Arizona citizen., 1873-01-11

deem conducive to its welfare.
 Experience has demonstrated the
 necessity of amending some of our ! laws. and " +h;e hnhalf vnlr action should be attended with great care, 50 1 that when your labors are completed, i you will leave the statutes free from conflicts and ambiguities and l cannot too strongly impress upon you the danger of too much legislation, by the
 passage of useless laws. or amending existing laws without promoting any
 interest thereby. Experience demon-
 strates that there is far more evil grow
 ing out of too much than too little
 legislation.
 EDUCATION.
 The last legislature passed an act to
 establish public schools. Under its
 provisions, the Governor was made ex-
 officio superintendent of public instruc-
 tion, and the probate judges were con-
 stituted ex-officio superintendents of
 public schools in their several coun-
 ties. For detailed information, I re-
 spectfully refer you to the report of the superintendent of public instruc- tion and copies of the reports of the several county superintendents of pub- lie schools, which will be laid before you.
 It is source of pride and satisfac- tion to me, with all the obstacles, that so good commencement has been made. Free schools have been taught, during the past year, in every school district in the Territory for at least three months. The advancement made by the pupils has been extraor- d;nn~v. and the sentiment of the neo- ple has become interested and cement ed into a determination tO mako al- most any sacrifice toeducata the rising . generation. 1t is your province to foster this important interest. and ! feel confident you will not permit it to languisu for want of any power or means at your control to enhance it.
 No officer entrusted with putting the
 school law into operation, has yet re-
 ceived any compensation for his ser
 vices, so that every dollar raised for
 school purposes has been applied to furnishing school rooms, the purchase of books and payment ofteachers. In
 many instances, the establishment of schools was delayed for want of books and teachers and the almost entire
 lc,ok ot school houses has been a seri- ou8 embarrassment and should berem- edied as speedily as possible AS shown by the treasurer's report, we now have surplus in the Territorial treasury, after paying all our inGebt- edness, of $IIG20 37. It is not good policy to keep ny portion oI .niS money lying idle while so worthy an object as the education of our children is endangered for want of means. I would therefore recommend that $5,- 900 be divided equally among the several counties of the Territory, to be expended by the several superinten- dents of schools, subject to the approv- al of the boards of supervisors, for the erection, furnishing or improving school houses ill the districts of the counties, upon the condition that be- fore any district shall receive any DOT tion of such money, the inhabitants thereof shall raise by subscription or otherwise double the amount proposed to be appropriated by the superintend- ent. and that au additional 5000 be transferred from the general fund ana placed to the credit ot the school fund for distribution among the sever al counties ill the manner now pro- vided by law. Such disposition of the moneys will insure within a brief period the expenditure of $15,OOO for school buildings, which would go far towards erecting one in every district within the Territory, with sufficient capacity for present use.
 I would also recommend establish ing uniform rate of taxation for school purposes in the several counties. The children have 8 right to the bene- fits of education, and if the local au- thorities should in any case be opposed to raising the necessary revenue, it would thus be placed beyond their power to neglect one of the most inn portant duties we owe to the rising generation.
 A bill has already passed the nation al house of representatives, with fair