798 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



ON ACCOUNT OF COMMONWEALTH. The act of the Virginia Legislature of Jan. 26, 



Balance Oct. i, 18S8. $1,302,630 08 1882 (amended March 13, 1884), required tax- 



Keceived JiI?!^Lf collectors to receive in discharge of taxes, 



Total $4,112,96846 licenses, and other public dues, gold, silver, 



Disbursed _^!!f!!^f United States treasury notes, national-bank 



Balance Oct. 1, 1884 $743,391 51 currency, and nothing else, and thereby for- 

 bade the receipt of coupons. Several suits 



LITERARY FUND. were brought in the Federal and State courts 



le'Sed *' ** 1883 *2#412 oo to test the constitutionality of the latter acts. 



! These were taken to the Supreme Court of the 



Total $394,575 47 United States, and that tribunal, in 1885, de- 



Dlsbursed 296 - 207 82 cided that the act of the General Assembly of 



Balance Oct. 1, 1884 $98,867 65 Virginia of Jan. 26, 1 882, and the amendatory 



ON ACCOUNT OF INTEREST ON PUBLIC DEBT. ftct f March 13 > 1884 > Er6 Unconstitutional 



Balance Oct 1, 1883 $17,89427 an( * void, because they impair the obligation 



deceived ..'..'. ...'."........!!.'.!!!!!!'.! 565106577 of the contract of the State with the coupon- 



Tota , *Tq2qBO~M h ](ler Un(ler the act f March 30 > 18> ? 1 ' 



Disbursed:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: sS;538 pomii. The Readier state convention 



met in Richmond on April 23, under the lead- 

 Balance Oct. 1, 1884 $9,303 81 ership of United gtateg g enatQr Mahone> Dele . 



SINKING FUND. gates (favorable to President Arthur) to the 



Balance Oct. 1, 1883 $492 60 Republican National Convention were chosen, 



Eeceived BM.flpojio and candidates f or p residen ti a i Electors were 



Total $500.492 60 nominated. 



Disbursed 499,%2_90 On April 30 the straightont Republican 



Balance Oct. l, 18S4 $52970 State Convention met in Richmond. Dele- 

 gates to the National Convention of the party, 



MJLLhlw rU^D. ^ 1 1 -. r -y^.. , - *__ * ' 



Balance Oct. l, 1883 $89,08351 favorable to Mr. Blame, were chosen. These 



Eeceived 19^52280 delegates, however, representing but a few 



Total $-238556 81 v ters, were not admitted to seats at Chicago. 



Disbursed'.".'.'.'................'.........:.'.": 147^262 28 The delegates from the Readjuster Convention 



~~ were recognized. The Democratic State Con- 

 Balance Oct. 1, 1884 $91,294 08 ^^ ^ ^ j n Richmondj on the uth of 



The debt on Oct. 1, 1884, was as follows: May. At the election on the 4th of November 



Principal of bonds and certificates funded or the vote for Presidential Electors was as fol- 



fundable under the act of Feb. 14, 1882, $29,- lows: Democratic, 145,497; Republican, 139,- 



218,522.51 ($3,184,258.74 funded and $26,- 356; Prohibition, 138. Eight Democratic and 



034,263.77 fundable) ; interest fundable under two Republican (Second and Fourth Districts) 



that act, $3,004,779.57. Congressmen were elected. The Legislature is 



Coupon Cases. The funding act of the State, of at present constituted as follows : 



March 30, 1871, providing for the issue of bonds " pARTy genate jj^ 



and coupons, declared that such coupons should ! a ____!_ 



" be receivable at and after maturity for all Democrats ?5 67 



taxes, debts, dues, and demands due the State." Ee P ublicacs 15 m 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. The Washington 

 Monument, practically completed in 1884, was 

 begun in the early summer of 1848 by the 

 Washington National Monument Society, after 

 designs by Robert Mills, which were, however, 

 considerably modified soon after, the pantheon 

 around the base of the obelisk provided for 

 originally being abandoned. The original foun- 

 dation of gneiss was 23'3 feet thick, 80 feet 

 square at the base, and 58*6 feet square at its 

 top. The shaft was started 55 feet 1*5 inch 

 at the base, with 15-foot walls, which had a 

 facing of 15 to 18 inch white marble. Work 

 progressed slowly, till, at the close of 1856, the 

 obelisk had been carried up to a height of 156 

 feet, the expense incurred by the Washington 

 National Monument Society having been $300,- 

 000. On the 19th of January, 1 877, the society 



conveyed all its property to the United States. 

 No further work was done till 1878, when the 

 first steps were taken to strengthen the foun- 

 dation, in accordance with plans made by 

 Lieut.-Col. T. L. Casey, U. S. Engineers, who 

 had charge of the building of the monument 

 from 1877. This strengthening, a delicate 

 operation, since the weight of the 156 feet of 

 shaft alone was 22,373 gross tons, consisted in 

 enlarging the area of the foundation by exca- 

 vating the earth to a depth of 13'5 feet from 

 under a strip 18 feet wide within the outer 

 edges of the old foundation, and 23-25 feet 

 without the same line, and filling it in with 

 concrete. The area of the foundation was thus 

 enlarged from 6,400 to 16,000 square feet. It 

 was necessary, besides, in order to distribute 

 the pressure of the shaft over this new founda- 





