Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1875-03-19
'GRaE UNIVERSITY.

The House OF Representative
adopted a resolution on the End Feb
ruary, 1874, instructing its Committee
on Education and Labor to inquire in.
to the condition and management of
the institutions that had received the
land scrip found donated by Congress
to the States for the establishment of
Colleges for the advancement of Agri-
culture nj the Mechanic Arts. The
report of this c0mInittee has been pub
lished, and bears in an especial sense
upon two lines of information, namely,
the use which the States have made OF
the money obtained from the sales of
the land granted to them by Congress
and the results of such use.
As to the use OF the money thus OBJ
tanned by the States, the comr'ittee
say that the larger part has been in
vested satisfactorily. Some of the
States have placed the m0nty in Uni
ted States bonds, and others in their
own STATE bonds, This latter form Of
Investment, however, has proved very
disadvantageous i'll some Instances,
specially in certain Southern States.
Thus the State of Alabama invested
the $216, 600 received from the sale of
its scrip in State bonds bought at
eighty-five per centum Of their par
value, and how selling at fifty per
centum. Louisiana invested the $1S2,-
923 received from the sale of its scrip
III State bonds Of the nominal value of
1927, 900, but the largest offer recently
made for any Louisiana bond is tweu-
ty-six per centum Of it's par value.
Similar losses. but less in amount,
have occurred IN the investments made
by the States Of Arkansas, Georgia,
Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia,
although in a majority Of the States
mentioned the interest money has been
paid. aud in the case of Virginia this
money has been paid when the public
funds were not sufficient to meet
the demands of other creditors.
IL the otatCS VI NpItu anu oOuULI
Carolina the mismanegement OF
the fund has been of the grossest
character The committee say that
the securities III which North Carolina
placed its money ''are now substan-
tially valueless;' and in the case OF
South Carolina the money was invest
ed by II. H Kimpton, who was then
the financial agent of the State, in
State bonds, bought at si4ty-seven to
sixty eight per centum of their par
value, which were afterward reported
''as having been bypothecated on
State debt in New York The com
mittee say that mo revenue whatever
has been received" from these bonds,
and the bonds themselves appear to
have disappeared. 1t is matter oi
public congratulation that during the
misgovernment to which the South
ern States have been subjected since
the war, only two States have practi'
cally squandered the moneys received
by them for the specific purposes OF
education from the general govern
ment.
The committee take the ground thai
wherever these moneys have beeL
mismanaged or squandered by ind
viduals the State will be held respon
sibie. "The State is the only party
/ known to US in the contract uudel
which these grants were made, they
say. and the State is responsible t.
! the national government" Undoubt
edly this view is accurate and ought
to be maintained, says the New Yorl
Eceniug Post, TO which we are indebt
| ed for the above Information.
Aud this being so, can our Legisla
ture hesitate any longer what to dc
about the bill now pending before i
asking that the Land Scrip Fund bt
made good to the University?