ILLINOIS. 



391 



to carry out these purposes, but they all failed. 

 The hill to repeal the registry law passed the 

 Senate by a vote of 28 to 16, but was defeated 

 in the House by a vote of 67 to 70. A bill to 

 abolish the Board of Equalization also passed 

 the Senate, 29 to 16, but was defeated in the 

 House. The bill to repeal the law creating the 

 Board of Public Charities did not obtain the 

 support, of the majority in either House. The 

 act which it was proposed to substitute for the 

 existing law for the regulation of the liquor- 

 trafiic provided for a less stringent license sys- 

 tem, but, originating in the House, it failed to 

 pass that body. Among the other bills of some 

 importance which were defeated was one mak- 

 ing radical changes in the law regulating the 

 business of life-insurance, one appropriating 

 $50,000 to complete the monument to Stephen 

 A. Douglas at Chicago, and one amending the 

 school law. Among the measures proposed 

 affecting the public-school system was the fol- 

 lowing, submitted as an amendment to the 

 constitution of the State : 



SEC. 3. The General Assembly shall provide for 

 an equitable distribution of all money appropriated 

 for school purposes among -the free schools of the 

 State, provided each religious sect may establish 

 free schools and be entitled to an equitable share, 

 but no money shall be appropriated by the General 

 Assembly to aid or sustain any academy, semi- 

 nary, college, or university of any sectarian denomi- 

 nation whatever, nor shall any grant or' donation 

 of land, money, or other personal property ever be 

 made by the State or any such public corporation to 

 any church, except to sustain free schools therewith 

 connected. 



It was referred to a committee on education 

 and never reported back. The section of the 

 constitution which it was intended to displace 

 runs as follows : 



SEC. 3. Neither the General Assembly, nor any 

 county, city, town, township, school district, or 

 other public corporation, shall ever make any ap- 

 propriation or pay from any public fund whatso- 

 ever anything in aid of any church or sectarian 

 purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, 

 academy, seminary, college, university, or other 

 literary or scientific institution controlled by any 

 church or sectarian denomination whatever ; nor 

 shall any grant, or donation of land, money, or 

 other personal property ever be made by the State, 

 or any such public corporation, to any church, or for 

 any sectarian purpose. 



Among the acts passed was one providing 

 for refunding seven thirty-sixths of the taxes 

 assessed in 1873, and collected in 1874. This 

 covered the amount of tax levied under an act 

 of 1869, entitled " An act .to fund and pro- 

 vide for paying the railroad debts of counties, 

 townships, cities, and towns," which act had 

 been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme 

 Court. An act was also passed changing the 

 beginning of the fiscal year from December 1st 

 to October 1st, and requiring the superintend- 

 ents of State institutions to make their reports 

 at that time. With these exceptions there were 

 no measures of importance passed except the 

 appropriation bills. 



Several investigations were set on foot dur- 



ing the session, and others announced, but 

 with very meagre results. A special commit- 

 tee of five was appointed to inquire into the 

 expenditures for the new State-House, and as- 

 certain whether any reduction could be made 

 in the estimates for completing the work. The 

 amount already expended vvus $2,700,000, and 

 the amount asked for was $800,000. Two 

 reports were made by different members of 

 the committee, that of the majority criticising 

 the manner in which some ef the expenditures 

 had been made, and that of the min-ority fully 

 approving of the work of the commissioners. 

 A resolution of the House of Representatives 

 called for information regarding the canals on 

 the following points : 



1. The number of men employed continuously 

 through the year under the Canal Commissioners, 

 what they are employed at and what remuneration 

 they receive therefor ; the number of men employed 

 during the season of navigation, how employed, and 

 the rate of wages paid. 



2. The number of canal-boats now in "commis- 

 sion" and the number that were in commission for 

 each year during the last fifteen years. 



3. The amount of tolls collected for each year dur- 

 ing the last fifteen years on all shipments south of 

 La Salle, stating the shipments going north and 

 south from that point separately. 



4. A statement of all shipments that have cleared 

 the lock at Henry during the last three years, going 

 north, and a like statement of all shipments going 

 south during the same time each year, stated sepa- 

 rately. 



The Canal Commissioners made a special re- 

 port in answer to these inquiries, from which 

 it appeared that the total salaries paid to 

 officers and employes for the preceding year 

 was $19,042. The following exhibit was made 

 of the clearances of canal-boats for fifteen 

 years : 



Total number of clearances issued for fifteen years. . 



Average number per year for last fifteen years 



Average number per year for last three years 



Total number of different boats cleared each year 

 for fifteen years 



Average number per year of boats cleared for last 

 fifteen years 



Average number per year of boats cleared for last 

 three years 



Total number of miles run by boats on canal for 

 fifteen years 



Average number of miles run per year by boats on 

 canal for fifteen years 



Average number of miles run per year by boats on 

 canal for last three years 



Total number of tons of freight transported on canal 

 for fifteen years 



Average number of tons of freight per year trans- 

 ported on canal for fifteen years 



Average number of tons of freight per year trans- 

 ported on canal for last three years 



The following shows the transportation of 

 corn over the principal lines of canal and rail- 

 road: 



ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL. 



Bushels. 



1873 7,058,871 



1874 



70,359 

 4,690 

 4,686 



8,040 



203 



166 



5,173,209 



817,020 



9,944,720 



662,981 



781,731 



Total for two years 12,722,569 



Average per year 6,361,285 



Length of canal and river improvement to 

 Henry, 124 miles. 



