708 



VERMONT. 



Resolved, That we cordially commend the State 

 ticket this day nominated, and pledge to its support 

 such a majority^ as shall show that Vermont takes no 

 step backward in her Kepublican course. 



The election was held on September 7th, and 

 resulted in the entire success of the Republi- 

 can ticket. The total vote was 43,289, of 

 which P. T. Washburn received 31,834, and 

 H. TV. Heaton 11,455. TVashburn's majority 

 was 20,379. The Legislature elect consisted 

 in the Senate of all Republicans, 30 in num- 

 ber; in the House there were 211 Repub- 

 licans, and 24 Democrats. 



The regular session of this body commenced 

 on October 14th. The Governor, in his mes- 

 sage to that body, stated the total funded debt 

 of the State to be $1,075,000, which included 

 $27,000 of bonds due in 1876, and $8,000 that 

 had been purchased by the Treasurer. 



The liabilities of the State amounted to 

 $1,096,108. To be deducted from this is the 

 amount of the sinking-fund, $75,000, with 

 bonds above-mentioned held by the Treasurer. 



The Governor further remarked that the 

 amount required to be paid during the year for 

 expenses of the State, allotment claims, State 

 pay due to soldiers, and other matters, besides 

 payment of interest on bonds and loans, had 

 largely exceeded the estimated amount, on 

 which the tax levied in 1868 was based. It 

 was obvious that, for the purpose of meeting 

 the necessary and current expenses, with pro- 

 vision for redeeming 1871 bonds, a larger tax 

 must be imposed than was levied in 1868. 



The great number of small school-districts 

 in the State is a drawback to education, 

 for, in some districts containing but few fam- 

 ilies, as compared with a large district with 

 many families, it is obvious that one of two re- 

 sults must follow : if good teachers are em- 

 ployed, the expense of each pupil must be 

 above.the average of the larger district; and 

 if the expense for each scholar is kept within 

 the average, only poor teachers can be em- 

 ployed. The Board of Education recommended, 

 as a remedy, that all school-districts be abol- 

 ished, and the support and supervision of the 

 schools be committed directly to towns. The 

 expenditure in each year for supporting schools 

 in the State is about $500,000. The State has 

 a right to require, for its own protection against 

 anarchy and misrule, which are the handmaids 

 o ignorance and idleness, that the children 

 shall be educated, and yet a very large number 

 of both native and foreign-born do not attend 

 any school, and the present law is insufficient 

 to compel them. 



The law of the State prescribing the legal 

 rate of interest for money loaned, and posi- 

 tively prohibiting the taking, directly or indi- 

 rectly, of a greater rate, is daily and openly 

 violated by banks and individuals, and its vio- 

 lation disregarded. It is thus a direct element 

 of moral and practical mischief. The Governor 

 recommended that the law should be essen- 

 tially modified, or provision made for its en- 



forcement by ordinary officers if the law, and 

 this without reference to any supposed interest 

 of either borrower or lender, but only for the 

 promotion of a sound morality and respect for 

 law. 



The people of this State must ever remain, 

 essentially, an agricultural community ; al- 

 though the progress made in the development 

 of its mineral resources marble, slate, and 

 iron, found in large quantities has modified 

 the character of the State in this respect. The 

 result is, that large numbers of the young men, 

 trained to depend for their livelihood upon the 

 fruits of patient toil npon the farm, attracted 

 by the rich soil, easy cultivation, and large re- 

 turns of the alluvial regions of Western States, 

 leave yearly, thus preventing any considerable 

 increase in the population, and enriching the 

 States to which they remove. Every consid- 

 erable stream in the State affords water-power 

 which has not yet been put to use, and large 

 amounts of lumber, iron, and other materials, 

 are yearly sent away to other States, and re- 

 turned in their manufactured form, to be con- 

 sumed, thus paying the profits upon the manu- 

 facture to other communities, which should be 

 enjoyed at home. As means by which the re- 

 sources of the State may be put to use within 

 its limits, the Governor recommended a modi- 

 fication of the interest laws to a certain extent, 

 or absolute exemption from taxation, for a 

 limited time, of capital invested in new manu- 

 facturing or mechanical establishments, instead 

 of leaving it as at present to the uncertain 

 action of towns. 



In alluding' to the fifteenth amendment of 

 the Constitution of the United States, the Gov- 

 ernor remarked that the adoption of it will, 

 for the first time in the history of the nation, 

 give reality to the truth enunciated in the 

 Declaration of Independence, and incorporated 

 into this Constitution, that " all men are created 

 equal," and will preserve inviolate the faith 

 pledged to the national freedmen. The sense 

 of the people of Vermont upon this subject 

 has been too often expressed, through the 

 ballot-box and by their representatives, to 

 leave its adoption for a moment in doubt. 



In the Agricultural College it has been found 

 necessary to increase the space hitherto allot- 

 ted for scientific works. The attendance 

 during the past sessions has been largely in- 

 creased. 



The academic department has been conducted 

 with satisfactory results. In addition to the 

 usual course of instructions, lectures on physi- 

 ology and geology have been given b.y some 

 of the most prominent professors of the State. 

 A gymnasium has lately been introduced, 

 which has been found to confer essential bene- 

 fit upon the pupils, not alone in health, but 

 in morality. 



By the report of the Auditor of the State, it 

 appears that a settlement has been effected 

 with the United States for outstanding war- 

 claims; $108,056.31 having been received. 



