ILLINOIS. 



385 



an appropriation of $532,000 for the purpose 

 of completing the State Capitol, on which 

 nearly $3,000,000 had already been expended, 

 occupied considerable attention ; and finally it 

 was decided to make the appropriation, subject 

 to ratification by the people at an election to 

 be held in November. Out of 389,189 votes 

 cast at that election, only 80,242 were in favor 

 of the appropriation. A majority of the people 

 in only six counties voted for it. 



The total assessed value of property in this 

 State, as reported in the month of August, was 

 $892,342,398, of which $4,467,802 was of rail- 

 road property, $187,648,445 personal property, 

 $442,969,507 improved lands, $48,735,477 un- 

 improved lands, $170,773,582 improved town 

 and city lots, and $37,747,485 unimproved 

 town and city lots. The purposes to which 

 land under cultivation was devoted are indi- 

 cated in the following statement : 



Acres. 



Wheat 1,874,224 



Corn 8,280,888 



Oats '. 1,480,891 



Meadows 2,277,070 



Otherfleld products 776,701 



Inclosed pastures 4,018,518 



Orchards 819,148 



"Woodland 680,759 



The statistics of crops, compiled from reports 

 made to the State Department of Agriculture, 

 show that during the season there were 8,985,- 

 411 acres of corn under cultivation, yielding 

 301,646,473 bushels ; 1,729,296 acres of winter 

 wheat, yielding 29,510,032 bushels ; 258,449 

 acres of spring wheat, yielding 2,980,524 bush- 

 els; 1,556,194 acres of oats, yielding 61,145,- 

 983 bushels; and 2,443,360 acres of hay, pro- 

 ducing 4, 044,967 tons. 



The State militia consists of 117 companies, 

 aggregating 5,958 enlisted men in what is 

 known as the National Guard. The entire 

 force includes 63 general and staff officers, 189 

 cavalry, 163 artillery, and 6,017 infantry. 



A committee appointed by the Governor to 

 examine into the condition of the State pen- 

 itentiary reported, in April, that it had a debt 

 of $110,734.69; that the number of convicts 

 was 1,648; and that the cost of maintaining 

 each was $149.50, which might be reduced to 

 $115.58 for the current two years, making the 

 probable expense for that period $624,722.19, 

 against which the estimated receipts stood at 

 $451,694.72. The commission appointed to lo- 

 cate the southern penitentiary made a report, 

 on the llth of August, in favor of Grand 

 Tower, in Jackson County; but this location 

 was not approved by the Advisory Board, con- 

 sisting of the Governor, Auditor, and Attor- 

 ney-General. Chester was next fixed upon by 

 a majority of the commission, one member 

 reporting against it, and the location at that 

 point received the sanction of the board on the 

 19th of September. 



There was a convention of the State Farm- 

 ers' Association, at Springfield, in February. 

 It was devoted to the discussion of topics bear- 

 ing more or less upon the agricultural interests 

 VOL. xvii. 25 A 



of the State ; and the following resolutions 

 regarding the currency of the country were 

 adopted : 



Jksolved, That the Illinois State Farmers' Associa- 

 tion hereby substantially reaffirm its past action on 

 the currency question, as expressed in the following 

 resolutions : 



1. We demand a legal-tender currency, receiv- 

 able for all debts, both public and private, and issued 

 directly by the United States Government in suf- 

 ficient volume to answer all the demands of trade, 

 and made interchangeable with Government bonds 

 bearing a low rate of interest. 



2. Opposition to all banks of issue. 



3. That we demand the free coinage of gold and 

 silver; and all moneys, both metallic and paper, to 

 be endowed by law with the full function or money, 

 and a legal tender for all debts and payments what- 

 soever. 



4. That we demand of our Senators and Rep- 

 resentatives in Congress to pass such laws as will 

 carry out the intention of the foregoing resolution. 



UNIVERSITY HAM.. EVAXSTON. 



A tornado of wind, accompanied by violent 

 rain, occurred at Mount Carmel on the 4th of 

 June, resulting in the loss of 16 lives, the in- 

 jury of some 25 persons, and the destruction of 

 nearly half a million dollars' worth of property. 



The Supreme Court decided, in November, 

 in the case of the City of Springfield vs. Ninian 

 W. Edwards, that the injunction obtained in 

 the lower court against an increase of the debt 

 of the city should be made perpetual. The 

 main ground of the decision was that the debt 

 of the city already exceeded the constitutional 

 limit of five per cent, of the valuation of tax- 

 able property. The following is the decree of 

 the court : 



It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed by 

 the court, that paid citv, the council, and mayor, or 

 their agents, officers, clerks, and employes, be per- 

 petually enjoined from incurring any indebtedness, 

 in any manner, or for any purpose, including exist- 

 ing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five (6) 

 per centum of the valuation of the taxable property 

 m said city, to be ascertained bjr the last assessment 

 for State and countv faxes, previous to the incurring 

 of any additional indebtedness, or levying taxei for 



