MISSISSIPPI. 



513 



DISTRICT. 



. 



Minneapolis ..... 220,000,000 i Mission Creek ... J2.000.WO 



St Cloud 4,000,000 St. Croix river. . . 150,000,000 



Urainerd . 12,000,000 i Crookston ...... lo,0i)0,000 



Gull river " ... '22,000,000 Duluth .......... 25,000,000 



15,000,000 Total ....... 540,000,000 



doquet ...... 50,000,000 Valuation, $12. $6,430,000 



Barn ham ........ 15,000,000 



The forest wealth of the State is being rap- 

 idly destroyed by this immense lumber pro- 

 duction, and it is a question of only a few 

 years when this business must be exhausted. 



MISSISSIPPI. State Government. The follow- 

 ing were the State officers during the year: 

 Governor, Robert Lowry, Democrat; Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, G. D. Shands; Secretary of 

 State, George M. Govan; Auditor, W. W. 

 Stone ; Treasurer, W. L. Hemingway ; Attor- 

 ney-general, T. M. Miller; Superintendent of 

 Public Instruction, J. R. Preston; Railroad 

 Commissioners, William McWillie, J. F. Ses- 

 sions, and J. C. Kyle; Chief-Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, J. A. P. Campbell ; Associate 

 Justices, J. M. Arnold and Timothy E. Cooper. 



Industrial Condition. By the census of 1860, 

 Mississippi was shown to be the thirteenth 

 State in the value of her lands, and the eighth 

 state in per-capita wealth. In 1870 she had 

 retrograded to be the twenty-sixth State in ag- 

 gregate wealth ; the forty-first State in per- 

 capita wealth ; and, in 1880, being then the 

 eighteenth State in population, she had retro- 

 graded to be only the forty-sixth in per-capita 

 wealth, only one of the Territories being be- 

 hind her in this respect. 



The cause of this decline is found in the de- 

 pression of the agricultural industry, which is 

 practically the sole occupation of the people. 

 The last census shows that of 415,506 persons 

 engaged in gainful occupations, there were en- 

 gaged in agricultural production and stock- 

 raising 340,651, leaving only 74,955 for all 

 other pursuits. In this occupation the people 

 have not kept pace with modern improvements 

 and methods. 



Finances. The total debt of the State on 

 January 1 was $3,638,057, and on September 1 

 $3,527,012. The greater part of this debt is 

 "non-payable," consisting of funds that bear 

 interest, but the principal of which need not 

 be paid. These funds and their amount are as 

 follows: 



Deducting these amounts, the payable debt 

 on January 1 was $1,231,839, and on Septem- 

 ber 1, $1,119,835. 



The Legislature of 1882 reduced the State 

 tax from 3 to 2 mills, and so it remained for 

 four years, from 1882 to 1886, making a differ- 

 ence of $50,000 per annum, an aggregate of 

 VOL. xxvii. 33 A 



$200,000. In addition to this the same Legis- 

 lature increased the common-school fund $100,- 

 000 per annum, while the requirements of the 

 various State institutions have necessitated in- 

 creasing appropriations for their support. A 

 deficit each year has been the result. The 

 Governor suggests several remedies. He urges 

 a reduction of the interest payable on the 

 Chickasaw school fund. Although a " non-pay- 

 able " debt, it bears 8 per cent, interest, draw- 

 ing $65,329 annually from the treasury. A re- 

 duction to the rate now prevailing for loans of 

 the State would save $25,000 annually in inter- 

 est. He also urges the passage of some meas- 

 ure to provide for the collection of delinquent 

 poll- taxes' From $80,000 to $100,000 are lost 

 to the State annually by the inefficiency of the 

 present law, a sum in itself nearly sufficient to 

 wipe out the annual deficiency. He recom- 

 mends a law making non-payment of this tax 

 a misdemeanor, and the submission to the peo- 

 ple of a constitutional amendment making its 

 payment a condition to the right of suffrage. 

 Two other reforms are suggested, relating to 

 the assessment of taxes and to the practice in 

 the State circuit courts. On the former sub- 

 ject the Governor says : "It would be difficult 

 to find a well-informed man in the common- 

 wealth who would hazard his reputation by 

 saying that the wealth of the State is assessed 

 at over one third its value. Upon the present 

 assessment of $128,000,000, less State-tax is 

 levied than almost any Southern, and most of 

 the Northern States." On the latter subject he 

 says: "A large part of the county expenses 

 constitute what is known as the 'Judiciary,' 

 the principal sum of which is fees of witnesses 

 in criminal prosecutions in the circuit courts. 

 Misdemeanors of almost every description find 

 their way to the grand-jury room, become the 

 subjects of indictment, and thereafter for 

 prosecution and trial before a petit jury. The 

 judge, juries, witnesses, and all others having 

 business at court, are detained until the case 

 is concluded, and if it results in a conviction, 

 not unfrequently a fine of one dollar and costs 

 is imposed. The cost bill averages from eigh- 

 teen to forty dollars, and the State gets one 

 dollar. While the Constitution confers on 

 circuit courts original jurisdiction in all crimi- 

 nal cases, it also provides in section 31, Article 

 I, that the Legislature in cases of misdemean- 

 ors may dispense with the inquest of a grand 

 jury and authorize prosecutions before a jus- 

 tice of the peace, or other inferior courts of 

 its creation. Then it may be safely said that, 

 with few exceptions, every misdemeanor could 

 be tried before a justice of the peace, thus sav- 

 ing the counties an immense sum of money. 

 It must be remembered that there are 153 cir- 

 cuit courts held in the State annually, and if 

 they can be relieved of the trial of petty mis- 

 demeanors, the cost of holding them will be 

 lessened one half and probably more, thereby 

 reducing the expenses not less than $100,000 

 or $150,000." 



