NEW JERSEY. 



625 



is not properly chargeable as " cost of road," 

 liable to taxation. 



The act of June 10, 1886, provides for an in- 

 vestigation by the State Board of Assessors, 

 as to the correctness of the returns theretofore 

 made by any railroad company, and for the 

 prosecution of a suit by the Attorney-General 

 for the collection of the amount lawfully due 

 the State, in any case where it appeared that 

 taxes had been withheld under incorrect re- 

 turns. 



This investigation is in progress. The Court 

 of Errors has recently held that the limita- 

 tion on taxation in the charter to one half 

 of 1 per cent, on the cost is a contract, and 

 can not be violated by the State. 



Finances. The reports of the Comptroller 

 and Treasurer present the financial condition 

 of the State for the year ending Oct. 31, 1886. 

 During that year the " State fund " received, 

 from sources other than loans and balances on 

 hand, the following sums : 



Tax on railroad corporations ' $778,290 80 



Tax on miscellaneous corporations 147,415 46 



State- Prison receipts 62,072 91 



Dividends 2^,870 00 



Judicial fees 16,60627 



Official fees 14,801 82 



All other sources 4,946 16 



Total $1,058,000 51 



The disbursements for the same period, for 

 State account, other than the payment of loans, 

 were as follow : 



Account of public debt $90.000 00 



Charitable and reformatory institutions 252.311 C6 



Courts, State Prison, crimes, etc 339,218 75 



State government, including Legislature 235,016 13 



Military. * 109,042 06 



Printing, binding, etc 84,85057 



Educational 88,294 26 



Scientific, snnitary, etc 68,048 99 



Miscellaneous 42,080 07 



Total $1,253,362 49 



The balance to the credit of State account 

 Oct. 31, 1886, was $125,404.48. At the same 

 date there were due from railroad corporations 

 for taxes for State purposes under the act of 

 April 10, 1884, as follows : 



Of the tax assessed on the valuations of 1884, and 

 payable in 18S5 $156,522 25 



Of the tax assessed on the valuations of 18S5, and 

 payable in 1886 207,056 43 



Total $363,573 68 



Since Oct. 31, 1886, $17,101.06 of the above- 

 named sum has been paid. There is also due 

 to the State, from miscellaneous corporations, 

 for taxes under the act of April 18, 1884, the 

 sum of $317,426.43, of which amount, how- 

 ever, not more than $20,000 is certainly col- 

 lectable. 



The Comptroller's estimates for the year 

 ending Oct. 31, 1887, show that during that 

 year the State should receive from all sources 

 $1,600,350.43, which, with the balance on hand 

 Oct. 31, 1886, will amount to $1,725,754.91. 

 The estimated expenditures during the year, in 

 the absence of any unusual legislative appro- 

 priations, will be about $1,720,000. 



" There are appropriations, 1 ' says the Gov- 

 VOL. xxvi. 40 A 



ernor, " which the Legislature this year will 

 in all probability consider it necessary to make, 

 and which in my judgment ought to be made, 

 that will call for additional revenues for State 

 purposes. The Legislature must either refuse 

 to make the extra appropriations for the Sol- 

 diers' Home, the State-Prison extension and 

 other matters, or it must provide the means to 

 pay therefor. If the Legislature determines 

 to appropriate the money, it must be raised 

 either by a direct State tax or by some other 

 mode. I am opposed to any expenditure that 

 requires the imposition of a direct State tax, 

 and no such action is necessary at this time. 

 The present and like difficulties can be met by 

 an act which will authorize the taking by the 

 State from the taxes assessed for local pur- 

 poses in any year a sum sufficient to meet 

 any deficiency caused by State appropriations, 

 which the other sources of revenue are inade- 

 quate to meet." 



The sinking-fund was established to extin- 

 guish the war debt of the State. During the 

 year the commissioners paid off $97,000 and 

 canceled $3,000 of the bonds held by them, 

 thus extinguishing $100,000 of the principal 

 of the debt. Interest was paid on registered 

 and coupon bonds to the amount of $91,821. 

 The commissioners received for interest $21,- 

 832.02, making the excess of interest paid, over 

 that received, $69,988.98. The loss on the 

 gale of real estate during the year, over the 

 cost of the same, was $23,702.48. The cash 

 balance in the hands of the commissioners was 

 increased $43,426.36 over the balance of the 

 previous year. In 1887, $100,000 of the prin- 

 cipal of the debt falls due and will be paid, 

 but the commissioners have already canceled 

 bonds to the extent of $5,000, which leaves 

 only $95,000 of principal to be paid by them. 



The bonds outstanding amount to $1,491,- 

 300. The net decrease in this fund during the 

 year was $101,352.57. The fund amounted at 

 the commencement of the present fiscal year 

 to $802,275.47. 



Educational. The compulsory education act 

 of 1885 is not carried out in the cities, owing to 

 lack of school accommodations. Between the 

 ages of seven and twelve there are over 38,000 

 children that did not attend any school during 

 the year, and over 34.000 that attended school 

 less than twenty weeks. According to the last 

 school census, there were 363,478 children be- 

 tween the school ages of five and eighteen 

 years. Of this number, there were enrolled 

 in the schools in 1886. 222,279. The schools 

 will properly accommodate only 200,309. The 

 State Superintendent of Public Instruction is 

 of the opinion that the school accommoda- 

 tions should provide for 70 per cent, of the 

 school census, in order to meet the school 

 wants of the State. There are nine counties 

 and twenty-one cities and towns that fall below 

 this percentage. " I annex statements in de- 

 tail of the foregoing matters, together with 

 other information, showing," says the Govern- 



