860 



VIRGINIA. 



There were also in the State in 1890 50 Chi- 

 nese, 13 Japanese, and 370 Indians. 



Education. The following public-school 

 statistics cover the year ending July 31, 1891 : 

 Schools opened: white, 5,506; colored, 2,183; 

 total, 7,689. Pupils enrolled; white, 219,141; 

 colored, 123.579 ; total, 342,720. Daily attend- 

 ance : white, 126,848 ; colored, 66,688 ; total, 193,- 

 536. Percentage of school population enrolled : 

 white, 58; colored, 44-8; total, 52-5. Percent- 

 age of school population in daily attendance; 

 white, 33-6 ; colored, 24;2 ; total, 29-6. Percent- 

 age of attendance : white, 73'6 ; colored, 73 ; to- 

 tal, 73-4. Teachers: white males, 2,097; white 

 females, 3,613 ; total, 5,710. Colored males, 928 ; 

 colored females, 1,080 ; total, 2,008. Grand total, 

 7,718. Average monthly salaries : male teachers, 

 $31.40 ; female teachers, $26.66. Cost of the sys- 

 tem forthe year: for pay of teachers, $1,273.,931.- 

 53 ; for all other current expenses, $213,016.13 ; 

 for permanent improvements, $150,035.18. 



Charities. At the Southwestern Lunatic 

 Asylum, at Marion, there were 248 patients on 

 Sept. 30, 1890 ; 129 patients were admitted dur- 

 ing the year ensuing, and 113 discharged, leav- 

 ing 264 remaining on Sept. 30, 1891. The aver- 

 age number during the year was 256. The num- 

 ber of patients at the Eastern Lunatic Asylum 

 on Sept. 30, 1890, was 402. The admissions' dur- 

 ing the year following were 92, and the number 

 discharged 73, leaving 421 on Sept. 30, 1891. 

 The average for the year was 411. 



Penitentiary. At the end of the fiscal year, 

 1891, there we're 1,192 convicts in the State 



Penitentiary, divided as follows: white men, 

 212; colored men, 890 ; white women, 2; colored 

 women, 95. The earnings of convicts for the 

 year exceeded the expenses of the institution by 

 $36,170.18. 



Tobacco. According to the Federal census of 

 1890, the total number of tobacco planters in the 

 State during the census year was 24,034; the to- 

 tal area devoted to tobacco, 110,579 acres ; the 

 total product, 48,522,655 pounds ; and the value 

 of the crop to the producer, $4,323,649. 



Coal. The total output of coal in the State 

 during the year ended June 30, 1880, as reported 

 to the tenth census, was 43,079 short tons of 

 bituminous coal, valued at $99,802 at the mines, 

 and 2,817 short tons of anthracite, valued at 

 $8.290 at the mines. During the calendar year 

 1889 the quantity of bituminous coal mined in 

 the State, as reported to the eleventh census, was 

 865,786 short tons, valued at $804,475. an aver- 

 age of 93 cents a ton at the mines. This great 

 increase during the decade is attributed to the 

 developments in the Plat Top and Clinch Valley 

 districts. The total number of employes en- 

 gaged in or about coal mines in 1889 was 1,555 ; 

 the amount of wages paid them was $621,266 ; 

 and the expense of mining the product of that 

 year, $681.476. 



Legislative Session. The biennial session 

 of the General Assembly began on Dec. 2. Early 

 in the proceedings, Secretary Plournoy, First 

 Auditor Marye. Second Auditor Ruffin, Treas- 

 urer Harmon, and Railroad Commissioner Hill 

 were re-elected. On Dec. 15 United States 

 Senator John W. Daniel, Democrat, was re- 

 elected for the full term of six years, receiving 

 all the votes cast in each House. The one Re- 

 publican Senator and the two Republican As- 

 semblymen did not vote. At the close of the 

 year the session had not been completed. 



Debt Settlement. The year 1891 will be 

 notable in the history of Virginia as marking 

 the termination of the long-standing contro- 

 versy between the State and its bondholders. 

 By a joint resolution passed on March 5, 1890, 

 the Legislature had offered to reopen negotia- 

 tions with the bondholders, and had appointed 

 for that purpose a commission, consisting of the 

 Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, and a few 

 members of the Senate and House of Delegates. 

 This commission was authorized to agree with 

 representatives of the bondholders upon any 

 terms of settlement, provided they were not less 

 favorable to the State than the provisions of the 

 Riddleberger act. Early in May, 1891, the Gov- 

 ernor received a communication from a commit- 

 tee representing a large majority of the bond- 

 holders, asking for a conference at an early day. 

 and June 2 was fixed upon for the meeting:. At 

 this time the committee submitted the following 

 statement and proposition : " Of the debt pro- 

 posed to be funded there is now outstanding, 

 owned by the public, an apparent maximum, as 

 of July 1, 1891, approximating $28,000,000. Of 

 this amount the bondholders' committee control 

 not less than $23.000,000 (principal and interest), 

 to said date ; and the committee hereby proposes 

 to surrender the same, together with any addi- 

 tional obligations which may be deposited, on 

 the basis of $20,000.000 of new 3-per-cent. bonds 

 for the entire $28,000,000." This proposal the 



