Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-01-20

20, 1866 ,..a. E. '.o. .is.so. 39s gs
rghu,n molustes would reach the figure o1
$500, ,000.,e u7f -sra -.. tt- .sz0f -
One or two more such crops, accompan'
led in other respects with the smiles of 9
prppitious Heaven, and adlIering to our
present system of domestic economy, will
not only re-assure but restore Onr people
tn their wnn,ed prosperity, and place them
in condiliun to grant rather than ask
favors of those Atlantic States and cities
which have beeL heaping obloquy upon Us
because of our embarra|smeDts. which had
its origin az much with them as with US. n
IIAsry LEGISLATION TO BE AVOIDED. &.
Seventy. one OF the laws. covering 26a
pages, were p,ssedt''e day and night preced-
/ < he adjournment Of the last General AS
-elnbly. 1t would lie stranue. indeed, if the
en- crossing nn,I enr'lling clerks could copy
aud compare all these enactnents, for the
signature of the president Of the Senate and
the spenker of the House, without commit,
ing grave errors. 1t ist known, i'm Portant
or mis- ions and mistakes did occur, while
some very important bills, matured al
the cost OF much time, labor and expense,
tailed of their passage. Tor The want OF few
hours time. The mischief grpwing out OF
ra>l, and inconsiderate legislation OF this
description cannot fail to address itself to
Ihe mind of a prudent legislator, and feel
myself shut up to the duty Of respectfully
hut earnestly urging.upon you the correction
of this great evil. 4 need not say that, as
the supreme law giving power Of the State,
you are charged with an important trust,
which tine puolc welfare demands shall be
executed with wise caution, and faithful
ne>s that shall IMPORT with the solemnity
of your commission. .. --.t .syH: r
tate INDEBTEDNESS, REyRNUE, AND EXPEN-
..rt DlTURE.
Your attention is invited to the reports OF
the Treasurer and Auditor of State. From
the report of the latter, it will appear the
liabilities of the Slate amount to 1852 1872
49, This sum ismade up of three amounts
quite disSirniar in their character, and all
of hicn, with some confusion of ideas,
have be n designated II State indebtedness.
The first Consists of 100000 borrowed by
The State in the winter ii 1858, upon her
bonds, running zen years at per cent
The secnnd outstanding warran's, amounting
l." 80. SO. 50 (; payable upon pre>en'a,ion.-
The aggregate of these two sums-$23O, l96.-
62-coli>tiI ute the entire present Indebted
ness of the State. The third sum OF
1922, 295 Is, is a part Of the school fund,
winch beongs 10 he S ate, is held by the
State in tru { tor !uca.ional purposes. 1t
is true, the State pay S int crest on this amount
not 10 a creditor for the T. ation Of debtor
and creditor does not eXi>t-but to the
school fund itself, rs upon debt; owner
ship is not indebted: :e IS. This money is q
part of the prucv eds of lands granted to the
State and is ns much the property Of the
State as the lands We're ut the time they
were granted. She has wisely dedicated
the i, terest If this fund 10 the support of q
system OF Common scho IS. In paying this
~ teresr, size does not make herself debt
or, or t.ivest of the right to control this fund
rs to her may seem best. She may at any
time change her con>til uton and apply the
i've per cent fund and tie proceeds of the
100000 acre land grant to any other pur-
pose deemed this explanation due, for
the reason the cons'itutinn f"rb,ds II State
Indebtedness above $3.50, 900, and if in the
sense he c,n>tiFutl, n, the receiving and
hold ug this fund is debt, then has the
. ave IItCIuuCI SSii lI'ti hVlil O. u
receiving about million dollars due her
from the General Government, on the FIVE
uer Cent. fund. Su,.l, is the amount and
char ac, er nt our liabl ties. 1t will be ob
served that but Il small portion of the same
will mature and be required 10 be paid
during the next two years. In contrast
ailh t',is, the revenue re- ources OF the State
show that it, financial affairs are in very
satisfactory condition, "s it leaves large ex-
ecs oe asset, over her liabilities.
The balance in the treasury and in course
, fp,ymeut through the banks, the delin-
onent taxes now due from the counties, and
lie State tax of the year 1859, amount in
the asgr. gate t. SIX hundred md eight
tlon-lnd slx hundred and nine dollars and
forty .eigi'l cents.
D., The Auslitnr estimates the expenditures
for the two f,cal y*a's, commencing Nov.
tn, 1859, and ending the fr>t Monday of
November. 1861, exclusive If appropriations
for charitable ir.iirut,nHS aud cLlIe special
purp,,ses, at $4Ol, ,7l9.72, whilst the
eSl limated res ,urces OF th- s ate for the same
period, exclusive Of the saline aud school
fund ar. put down ut $S59.6 48. The
above fg .res exhibit q hands me margin
up,n which the Site may prosecute to
completion her various charitable and other
insituti' us.
The frs great duty of he State undoubt-
~Aly j., to administer its aairs in all :hef
departments of The public >erv ce, upon as
economical \ scale as possible, consistent
with the public g"d
The expenditures tor ordinary purposes,
during he two fiscal wears, ending on the
7lh of Nov. last, amount to 1886, 1873 81,
whilst the extraor mary expens's tor the
same period, amount to $2l2. Isl .45;
making an aggregate of $57s,S 1856 o..
have no know ledge If any State in the
Union whose ordinary expenses, when
viewed in connection with the nature of our
po.itcal org gahFZa,iunI, tile extent of onr
po,~l.tiuD aud territorial limits will com.
pare more tavorably, or whose people pay
u llght,r Sta'e tax Tor the privileges they
eni,y. than do ours. This fact, it is
lelieved, will not escape i1,e attention of the
e:nigrant " no is or may be seeking home
in',hc grert valley of the Mississippi. s
BOARD "F EDUCATION 81 p
Our Educationa! interests will claim your
special attent on On the II h of March,
1858, The General Assembly passed an Act
cnti,Ied, sAn Act for the Pubic instruction
of the Sta,c'ot Iowa. This act, with the
exception Of those portions Of it which pro-
vide for levying taxes and app opria ing
mon v. was -ub>equenlly declared unconsti-
tutional by the supreme Court. The Board
f Educate on al its first session, held in
December, 1858, were much perplexed in
determining the extent If their jur rsdiction,
fearing on the one hand that they might
encro4 u, upon The powers of the General
Assembly, and on the other, that hey might
f..iI to perform to the full extent, the duties
required of them under he Constitution
After much reflection and de!ibcration,
thry re-epact i the w nb I'VE referred to-,
with some slight alterations p It took effect
On the first day of March last. and uner it
our school system has operated IA success
fully as We .couti reasonably expect
in view of the change fr M a system
witt, which hey were familiar, to one ma
telially-d f rrnt in its essc ,tiai features
nt,;acr,,,ns h ve hp..n m ld to sOm2 of ifa