The Plymouth pilot. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1851-1852, 1851-12-10

! uary and July dividends on the Public
: Debt, there will yet be a Surplus Of about
100000. Whatever the surplus may
by, Recommend that it be promptly ap-
piled to the liquidation OF a portion d
the principal of the debt. in such manner
as you may direct. My own opinion is,
that no intricate or con- pie1 machinery
is necessary, but that your executive Of
ficers, with the addition of Sinking
Fund Commissioner, or Of the Agent cf
State. should be charged with this duty.
However small the beginning, it should
be made at the first possible moment
| By the prompt investment of such Sur
plus. and Of the School Fund in the man.
ner hereafter suggested, it is believed
that from one-third TO onehalf million
of the Foreign Debt may be withdrawn
within the present fiscal year.
The Domestic Debt is so nearly liqui-
dated that recommend you to direct the
Treasurer Of State TO give notice to the
holders Of State Scrip, to present the same
for payment within limited period, at
ter which interest on the saate shall cease.
The Treasurer should also be Authorized
from time to time to require the County
Treasurers to make deposits Of such "a
mounts Of State revenue as may be in
their hands, and for such services, and
for those rendered in making advance de-
posts in 1850, the Auditor and Treas
urer Of State should be empowered TO
make reasonable compensation.
Your attention is called tc the very a
bic and practical Report Of the Auditor
on the finances of the Stale; also to the
valuable suggestions in the Report Of the
Treasurer.
The wisdom and propriety Of the reve
nue. laws of the last session of the LegiS-
lature are manifest in the large increase
Of taxable property returned for the cur
rent year. Sufficient returns have been
received 10 warrant the statement that
the whole amount of taxable property
placed on the duplicate of 1851 will be
not less than two hundred and ten mil
lions Of dollars-being an increase OF
seventy three millions over the previous
year, or more than City per cent. The
greatest increase has been in the personal
property. showing that heretofore large
amount of this description Of taxable.
has entirely escaped the knowledge Of the
assessors. In the item of corporation
stock alone. the increase is not less than
four millions of dollars.
The i'm .reased tax on the personal prop
erty returned chargeable to less than four
thousand persons in the various counties
ih the State. is equal to the whole ordina
ry expenses Of tn. State government for
the past year.
Theee ate doubtless defects in the
phraseology and practical operations OF
the revenue acts of the last session, which
will from time TO time become apparent
and will require remedy at your hands;
but the correctness of the principle Of as
ses.ing every mans property al its actu-
al value, placing men of all condition and
occupations upon the same footing. com
mends itself to general appreciation A
return TO the old system is entirely i'm
practical BILE.
1t will be seen on reference to the as
sessment, that there is still great ine-
quality in the valuation of lands in ad-
joining counties Thus, as an instance.
valuation OF land is 1881 cents per
acre. while in Ohio county it is but S.,
Is per acre. This and other cOnSidera-
tions may require re-appraisement at
an earlier period than would otherwise
be necessary.
Most fortunately for Iddiana, she con-
tains, within her own borders, all the
elements which are needful to stimulate
this branch of industry. She has seven
thousand square miles of territory withih
the great illinois coal field,' which is
marked one side by the Ohio. and on an
other by the Wabash River. Within
that area, large beds of iron have been
found, equal in quantity and quality to
any in the country-the Vermilion and
Greene county furnaces being now in full
and successful operation. Lately iron
ore of fine quality and in great abun-
dance has been found in the county o.
Perry. near Leopold. In other portions,
there are indications that lead and other
minerals exist. l refer to these things
TO show that at no distant day, that part
of the State which lies within the coal
region. will constitute our great manu-
featuring district, and that it is the duty
of the legislature to aid in developing its
capacities.
I know of no other mode so effectual
Of rendering this aid, as to provide for a
thorough geological and typographical
survey of the State. So far from chan
ging the views | expressed on this sub
ject in my last annual message, l am
more and more satisfied that no measure
within your constitutional power to a
dopt, could contribute SO much to the
Advancement of the state. in populat tion
and weal th we want more cauttal-tp