NEW JERSEY. 



611 



in Congress are requested, to oppose by all honorable 

 means the passage of the so-called Bland silver bill 

 or any other similar measure looking to the payment 

 of the maturing obligations of the United States in 

 any other currency than gold or its commercial equiv- 

 alent. 



2. And le it resolved, That the President of the 

 Senate and the Speaker of the House are hereby 

 directed to transmit immediately upon the passage 

 of this resolution copies of the same to each of our 

 Senators and Representatives in Congress. 



Also, the following relative to the restora- 

 tion of the commercial marine of the United 

 States : 



Whereas, Governor George B. McClellan in his 

 inaugural declared that l ' we, the people of New Jer- 

 sey, in common with our fellow citizens throughout 

 the land, have a deep interest in the restoration of 

 the commercial marine of the nation," and expressed 

 the hope that all members of the Legislature would 

 agree with him " in the earnest desire that Congress 

 may promptly do whatever is within its power to 

 accomplish that vital object by removing whatever 

 restrictions and impediments of any kind of existing 

 laws may oifer" ; and 



Whereas, The sentiments expressed by the Gov- 

 ernor meet the opinions entertained by the members 

 of the Legislature of New Jersey, who feel the ne- 

 cessity of putting forth renewed energy and earnest- 

 ness, iu common with the people of all sections of 

 our land, for a united effort to advance the prosperity 

 of our nation, by developing our manufacturing, agri- 

 cultural, and general trading interests ; and 



Whereas, We believe that such development de- 

 pends upon proper facilities to afford an outlet for 

 our domestic commodities, to reach countries where 

 adequate demand exists therefor ; and 



Whereas, It is well known that certain nations, 

 more especially France and England, are now reap- 

 ing great benefits by a wise and judicious fostering 

 of their oceanic commerce : therefore, be it 



Resolved, That the liberal commercial policy of 

 th.3 leading governments should be adopted by the 

 Government of the United States, and that such aid 

 should be rendered to American shipping as will 

 secure to our people the great advantages and bene- 

 fits which must necessarily follow. 



Unsolved, That we urge upon our Senators and 

 Representatives in Congress the great importance 

 of the subject presented, and request that they use 

 their influence in favor of all measures that will in- 

 augurate the policy herein set forth. 



Resolved, That the Governor be requested to for- 

 ward a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolu- 

 tions to each of our Senators and Eepresentatives 

 in Congress. 



An act was also passed to establish a Bureau 

 of Statistics upon the subject of labor. In 

 April, James Bishop was appointed Chief of 

 the Bureau. 



The debt of the State consists solely of the 

 outstanding bonds of the war loan, and amounts 

 to $2,196,300. The sinking fund reaches the 

 sum of $1,458,852. A hundred thousand dol- 

 lars of the debt is required to he paid annually, 

 of which the sinking fund furnishes ten thou- 

 sand and the entire interest. Thus only $90,- 

 000 is raised by tax annually. In a few years 

 the sinking fund will furnish all the money re- 

 quired to meet both principal and interest. 

 Although the receipts from taxes have declined 

 $41,000, the receipts from other sources have 

 increased $81,000, and the total receipts exceed 

 those of the previous year by $20,000. The 



expenditures are less by the sum of $400,000. 

 All the floating debt has thus been paid off, 

 leaving a balance at the end of the year of 

 $120,000. 



The rate of taxation has been $1 on every 

 $1,000. A reduction to 50 cents is proposed. 

 The following statement shows the amount of 

 tax apportioned to each county for State and 

 school purposes, and the valuation of property 

 in each county, in 1877, on which the appor- 

 tionment is made : 



The following table shows the rate of taxa- 

 tion in the principal cities of the State : 



Fifty-eight railroad companies exist in the 

 State, which represent within its limits 1,652 

 miles of railroad. Only twenty-three railroads 

 are operated by their own boards. Of these, 

 five, being 240 miles in length, have been 

 placed in the hands of receivers. The remain- 

 ing thirty-five railroads are leased and operated 

 by seven railroad corporations. The amount 

 of taxes received by the State from railroads 

 during the fiscal year 1877 was $599,492, and 

 for interest and dividends on stocks and bonds 

 of railroads owned by the State $31,010, mak- 

 ing a total of $630,502. The amount received 

 from State taxes for the same period was $651,- 

 728, which is only $21,226 more than the 

 amount received from the railroads. 



The State National Guard consists of 3,058 

 officers and men, of whom 185 are officers and 



