The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1857-01-15

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ports the total gene al balance on that
SO, SIG 80, of which only the sum of
359,95 6} was then available, and this
sum constituted the only tnnd for the pay
ment of current demands OF every descrip
ticn upon the Treasurer.
In view of these things think it my
duty to recommend The levy of a sufficient
rate upon the grand list to restore to the
sinking fund the sums whicn have been
trans( ,rred from it, or in any way devo
ted to other uses, and to increase it To the
full extent of the constitutional require
ment. And also recommend such leg
islation as will insure the future reserva-
tion of the entire fund from every use ex-
cept that Of paying the interest and prin
cipal of the Public Debt. and the safe in
vestment of that part speedily applica-
bic to the reduction Of the principal uutil
wanted for that purpose.
The chief sources of our Public Income
are the Grand Levies; Charter Taxes Of
Banks; Proceeds of Public Works; Col
lections of Surplus Revenue loaned to
counties: sales Of school and Ministerial
Iauds held in Trust; sales of Lands grant
ed to the state in aid Of improvements and
otherwise acquired; Dividends OF stocks,
Convict Labor; Payments by the General
Government on account of the Three per
cent Funi, and Licenses AMI auction du
| lies
Some of these sources Of revenue are
nearly exhausted; others were never pro
dnctive. and the receipts from others are
| come.
Only about forty thousand acres of land
in Ohio yet remain the property of the
General Government. Very little more
can be expected therefore. from the state
| three per cent proportion of their sales
Not muth land belonging to the State
remains unsold. The am oun. of surplus
Revenue unpaid by counties is reduced to
S206,34 ,66. The proceeds OF convict
labor are absorbed i'll the support of the
Penitentiary, and avail nothin to the Gen
eral Re- enue. And the proceeds of the
school and Ministerial lands as they oc-
cur. become part of the Irredneible debt
npon which the state is bound to pay six
per cent interest to the use fer which they
were granted.
These facts admenish us that for the
expenses of the State Government, of the
Public Institutions, and for the payment OF
the state Debt, our main reliance must
hereafter be upon the contributions of the
people in the form of taxes. They re-
source, and demand the strictest economy
in every department of expenditure.
No means exist of ascertainine the
quantity of lands nnsold, whether belong
| ing to the state, or held in trust | rec
ommend the provision of such means.
suggest, also, the expediency of such
legislation as will expedite and insure the
endorsement to the State of the unpaid
balances of surplus revenue yet remaining
| with the counties.
! When Ohio came into the Union, she
relinquished the right to tax the lands of
the United States within her limits, in
cor sideration. among other things, that
not less than three per cent of the pro-
| ceeds OF all sales, past or future. should
be paid to the state, to be applied in the
laying out of roads. This is the origin OF
what is known as the three per cent fun!
The General Government has only ac-
counted for the States proportion of
lands sold since the compact, and sold for
I.money. In my judgment, the spirit il
not the letter Of the compact, entities the
| State to the same proportion of the sum
which would have been produced by the
sale, at not less~than the minium rate of a
dollar and quarter an acre. of all lands
granted for military services, or granted
or reserved to individuals, companies and
| corporations for their own use and bene-
fit. The quantity of such lands, accor-
herewith transmitted, is l0. 6 u, 540 acres
A large sum, therefore. if my view ofthe
matter is correct, is due to the State from
the General Government, and it is wor
thy Of your consideration. whether some
measures should not be adopted to secure
the recognition and payment Of this claim.
Its equity is the more apparent when it is
considered that of all the land, the States
of Ohio has been the least literally dealt
with by the General Government. Eve
~ other Of these States has received much
larger grants in aid of public improve
ments than Ohio. Nearly every other,
instead of three per cert of the proceeds
of sales, has received five. Minnesota
and all the new territories, instead Of one
section in each township for the use of
achools, received two. Ohio does not
complain of this liberality to other states
and territories. BY her Senators and
Representatives she has sanctioned it
And the only demands justice for herself
After your adjournment in April last, / re-
ceived from the late State Librarian a very in
teresting report upon the boundary between
Ohio and Pennsylvania, made under an appoint
ment by my predecessor. in pursuance of res
olution of former General Assembly. Inow
lay the Report before you. 1t will be found to
embody much valuable informati N concerning
our Eastern boundary. which is continuation
from the Ohio TO Lake Erie, of due North
line drawn from the Western termination of
Mason and Dixon's line between Pennsylvania
and Virginia. 1t will be for the Legislature to
determine what compensation, if any shall be
made to the late State Librarian for this spec
ial service.
The Report of the Board of Public Works
will advise you fully in respect to the manage