The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1904-05-04
CnuNTY Fund MISSING.


There is u mystery over the disap-
pearance OF "a fund of 1863, SIS, %, be
longing to Hunterdon County, and
known as the county surplus fund. "
The discovery that the fund is no
longer in existence has resulted in the
holding up of $4,000 annual appor-
tionment for the schools OF the yarlons
townships, and they will not be able
to get the money until the Supreme
Court straightens out a tangle that
reaches az far back as 1896 If the
Supreme Court upholds the report Of
+ Judge George NJ Shipman, Of BelVi-
+ dere. who investigated the county 3
/ finances by order OF Judge Swayze,
and who found that the animal tax
levy for Interest on surplusrevenHea
is illegal, the schools may have 10 go
without this money until new lesisla-
/ ton is enacted for their relief
The complication over the county
surplus fund was explained last
Thursday by Assistant State Superin-
tendent j. Brognard Belts TO the
County School Board Association.
He said that III 1886 Congress order
ed that the $40, 600, 600 surplus i'll the
Federal Treasury lie divided among
the States, and that each State should
give bond pledging the return OF
the money to the National Treasury
whenever called upon to do so. The
money was to be disbursed in fonr in
stallments, but onl three installments
were paid. New Jersey received SG76,
070, A, and the Federal Government
still holds the States bond for that
amount. The Legislature ordered
that the money be distributed to the
60 unties, and that each county should
give a bond to the State, pledging the
return Of the money whenever de
manded. Under the law each county
was required TO invest the money III
good securities and to distribute the
| income to the various townships.
Later legislation provided that the
money received from this source
should be apportioned among the
schools by the County Superintendent
of Education, and this law is now III
force. Huuterdon County's share
was SOB, 5ss, 05, and the State has the
county's bond for that amount
Some yenrs ago an investigation was
| Il 10
invested 1t was discovered that in
many counties the fund had disap
peared In Hunterdon county the
schools ceased to get any revenue
from this source IA early as 1873. 1t
was found that the fund had been ex-
pended instead of having been invest
ed, as required by law. Some Of 1t
had been used for county buildings,
some to pay bounties during the Civil
Wnr. In 1879 the Board Of Education
made demand for the money thai
should come to it from the interest
on the fund, and the county appro.
priated the money. raising IT 10y 4
special tax known as the interest on
surplus revenue" tax. This tax has
been levied annually, the idea of the
county authorities being that the fund
was invested as loan to the county
and that the county must pay the in
terest Judge Shipman, however, in
his report to Judge Swayze upon
Hunterdon finances, declares that this
tux is Illegal, aud that the $4,000 raised
annually under this head should ht
raised as a direct school tax.
The County School Board Assoeia-
ton decided to issue orders for the
the fund, as usual, and directed the
County Superintendent to secure from
the Attorney General an opinion rs tc
the legality of the surplus revenue
fund and tax in its whole aspect
Raritan township was selected to make
n test trial before the supreme Court
to settle the matter,