The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-07-23

requirements Of duty would suggest, seems
TO the minds Of your Committec most sur-
prisiag and extraordinary, and indicates in
their opinion an un6tnees on his part to
manage 80 large a fund, that must seem ap.
parent 10 all.
Your Committee also feel Il their duty to
call the attention Of the Senate to, and to
condemn on their part in the most unequiv-
ocal manner, the assumption Of authority
by that officer, exercised even after q Coz
ordinate branch Of the legislature had
called his attention 10 the fact, and in the
absence Of any positive enactment of law,
in the loaning out on a long credit and with
a recklessness in respect to security which
no private individual would for a moment
tolerate, a large portion of the fund arising
from the per centum accruing to the school
fund from the proceeds Of che sales OF the
public lands. lift was the duty Of that Of
ticer to apportion the amount of the fund in
January, 1856, when il amounted TO only
$5A,34l.50 c, as he seems to have acknow-
lodged BY his act in distributing as he did
on the lst of March, 1855, your Committee
cannot conceive why he should not have
considered it equally his duty TO distribute
the fund coming in his hands, March, 1856,
when it amounted to $2a6, 800. so.
Your Committee feel it their duty slso,
to call the attention Of the Senate to the
singular inequality shown by that officer in
the manner of distributing this fund among
the different counties, 90 far as any distrib.
ution has been made. In the disposition
Of the fund apportioned on the 25th Of
March, 1855, Of $54.S41.5o there were ac-
Il rnpJsor 70 fha ; .kara a,ts IF fha Srnarin-
tendent paid to Lee county, though the
Committee have no evidence Of it except
the verbal assurance Of that officer and
vouchers exhibited Tor a small part only,
the sum Of $20,70o.59, while Dubuque and
Des Moines received $4,000 each and more
than half of the organized counties Of he
State did not receive any.
So with regard to the partial distribution
Of the fund received March 1854. The
Superintendent claims to have distributed
some 500, 500 among Is different counties,
though your Committee, as before stated,
found vouches for only $4,000, so aPpor-
toned, but of the sum claimed TO have been
distributed BY him one county is again made
toreceive $4,000, while Dubuque, Mashas-
ka and other populous counties receive moth
ing. So fragrant a violation Of fairness and
equality in the a~pportionment of the school
fund demands the protecting arm oftheGen-
eral Assembly, and demonstrates, if any
thing were needed in addition to the facts
previously stated, in their opinion, the utter
incapacit ofthe present Superintendent of
Public Instruction to manage the school
fund with that judicious care which the in
~terests Of the State and their proper pro-
lection demand.
Your Committee would therefore recon-
mend that the law authorizing the Superin-
tendent to receive the fund now due the
State from the General Government accru.
ing on the sale Of the proceeds of the sale
of public lands for the fiscal year ending
June 80, be repealed.
All Of which is respectfully submitted,
]. d.. PREsroK, Chairman Of
Ways and Means.
w. F. CooLBAUcH,
d. p. BRIGHAM,
&c. HILLS,
A. SAUNDERS,
w. w. Hamilton.
July l5, 1856.