The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-09-01

tense. The Reformers. when they are
elected, are to pay over to the Court
House fund all the fees which they
do not need, and If they keep more
than they need they are 10 be visited
with the displeasure of the Democrat
ic party. .
1 have glanced at the official fidelity
of TIE last three Democratic Agents
of state, aud I invite the Dem 'cracy
+ to search the record of the h publ
4 cans who have held the same otnce
! for any similar instances of ma teas
ance in Office. Col Hudson. y udge
Buskirk. Judge Gresham, aud Judge
Slaughter have held the position, and
it is only by comparing official action
that . just judgment can be formed.
CLOSING OF BENEVOLENT INsTITU
TIoNs.
Some Of you may, perhaps. have
| forgotten another transaction In the
history OF the last Democratic ad
mInlstration, which not only mani
tested an utter disregard of the fnan
cial interests Of the State. but also
| Involved crime against large Rum-
| Der of the unfortunate classes OF heI
people. l aIlude. of course, to the
closing up, in 1857. of the Hospital
for the Insane, the Institution for the
Education of the Deaf and Dumb,
and that for the Education OF the
Blind. No appropriations were made
BY the General Assembly for the sup
port of these institutions; and, under
! the pretense that, for lack OF such
appropriations. they could not be con
! tinued in operation-their inmates
were dismissed aud thrown back
upon the counties aud families
from which they came, Ia ut
ter disregard OF the anguish
involved in the execution of so cruel
policy. THIS, be it remembered,
was done in April, 1857; aud, as If to
demonstrate the folly and WIekedness
of the course pursued, aud to give
the lie to the pretext under which the
enormity was perpetrated without any
Intervening session of the Legislature,
and with the same lack OF appropria
tions which existed when the InstItu
tions were closed. their inmates were
Invited back; and 10 Septe Der, 1857,
the InstituuoDs were again opsued
and Continued 10 operationl
MIsAPPROPRIATION OF SCHOOL FUNDS
Agsiu, look at your school funds
under the control of W. Fl. Talbot,
Il O., late Chairman of the Democrat
10 5 ate Central Committee, aud late
PresIdens of the Board ofSinkIng fund
Comm ssioDers. These funds were,
by the constitution, sacredly dedicated
to the cause of common school educa
ton, aud Mr.. Talbot had no more
right to take them TO the city of New
York than be had to take them to
China. He did, however, transmit
them to New York city TO be used Ia
gold gambling during the war. Your
scnonl funds, to the amount of $I33,
2S1 IA, were used in betting GU the
success OF the re bellion, for that is just
what operating IN gold meant during
the dark days of the war But Grant
pummesed 5ne life out of the rebel ar
my. and the Conlederacy went up, aud
your School Funds went up with IL.
AT er five years of effort on the part
OF the Auditor of State to cIllecI a
portion of the claim out of c3llater-
ais assigned for that purpose, and by
amount, including principal aud in
$S4, 81 90, aqd IT, was thea closed bv
the payment of $l4 81 SO ia money,
aud by giving seven notes we'll secur-
ed of $40 QUO each, running from one
TO seven years. and bearing interest
at six per cent. PR annum.
Thus, you see, another forced loan
has been levied, not upon the State,
but upon her school iuud, by the De
- 81,
dents, the school fund will be REIN
bursed at the end of about twelve
years from the time Of the misappro-
priatiOn of the mOney.
SWAMP LANDS
But time wUul tai me, if should
attempt TO discover To your admiring
gaze all the Democratic financial gems
which are buried l. tie polite Al lit
erature of the Dem cratic period. /
can only allude to The swamp land
swindle. IT'S lateral bitches aud mi
qratorg contracts" and general k0ave-
~. Governor Wright estimated that
the swamp lands dOuated by Congress
to the State would Weld the school
Fund at least 81 900 QUO. They did
prove to be a good thing fer the De-
moeracy; but ii the School Fund was
over-enriched thereby TO the amount
OF dollar neither the accounting Of
icer or the State nor the Superb
Fcndent of Public Instructions has
discovered or reported the tact
But the Sentinel, 10 its iss1e of
ADJUST 81, 1870, says that no person
expected that the school fund ever
would be increased by the receipt of
auy of the proceeds of these lands
This is its language:
" LIZ Is true that not a dollar ever
reached the common school fund
from the sale Of swamp lands, aud it
is equally true that no one acquainted
with the condition OF these lands ever
for q moment expected that the pro-
ceeds arising from their sales would
more than reclaim them aud pay the
necessary expenses incident to that
desirable end"
In answer to this, quote from the
second section of the With Article
IF the Constitution, which decl ares
hat, the Common School Fund shall
consist, among other things, of all
lands that have been or may hereafter
be granted TO the State, where no spe-
cific purpose is expressed IN the grant,
and the proceeds of the sale thereof,
including the proceeds of the sales of
swamp lands granted to the State of
Indiana by act of Congress of the
g b of September. 1850. after de-
Quoting the expense of selecting and
draining the same"
Again: Governor Wright ia his
regular message, delivered IN J4nua-
ry, 1853, after Informing the Legisla
ture that selections of swamp lands
made by the State had been approved
by the proper officers of the general
government to the amount of l 0l8