The undersigned ^representations from the county of White^ in accordance with their constitutional privilege, do dissent and hereby most solemnly protest against the passage of the act entitled “an act For “further following reasons ^To establish and maintain a general system of Internal improvement” ^ as prejudicial to the interests of the state for the following reasons.

at the present commencement of the present session of the Legislature ^General assembly our People^ were rich in worldly substance, and as happy and contented as human nature permits, they are so yet, and every thing with them is prosperous, the products of their industry command higher prices than were ever known in the State, their lands are high, ^in price^ and at many points their town Lots are exorbitantly so, while at all other points seemingly possessed of minor or no peculiar advantage the prices of their Town ^property^ Lots keeps steadily progressing with the prosperity and improvement of the country. The population state is, ^and for years has been^ filling up with a hardy industrious and enlightened population and that in a ratio unparallelled even in the wonderful western states of this wonderful confederacy.

These things are not to be denied, and the undersigned look on with amazement and wonder utterly at a loss to conceive what blessing—what advantage—(to be shared by the whole people) is to be anticipated attained by plunging the state

in a debt, the interest on which will amount to for more than eight ^ten^ times its present [income?] revenue, which even now is insufficient to meet its ordinary and absolutely necessary expenses can it double the price of Pork, of Beef or any other staple. can it double the price of labor. can it lessen the price of ^the^ absolute or factitious necessaries of life? The undersigned think not. That it may greatly encrease the value of Lots and Lands around some prominint & terminating points, ^the undersigned freely admit,^ and altho[although] this may greatly redound to the benefit of many worthy individuals, ^citizens & not citizens of this state^ it will be but a poor solace for the many burthens and anxities ^with^ which in the opinion of the undersigned it will overwhelm the People

The act provides for the construction of many immense works—in a great degree unconnected—and not in the least dependant on, or necessary to each other. It bears upon its face, the stamp of what is in polite parlance termed compromise, and while it is thought ^ [?] ^ and for arguments sake admitted ^by the undersigned^ here that the “systems” of Indiana and Pennsylvania were brought into being by a like process, that of the former is yet in its infancy,—it has ^as yet^ put forth no blossom to attract our

our admiration, and ^ and ^ no fruit to stimulate our c[...?] ^“rivalry—and^ that of the latter exhibits many splendid and useful works called for by the necessities of a great and rich people, almost smothered by the incubus with which they were loaded by the process.1 ^x^ The undersigned most solemnly protest against the introduction of that principle into our Legislation by which our great measure is made to depend upon another of more or less importance—by which when fully carried out, extremes are made to meet—and the good of the whole swallowed up in combined petty and perhaps private interests—as forgiven to the genius of our institutions, and fraught with ^destruction^ death to their purity.

The undersigned pass by that of ea

and even the successfull works of Pensylvania and New York afford no fair example or precedent to us. for them, they are intended to connect and do connect cities of vast wealth[,] business[,] & population traversing countries densely populated and of immense resources, affording means[,] conveniences[,] and appliances for that wealth[,] business[,] population[,] and those resources; while the works proposed by this act seem to the undersigned to be a bold attempt to create important cities and attract population and wealth The undersigned pretend to no gift of Prophecy, but

if the experiment fails, what will be the conditio[n] of this People?

The undersigned most solemnly protest against the introduction of that principle into our Legislation by which one great measure is made to depend upon another of more or less importance—by which, when fully carried out extremes are made to meet, and the good of the whole swallowed up in combined ^petty^ and perhaps private interests

as foreign to the genius of our institutions, and fraught with destruction to their purity, by which one great measure is made to depend upon another of more or less importance, by which when fully carried out extremes are made to meet; and the good of the whole is ^may be^ swallowed up in combined petty, and sometimes private interests.

The undersigned would pass over the multitude of officers ^with ample salaries^ which the act proposes to create, who must live, thrive, and have their being in the system. because they are perhaps each one necessary to the very existence of the system, but that they find in that very necessity an objection to the system itself.

There is manifestly no disposition, and most probably there will at present be no attempt, to

increase the taxes and burthens of the People to the extent necessary to sustain the system proposed by this act. consequently its supporters must seek other and experimental means to supply the deficit, already is a large increase of Banks and Banking capital proposed ^for any of those means,^ for the Commonwealths Bank of Kentucky, our own old state Bank, and the Loan office of Missouri which were pure “state” institutions, and in the history of almost all the Banks of all the states during the ten years previous to 1828 the undersigned think they see a faint glimmering of the splendid failure and ^utter^ misery which must ensue an experiment of that nature.

The undersigned do not pretend to assert that they are infallibly right and the majority wrong, but they claim to be sincere; and they desire this their protest, and their few short reasons for the same, may be entered upon the journals