The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-07
EIGHTEENTH LEGIsLA AZURE.
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS
CONTINUED FROM SIXTH rAGE.l

| sec. o. (ElueTReuCy ClduoOJ.
Senate adjourned until o'clock.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
| Senator Patton presenter a repor
from committee on state affair 1aVora
BILE to House bill No. SO.
Senator Peacock moved to suspend
the order and take up Senate bill Nc
81. Carried.
This is a bill to legaliZe the purchas
of lands by the department clerk
under an erroneous ruling CT the comp
troller. The constitutional rule wa
SUSPENDED anu ;sed and wen
to the House.
Senate bill No l, the finance bill
then came up as uniniSht d business
The first question was on the sub
stitute to raise the tax to % cents in
stead. The debate was continued.
Senator Terrell submitted the fol
| lowing correspondence as of import
ance on the question:
| SENATE CHAMBER. Feb. l, 1884.
Hon.. F. r. Lubbock, State Treasurer:
Sir-Will you please answer the fol
lowing questions, with view to in
telligent action on a finance bill now
before the Senate:
L. w IldJ ID UllO (doll DCllduCO W OliS
credit of revenue account this morn
ing?
of available school fund this morning
that might be used as revenue.
3. Have all claims against the treas
ury been paid to date-al warrants
and interest and sinking fund on the
public debt?
4. Is there any money on hand to
pay the expenses of this legislature If
the sinking fund be provided for?
8. How much of the cash balance on
hand when the present administration
began has been consumed in defraying
the current expenses of the govern
ment over and above receipts from
revenue. Truly, your friend,
A. w. TERRELL.
AUSTIN, Feb. l, 1884.
Mr.. A. w. Terrell, Senate Chamber:
SIR:-Replying to yours of this
morning, have to say:
!. Balance to general revenue. ...... Sill, 0O0G0
2. Balance to available school fund
that will very shortly be transfer
Total. ......................s29 1894, 10000
3. Claims against the treasury not
paid. under the annual appropriation
bill, named by you, are sinking fund,
interest and debt and current eX-
penses for January, 1884, .aggregating,
say, $145,O00.
Considering Unavailable school fund
as revenue, which is done, inasmuch
as the comptroller will doubtless make
the transfers very soon, it will be seen
that the balance for current expenses
this morning is say $4,000, after de-
Quoting amounts standing against the
treasury as hastily prepared. Appro-
priations made by the present called
session of the legislature are not en-
braced.
Replying to your last question, will
say:
Balance on hand January !, 1873
Balance on hand February i, 1854
revenue '''''''''.'-'''' llz'oOo W
Decrease $685., 12O 90
Respectfully, F. r. LUBBOCK.
Senator Evans spoke against the
amendment.
Senator Pfeuffer also criticised the
figures in the "so-called Statesman"
that there was 1857, 600 to be met by
the last appropriation then there
would be in the next.
Senator johnson, the father of the
Senate, raped the senators for their
extravaganza.
The Senate finance committees
amendment (2242) was adopted.
The next question was on the second
amendment, which was to strike out
1871 per cent for school tax and insert
10 per cent.
Senator Peacock moved to substi-
tute by inserting Is.
Senator Pfeuffer spoke in favor of
10, but his figures were exceedingly
indistinct, and few if any caught the
drift of his remarks.
Senator Buchanan called attention
to the fact that the constitution re-
quired an appropriation for a six
months school, and there was no way
to escape its mandatory provisions;
he would simply give the facts. The
statistics were these:
The scholastic population between
the ages of 8 and IA in the scholastic
year 1928 was 264, 473, and 176, 606 of
these attended schools at an average
of 90 cents per capita per month, 176,-
COS being two thirds of 264, ALB.
The scholastic population between
the same ages for the present scholas-
tic year, 1884. is ga ,466, being nat
ural increase of 10000 over preceding
year.
The bill of this session proposes to
increase the ages of children allowed
to go to public schools fifty per cent,
and adding fifty per cent to 274, 466,
the present scholastic population I'M
der the law as it now is, gives All ,699,
to which add the natural increase of
scholastic population will give at
least 425,00O as the scholastic popula-
tien under the new bill.
Allow that two thirds of the schol-
ast1c population Gas in 1929 attend
schools gives an actual attendance
under new bill of 283,667, to which
may safely be added 20 per cent by
reason of the more efficient super
vision proposed under the new bill,
which would increase the actual at
tendance under the new bill to BAG, 400.
The cost of educating 340,4C0
children at 80 cents per capita per
month for six months would require
$1,S38, 100. The available school fund
from all sources, including a 121a
cents ad valorem tax, gives only
$1,690,0O0 as per comptroller's state
ment, which would not run the schools
for six months as above shown.
AS further calculating the question,
the following letter from the comp
troller would be of interest:
OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER,
AUSTIN, Feb. l, 1884.
Hon. j. c. Buchanan, Senate Chamber, Austin,
Texas:
Sir-In reply to your request of
yesterday that 1 inform you what
amount of school fund can be raised
by a tax of 121s cents on the $1C0,
with the school fund from all other
sources. L beg to hand you the follow
ing;
Value S527, 500, 900, at 12h ........ s 659,375
Educational poll tax. ........... 800 ,413
Probable interest on land notes S25 900
Interest on state bonds. ......... III 800
Interest OF county bonds. ....... $1,000
Interest on railroad debt ....... 100000
One-fourth Of occupations, less
cost of collecting .............. 1SO,Sl2
Total. ...... sl,7s2O74
Deduct losses as follows:
Insolvents, cost of assessing and
collecting. .-................... zH,ooO
Net schools. 1900. s1,540,474
The recent transactions of the land
board are not included in the above,
II I-S~. MI