The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1861-11-09
Annual Reports to the General Assembly.

the Railroad Commissioner was submitted t.
the Legislature by Gen. A. L. Brown of Rutland
LISA highly creditabe report of 1876 pages, wei
printed and arranged, and the suggestions mad
by the Railroad Commissioner strike us a
practical, seasonable, and highly judicious. [
IS one OF the best reports of the series, ant
Gen. Brown has succeeded in preparing It grea
labor report which for fullness, concisencss
and valuable statistical information is is an i'm
provement upon those heretofore presented. w
have no sympathy with that ncar-sighted ant
flippant temper which disposes of these report,
upon such subject with sheer, as being mere
" useless information" So soon as full answers
to the circulars issued by the Railroad Com.
missioner are seasonably returned by those tc
whom they are addressed, he will be enabled to
give annually concise report, which shall give
a complete account Of that branch of public
business in Vermont which cmploysa capital of
nearly tDenty-!hree millions of dollars.
This Report completes the list of Annual Re-
ports to the Legislature. of the Report of the
Secretary of the Board of Education, as made
by John S. Adams, Esq, we have taken occa-
sion to speak at length already.
REPORT OF AUDITOR OF ACCOUNTS.
The Report of the Auditor Of Accounts, as
made by the Hon. Jeptha Bradley, comprising
the Reports of the Inspector of Finance, State
Treasurer, Bank Commissioner, Trustees of the
Sto 70 pr;sou ond Eorn,ont Aovl,,,, TOW A., r.,
sane, is one of sufficient Importance and value
to merit more than passing newspaper notice.
This Report shows the financial condition Of
the State, and, such, possesses an interest for
each taxpayer in Vermont. The painful de-
falcation Of 1860, has given additional interest
to this branch of the public service, and contrib
uted to a more perfect system of keeping the
public accounts by the State Treasurer and Au-
ditor of Accounts
The Hon. John W. Stewart Inspector o.
Finance alludcs to this matter in the following
Just and complimentary language
g The disorder and confusor which rcigned
in this department when the prs.,nt Treasurer
cntcecd upon the discharge Of Ir official duties,
have yielded to the accuracy ana method of an
admirabl system Of bookkeeping, which at
test the fidelity and correctness with which the
accounts are kept"
The Inspector Of Finance likewise cxamircd the
system of checks and balances which was intro
duced by the Auditor of Accounts, who found
it necessary to open an entire new set Of books
on new and systematic plan Mr.. Stewart
employs this language in his Report in reference
to Mr.. Bradlcy's new arrangement
The undersigned likewise made thorough
and careful examination of the books and pa
pers OF the Auditors Department. The Audi
tor had found 1t necessary to open new set of
books, and. indeed, t. rcorganzc the entire off
ca method in his Department. His efforts to
place his Department in efficient and SYSTEM
attic working Order in the Judgment of the UNI
iersigncd, hare be.n successful. the allowances
of the Auditor were also examined and found
TO be correct
In pursuance of IA provision of the Statutes
(scc Compiled Statutes, page IS. $500 the .
Auditor has suggested certain other modifi-
cations which experience proves to DC ncccssa-
ry or cxpedicnt,' which strike us as very time
" and judcous. In the limits of this notice
we have space to aludc to only one. 1t viii
be found on page seven Of the Report, and is
Us follows:
" 1t is very generally supposed that the Aud
tor OF Accounts has by law the general super
vision OF Court Auditors, with authority to
give general instructions in relation to their
lntles, and that he IL in a measure held re-
'ponsiblc for their acts. This is not the case
the Auditor of Accounts has no power what
ever to correct or even dictate the allowances of
Court Auditors The law provides that he
may apply to the Judges Of the Supreme Court
Tor the purpose of obtaining uniformity in their
allowances, but this has failed to answer the
purposes intended.
deem it important therefore that some more
effective provision should be made for regula
ting this important branch of the Auditing de-
partmcnt."
In our view, the Auditor is correct in sug-
costing that more effective provision on this
subject matter should be made by the Lcgsla-
ture. After the plain statement of the Audi
tor nothing is required but that attention should
be given to the modification as suggested by
him.
The labors of both the State Treasurer and
Auditor of Accounts have been increased, prob
IDLY more than doubled, by the Bates delalca-
ton, and the war expenses to which the State
has been subjected. During the past year their
abors have been unusually arduous and com
picated; and Heaven only knows how long
this wicked rebellion will last, and how great