JOURNAL OF THE SENATE.

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sureties would, by existing laws, be subrogated to all the rights of the State.

REVENUE BONDS.

In 1877 I found the Treasury in a depleted condition. Certificates of indebtedness had been issued, liabilities had been incurred, and demands filed with the Auditor for settlement in the year 1876, amounting to more than $266,000, as stated in my special message to the Legislature, in March, 1877. The revenues of the State at that time were insufficient to meet the exigency. I recommended a temporary loan to be made to supply this casual deficiency, (and would have recommended a larger sum, but the Constitution forbaae), in accordance with the provisions of the second clause of section 44 of article 4 of the Constitution. The authority was given, and the loan was made. The revenues of the State were inadequate to defray the current expenses of the State government, the other expenditures charged to the revenue fund, and also to redeem those bonds. Hence authority was given, by the Legislature of 1879, to redeem the revenue bonds by negotiating another 6 per cent. loan, payable in two years. Proposals were invited in the manner provided by law, and the loan was awarded to the highest and best bidder at a premium of 24 per cent., amounting to $6,875.

RATE OF INTEREST.

I recommended to the last Legislature a reduction in the rate of interest. The proposition at first was received with favor, but afterwards alarm was created in the minds of some, lest capital from other States should be withdrawn. But during that winter the Legislatures of the States of Illinois and New York considered the question-the first named State reducing its legal rate of interest to 6 per cent., and by contract 8 per cent. per annum, while the State of New York reduced its rate of interest from 7 to 6 per cent. per annum. The same reasons which influenced me then to make that recommendation, causes me again to recommend a reduction of the rate of interest to 6 per cent. per annum, with suitable provisions to cause the law to be respected and observed. It has been recently urged, in order to induce capitalists of this State to invest in the bonds of the State, that the capital so invested shall be exempted from taxation. There is no good reason presented to my mind why we shall amend the Constitution of the State and exempt any property from taxation. Why should the money of the capitalist be exempt from taxation because

he invests it in the bonds of this State, or in the cities and counties of this State? By many political economists it is considered the taxes levied on property are for the purpose of defraying the expenses of its protection, and that property of all descriptions should be taxed in order to defray the expenses of the Government in making laws for its protection, and the costs and expense of enforcing those laws. We can borrow money at as low a rate of interest as 4 per cent. per annum, but our necessities are not such, at this time, as to require the postponement of the day of the payment of our indebtedness, in consideration of a reduced rate of interest. Instead of inviting the capitalists of this State to invest their money in State or municipal bonds, I prefer to see it invested in the development of our mines, the building of railroads and the establishment of manufactories. Millions of dollars worth of cotton are transported through this State-some raised in it-and a few hundred bales only manufactured here. We continue. to import to this State iron and steel, and yet the raw material from which it is produced is abundant. Sheep-husbandry is one of our great sources of industry, yet but few woollen goods are manufactured by us. We send the hides of our beeves away to be manufactured, and they are returned to us in boots and shoes. Instead of encouraging all those who have capital to be money-lenders, why not, (if encouragement is to be given to any) encourage investment in mining, manufactures and in commerce?

EDUCATION.

The number of students at the State University, the School of Mines and the Lincoln Institute, on the first of November last, is in excess of the number in any previous year attending those institutions at the same date. The number of students at the State University, in all its departments, is now 500 This number of students is a sure test of the correct discipline maintained, and the meritorious standard of education adopted at the University, and is a testimonial to the good character of the president and the other members of the faculty as educators and instructors of the youth entrusted to their care. At the Normal Schools fewer students are in attendance than in former years. This, perhaps, may be attributed to the fact that those to whom has been entrusted the management of the Normal Schools have been more strict in requiring the student to obligate himself to follow the profession of teaching in this State, after he shall have graduated. This requirement is in accord with the basis upon which the Normal Schools were established, and should be exacted of the students by those schools. The School of Mines and Metallurgy, at Rolla, is in a

prosperous condition. The frequent discovery of mines of the precious. metals in the Territories, and the demand in this State for mining engineers, have no doubt caused an increase of students to qualify themselves to follow the profession of mining engineer and geologist. For the first time in its history, the Lincoln Institute has an entire corps of colored teachers. Prof. Page and his assistant teachers have thus far given general satisfaction to the trustees, and the patrons of the Institute. The Lincoln Institute was organized in 1870, and was established by the money previously subscribed for that purpose by colored soldiers, aided by a few philanthropists. After slavery was abolished, and the negro was made a citizen and entitled to all the legal rights to which other citizens were entitled, it was deemed desirable to educate some of their class to be teachers in the public schools of this State, so that the colored children should have the same legal right to the public money, and to obtain an education, which the white children in the State possessed. Provision was made for separate schools, and in many of the villages and towns of the State schools for colored children are regularly taught and are well patronized and maintained. The Lincoln Institute, however, has struggled for an existence. The youth who resorted to it to obtain an education had a rugged pathway to travel to support themselves and to devote their time to study, instead of labor. The Legislature did assist the Institute, but the building did not belong to the State. A debt had been incurred by the trustees, which embarrassed the operations of the school. The last Legislature of 1879 appropriated $15,000 for the sup port of the Institute, provided $5,000 should be applied to the payment of its indebtedness. This appropriation was contained in the general appropriation bill, and was a grant to a corporation managing a charity. The Constitution provides: "The General Assembly shall have no power to make any grant * * of public money or thing of value to any individual, association of individuals, municipal or other corporation whatever. The grant of money to the Lincoln Institute was in violation of the part of the Constitution just quoted, and as matters then stood, could not receive my approval. I was ex officio a member of the board of trustees. The trustees were assembled, and with no dissenting voice, it was resolved the buildings of the Lincoln Institute and its school apparatus and furniture should be conveyed to the State. The deed was made, executed, acknowledged and recorded, and the appropriation bill was then approved. It is too soon now to be done, but the Lincoln Institute will, if properly cared for, occupy the same position to the colored people of the State which the State University holds to the white people of the State. It was a wise act to place the Lincoln Institute under the control of the State

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government, where it can be cared for and protected in the same manner as other State institutions are protected and maintained.

I requested the Superintendent of Public Schools to ascertain the number of students, on the first day of November in each year, for the last six years, in all the institutions of learning and education throughout the State, except the public district schools and private schools of like grade. It has been stated that the people of the West, if they emigrated from the Southern States, are not disposed to aid, encourage and foster institutions of learning. This opinion has probably been based upon criticisms expressed concerning the management of our public schools, and some are found condemning the system, who only wish to censure the mode of management. We find in many portions. of the State large and ornately built public school houses-some of them three stories in height-and when the children of the school district are assembled, there is not a sufficient number of them to fill the rooms on the ground floor. And if this were all, it would be tolerable. But these school houses were built with money raised by the sale of bonds issued by the district, and the school taxes for interest and other proper purposes, become so enormous that the people cannot pay them -much less the principal-and many join in a pardonable complaint against the system, when the censure is really intended to be hurled against the extravagance and recklessness of expenditure sometimes practiced in the name of the public schools. The people of the West and South are thoroughly imbued with the necessities of a free public education, and have demonstrated their perfect willingness to support and encourage such a system. So far as this State is concerned, its aid and encouragement of public schools will favorably compare with any other State in the Union.

A statement of facts furnished by the reports made to that able and efficient officer, Hon. R. D. Shannon, Superintendent of Public Schools, will substantiate the statement made by me. There are three descriptions of school funds-the State School fund, the County School fund and the Congressional Township School fund. In 1874 the State School fund was $2,624,354. In 1875 that fund was increased about $286,000, and the increase was principally from the conversion of 5-20 United States bonds, held by the State, into bonds of this State. The State School fund now amounts to the sum of $2,909,792. The county and township school funds aggregated, in 1874, the sum of $3,037,440, but many counties that year failed to make a report of those funds. The County and Township School funds, and some special school funds held by counties and the City of St. Louis, this year amount to $5,867,359, and the total funds in this State for educational purposes, on the first of January last, was $8,950,805, and of this sum $3,031,000 are

bonds and certificates of indebtedness of this State, upon which interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum is regularly paid. School moneys are now apportioned according to the number of children between the ages of 6 and 20 years-formerly between 5 and 21 years. The apportionment is made on the enumeration of the preceding year; thus, the apportionment of money for 1881 will be made on the enumeration of 1880. I give the enumeration and apportionment for a few years:

A fluctuation of the receipts of the Revenue fund will cause a variation in the amount to be apportioned. The moneys apportioned are derived from interest on the indebtedness of the State to the Public School fund, and 25 per cent. of the taxes received annually by the Revenue fund. And it appears there was paid to teachers of the public schools during the last two years, the following sums: In 1879, $2,211,926; in 1880, $2,218,637.

The result of the inquiries made by the Superintendent of Public Schools shows the number of students in the various seminaries of learning in this State-excluding the district schools and private schools of that grade-as follows, in the years named:

This table demonstrates that all the institutions of learning, of a higher grade, in this State, are well patronized, and that the people are duly impressed with the great importance of giving to their children a good and thorough education.

THE STATE CENSUS.

Congress has provided that if any State or Territory, by its duly appointed or authorized agents, during the two months beginning on the first Monday of June, in the semi-decennial years, shall take and complete a census, in all respects according to the schedules and forms