ARKANSAS. 



ARMY, UNITED STATES. 41 



caused by a reckless issue of bonds and Treas- 

 ury warrants, tho permanent debt of the State 



<a beou increased. 



With regard to the payment of the Stato 

 debt tho board say : 



In regard to the settlement of the mass of tho debt 

 of the Mate, the board, utter the most thorough con- 

 biU-rutiiiii that they have been competent to give to 

 the subject, are of the opinion that no final action 

 should bo taken ut this time. It admits of a mathe- 

 matical demonstration thut the State is not in a con- 

 dition to pay tin: interest on the nominal outstanding 

 debt ; and uo creditor, us far an the board la advised, 

 i-ntri tuiiis any opinion different from that which it* 

 hrri expressed. As to what offer they will finally 

 muko is unknown oven to themselves, from the 

 wuiit of due deliberation, and such consultation as 

 could result in any concerted and definite offer. It 

 is known thut the legality of many of the bonds 

 of tho State admits of grave question ; and bonds 

 of tho classes affected by this consideration have 

 fallen on tho market, and are now selling at prices 

 far below the other bonds which labor under no 

 such imputation. 



The board has felt itself precluded from express- 

 ing any decided opinion on the subject of the valid- 

 ity of these bonds. The constitution contemplates 

 the payment of the just debts of the State, but fails 

 to provide any tribunal to decide what debts are just 

 ana what are not ; nor has it prescribed any criterion 

 by which these two classes of debts may be distin- 

 guished. 



Cases may be conceived in which bonds would 

 be BO wholly destitute of all legality and merit as 

 to amount to no more than waste-paper. Other 

 cases may be conceived where bonds might be tech- 

 nically invalid, and where the State would still be 

 bound in justice and fair dealing to pay to tho 

 holders of such bonds the equivalent of any benefit 

 actually purchased by the State with them. In any 

 event, the State must always be the final arbiter in 

 the matter; and as no inferior tribunal can decide 

 in the premises, the duty of making nny final adju- 

 dication must devolve on the Legislature as the 

 supreme power of the State. 



As the subject must then come before a body that 

 cannot claim to be wholly impartial, we would recom- 

 mend such an investigation as should fitly stand in 

 tho place of a judicial inquiry, so that no one could 

 say that he had been condemned unheard, in de- 

 fiance of tho principles of natural justice. We are 

 convinced that by proceeding with circumspection, 

 and giving to the holders of the bonds of the State 

 an opportunity of perceiving the whole situation, in 

 all its details of calamity and hardship ; by evincing 

 a frank, fair, and manly purpose in every step, the 

 public debt can be more satisfactorily settled for the 

 people of the State, and the honor of the State more 

 perfectly sustained, than by any hasty expedient 

 which might suggest that the State precluded in- 

 quiry because it might be productive of unfavorable 

 results in some moral point of view. 



An efficient law for common schools has 

 been in force in the State for a short time ; its 

 operation is such as to give the friends of the 

 system strong hopes of its success. The only 

 embarrassment met with arises from the finan- 

 cial condition of the State. Full reports have 

 been received from all the counties but fifteen. 

 There is an Industrial University supported by 

 the State, and intended for the direct benefit 

 of the colored population, which promises to 

 accomplish its object. A proposition is also 

 made to connect with St. John's College a 

 Normal School and a Geological Department. 



The Blind Institute is established on a solid 

 foundation, and in successful operation. The 

 appropriation required is $7,000. A Deaf-Muto 

 Institute is also in operation, with every prom- 

 ise of future permanency. An appropriation 

 of $50,000 was made for the erection of au 

 asylum for the insane; the ground has been 

 obtained, and plans of the building proposed. 

 There are about two hundred insane persons 

 in the State. A new building has been erected 

 for the State penitentiary, which with the old 

 one furnishes 406 cells for prisoners. Tho 

 number of prisoners is about 886. An act of 

 the Legislature allows to every convict two 

 days for every month that he has, during his 

 confinement, conducted himself in an exem- 

 plary manner. 



The total number of enlisted men enrolled 

 in the militia is 13,057, and the estimated total 

 of effective militia in the State is estimated at 

 93,000 men. 



On the subject of immigration, the recently- 

 inaugurated Governor Miller says: 



Perhaps our one greatest need is that of capital 

 and labor, to bring cut the great and undeveloped 

 resources of the State. With a mild and healthy 

 climate, a soil of fertility unsurpassed, and capable 

 of producing grains, grasses, fruits, vegetables, and 

 textile growths in almost endless variety ; with 

 forests of timber, adapted to purposes of manufact- 

 ure, such as have no parallel in any other State on 

 the Atlantic slope ; with ample mines of coal, lead, 

 iron, and other valuable metals ; with a greater 

 length of navigable streams than any other State in 

 tho Union ; with railroads traversing her territory 

 from east to west and from north to south ; with 

 water-power in great abundance, and with absolute 

 peace and tranquillity within her borders, Arkansas 

 offers to the immigrant inducements such as are 

 afforded by no other portion of the West. Every 

 means within the resources of the State should bo 

 employed to set before the world our true condition. 

 Let the country know, as we know, that the immi- 

 grant, from whatever realm of Europe, from what- 

 ever section of our own land, he may come, will 

 meet, here, a cordial welcome, and will be protected 

 in every right of person, of opinion, and of property. 

 The diffusion ot reliable information upon these 

 subjects by our highest official authorities cannot 

 fail to be one of the very best methods of bringing 

 our State into notice, and demands the patronage 

 and support of the representatives of the people. 



ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. Tho 

 subject of the reform and reorganization of 

 the Army was referred by the act of July 24, 

 1876, to a commission consisting of two mem- 

 bers from each House of Congress, the Secre- 

 tary of War, and two officers of the Army. 

 This commission met on the llth of August, 

 and subsequently collected for transmission to 

 Congress a large mass of valuable statistics and 

 opinions bearing upon tho questions before it. 



At the close of the year the Chief of En- 

 gineers submitted estimates as follows : 



Fortifications and other works of defense f 2,22?, 000 



River and harbor Improvements 18,220,100 



Buildings and frronnds in and around Washington 229,060 



Washington Aqueduct 849,f 00 



Surveys 882,000 



Total 16,408,660 



