Excerpt from Message Vetoing an Act Extending Time for Payment of the Enrolment Tax on Certain Acts Heretofore Passed: Executive Chamber, Harrisburg, March 31, 1873

The amount due the Commonwealth upon these Sixteen hundred and twenty two private and corporate acts, time would not permit me to ascer° tain, but the sum must be large. It will be observed that thirteen hun dred and thirty of these acts are for the creation of corporations, or giving them additional privileges. The law permits the payment of the enrol ment tax within one year, a time sufficient and within which any bonafide corporation could and does pay. It is those gotten up purely for Specula tion, not for public necessity or for public good, that profit by the character of legislation contained in the bill returned.

It is a notorious fact that for years past charters of incorporation have been obtained for the express purpose of sale - for the mere purpose of trade and traffic - and so used and to such an extent not very creditable to the Commonwealth. They pay no enrolment tax, under the system heretofore pursued of extending payment of same. Until their owners find purchasers. The sooner this class of legislation is ended the better, and one effective way of doing it will be not to extend the time for the pay ment of enrolment taxes. Surely those who consume the time of the Leg islature for private advantage or gain, and often to the prejudice of public business, should at least be required to pay within the time fixed the tax imposed thereon. There are now, as before stated, sixteen hundred and twenty-two of these private acts, of which thirteen hundred and thirty re late to corporations of various descriptions. By the law as it now stands, those of them upon which the enrolment tax is not paid on or before the first day of May next, will then become null and void. It will end many, if not a great majority of these sixteen hundred and twenty-two acts en able the Commonwealth to know what private acts she has granted are in force, and what are not, and prove a blessmg to the Commonwealth gener ally. For which reasons I return the bill unapproved.

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