598 



NEW YORK. 



dated December 30th. The prisons were found 

 generally in a very unsatisfactory condition, 

 that at Sing Sing especially so. The buildings 

 were insecure, overcrowded, and badly kept; 

 there was a deplorable lack of discipline, and 

 great extravagance and negligence in financial 

 management. The main source of these evils 

 was declared to be inexperienced, incompetent, 

 and dishonest officials and employes, appointed 

 for political reasons rather than fitness, and 

 having a precarious tenure of office, destruc- 

 tive of faithful service. 



The subject of reform in municipal govern- 

 ment was broached by Governor Tilden in a 

 special message to the Legislature of 1875, and 

 a commission was appointed to investigate the 

 subject and devise a plan for the government of 

 cities. The commission not being prepared to 

 make its report to the Legislature at the ses- 

 sion of this year, its powers were continued. 

 At the beginning of the session of 1877 it had 

 not fully completed its work. 



The funded debt of the State on the 30th of 

 September was $23,315,898.58, classified as fol- 

 lows : 



Generalfund $3,092.238 58 



Contingent 5,000 00 



Canal 10,081,660 00 



Bounty 10,137,000 00 



Total $23,815,898 58 



There was a reduction by cancellation during 

 the year of $5,012,787.82. The balances in the 

 sinking-fund on the same date were : 



General fund $2,910,529 86 



Canal 2,121.050 24 



Bounty 9,160,309 90 



Total $14,191,889 50 



The net debt, after deducting the sinking- 

 funds, is $9,124,009.08. The bounty debt 

 matures April 7, 1877, and the sinking-fund 

 and one-third mill tax will be sufficient for its 

 full payment. The aggregate balance in the 

 Treasury October 1, 1875, was $8,126,778.98; 

 the receipts of the year following were $18,- 

 623,986.29 ; payments of the year, $17,827,711.- 

 49; balance in the Treasury September 30, 

 1876, $8,923,053.78. A large proportion of 

 this balance belonged to the various sinking- 

 funds. The receipts of the fiscal year on 

 account of the general fund revenue were $11,- 

 646,517.63; payments, $11,644,982.98, includ- 

 ing a deficit of $733,863.77 at the beginning 

 of the year, and $4,640,849 transferred to the 

 bounty debt sinking-fund; balance on hand 

 at the end of the fiscal year, $1,534.65. The 

 amount of the State tax for the year was $8,- 

 529,174.32, against $14,206,680.61 in 1875, and 

 $15,727,482.08 in 1874. The reduction was 

 due in large part to the diminished amount re- 

 quired for the bounty debt, but partly also to 

 the stopping of extravagant expenditures for 

 new works, and extraordinary repairs upon 

 canals, and to other reforms. The rate of 

 taxation was 3i mills upon a dollar of assessed 

 valuation of property, and it was estimated 



that 2f mills would be sufficient for the next 

 fiscal year. 



The gross income from the canals for the 

 year ending September 30th was $1,487,332.- 

 89, being $438,662.74 less than for the pre- 

 ceding year. The cost of collection, ordinary 

 repairs, and other charges on the revenues, 

 amounted to $1,149,104.61, which was $318,- 

 121.34 less than for the preceding year. The 

 Erie Canal showed a surplus of revenue over 

 expenses amounting to $508,953.14. All the 

 others showed large deficiencies, as follows : 



The school statistics for the year ending Sep- 

 tember 30th are as follows : 



Total receipts, including balance on hand Sep- 

 tember 80, 1875 , $12,643,969 59 



Total expenditures 11.410,288 71 



Amount paid for teachers' wages 7,949,085 17 



Amount paid for school-houses, repairs, fur- 

 niture, etc 1,779,124 19 



Estimated value of school-houses and sites. . . 31,817,904 00 



Number of school-houses 1 1.571 



Number of school-districts, exclusive of cities. 11,027 

 Number of teachers employed for the legal 



term of school 19,341 



Number of teachers employed during any por- 

 tion of the year 80,209 



Number of children attending public schools. . 1,067,199 



Number of persons attending normal schools. 0,391 

 Number of children of school age In pi-ivate 



schools 184,404 



Number of volumes in school-district libra- 

 ries 804,802 



Number of persons in the State between the 



ages of five and twenty -one years 1,585,601 



The State tax for school purposes is If mill, 

 and produces about $3,000,000. The rest of 

 the $12,000,000 and upward was raised by 

 local taxation. 



The National Guard of the State of New 

 York consists of eight divisions, eighteen bri- 

 gades one regiment and eleven separate troops 

 of cavalry ; one battalion and eleven separate 

 batteries of artillery ; twenty-five regiments, 

 twelve battalions, and eighteen separate com- 

 panies of infantry in all comprising 1,546 

 commissioned officers and 19,878 non-com- 

 missioned officers, musicians, and privates, 

 making an aggregate force of 21,424, an in- 

 crease of 2,011 for the year. An annual ap- 

 propriation of $275,000 is required to keep up 

 this organization. Several rifle ranges have 

 been established in different division districts. 

 A majority of the members of the American 

 Rifle-Team, which was victorious in the Inter- 

 national Rifle-Match at Creedmoor, L. I., Sep- 

 tember 12th, 13th, and 14th, belonged to the 

 National Guard. The State has recovered 

 from the United States on account of war 

 claims in the last two years $162,614.85. This 

 sum paid all the indebtedness of the State to the 

 United States, and left a balance of $57,047.80. 



