The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-07-08
GOVERNMENTAL.
WHAT'S GOING OK IN THE
DEPARTMENTS.
AN EPITOME OF WHAT WAS
LEARNED AT THE CAPITOL
YESTERDAY.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

patents of $40 acres each. He also re
ceiyed the usual batch of petitions asking
pardons.
The governor yesterday received petit
tions from jeff Cain and Dave Brady
convicted at the last term of the Travis
county district court, asking to be par
doled.
He also received the usuol budget from
other portions of the state.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIoN.
The following circular was issued yes
terday by Superintendent Baker:
AUSTIN Texas, July s. 1886.
am authorized to appoint four stu
dents for Nashville Normal college, for
term commencing on the first Wednesday
in October next, to fill the Peabody schol-
arships. Students will be required to
take pledge to teach i'll the public
schools of Texas after graduating. APP
pllcants must be seventeen years of age,
and pass an examination in spelling, pen
manship, grammar and analysis, rhetoric,
geography, civil and physical; arithmetic,
algebra, bookkeeping, physiology, United
States history and elements of geology.
The scholarships are 5000 each, paid by
tle Peabody fund. Those desiring them
will Immediately apply to me by letter
or otherwise. b. M. BAKER,
Superintendent public instruction.
The scholastic census of Fort Worth,
received to-day, shows a grand total of
2432; of these, 1929 are white and 503 are
colored.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Bowie Hose Company No. filed a char
30. To- ha NHi Of ha nf atntp
yesterday.
of June were $3l36.57.
The Lake View Cemetery association,
of Galveston, filed charter.
The Exchange bank, of Dallas, Fannin
County bank, of Bonham, and the Paris
National bank sent in their annual state
ments.
CoMPrRoLLER's DEPARTMENT.
Comptroller Swain yesterday paid into
the treasury $15,876 to the credit of the
available school fund, and $426Sl to the
credit of the permanent fund.
The collectors of Jefferson and Grimes
counties settled in full yesterday, and thus
far the collectors all over the state have
come to time with commendable prompt
ness.
Chief Clerk John Mccall is running the
department during the absence of Colonel
Swain at Round Top.
Captain Benjamin +. Kidder, assessor
of Hidalgo county, writes the comptroller
that his assessments "this year nine
tenths of the people voluntarily rendered |
their property taxation, valuing their
lands Mt 10 cents an acre for wild prairie. |
This valuation / certainly thought low |
enough, but took it that about one tenth |
of the property holders would not consent |
TO this valuation, and the matter as to |
them was referred to the board of equali- |
cation. At their first meeting, June II, |
the board entered general order APPROX
ing all said voluntary assessments, which |
| made upon the copy of rolls. At this
meeting the 0ne-tenth not consenting to
my valuation were cited to appear at an
adjourned meeting of the board, June %.
AT this meeting the board entered gen
eral order reducing the taxable valuation |
of lands in the county to so cents an acre.
without at all classifying them or paying |
amy regard to their difference |
IN value. There was no complaint what |
eyer from the nine-tenths making volur
tary renditions, yet this order embraces !
all, Notwithstanding the owners are salts |
fed with my valuations. The board then J
addressed me to make up my rolls in &C. !
cordance with their last general order, |
which refused to do, as claim that their |
last order reducing the voluntary assess
ments below the valuation placed npon |
them by the owners under oath is beyond |
their jurisdiction and consequently a
nullity. The board being a special tribu- |
nal has no power except that specially |
conferred upon it by the act creating it |
and by this law it is confined to disagree
ments between the property holders and
assessors, or where the valuation is too low |
to raise,it or where too high and only on
complaint of interested party to lower it, |
but none to lower it, where the owner vol
UNFAIRLY renders it and is perfectly satisfied |
with the valuation. l am now threatened |
with the law for contempt.
The comptroller, in reply, said that the |
county commissioners, as n board of
equalization, had full power End jurisdic-
ton to act as they had.
The following tax assessors made settle
ment yesterday with the comptroller
Thomas Lahgham, of jefferson county;
w. d. Wallace, of Young county; A. II. |
Morris, of Travis county, and julius Hahn,
of Comal county.
Under the law, collectors are not eligible
to reelection to Office until they have set
tied up, and this fact is making them rush
up and settle.
The comptroller paid into the treasury
yesterday, $4,000.
STATE LAND BOARD.
The state land board met yesterday and |
adopted the following:
Resolved, That purchasers of school |
lands as actual settlers under the act of |
1885, may dispose of the lands purchased |
by them in amounts less than the original |
purchaser, provided that no sale of less |
than one-quarter of a section-160 acres |
shall be made. That all conveyances of |
less than the full amount of the original |
survey shall be by properly authentic |
deed, describing the tract sold by metes |
and bounds and signed by both vendor
and vendee, and the vendee shall become
responsible for the full unpaid principal
and interest on the land so purchased and |
shall be subject to all the obligations as
to occupancy and payments entered into
by the original purchaser.
The board was constrained to adopt the
above to prevent the forfeiture of lands |
of settlers who failed to make crops this |
year owing to the drouth, and thus rem
derinp them unable IN meet their nav