The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-03-10
STATE Fl FINANCES, N A. S..
REPORT OF AUDITOR TAYLOR.

OlAIE FINANCES. y,'r,o I,
REPORT OF AUDITOR TAYLOR.
HoW:aTHE LARGE DEFICIT WAS occA.
sIoNED-BAD PRACTICES POINTED OUT
THE WAY THE SCHOOL FUND WAS EN-
|! CRoACHED UPoN-THE AUDITOR GUIDED
By THE LAW, NOT THE CONSTITUTION
/ A DENIAL FROM THE EGOYERNOR-sJUs-
TICE TO ALL; WRONG TO NOME ----,, :,
The following report was sent by the Au-
dtor to the Senate yesterday 10 response to
8 resolution: ".f go : ,. .' = .zt59 = +.
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.
"OfFlcs AUDITOR Pubic ACCOUNTS,
+ .~. - =" " RICHMOND, March 8, 1875.
i" To The Hon. Henry W.21homas, President
OF he Senate: -, :lssy.g I II. - r,
"Sir,-I am in receipt Of resolution of
| the Senate, agreed to March 8, 1878. request
| ing TO be Informed fWhy dividend has
been declared among the States, bondhold-
! ers, when there Is due the school fund seye-
raj hundred Thousand dollars, which is set
| aside by the Constitution for that purpose"
t. In order to full and proper response to
the resolution I shall be pardoHed, I trust,
for giving with some detail the ressons
which led to the action referred to.
| The amount of revenue In arrears, re-
ported by me as due the school fund, which
has been approximately ascertained only
| within the last ten days was as much sur
prise to me as to any one. was fully aware
| that there we're balances due arising from
uy,nrocrr Arrorrrc
of collecting officers, many Of which are In
litigation and continue unsettled to this day.
Hence arises one of the difficulties in as.
certaiHiDg the amount actually due. An
other difficulty arises from practice OF the
General Assembly-by no means an uncom.
mon one--to grant extensions OF time to
revenue officers In default within which to
| make their final settlement at this office
and still more embarrassing one occurs
| whenever the sureties Of such officers are
allowed to compound for their indebtedness
to the State, as they frequently are, by pay.
ment 10 bonds at par while the market oalue
of such securities ranges at from thirty to
sirty cents IN the dollar.
In view of these facts 1t is very clear that
THE DIFFICULTY
of ascertainiug the balances due was q most
serious one; indeed, the aggregate could
| only be approximately reached after most
minute and teat5us examination of the books
of this Office. But the question arises, Why
| were these balances not sooner ascertained
and paid? l answer, mainly because the
amounts paid upon the clearly ascertained
balances were as much as, in my opinion,
the treasury could bear, and hence that l
gave no such attention to the uuascertained
balances as would otherwise have done.
Whenever specific sum was called for to be
distributed per capita among
TIE SCHOOLS
ii ,cds a.acays paid. though at times with
much distrust at the wisdom Of my action, in
view of other interests, as binding upon me,
under the law, as those which related to the
fee schools; for hold that where there is
not currency balance la the Treasury sufi
cient to meet all the demands upon 1t no one
class of claims, however meritorlous, should
be allowed to absorb the whole of that bal
ance. In that connection I invite special
attention to that provision. of the funding
bill which authorizes the payment of all
taxes and dues to the Common wealth in tax.
receivable coupons, while, by the first sec.
ton of an act approved Goth March, 1873,
| the Auditor Is required to pay oCer to the
school fund IL. money (whether the revenue
| was received in money or noD whatever is
shown to be due that fund.
NOW, SUBMIT
that when the revenues of the State are
| paid largely in coupons, as ia fact they are,
| and the currency balance In the treasury, as
before remarked, is not sufficient to meet all
| the demands upon it, the claims of the school
| fund do not rise to higher degree of dignity
! than claims growing out of appropriations
made by law for the support of Government,
| Tor the support Of asyums, for the expenses
Of the General Assembly, and in short for
any and every interest which affects the
general prosperity Of the State, and for
| which specific appropriations have been
made. If, therefore, as already remarked,
the currency balance in the treasury is not
sufficient to meet in full all lawful claims
upon it, I know OF no principle of
- LAW OR JUSTICE
which would allow to the free schools more
than their just and fair proportion of the
amount. do BOT wish to be misunderstood.
I claim to be as good friend Of our free
schools as any one, but speak as an officer
| of the State, VI hose SWORD duty it is to exc
cute all laws which relate to my department.
4 OutslQe vi JOul = dlutSE L hho" vi Nv 40"
| to govern my official action. The Constitu.
lion does moi control me In the performance
of nv public duties. The la1o does. And
even were the law in
MY orIMoN
clearly unconstitutional, still am bound to
execute 1t until some competent judicial tri.
bunal shall pronounce 1t unconstitutional.
Entertaining these views, do not hesitate
to say that, In my opinion, all claims au.
thorised and directed by lao to be- paid stand
| upon precisely the same platform, and are, as
! matters of law and right, equally entitled 10
their proportionate part OF the currency IN
the treasury where and whenever there IS
not an amount sufficient to pay them on In
full. | can see 40 reason why the pubic
free schools of the State should be an excep.
| ton 10 this principle. As matter OF his
| tory, it may not be altogether without inter-
est to show what has been paid from the
State treasury in money for the support OF
.. Fl, THE PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS 49,"
since and Including the year 1870, as shown
by the books Of this Office and verified by
those Of the Second Auditor. I will state the
amount in detail: -.1'
Amount paid over to the Second Auditsr for pub
l. lie free schools-for .@' ."
Fiscal year 1870 and 1S71........ 1882 900 90
Fiscal year 1871 and 1S72...... 3s5 944 26
| Fiscal year ] s72 and ls73....... $4,000 0e