St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-10-13
The Governors Messages.
GOVERNOR FARNHAM,

after some preliminary references, sand
the great business of the legislature of
ISS0 was the revision of the entire
body of the statute laws of the state.
The preliminary work had been placed
i'll the hands of a competent commits
sion, two years before, and its report,
embodying the compilation of the an
nual laws for seventeen years, was
adopted with but few changes. The
principle of the new tax law is evi-
IDENTIFY correct. The experience of the
past two years may show that some
notifications are necessary for its more
efficient working. 1t brought the
grand list of the state, not including
cores and unOrganized towns, from
81 ,00I BIZ in 1850 to 81 1874 ,454 in
1881, or an increase of more than sixty
per cent. Can any one complain that
anybody has been wrOnged by this
law ? Has the law compelled taXpay-
erS to put into their inventory prop
erty to the amount of over S6OO,000
that they did not OwnP Certainly not.
1t has simply brought to light property
that ought to he taxed and should have
been for Years past. 1t may be I'M
pleasant for individuals to discuss the
condition of their private affairs, but
justice to the state and justice to 9th
ers demands it. Our financial cOndi-
tion is very satisfactory in other re-
spects. 1t is unfortunate that we have
three normal schools. What little the
state feels able to do ought to be de-
voted to one school, SO that it might
do more extensive work than is possible
with three schools. In two years the
number of state-prisOn cOnVicts has
fallen from l42 to 81. This indicates
some improvement in the morals of
the state, although part of the change
may be due to IL more prosperous con-
ditiOn of business, and, besides, the
house of correction takes Il few con-
victs that before its erection were sent
to the state-prisOn. The house of cor
rection and reform school give equally
gratifying figures. The fact that there
are l09 less offenders confined in our
prisons and reform school than two
years ago is worth our consideration,
and the causes should he ascertained,
if possible, and further advantage tax
Ell of them.
The University of Vermont and the
state agricultural society have been
fortunate in many respects during the
past two years. John p. Howard has
given the institution $50, 1000, the in
come of which is to he devoted to pay
the salaries of professors and for other
purposes. He is eXpending nearly
S30,0OO i'll recOnstructing the main
building of the university, and has
provided the means for erecting Il
statue of Lafayette in the park in front
of the college buildings, the corner
stone of which the general laid in 1925.
There have been some dozen donations
of scholarships, and the college starts
off at the beginning of the present aca
demical year with a class of forty stu
dents. A final decision has been
reached i'll the case i'll the courts of the
Dominion of Canada, in which Aru-
nah Huntington's will was contested,
and the Judgment of the highest court
gives to this state personal property
amounting to S205 900. The testat0r
recommends that the legislature ap-
point three trustees for the manage
ment of the fund, and that the profits
arising from the investments which he
provides for shall be for the use and
benefit of common or district schools.
The court decided that the real estate
did not pass by the will. There re-
mains some action to be taken in the
probate court, and the legislature,
after informing itself more fully in re-
gard to the circumstances, will need to
name the trustees called for in the will
The bequest has already been accepted
by the state, and that fact cOmmuni-
Gated to the court before whom the
case was tried. The report of the
trustees of the insane asylum at Brat
tlebOrO shows that the number of in
mates of the asylum August !, 1882,
was AL, of whom 356 were residents of
Vermont, an increase of twenty seven
within two years.
GOVERNOR BARSTOw
places the debt of the state at 500, ,;JS2
He recommends the suggestion of his
predecessor that the tax levy be so
made as to avoid leaving large sums in
the treasury. 1t is fertile source of
extravaganza in the national as well as
state government, and an unnecessary
burden to the people. He recommends
that future acts should provide that
the power of the treasurer to borrow
money should cease at the end of the
succeeding session. On the subject of
schools he cOmmends the present su-
perintendent of education, but regrets
that he has not associated with him a
board of veteran teachers for official
advice and counsel. 1t is thought,
however, that the popular distrust of
this method of official supervision, oc-
casioned by the employment of IA sec
retary, who had Il pecuniary interest
in the enforcement of the law requiring
uniformity of text books, has not suf1i-
ciently subsided to Justify a return to
it. The message suggests a means for
Il gradual return to the old system OF
deciding upon text books, to secure
uniformity and avoid the danger OF
confusion. 1t is worthy of cOnsidera-
ton that for twenty years nearly all
of the official school boards have urged
the adoption of the town system and
greater assistance to normal schools
He finds the University of Vermont
and the state agricultural college in a
most excellent condition, and suggests
the consideration of the propriety OF
extending some aid to deserving young
men of moderate means, to the end that
lht oppoituhllltS mere dlloTutu lOT
higher education may be improved to
il greater extent than is now the case
The need of enlarged accommodations
for the library and cabinet is also urged
He recommends the appointment of 4
joint standing committee on phraseolo-
gy, by whom the language of all bill,
presented to the Legislature should b'
examined and corrected, also the crea-
tiOn of the office of attorney general %
the state. 1t is suggested as an i'm
prOvement in the fOIm of official bondi
now used i'll the state, that in all case
the sureties should make affidavit OF
such bonds as to their qualification il
property, and the form is recommend
ed for adoption of official bond used b.