28 



ARKANSAS. 



that debt having been made in 1881 to the amount of 

 $3,211,449. The regularity with which the service of 

 all our public debts has been attended to, as well as 

 the punctual payment of the relatively high rate of in- 

 terest which they bear, has kept up the most of our 

 bonds to about par, while some of them have been and 

 are still quoted at a premium. This flattering state of 

 things, besides aiding us to secure the conversion of 

 our public debt into another at a lower rate of interest 

 and with a smaller sinking fund, will pave the way to 

 a reduction, and ultimately to the complete abolition 

 (our constant aim) ot export duties. 



In my previous message I remarked that "every 

 effort on the part of the Honorable Congress to free 

 the country of a forced currency would be amply re- 

 paid." Tnanks to the law which you promulgated, 

 to the decision of the Executive to remove the diffi- 

 culty, to the confidence in the public peace, to the 

 rapid development of our commercial interests now to 

 be observed on an extensive scale throughout the coun- 

 try, and to the prudent measures taken oy the govern- 

 ment of Buenos Ayres, the paper of the Provincial 

 Bank of Buenos Ayres has been at par since the 1st of 

 December last. 



Thanks to the same causes, new private banks have 

 been established with foreign capital, while those al- 

 ready existing have materially improved in vitality 

 and credit. 



The creation of a national bank would not be in 

 contradiction either to the antecedents of our country, 

 the letter of the Constitution, or the experience which 

 teaches us that the current of private banking institu- 

 tions is as yet too feeble to carry the facilities of capi- 

 tal and credit to all parts of the republic. 



In regard to the question of public instruction, 

 which has been one of our chief preoccupations, I 

 have to mention an event of importance for the future 

 of education. A Teachers' Congress has been com- 

 menced, and is now approaching the termination of its 

 session. To the call of the Argentine Republic promi- 

 nent educationists, both foreign and native, respond- 

 ^ed cordially. Distinguished men of letters, rep- 

 resenting the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Para- 

 guay, Bolivia, and the Central American republics, 

 take their seats in the Congress as well as the most 

 notable of our own professors. Whatever the nature 

 of the solutions arrived at by that assembly, in regard 

 to rules, principles, and general systems of educa- 

 tion, the real and immediate result will be that of 

 having brought the South American peoples together 

 for the most noble of purposes the education of the 

 people, and of elevating and dignifying the men who 

 devote themselves to the apostolate of teaching. . . . 



In the belief that I have drawn a faithful and accu- 

 rate sketch of the situation of the country, and the 

 administrative movement in the year just expired, 

 and invoking the Divine protection for your deliber- 

 ations, I declare the legislative period of 1882 to be 

 open. JULIO A. EOCA. 



BUENOS AYRBS, May 12, 1882. 



ARKANSAS. STATE GOVERNMENT. The 

 State officers during the year were as follows : 

 Governor, Thomas J. Churchill (Democrat); 

 Secretary of State, Jacob Frolich ; Treasurer, 

 "William E. Woodruff; Auditor, John Craw- 

 ford ; Attorney- General, C. B. Moore ; Super- 

 intendent of Public Instruction, J. L. Denton ; 

 Land Commissioner, D. "W. Lear. Judiciary 

 E. H. English, Chief-Justice ; W. M. Harrison 

 and John B. Eakin, Associate Justices. 



AUDITOR'S ACCOUNTS. In March, 1881, 

 charges^ having been made that Governor 

 Churchill was in default in his accounts as 

 State Treasurer, which office he had held from 

 November 13, 1874, to January 12, 1881, the 

 State Senate appointed a committee of investi- 



gation. On the 24th of December, 1881, the 

 committee made a statement of deficits for the 

 purpose of giving the late Treasurer an oppor- 

 tunity of explanation. That statement was as 

 follows : 



Swamp land scrip $110 00 



City railroad certificates 12,772 21 



City and county bonds and coupons 18,164 30 



County scrip 563 81 



United States currency 69,742 38 



State scrip 63,468 11 



Total $164,820 81 



The committee remained in session, receiv- 

 ing such explanations as Mr. Churchill chose 

 to give, until May 20, 1882, when its lengthy 

 report was filed in the office of the Secretary 

 of State. This report contains the following 

 amended statement of deficits : 



United States currency $109,838 46 



State scrip 24,617 52 



Swamp-land warrants 110 00 



County scrip 56-3 81 



County and city bonds 1,834 86 



City interest certificates 2,163 62 



Total $139,128 27 



A deficit was also shown on the part of the 

 Auditor. Governor Churchill referred the re- 

 port to the Attorney-General in a letter dated 

 May 27th, in which he said, among other things : 



Under all the circumstances surrounding this mat- 

 ter, I have deemed it my duty to refer this report to 

 you, with the request that you look into the same and 

 take such course in regard thereto as your official duty 

 may require. 



As I am personally interested in so much of the 

 report as relates to the Treasurer's books, I take occa- 

 sion to say that, while leaving to the proper tribunals 

 to determine the committee's authority in the prem- 

 ises, I do, nevertheless, most solemnly protest against 

 its mode of procedure, and allege my rail confidence 

 that when a legal investigation is had into the affairs 

 of the Treasurer's office during my entire term of 

 service, it will appear that all moneys for which my 

 securities and myselt were responsible have been fully 

 accounted for according to law. A brief experience 

 before the committee convinced my attorneys that it 

 was due to myself and securities that I should let the 

 committee take its own course, and await a lawful and 

 proper investigation of my accounts as Treasurer. 



EAILROAD AID BONDS. In March a bill was 

 filed in the United States Circuit Court for the 

 Eastern District of Arkansas, in the suit of 

 William H. Tompkins (of New York) against 

 the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Com- 

 pany, which raises the question of the liability 

 of the railroad companies for the " railroad aid 

 bonds " issued to them by the State. The com- 

 plaint may be summarized as follows : 1. That 

 the bonds were issued by the State with the 

 distinct understanding that the roads were 

 to pay them. 2. That, notwithstanding the 

 road has changed its name, the liability still 

 exists. 3. That, although the Supreme Court 

 of the State of Arkansas has declared the act 

 under which the bonds were issued unconstitu- 

 tional, yet the roads received the bonds, sold, 

 indorsed and received the money for them 

 they became commercial paper, and therefore 

 the roads are responsible for their payment. 



The railroad company entered a general de- 



