564 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



ing system of the General Government is grossly 

 unjust, and means ought to be at once adopted to 

 cause a modification thereof. 



General Hancock had been asked to allow 

 his name to be used for the position of Gov- 

 ernor, and a letter was read before the conven- 

 tion in which he declined that honor, though 

 he declared that, if he were in civil life, no 

 distinction would be more agreeable to him 

 than to be Governor of Pennsylvania. General 

 Hancock was a citizen of the State, and a distin- 

 guished officer of the army during the late war. 



The election took place on the 12th of Octo- 

 ber, and resulted in the choice of the Repub- 

 lican candidates. The total vote for Governor 

 was 576,508, of which Geary received 290,552, 

 and Packer 285,956, the majority of the for- 

 mer was 4,596. The whole vote for Judge 

 of the Supreme Court was 573,941, Williams re- 

 ceiving 291,366, and Pershing 282,575 major- 

 ity for Williams, 8,791. A full list of members 

 of the Legislature was chosen at the same 

 election, of whom 19 Senators and 60 Repre- 

 sentatives were Republican, and 14 Senators 

 and 40 Representatives were Democrats. 



The finances of Pennsylvania are in a very 

 promising condition. The fiscal year began on 

 the 1st of December, 1868, and at that time 

 there was a surplus in the Treasury of $1,012,- 

 925.37. The receipts during the year amounted 

 to $5,241,711.28, which gives a total amount 

 of funds at the disposal of the Treasurer of 

 $6,254,636.65. Of this, $4,853,774.16 were 

 paid out as follows : 



Ordinary expenses paid during the year 

 ending November 30, 1869 ................ $2,485,114 27 



Loans, etc., redeemed at the Treasury ...... 109,644 09 



Loans redeemed by Commissioners of the 

 SinkingFund ............................. 362,762 09 



Interest paid at Treasury ................... 170,665 74 



Interest paid by the Commissioners of the 



inkingFund ............................. 1,725,587 97 



Si 



This left a surplus in the Treasury at the 

 end of the year amounting to $1,400,862.49. 

 The question of disposing of these surplus funds 

 each year, so as to save the interest on the 

 money, was considered in the Legislature at the 

 last session, and the Governor was requested 

 to " submit some plan to the Senate to secure 

 the State from loss by the accumulation of large 

 amounts of surplus funds in the Treasury." In 

 response to this request, the Governor sug- 

 gested that all such funds could, " with safety 

 and benefit to the State, be employed in the 

 purchase of its outstanding bonds, and in sav- 

 ing the interest on them* which would accumu- 

 late prior to their maturity." This plan was 

 not adopted at that session, and, in his message 

 to the Legislature of 1870, Governor Geary 

 renewed his suggestion. 



The entire debt of the State, on the 30th of 

 November, was $32,814,540.95. On the 1st 

 of January, 1867, it amounted to $37,704,409.- 

 77, which shows that a reduction has been 

 made in three years of $4,889,868.82. The 

 reduction during the last fiscal year amounted 

 to $472,406.18. The different items of the 

 debt at present are as follows : 



Funded debt, viz. : 



6 per cent, loans $25,311,180 00 



5 per cent, loans 7,277,38438 



4i per cent, loans 112,000 00 



$32,700,564 38 



Unfunded debt, viz. : 



Relief notes in circulation .... $96,397 00 

 Interest certificates outstand- 

 ing 13,086 52 



Interest certificates unclaimed 4,448 38 

 Domestic creditors' certifi- 

 cates 4467 



113,976 57 



Amount of public debt November 30, 1869. $32,814,540 95 

 The loans of the State fall due as follows : 



Amount of loans $32,810,047 90 



The. sinking fund of the State consists of 

 bonds of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 

 to the amount of $6,300,000, and bonds of the 

 Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company amount- 

 ing to $3,500,000, making $9,800,000 in all. 



With regard to the general management of 

 the public funds, the Governor, in his last 

 message, cast some grave reflections upon the 

 integrity of the men who are generally elected 

 to the office of State Treasurer. In urging an 

 increase of the salary of that official, he said: 

 " It is only $1,700, a sum entirely insufficient 

 to command the services of any responsible 

 man, who is required to furnish a bond, with 

 good and approved sureties, for $80,000, and 

 to run the risk of handling at least five or six 

 million of dollars per annum, without the un- 

 lawful use of the State funds, and subsidies 

 from sources that dare not be revealed to the 

 public, because they are positively prohibited 

 by law, under penalties of no ordinary magni- 

 tude. Yet there are but few men who have held 

 this office, however poor they may have been 

 when they took charge of it, who have not 

 become rich. There is certainly some advan- 

 tage to be gained by the holding of the position 

 of State Treasurer, unknown to the public, 

 but which readily accounts for the disgraceful 

 scramble, and for the political and moral 

 debauchery which the people of this State 

 seem to be doomed annually to witness, in the 

 election of that officer ; and, because of the 

 disgrace it brings upon their representatives, 

 the people hang their heads in indignation and 

 shame." 



The public school system of Pennsylvania 

 deservedly holds a very high rank. The State 

 has no school fund, and the revenues for that 

 object are derived mainly from taxation in the 

 different districts. The estimated value of the 

 school property is $14,045,632, and the expense 

 of maintaining the schools during the past 

 year has been $6,986,148.92. There are 1,971 



