The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1849-01-05


every department. OF the pubic >,Irtce. 1t
should elicit from the legislature tie most
rigid circumspcctiou in rca'd 10 ov'Ty
charge made upon the public Treasury. With
this manifest desire an the part oi the people
to restrain the lubl.c expenditures within
the most economical limits consistent with
the public Interests. it's not singular that
they should view with some degree &C dis
trust, il not Dissatisfaction, the unreasonable
amount virtually drawn from tie nca>cry
yearly as cnmprusarirn 10 ccliain rnicelS
employed upon the Illinois and NJ chipsn
canal. I;inay very property he asked, Why
tie trustees having charge, Il thatwcIE, and
selected by the bondhoh'erS. Should receive,
each, FIVE thousand dollars rcr year as ,aa-
ry, or nearly oue-fouilh mo,c than is re
ceivyd by the governor. SECRETARY # state,
treasurer and auditor ombjrcd, tcrtte same
length Of time. The legislature posi- SscS
the power to fix the compensation Of tie
trustee appointed en- behalf @! Tie state, ard
should proceed to exercise II at m early
day. As regards the salaries Of the ether
two, | would recommend such action Ola tie
part of the legislature as shall cause the
matter TO be spread directly before the for
eign bondholdors, who. have TAO dOubtwill
cheerfully arguieSce in this re aSonable re-
quest that these salaries be hereafter placed
upon a less eXurbitaut footing.
BY an act of the last general assembly,
passed February -, 1877, the governor was
authorized TO cause 10 be received FROM tie
holders and cancelled all the various kinds
Estate Indebtedness, (cannl a, he eXcepted,)
and substitute therefor an issue s"ceriit'
Gates of stock" or stock bonds Of charac-
ter uniform and transferable. Those issued
on account of principal debt. were allowed
TO bear like interest with the original sur
rendered up; and those ISSUED for overdue
interest, or interest in arrear, were forbidden
to draw interest for ten years, or until after
A. d. 1851. This plan was adopted as pre-
sen,ing the most feasible fer ultimately OBJ
tanning knowledge Of the extent and true
condition Of orr state debt, and TO reduce the
motley mass Of forms Of which 1t consisted,
into something like order and uniformity,
and By means Of which, hereafter TO escape
the Confusion and cmbarraS>mCntS occur
ring al every step necessary TO he taken by
the legislature, or the agents OF the state. in
any attempt TO manage the suujec, in sat
isfactory manner. 1t also became neceSsa.
~, to enable the agent OF The state so TO APP
ply the interest tax as to render equal jus.
tice to our creditors, arrest the counterfeit
and spurious securities well known to be in
circulation in large quantities, and by which
the state has already lost thousands Of dol
lars, and as f:r as possible provide against
such risks and losses in future. BY chang
ing the place of payment for the principal
debt and interest from Europe to The United
States, saving will be made in the relief
r.. Al = -
miums, Sc, which have heretofore been
necessary incurred. Over 100000 in
Original Indebtedness las been taken up and
cancelled, for which the above mentioned
stock has been issued, and feel strongly
assured that the measure will in the end be
entirely successful. The object Of the law
secured. and our state debt relieved Of its
perplexilies, our action GREATER can lie d.
rected with full knowledge Of its condition
and the bearing particular measures may
have upon it. Many difficulties and ankle
ties, as well as continuous labor, have nee
esSarily attended the progress of the mea-
sure thus far, which would only have been
augmented by further delay. It's believed
that the appropriation already made for this
object will be adequate TO lis accomplish
meut. Ii may not be thought advisable at
present TO inieTferc with the original apprai-
sed value of the state lands. inasmuch as the
recently funded interest certificates, bearing
as they do no interest upon their face for
Limited number Of years, viii on this account
continue at a market value so reduced as TO
afford those DESTROYS Of purchasing these
lands, an opportunity Of doing so, at fair
prices. The cause Of complaint heretofore
existing, by reason Ct the high prices placed
upon them, and which refer their origin
mainly TO the progressive nse If state secu.
rites, are for the present at least greatly
mitigated, if not rendered entirely ground.
less by the recent changes in the form Of our
state Indebtedness above referred 10. BY
observing this suggestion, together with the
sure results Of the funding system, the pur.
chaser OF state lands will be enabled TO pro.
cure them at Just rates, the state derive all
the advantage of their early sale and oCcu-
patien, and tits more than probable eventu.
ally realise. in the redemption Of her secur.
ties, the fully appraised value of her lands.
which could be realised in no other way.
While the arrcared interest is in this man
ner being gradually absorbed by the sale of
the state lands, and the accruing interest up
/ on outstanding bonds diminished by the ap-
plicatiun Of the mill and half on interest
tax, the provisional two mill tax under the
constitution will be yearly reducing the
/ principal indebtedness. 1t will be observed
( that this last provision allows no part of the
fund contemplated 10 be raised under it, to
be applied to the discharge Of interest, and
without some statutory provision slightly
modifying the law directing the application
of the interest fund, many bonds cannot bt
taken up, although the principal be fully sat.
isfied, and the interest remaining due there,
on be ever so small in amount.
With no augmentation Of the presen, rate,
of taxation the constantly increasing vau,
Of the taxable property of the state will en-
nance the available yearly resources of III,
treasury, and instead OF an unvarying con
slant drain upon the treasury as heretofore
with scarcely any return, we are assured o
arge contributions from permanently pro
duc,ive sources. 1t may perhaps be just {,
suppose that the constitutional alteration il
the mode of levying taxes upon real proper
ty, from minimum to an ad valorem value
may diminish the amount heretofore deriv
able from this source. The receipts for tn
ensuing year viii however show the cor
rectness OF this Inference. Besides the rev
enue aocruing from ordinary taxation, tn
state possesses Of unsnld lands about on
hundred and iorty-nve thousand acres, val
i h..