Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-03-18

| expenses will be considerably less than in the
previous years. The State Capital which in 1873
and 1874 cost $40 6s3 "a, for its purchase and
rebuilding will cost little Bnt on the other
hand the Legislature meets this year, and Leg
islatures. as a rule, are an expensive luxury.
Our Legislature il no exception. The Legisa-
ture of 1873 cost the State directly a1G9 68,
and the printing account, which with many more
since is almost entirely ohargeable to the Legis-
lature, was s6, 905 40, and we have before no
tioed the cost OF experimenting the printing of
the valuable laws aud the invaluable Journals OF
that session was =, ,575, which was also paid in
1874.
The total cost Of that session was therefore
S25,5l50s, a
HIGH PRICE ron THE ISCoRpoRArtoS ACTS,
divorce laws, and stock bills with which it fav-
ored the public. The cost Of the printing ia en-
tirely too great. The laws of 1873 were not in
the aggregate OF much public use value, yet
their publication cost the State S4,05000. No
one scarcely ever glanced at the journal of the
House or Senate, with their bulky volumes, i'm
mense margins, and lines consisting OF one or
two words each. Yet the public paid last year
S3, 7i1 25 for the privilege of finding ont exactly
how the law makers voted at Dover.
believe in the people being fully informed as
to our votea but 1t il also my belief that the
people OF Delaware had better remain ignorant
forever Mr.. Speaker, as to how you voted on the
bill "for the protection of muskrats." or as to
the vote OF my young friend the Senator from
Sussex, on his bill
"coNcERNtNd HAWKS AND OWLS"
than to be taxed for such heavy amounts for
such important information. The department
of the type stick needs civil service reform inn
mediately and badly. will suppose this Legis-
lature to be more economical than its predeces-
sor, and that its expenses amount only to S22.-
800. The expenses for the ensuing year will
be about as follows
Expenses of tho Legislature. s22, 500 90
State Government ...... 21.600 90
Delaware Coilege......,.. 10000
Legal Expenses (Railroad Subj. 100000
(Jersey Fisheries. 10000
Binding balance Revised Code, ...... 1900 90
Interest, -''....-............ 7l,OUOO0
$780, 800, 90
This will be correct if we assume that the
State will vote $4,000 for the Centennial and
$4,000 for Delaware College-two appropna-
tlens of the public funds which would be emf
rently right and proper.
The taxes were reduced some 500 600 in 1873
and this year the tax on bonds and mortgages
has been taken Off and from the best source of
information / can obtain, believe the income
of 1875
WILL NOT EXCEED 100000.
The notes mentioned heretofore will require
$40 600 for their payment, bonds will come due
to the amount of S24, 900. 5000. 900 will there
fore be required this year. and they receive
about 100000 to meet the payments. These,
however, are the circumstances OF the case when |
the State in the same year attempts to pay
$40, 900 of floating and s24, 600 Of funded debt,
the actual excess of the customary receipts,
over all expenditures Excluding payments of
indebtedness) being s55,00O, and the outlook for
1876 being still better for the reason that
in that year the expenditures will |
be some $50 900 less than in 1856. Still the fig |
ures are very significant. They point out the
fact that the time has come when it is not ex pc
dent or in fact possible to go on with an in
crease OF expenditures and at the same session |
propose reduction Of taxation. In my desk as
chairman of the Committee on Revised |
there is now bill the |
operation of which would decrease the |
revenue about $4,000 and increase the school |
fund about the hame amount. In the House |
there are two bills, the operation OF which |
would decrease the revenue about $4,000. Is |
it not time to look the financial question fairly |
in the face and cry
HALT, TO THESE SCHEMES ?"
| submit these facts, Senators. and ask J Du to
r ,member them when you next vote on a |
measure involving expenditures or q reduction |
of taxation. The first duty of n State, like an |
is to provide for the payment OF ts |
debts. The public faith and honor are in our |
keeping, they should not be discredited, and ev-
cry vote should but bring nearer the day when
our debt shall be extinguished and the present. |
burden of taxation entirely rolled away.