NEW YOKE. 



551 



cancy in tlie office of said trustee, the mayor of tho 

 city shall appoint his successor. Upon any appoint- 

 ment, whether by expiration of term or to fill a va- 

 cancy by said mayor, it shall be for the term of five 

 years from the year of the expiration of the term or 

 time of filling the vacancy. The trustee so appointed 

 shall possess and exercise all the powers and duties 

 of trustees of common schools under existing laws. 



SEC. 4. The inspectors of common schools shall be 

 hereafter appointed by the mayor for the same term 

 of office now provided to such inspectors. All va- 

 cancies in the office of Inspector of Common Schools 

 shall be filled by the said mayor and for the full term 

 of office. 



The two per cent, tax bill determined the 

 rate of taxation in the city of New York, and 

 limited the expenses of the government to the 

 funds raised by the levy of two per cent, on 

 the assessed valuation of property for 1870. 

 All these measures were passed in the Assem- 

 bly on the 18th of April by a vote of about 65 

 to 59. 



Among the bills vetoed by the Governor was 

 one for the amendment of the code of proced- 

 ure, against which there was a strong remon- 

 strance signed by leading members of the bar 

 in New York City. This provided, among 

 other things, that judges of any court of rec- 

 ord might punish persons, by fine or imprison- 

 ment, for contempt shown in unfriendly criti- 

 cism upon their official action. Another sec- 

 tion of the bill prohibited any stockholders, 

 who had been wronged or defrauded by a cor- 

 poration, from bringing suit anywhere except 

 where such corporation had its principal place 

 of business. 



The total funded debt of the State on the 

 30th of September was $38,121,606, classified 

 as follows: 



General Fund $4,040,026 



Contingent 62,000 



Canal 11,966,580 



Bounty 22,047,000 



Total $38,121,606 



The following statement shows the amount 

 of the State debt at the same date, after de- 

 ducting the unapplied balances of the sinking 

 funds : 



The State debt on the 30th of September, 

 1870, after deducting the unapplied balances 

 of the sinking funds, amounted to $32,409,144, 

 showing a reduction of $2,926,441. 



The following statement gives the expendi- 

 tures and revenues for the last fiscal year, 

 showing an apparent deficiency of $8,878,806: 

 Deficiency of the General Fund revenue on 



September 30. 1870 $5,370,481 



Amount of warrants drawn on the Treasury 



on account of the General Fund, during the 



year ending September 30, 1871 10,505,799 



Brought forward $15,876,280 



Amount transferred to the Bounty Debt Sink- 

 ing Fund, being the proceeds of the 2} mill 



tax levied in 1870 4,096,579 



Amount transferred to the following funds for 

 interest on money in the Treasury during 

 the year belonging to said funds, viz. : 



School Fund $69,862 



Literature Fund 105 



United States Deposit Fund 1,303 



Long Island Railroad Company 



Sinking Fund. 259 



Bounty Debt Sinking Fund 103,102 



General Fund Debt Sinking Fund 43,552 



218,788 



Total $20,190,747 



Amount of warrants drawn on the Treasury 

 remaining unpaid on September 30, 1870 . . . 746 



Total $20,191,493 



Amount of receipts into the Treasury during 



the year ending Sept. 30, 1871.. $11,286,828 

 Amount transferred from the 



School Fund, for bonds for lands 24,791 



Total $11,311,619 



Amount of warrants drawn on the . 

 Treasury remaining unpaid on 



September 30, 1871 1,068 



11,812,687 



Deficiency of the revenue SeptemberSO, 1871.. $8,878,806 



This deficiency, is rather largely nominal 

 than real. Taxes levied for the fiscal year end- 

 ing September 30, 1871, and unpaid on that 

 day, together with advances on appropria- 

 tions based upon taxes for the current year, 

 amounting in the aggregate to $6,550,881, 

 should be deducted from the above deficiency, 

 $8, 878-, 806, which would leave an actual defi- 

 ciency of $2,327,924. 



The State tax for the year was 5 1 ^ 5 - mills 

 on a dollar of the assessed valuation of prop- 

 erty. Of this, two mills were for the annual 

 payment on the bounty debt, 1 mill for the 

 support of public schools, f mill to meet pay- 

 ments for work on the new capitol, -J^ for the 

 canals, and If for general purposes. The 

 whole amount raised by this tax was $11,613,- 

 943.61. The gross valuation of property for 

 the year was $2,052,537,898, an increase of 

 $85,536,715 over the valuation of 1870. 



A commission, consisting of David A. "Wells, 

 George W. Cuyler, and Edwin Dodge, was ap- 

 pointed in 1870 " to revise the laws for the. 

 assessment and collection of taxes," and their 

 report was made early in this year, but no 

 definite action has been taken thereon by the 

 Legislature thus far. The system of taxation 

 recommended by the commissioners is sub- 

 stantially as follows : 



1. To tax real estate as under existing laws ; pro- 

 visions for enforcing valuation, according to a com- 

 mon and well-defined but moderate standard, being 

 at the same time prescribed. The commissioners 

 favor the creation of an office whose incumbent shall 

 be especially charged with the enforcement of the 

 laws relative to taxation, and be invested with all 

 necessary powers for accomplishing sncli object, and 

 insuring, so far as possible, equity and uniformity. 



2. To tax moneyed corporations of the State in con- 

 formity with existing laws. 



3. All experience, and especially the experience of 

 New York, shows that the attempt to tax, directly, 

 property other than such as is embraced under the 

 two before-enumerated classes, affords little revenue : 



