty-fifth section of their charter, from 
thirty to fifty years, and prohibited the canal company, or any 
other person, from constructing any railroad across the state, be- 
tween the Delaware and Raritan rivers, within five miles of the 
canal, until after the time limited for the completion of the canal 
which was eight years from the 4th of February, 1830.- 
The extension of the time from thirty to fifty years, was granted 
upon the express condition, that the canal should be constructed 
from the Delaware to the Raritan, seventy-five feet wide on the 
water line, and the water therein should be seven feet deep 
throughout, with locks to be at least one hundred feet in length, 
and twenty-four feet in width in the clear, The canal has been 26 
completed, and is at least seventy-five feet wide at the water line, 
and seven feet deep, and the locks are one hundred and twelve 
feet in length and twenty-four feet in width in the clear. 
On the 4th of February, 1831 (2d vol. 331), the legislature 
passed an act relative to the Camden and Amboy Railroad Com- 
pany, by which it was declared lawful for the company to trans- 
fer to the state, one thousand shares of their stock, the instal- 
ments of which stock should be paid by the company, so that 
the state, neither at the time of such transfer, nor at any subse- 
quent time, should be required to pay any instalments thereon, 
and a certificate of such stock should be held by the treasurer of the 
state, for the use of the state, and all dividends of the company 
should be declared and payable thereon, as if the state had sub- 
scribed for such stock, and paid the several instalments thereon. 
The stock has been transferred, and the dividends have been 
regularly paid to the state. 
By the second section of this act, the state has the right to 
appoint one director, to represent such stock, but no vote shall 
be given for such stock at any election for directors of the com- 
pany. The state has since exercised this right, and appointed 
a director. 
By the third section, the transit duty is changed from a rateable 
.duty to a specific duty of ten cents for each passenger carried 
on the road, across the state, between the Delaware river and 
Raritan bay, and the payments to commence, not when the 
whole road is completed, but when so far completed that passen- 
gers may be transported thereon across the state. 
By the fourth section, the appraisement provided for in the 
twenty-second section of the original act of incorporation, is 
to be made with reference to the actual value of the road, and 
not to the value of the stock, and such appraisement is not, in 
any event, to exceed the actual cost and expenses incurred in 
the completion of the said road. 
The sixth section of this act declares, that when any other 
railroad, for the transportation of passengers and property, be- 
tween New York and Philadelphia, across this state, shall be 27 
constructed and used for that purpose, by virtue of any law of 
this state, or the United States, authorizing or recognizing said 
road, then and in such case, the one thousand shares of stock 
shall be re-transferred to the company by the treasurer of the 
state; and the dividends shall be no longer payable to the state. 
Till the 15th of February, 1831, the canal and railroad com- 
panies were separate and in hostility to each other, and the 
friends of internal improvements in New Jersey entertained seri- 
ous fears that the canal would be abandoned. This gave rise 
to what has been called the union or marriage act, passed on that 
day, (2d vol. 350,) by which the stock of the companies is con- 
solidated, by the assent of seven-eights of the stockholders, and 
the purchase, at par, of the stock of any stockholder, expressing, 
in writing, his disagreement of the provisions of that act. This 
act makes it obligatory upon both companies to complete their 
respective works in the time specified within their charters; 
and if one is completed and the other is not, the work so com- 
pleted is forfeited to the state. 
The companies did consolidate their stock, without the dissent 
of a single stockholder, and have acted together ever since-the 
treasurer of each company, however, as to the transit duty 
payable to the state, making the quarterly returns to the treasurer 
of the state, separately. 
On the 2d March, 1832, (2d vol. 374,) the legislature passed 
an act, making it lawful for the united companies to transfer to 
the state one thousand shares of stock, upon which all the in- 
stalments were paid by the companies, a certificate of the stock 
handed over to the treasurer of the state, for the use of the state, 
and the dividends which have been declared by the company 
have been paid to the state, in the samejway as if the state had 
subscribed for such stock and paid the several instalments thereon. 
By this act it is provided, that if the transit duties and divi- 
dends of the one thousand shares of stock shall not amount to 
thirty thousand dollars in each and every year, it shall be the 
duty of the companies to make up the deficiency out of the 
joint funds of the companies, before any dividend is made to the 
stockholders. 28 
The state is declared entitled to the appointment of one di- 
rector, to represent the one thousand shares. 
The thirty thousand dollars thus guaranteed, has been paid to 
the state each and every year since the railroad from Borden- 
town to Amboy has been so far completed that passengers and 
merchandize have been transported thereon; and the state has 
appointed a director to represent the state, thus making two 
state directors. 
By this act a new duty was imposed upon the companies.- 
They were required to construct a lateral railroad, from a suitable 
point on said road, at or west of the village of Spottswood, to a 
suitable point in the city of New Brunswick, which was to be 
completed as soon as any railroad should be made from the city 
of New Brunswick to the Hudson river. 
By the twentieth section of this act it is declared, that it shall 
not be lawful at any time during the railroad charter, to construct 
any other railroad, or railroads, in this state, without the consent 
of the said companies, which shall be intended or used for the 
transportation of passengers or merchandize between the cities 
of New York and Philadelphia, which will compete in business 
with the railroad authorized by the act incorporating the 
Camden and Amboy Railroad. 
Under this protection, the united companies commenced their 
railroad and canal, and expended several millions of dollars. 
In 1S37 the companies received information that the New 
Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company had nearly 
completed their road, and that the public expected that the 
lateral road to meet the Camden and Amboy Railroad, at a 
point west of Spottswood, would be commenced and comple- 
ted with reasonable dispatch. Meetings of the citizens of 
Bordentown, Trenton, and Princeton, took place, and memo- 
rialized the companies, and requested that the lateral road 
should be so constructed as to approach their places of resi- 
dence. The opinion of able counsel, not connected with 
the companies, was obtained, and they all united in say- 
ing, that under their charter, the companies could comply 29 
with the wishes of the public. Operations were commen- 
ced ; some progress was made, when a resolution was of- 
fered in the House of Assembly, cn the day of March, 
1837, for the appointment of a committee, to enquire, by 
whom, and by what authority, and with what intent or 
purpose the said railroad was being constructed. The offi- 
cers of the companies answered promptly, that what had 
been done and what the companies intended to do, was to 
comply with the wishes of the people, and to fulfil a duty 
imposed upon the companies by law. The majority of the 
committee made a full report on the whole subject, which 
was printed in the minutes of the Assembly, for the year- 
commencing 25th October, 1836, which report they con- 
cluded as follows: 
" The majority of your committee are, therefore, of opin- 
ion, that it is better, much better, at once to dispense with 
the making of the lateral road, and pass a law authorizing 
the united companies, instead of it, to make the road now 
contemplated on the old route through Trenton, which, if 
the companies thought proper to act umier it, will give to 
the public the benefit of the road, and at the same time ad- 
vance and secure the interest of the state ; and accordingly 
the majority of the committee reported the bill entitled, "A 
further supplement to the act relative to the Delaware and 
Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad and Trans- 
portation Companies," which, after various alterations and 
amendments, became a law on the 15th of March, 1837, 
(see pamphlet laws of that date.) 
By the first section of this law, the companies are author- 
ized to construct a railroad, to commence at some suitable 
point in the city of New Brunswick, where the same shall 
connect with the south westerly end, or termination of the 
New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company; and 
thence to run on the most eligible route to the city of Tren- 
ton, and thence by the way of Bordentown, to the Camden 
and Amboy Railroad. 30 
By the third section of the same, a transit duty is imposed 
upon passengers and merchandize transported on or over the 
road frsm Bordentown, from the Trenton Delaware bridge 
or from the city of Trenton to the city of New Brunswick, 
or from the city of New Brunswick to the Trenton Delaware 
bridge or Bordentown, that they would be liable to pay to 
the state, if they had been transported on the Camden and 
Amboy Railroad, from Camden to South Amboy, with the 
proviso that the company shall not charge more than five 
cents per mile, for each and every passenger. 
By the fifth section, the rights of the state are protected, 
and to remain the same as fully as if the act had not been 
passed. 
Under this act, the companies pay to the state a transit 
duty of ten cents upon all way passengers, from and to the 
cities of Trenton and New Brunswick, and the late treas- 
urer, Mr. Southard, insisted that the transit duties so paid, 
formed no part of the guarantee of $30,000. This gave 
rise to the joint resolution adopted by the state, on the 10th 
of March, 1842, by which the treasurer of the state is direct- 
ed to require of the companies, the payment of ten cents for 
every passenger, and fifteen cents for every ton of merchan- 
dize, theretofore transported, and the like transit duty for 
every passenger and ton of merchandize thereafter transport- 
ed on any said road belonging to the companies, from Cam- 
den, Burlington, Bordentown, the Trenton Delaware bridge, 
the city of Trenton, or any other point or place on the Del- 
aware river, to South Amboy, the city of New Brunswick, or 
any other point or place on the Raritan river or bay, and 
from South Amboy, the city of New Brunswick, or any other 
point or place on the Raritan river or bay, to the city of 
Trenton, the Trenton Delaware bridge, Bordentown, Bur- 
lington city, Camden, or any other point or place on the 
Delaware river, and upon payment thereof, the treasurer of 
the state was authorized and instructed to include the said 
transit duties as part of the guarantee of the $30,000. 31 
[ TOn the canal, by the seventeenth section of their charter, 
the company may demand at the rate of four cents per ton 
per mile for the transportation of every species of property, 
and five cents per mile for each passenger, and half that rate 
of toll on the feeder. 
On the railroad, by the sixteenth section of their charter,. 
the company may demand at the rate of eight cents per ton 
per mile for the transportation of every species of property, 
and ten cents per mile for the carrying of each passenger. 
By the act passed February 15th, 1831, it was provided 
that it shall not be. lawful for the Canal and Railroad Compa- 
nies, to charge more than three dollars for the transportation 
of passengers from and to the cities of New York and Phila- 
delphia, and by the act of 2nd of March, 1832, they cannot 
charge more than two dollars and fifty cents for each passen- 
ger carried on the spur road to Spottswood, from and to the 
cities of New Brunswick and Philadelphia. 
By the third section of the act passed March 15th, 1837, 
it is provided that it shall not be lawfid to charge more than 
five cents per mile for the transportation of each passenger 
over the road authorized by that act. 
By the order of the Joint Board of Directors. 
JOHN POTTER, 
President of Joint Board.. 
John R. Thomson, 
Secretary.. 
March, 1846.