Morning journal and courier., 1885-01-09
THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE,

, I 1effed upon me, enter upon my otficIa duties with an earnest hope that may b, able to execute loyalty and thoroughly tho trust that has been committed to my 1 hands.
 To you, gentlemen, belongs the highest function in the State The judicial depart
 ment of the government eypounds the laws | the executive department takes care that
 they should be faithfully executed; but you
 and you alone. are invested with the high
 prerogative of making and unmaking, at you1 l pleasure, the laws themselves.
 I congratulate you individually upon the fact that your several constituencies have
 declared you worthy to share in the exercise 1 of a power so great: and l trust that our COT
 dial cooperation with each other during your
 present session may promote, to some extent
 at least, the hsnor and welfare of our com 1 monwealth.
 In obedience to the mandate of the con stitution proceed to lay before you ''infor- l nation of the state of the government with | such recommendations as seem expedient. The funded debt of the State o1. the first day of December, 1881, amounted to four l millions two hundred and seyenty-fye thou 1 sand and one hundred dollars(S4 ,275, fG0). | During the fiscal year ending on the 3t)th | day of November, 1884, new bonds to the
 amount of one million dollars (s1, 900, 00O5 l were issued and sold, and outstanding l bonds, maturing January 1st, 1881, to the | amount of one million three hundred and l fifteen thousand dollars (S1, ,315000) were 1 paid. Thus the debt was reduced to the ex
 tent of three hundred and fifteen thousand l dollars IS315 ,000).
 l The balance of cash in the treasury at the l beginning of the year was eight hundred and l thirty seven thousand eight hundred and | sixty-eight dollars and eighty cents (5S37,- l .S0). The balance at the end of the year l was five hundred and twenty four thousand 1 live hundred and eighty-three dollars and | thirty eight cents (524, 5S3. .3S). Thus the re- duction of the funded debt was almost exact 1 y counterbalaEced by the reduction of the amount of the balance ill the treasury. The rate of interest upon the newly issued bonds is three and one-half per cent and the bonds were sold at premium of six and eighty five one hunaredths G S5-100) per cent.
 During the present year bonds amounting to one million seven hundred and forty y-one thousand one hundred dollars (S1, Al 100 will mature: and provision for the payment of them must be made. You will have oc- casion to consider the question whether ii will be possible not to make the payment in such manner as to accomplish at the same time, further reduction in the princi- pal of the funded debt. At present it is not easy to see how that result desirable as it is can be attained without an increase of taxa tion or severe, and perhaps hurtful, econo- my in the maintenance of the public institu- tions.
 
 the fiscal year Gnclading the balance on hand at the beginning of the year and one million and sixty eight thousand five hundred dol lars received from the sale of bonds already mentioned) amounted to three millions four hundred and fifty-two thousand three hun dred and twenty-eight dollars and sixty eight cents (S3 452, ,32S. 6S).
 The principal resources of ordinary rev enue were as follows: Taxes received from towns, amounting to five hundred and forty thousand six hundred and sxty-seven dol lars and ninety centy (S54G, ,667.90); taxes on mutual insurance companies amounting to two hundred and seventeen thousand three hundred and twenty three dollars and thirty eight cents (S217 323. 3.3S); taxes on savings banks amounting to one hundred and ninety three thousand five hundred and eleven dol lars and seventy-three cents (S193, 511 .73); and taxes upon railroad companies amount ing to four hundred and twelve thousand two hundred and eighty-four dollars and eighteen cents (S412. 2S4.1S
 The principal items of expenditure, other than payment of State bonds, were as fol lows: $. On account Of sessions of the general assem- ply one hundred and eight thousand two hundred and eighty-four dollars and eight cents (S10S, ,2S4. GS); judicial expenses two hun dred and thirty-nine thousand eight hundred and ninety-six dollars and ninety-eight cents {S239, ,S96 9S); board of prisoners of county
 
 seventy-three dollars and eighty nine cents (SS6, 573. .S9); on account of common schools ! Gin addition to the amount paid from the school fundsl two hundred and twenty eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-six dol lars and fifty cents (S22S, 926. 50): or account of State Reform school seventy two thousand seven hundred and fifty-two dollars and twenty cents (S72, 752.20); on account of hu mane institutions one hundred and sixty-two thousand three hundred and forty-six dollars and ninety-two cents (S162, 346. .92); ac count of the National Guard one hundred and fifty-two thousand nine hundred and forty five dollars and sixty eight cents (S152 ,945.- 6o); and on account of interest on State bonds two hundred and twenty nine thousand six 1 hundred and forty-one dollars ($229, 641.)
 In some of these amounts, however, espe cially in the amount specified expenses of 1 the National Guard, are included sums which ! cannot properly be classified ordinary ex- penses. l
 In view of the large amount of money an 1 nually expended by the State, and the great l variety of purposes to which the expenditure l must be applied, it has become highly i'm l portant that the different appropriations l from the treasury should no longer be made l without any systematic reference to each l other, but that they should be regulated in l their respective amounts by clear and com prehensive understanding of the relative i'm l portance and necessities of their various ob- | 1ectS, and that the total amount appfOpfla- l ted for any given year should be kept with 1 in the limit of the income for that year. | The act of 1884 providing for annual appro- | priations for State expenditures" seeks to l introduce into our system of financial admin 1 istration salutary change in the particulars l to which have just referred. There may be | some friction in the working of the act at | first and it may be found to need amendment | in points of detail, but the experience of l many States which have embodied its princi- 1 pies in their constitutions or their laws jus 1 tifes the belief that faithful obedience to | it's substantial requirements will greatly pro l mote sound economy and intelligent discrim- ! ination in the expenditure of the public mon ey.
 The General Assembly at it's last session | directed the Governor to appoint commis- sion consisting of nine persons ''to consider and report to the General Assembly a com prehensive plan for providing revenue for l the State" The commission duly ap- pointed and has entered upon it's work, but l there is little prospect that it will be able to | present any plan in season for you to take l final action upon it during the present ses- sion.
 NATIONAL GUARD.
 It has become the settled policy of the | State to maintain small bnt sufficient mili- tary force in high state of efficiency.
 The National Guard now consists of two thousand three hundred and fl ty-three off ceIs and men. You will be gratlfed to know that its discipline and morals excellent, and probably better than ever before, that it's supply of arms, uniforms and camp and garrison equipage IS sufficient for its wants, and that in case of emergency the whole force could be put into thesield in less than twenty-four hours, thoroughly equipped and ready to move in any direction.
 Extraordinary expenses have been in cured during the last year, amounting to forty-two thousand one hundred and eighty 1 seven dollars and eight cents (S42,- S7.O9, in the construction of armories and in grading and building on the camp ground at Mantle. The ordinary expenses of maintaining the National Guard during the same time have amounted to one hun dred and six thousand four hundred and eighteen dollars and eighty-seven cents ($106, AIS SD. The amount received by the