Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-01-18

! > The Supreme Court of the United States has
decided that The law is Is nnconstitaticnai because
it requires the payment Of q license tax from
persons who deal in the sale of goors wares and
facture of this State, by, going from place to
place to sell the same in the State. and
requires no such license tax from persons selling
in a similar way goods which are the growth,
produce Or manufacture of the State. The Leg
~islature should conform the law to this ruling OF
the Court. 4
The General Government has established a
number of signal lights and other aids to naViga-
ton on she banks OF the Mississippi River in this
Inspector that these have, at certain points, been
extinguished, broken and injured by malicious
persons, thus endangering steamers, and other
vessels navigating the river. Under our laws, if
any We're construed to govern sucn malicious
acts, the ~offenses would be only misdemeanors.
1 would advise the adoption OF laws making such
offenses felonies. ri
ROCKY MOUNTAIN Gus
These destructive pests have again appeared
in several of the Western and Northern States;
and. of course, their presence has given grounds
for serious apprehensions for the destruction of
crops Of the present year: They have invaded
this State, and, from the best before
me, have entirely overrun the counties of Atchi-
sen, Holt, Mcdonald, Newton, Jasper, Law.
renee and Cedar, and partially the counties OF
"a hn . rev. B 1im1ted ' aEfanf ib Moe eaNptyss P of b ade'
Harrison, st. Clair, Vernon and Worth. The
proceedings of the Omaha Convention will be
ldiu before you. SOIn6 OF the IOEClQSlOnS dTTlS6u
at by that body We're, that the regions now and
heretofore visited by the locusts were too fertile
and lovely to be surrendered to their devasta-
tons; that a war of determination should be
waged against them in every possible form; that
the General Government, having exclusive con-
troll in the Northwestern Territories. a large pOr.
ton of which is acknowledged to be their native
breeding ground, should, by systematic meas
ures, utterly destroy them and abate altogether
the evil; that suitable reward should be given
for them in the eggs and unfiedged condition,
either by the State or by the counties invaded,
and that cooperative efforts, either voluntary or
by authority of law, of the citizens OF township
or county affected by them, snould be employed
for their destruction. 1t was the concurrent
opinion at the Convention that public appropri-
atoms for charitable relief were impolitic, and
that distributions of such funds Produced reck-
less scrambling, in which those not destitute
Jared quite as well as the needy and suffering.
The locrsts are a scourge TO be dreaded, and
the subject demands your serious consideration
and such legislation as you may deem most ad-
visable.
ORDNANCE ACCOUNT WITH THE UNITED STATES.
The Government claimed that the State was
indebted to it for ordnance and ordnance stores
furnished the State during the late war, amount
ing to a very large sum-, according to the value
placed upon the ordnance and stores furnished,
and had refused, until a settlement should be eff
fected, to deliver to the State its annual quota of
arms rns s n ls stores 4t as PROVIDED la9 y y ds py t ne act of t 3n I deh
was about s $40, 900, and the accrued quotas had
been due since 1865, and were worth $50 .0Il.35
in kind. In February 1876. this claim was fully
and completely adjusted by surrendering to the
Government two howitZers and carriages, $3.50
muskets, and a large amount of accoutrements
and fixed ammunition, all unservlceable. ana
all the property of the General Government be-
yond a doubt, and by furnishing satisfactory as
surances that all other ordnance and stores COW
cred by the claims had not come into the pos
session of the State, but at the close of the war
hadbeen surrendered by the troops of the state
at the respective posts as which they rad been
discharged, and taken possession OF by the
proper officers of the Government. On the clos
of this account there was passed to the credit of
the State, on the books OF the ordnance Depart
ment Of the General Government, the said value
of salt accumulated quotas, and since then the
sum OF 81 1876 rs, for the quota for the fiscal year
enilDg June 80 1877, making a total creditor
6 96 ITS. ID, payable in kind ontrequlsltIons OF the
Executive of the State. l have already drawn
to the use of the Adjutant- Generals Department
SCI ,616. 20 in arms and stores, leaving BALANCE
standing to The credit of the State of 5 "a .6t1.S3,
which may also be- drawn, at the discretion OF
the Executive, in such ordnance and stores as
may be desired. AS thoss drawn. appeared to
be ample for all probable uses, and as the State
had provided no means other than storage for
their preservation-for it is obvious that they
ishing from time to time-it was deemed advisi-
bic to make acquisitions only a. increased neces-
sites might require, as the Government. ia re-
Spouse ID such acquisitions, delivers ordnance
and stores in the very best condition.
WAR DEBT OF FL STATE.
The respective commissions, organized under
the act of March 8, 1874, to adjust this debt aud
tied claims for military service amounting to the
sum OF LAS, 047.33, and irregular claims
amounting to the sum of 1925. 5.33. for which
certificates of the authorized form were issued
to the several claimants. Schedules. of these
claims, together with the claims themselves,
were presented and filed perhaps in December,
1874, with the Third Auditor of the Treasury De-
| partmcnt of the United States for allowance and
payment. After the expiration OF the time fixed
by the act for auditing irregular claims, the
proper Cemmi ssion allowed 1851 .63l "a of such
| claims, but as the Legislature did not legalize
the work, no certificates were issued on these al
lowances, nor have they been presented at the
| TlirN N,11itor,o n fNnn nnr have thaU 1nv nra.
tended validity. On January 10, 1915, one week
after my inauguration, l approved a memorial of
the two Houses of the then General As
gress of the United States ITO i'm
mediately adopt such legislation as will
result e; in a SPEEDY ADJ adjas tn en- ana payment nditor Of
office. in so far as this State, by her proper
officers, have heretofore or may hereafter Tile
proper and sufficient proofs and vouchers there
for'' in said office. On the 18th day of March,
1915, Acknowledgement Bingham produced to me
a letter from an officer in the 18th Regiment al
leging facts justifying the conclusion that some
of the allowed claims in favor of officers and sol
dicrs Of this regiment were fraudulent. 1 direct
ed him to review the action of the
ment of claims for services of officers
and soldiers connected Herewith. He
reported in substance that after a careful con-
sideration of the evidence, he found that not an
officer or a soldier had rendered any service, that
S1l ,76I.l Ii had been allowed IN their favor. and
as a consequence, that all of these claims were
| IEduuulCIIG. vi L 49, 1000 4 aAtt a
message to the two Houses (see Senate journal
p. SOY of which the following is a part: 81 here
by submit t. your honorable body the result OF
the examination of the Adjutant- General. that
you may take such action thereon asin your judg-
ment the honor and the interest of the State de.
mand."
"While the State shorld persistently insist up.
on the payment of all claims of her citizen sol.
diers for services actually rendered, the legal
guardians of her honor should see that no claims
are urged for payment under her sanction, which
do not rest on the solid basis of Justice. The al
lowed claims of this 18th Regiment, E NJ. M,
are now on file in the Third Auditors office
Wa shington City. If the facts revealed by the
Adiutant- Generals examination clearly show
that they rest upon untenable grounds they
should be withdrawn, in order that the State may
in no manner be implicated in an attempted fraud
upon the Federal Government. l would advise
thai q concurrent resolution be adopted requiring
the Adjutant. General in all cases where allega'
tons shall be made before him that any specific
audited claim was a fraudulent one, that he
should examine into the truth of the allegations,
and if found to be true, that the same should no
be pressed before Congress. No action was
taken by the Legislature except the passage O.
an act authorizing the Adjutant- General to tak'
the testimony of witnesses in all casel
when, in his judgment. their evidenc.