The daily gazette., 1875-03-31
The State Finances.
Address of speaker HoIcomb.
REDUCTION of the STATE DEBT.
Nearly 100000 Paid Each Year.

Az ouhAJ YASStsSS ~~
Thomas Holcomb, Esq, Speaker OF
the House of Representatives address
ed the House on the subject OF State FL
nances on the oath inst. We publish his
speech below after making several im-
portant corrections in the figures. as pre-
viously printed in other papeSs. 1t was
called forth, we presume. by an unfair
statement in speech of Senator Riddle,
made, no doubt, to show his fidelity to
the Republican party; but it more clear
ly demonstrated his inability to correct
1y represent the facts in the case. Mr..
Holcomb said
While constantly ]egislating upon
matters which either directly or indi-
rectly affect the State revenues or ex-
penditures, | consider it of the utmost
| Importance that the true condition OF
our State finances should be known to
every member OF this House, as clear to
him as if written upon the palm of his
hand, SO that when such matters as at
feet the State finances are before us,
each member can act intelligently. With
the purpose Of bringing this information
before the House, [ introduced, seme
time since, a resolution instructing the
| Committee on Ways and Means, Ito re-
port general appropriation bill and at
| the same time to report to the House
the sums which were likely to be derived
from the present sources of revenue for
the ensuing two years. AS that COM
mittee has rs yet failed to report, and as
our session is drawing to close, / have
felt thut this information must be OBJ
tanned by individual action, and have
myself undertaken to prepare, with care
and after thorough examination, a state.
ment of the condition of our State finan.
ces, and this statement, | feel sure, will
stand the test OF the closest examina.
tion. was especially inclined to make
this investigation after carefully read.
ing an expose of the State finances pub
lished in some of the Wilmington papers
on Thursday last. A perusal of that al
ticle will leave any one with the impres
sion that our State finances are not in 6
satisfactory or even healthy condition
l am happy to say that 1 have been ena
bled to clearly satisfy myself, and
think / will prove to you that the con
clusions reached in the paper referred tc
are not justified by the facts. desire
here to congratulate you and the citi
zens of the State upon the able anC
honest administration of the financia
department during the last four years
by the late State Treasurer. Durini
that time our State debt has been re
duced 1888, 900, bonds to that amoun
having been purchased and cancelled
while the people have easily borne tn,
light rate of taxation; lighter indeet
> than that OF any other State in th
? | Union. So much has been aceomplishe,
because revenues have been honastl
appropriated to proper use and not
dollar charged to that account which
unhappily, during the last few years ha
become SO common in financial record
of neighboring States-"the stealing.
All this has been accomplished in tn
face of the fact that "an antiquated ant
: forlorn cash book that appears TO hav
come down from O former generation
contains the solitary cash account whicl
: constitutes the Alpha and Omega of ou
: system of book keeping" l know, Mi
Speaker, there is modern and most ap
proved system of book keeping; l know
!, there is q system of book keeping in us
in one of the municipalities of this Stat
i. so refined that 1T has required an exper
an expert two years at q salary of 81,
. 500 per annum, to discover defalcatiol
of a sum probably reaching the amour
of the cost of The experts services;
!, know there Is system OF book keepln
|. which might be called financial leger d
= main; the prestidigitateur of the book
will show you u favorable statement
! now you see it''-but examine his ban
account-"and now you don't" Our pee
pie are often slow to make changes, an
generally await the result of exper
: ments by others. 1 think they will b
T. satisfied for "a time yet with the antique
b ted and forlorn cash book-certainly s
long as it shall tell true tale, eve
though it may be a plain and simple on
The people of Delaware have shown wi
II dom Unlocking for proper appropriate
70 of her revenue to an honest treasure
rather than to q complicated system {
book keeping.
The cost OF our State government
moderate, and so acknowledged by all.
Ie The expenses in 1874 in executive an
II judicial departments were as follows:
81 Salaries of the Judges, $4,000
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