246 



DELAWARE. 



DENMARK. 



the schools of the whole State are available. A 

 recommendation of the Governor that the ap- 

 pointment of such an official be authorized was 

 rejected by the General Assembly of this year. 

 Another recommendation that text-books in 

 the public schools be supplied free to pupils was 

 adopted. The increase in the revenue for school 

 purposes derived from liquor licenses will enable 

 this law to be enforced without the levy of any 

 additional tax upon the people, the revenue from 

 these sources being $23,689.57 for 1889, under 

 the old license law, and $65,783.34 for 1890, un- 

 der the new law. 



For the school year ending in June 81 pupils 

 were enrolled at the State College, a large in- 

 crease. The prospects of the institution, educa- 

 tionally and financially, are promising. A new 

 building to accommodate the Department of Me- 

 chanic Arts will soon be erected, under authority 

 of an act of the General Assembly passed this 

 year. 



Militia. The National Guard of the State, 

 consists of 557 officers and men, organized into 

 one regiment of infantry (8 companies) and one 

 squadron of cavalry. Encampments have been 

 held each year at an annual cost to the State of 

 about $10,000; but by an act of the General As- 

 sembly of this year they are hereafter abolished. 



Charities. On Jan. 1 there were 163 patients 

 at the State Insane Hospital, of whom 93 were 

 males and 70 females. On Oct. 1. the number 

 had increased to 181, of whom 103 were males 

 and 78 females. 



Population by Races. The following table 

 shows the white and colored population of the 

 State in 1880 and 1890, as reported in the Federal 



There were also 38 Chinese and 4 Indians in 

 the State in 1890, 



Treasury Investigation. Late in February 

 rumors were current that the retiring State 

 Treasurer, William Herbert, had found difficulty 

 in settling with his successor, and that State se- 

 curities to a large amount were missing from the 

 Treasurer's office. On March 2, a committee of 

 the House appointed to secure information on 

 the subject reported as follows : 



The books of ex-Treasurer Herbert were delivered 

 to Treasurer Burnite on Feb. 26, and by them it ap- 

 pears that the balance due the State at the time of his 

 entrance upon the duties of the office was $146,142.14 

 On Feb. 10 Mr. Herbert paid over to Mr. Burnite 

 $94,725.39, and on Feb. 26 he paid over two checks, 

 one for $20,000 and one for $31,417.75. The check 

 for $20,000 Mr. Burnite was authorized to use at once; 

 but later two checks, one for $17,000 and one for $3 V - 

 000, were substituted for it, and the check for $17-000 

 was paid by the bank on which it was drawn, leiv- 

 ing two checks amounting in all to $34,417.75 yet un- 

 paid. Subsequent to this report, further negotiations 

 took place between Mr. Herbert and his successor, the 

 result being that the amount due the State, as finally 

 adjusted, was found to be $37,397.34. This sum was 



paid over by Mr. Herbert on April 8, he and his 

 bondsmen receiving a full discharge. 



In the committee report above quoted no men- 

 tion was made of the missing State securities. 

 This subject was left to a joint investigating 

 committee appointed on the same day, March 2, 

 and having authority to send for persons and 

 papers. At the outset this committee found 

 that securities supposed to be held by the State 

 to the amount of over half a million dollars were 

 missing, and probably had not been in the cus- 

 tody of any State Treasurer for a score of years. 

 The missing assets consisted of a Breakwater and 

 Frankford Railroad mortgage of $200,000, 8,714 

 shares of Farmers' Bank stock, 254 shares of 

 Union National Bank stock, 114 shares of Na- 

 tional Bank of Smyrna stock, and 57 shares of 

 stock of the National Bank of Delaware. They 

 were supposed to be in a tin box, which Was 

 passed from one treasurer to another but which 

 no one ever took the trouble to examine in de- 

 tail. When Treasurer Burnite examined the box 

 he found its contents to comprise only a Junc- 

 tion and Breakwater Railroad mortage of $400,- 

 000, and a State bond of $156,750 belonging to 

 the School fund. None of these missing securi- 

 ties were discovered by the committee ; but the 

 mortgage for $200,000 was found to be duly re- 

 corded among the public records of the county, 

 and the loss of the original could not thereby prej- 

 udice the right of the State. In the matter of the 

 bank stock the committee secured written ac- 

 knowledgments from the several banks that the 

 State owned the shares for which it was supposed 

 to have certificates. Evidence before the com- 

 mittee brought out the fact that some of the 

 banks in question had never issued certificates to 

 the State, while in other cases certificates had been 

 issued early in the century. As such certificates 

 could be of no value in the hands of any private 

 person, the State is well protected from loss, in 

 spite of the carelessness of its servants. 



Special Election. Pursuant to the law en- 

 acted early in the year, a special State election 

 was held on May 19 to ascertain the sense of the 

 people respecting a convention to revise the State 

 Constitution. A total of 17,220 votes was cast, 

 of which 17,105 were in favor of the convention 

 and 115 against it. Under the pro visions of the 

 existing Constitution, the vote necessary to call 

 a convention must be equal to a majority of the 

 highest number of votes cast in the last three 

 preceding general elections. Under this require- 

 ment, about 17,600 affirmative votes were needed; 

 biit as the number polled was 500 below that 

 figure, the convention can not be called. In 1887 

 an election was held for the same purpose, with 

 the same result. 



DENMARK, a monarchy in northern Europe. 

 The legislative power is vested in the Rigsdag 

 or Diet, consisting of the Landsthing, or upper 

 house, of 66 members, of whom 54 are elected 

 indirectly by restricted suffrage and 12 are nomi- 

 nated for life, and the Folkething, of which the 

 102 members are chosen by direct household suf- 

 frage in the ratio of 1 to' 16,000 of population. 

 The Rigsdag meets annually on the first Monday 

 in October, and must conclude its business by the 

 1st of April. All money bills must be introduced 

 by the Government in the Folkething. 



The reigning sovereign is Christian IX, born 



