Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-01-12

1 purposes, but on account Of Public
Works, under the direction. Of y6uf
predecessors. The actual disbursements
for the Executive, Legislative aud Ju.
dicial departments, and all the oenevo.
lent and reformatory State Institutions,
including the Penitentiary, weIe, there,
fore, S62G,83S. The bilance remain.
ingwas Sl0l ,b9i.
For the expenses Of the Public Works
there was received, from tolls aud water
rents on the Ohio canal. s7l 4i2; on the
Miami and Erie Canal. li4,2S7; on the
Muskingum improvement -, 974; on the
Hooking Canal i7,3 ~ on the Wahon.
ding Canal AIS; IN the Western keservc
aud Maumee Road, 1851; from, sales of
Canal lands, SIG; and from other sour
ces. 8, 9,921; in all. ei6.7ei. The dis
bursements were 33e,g92. The appa.
rent excess Of outlay over income, was,
therefore, 80, 200, and this amount was
paid from the General Revenue, as has
been stated. or this sdm, however,
i sI,o34 was expended in payment for the
Lewistown Reservoir, end for other
specIa! purposes. outside OF the proper
repairs for the year. The real exess
of cost over receipt was 6, 10. ,..-
For common Schools, there were collected on
the Gran d List, si,24s,7e7. There we're also
collected on the Grand List, for schools, but a,
part Of the levy for Sinking Fund, Sl53 69j 90.
This sum was the interest on the lrreduciblo
Debt, created BY the appropriation of the pro-
ceeds Of the school lands TO general State pur
poses. The two sums, with the balance from the
M ed m afa fur aehn hnnl
purposes Of 81 ,4lS,647, ofwhieb were djsbursed
Sl $50 ,92S, leaving a balance of f$j2,7is
Tho snouns collected for School Libraries. al
I ready stated, with the balance of the preceding
year, was $50, ,f73. The amount disburssd wac
! $7g,579, leaving q balance Of $593. .-l-.t ,fEg
For payment Of debt and interest, there we're
collected IRON lsves, 81 ,o2s,l2ii of which S74o,
91O were for the general purposes Of the Sinking
Fund, and S2SS, I54 were for the REIN bursehnent
Of the Temporary Loan. Thers were also re-
ceived for the Sinking Fund, from Surplus Rev
enue deposited with counties, from ssles of
School Lands. from Canal, Turnpike ana Rail-
road dividends, and from few other compare
lively uniInportant sources, Sl45,9j2 aud there
were returned TO the Treasury, OF money drawn
for the payment Of interest, S2S,II2. These
sums, with the balance of S67 $50 from 1858,
amounted to sl ,270 ,23s, which the amount
applicable to Sinking Fund purposes in 1859.
Of this amount, SSs3 ,J7O were uted to pay inter
est on the Foreign Debt; SlS, ,2ls on the bones
VIC OeOti viJoi!OJ on the lTreduclDle Dcbtj Sl2,-
139 were applied in the pay ment Of the expenses
of the Fund Commissioners, including the cost
Of vault for their ofice 81 800 in discharge of
n claim ordered TO be paid by the last General
Assembly, aud So, ,52S in purchase OF b9nds of
the Temporary Loan, and the other bonds to oe
used III its payment. The aggregate expendi
, ture was 81, ,6si, and a balance was left in
the Treasury Of Sl2S, ,j5I.
1t will be seen that the reverue provided by
Law for the payment OF interest on the Public
. Debt, not including the Temporary Loan. was
: iusu aicient for that purpose. The amount want
ing was about Sll4,O0U. There being, however
i'll the treasury large sum belonging to the
Sinking Fund, derived from tho levy for the
, Temporary Loan, but not needed for its payment
until next March, 1t WAS thought better, to sup
ply the deficient amount frVrn that soEroe thai
10 TesoftIo tho power to i'm pose additions ley-
lies, vested by the last General Assembly in tn.
, Auditor OF State. The public interest was per-
hays botter consulted in this action; but it in
yvlved a departure from that provision Of the
g Temporary Loan act, which requires the pro-
!, ceeds OF the levies for its payment 10 DO abso.
lutely reserved from all other applications; and
S II may well be questioned whether any advan-
tage gained by such departure ought to prevail
, over the considerations which eijoin strict com,
! pliauce with the law. II is obvious. however
a that the additional levi-s necessary TO provide
Tor the uterest of the debt should have been
imposed by the General Assembly itself. full J
advised as it was, as TO the amourt of interest
. aud the inadequacy of the provision made iol
il. The responsibility OF the necessary taxation
= should have been assumed by the Legislatur,
instead OF being imposed upon ths Auditor.
A tabular statement appended to this conmu
nieation, and numbered IL exposes at one wien
the number Of acres of land ON the Grand List
their value, and the value Of taxable town lou
and ehattels, the several aggregates of State
county and local leyies, and the rates of levy fo
State purposes in each of the last eight years
1t will be that the average rate OF taxation
. in the first half Of that time exceeded consider
E ably that in the last half; while the aggregat,
revenue of the last hall exceeded that o. The
Z. first. This result was produced By the larger
r average basis of taxation in the last period
More than the whole excess Of leyies was for
school purposes and the payment of debts con :
, lracted in the first period.
! Another tabular statement numbered II + viii
show the yearly disbursements for Legislative
Judicial and Executive expenses; for the expen.
ses of the Benevolent and Reformatory Institu
e iious, and on account of the Public Works foi
1 three periods of four years each-the first imme
iiately preceding, aud the two others immedi.
ately following the adoption ofthe existing Con
stitution. 1t will be seen, upon inspection of il
that the expenses we've largely increased after
the adoption of the Constitutions; but that they
have been considerably less during the third
: than during the second of these periods. The
average yearly expenditure from lSIS to 1851
was S73S,775; from 1859 70 1855 inclusive, add
s debts contracted within those years and subse-
qusntly paid, $l,0s5,S24; from 1856 to 1859 in
elusive, deducting from apparent amounts pay
; ments ON account of debts previously contract
5 ed, S995, 5,583. When IL is remen bsred that du,
ring the last period the Public Works have be-
came q charge upon the Gener.l Revenue; that
two new Reformatory Institutions have been
: organized; that large additions have been made
to me list Of judges, that the Comptroller's of
fee has been created, that four secsions Of the
Legislature have been held, that q number ui
salaries, especially of judges and officers the
. Board sf Public. Works, havo been increased,
and that other new expenditures have been di.
rected by the Legislature, may 1t not be hoped
] that the results Ufthose four years will be ac-
cepted as evidence at least Of o siucere desire
and endeavor the part OF the Executive oiii
GERS, to perform faithfully their duties to the
, people.
Besides the advance from the Treasury for re
, pairs of the Hooking Canal, which has been
heretofore explained to tho Legislature, and will
+. be again fully explained in this communication
1 am aware Of no expenditures beyond nppro
praions, and no debts incurred without author
Z ity during the last two biennial periods which
+. will emLarrass the finances, or Cypress the rev
e enues OF future years. .l.t .'sIl W
Permit mo now to invite your attention Il
, some observations upon the Public Debt oi thu
i State. That debt, / need hardly repeat, is u
two dcscriptionsj the keduebc and the lrredu
In TL..k -.