House commenced in 1849, and by the expense of Printing Paper for the convention, which under the law was chargeable to the General Fund. Deducting these extraordinary items, the expenses of the State Government will be found to have been about $80,000, which, for a population of a million of inhabitants, will compare favorably with any State in the union, the expense per capita being but eight cents for each individual. The ordinary expenditures for the current year may be estimated as follows: On account of the Legislature,. On account of the Judiciary, $31,000 00 17,000 00 On account of Executive Officers,.. 6,530 00 On account of Public Printing and Binding,. 7,000 00 5,000 on On reference to the Synopsis of the appropriations for 1850, it will be seen, that in several items the appropriations have been overdrawn, and it is recommended that the appropriation Bill for 1851 should include amounts sufficient to cover these overpayments. The annual appropriation of five hundred dollars, for the Contingent Fund, is entirely insufficient to meet the expenditures necessarily chargeable upon it, and should be increased to at least the sum of $1,200. Congress, at its late session, donated to Indiana the unsold wet lands within the limits of the State, and steps were immediately taken, with the utmost promptitude, by the Governor, to secure their selection in the several counties, by the county surveyors or other competent persons. The procuring of Maps, examination of titles, and selection of these lands, will involve a considerable expense, which must necessarily be defrayed by the State, and I therefore recommend an appropriation for this purpose, to be expended under the direction of the Governor or other proper authority, of such sum as the Legislature may determine to be necessary. An additional appropriation of $40,000 will be necessary to meet the expenses of the Constitutional Convention, and a further sum of from $3,000 to $5,000 for the payment of the Printing and Binding of the Convention. The undersigned has not considered himself authorized, by any existing Law, to audit claims for such Printing or Binding, under the contract of the Convention, and therefore recommends to the Legislature an appropriation for that purpose. The Revenue for the year 1849, including the amount collected for the Delinquency of 1848 and previous years, has been generally accounted for by the several County Treasurers, and with few exceptions paid over with much promptness. The details of the settlements with these officers will be found in statement No. 4 in the appendix. In the case of Sullivan county, owing to the loss by fire of all the records, near the close of the collecting season, it was impossible to make an accurate settlement. Relying however upon the integrity of the accounting officers of the county, and comparing the statements with those of former dates, a conditional settlement was made by the Auditor, which was concurred in by this office, and a confirmation of it by the Legislature is respectfully suggested. The amount of State Revenue found due on this settlement is less than for the previous year, but it is accounted for from the fact that the purchasers at the Tax sale, after the fire, refused to pay for their purchases. A re-assessment also of all the real estate of the county will have to be provided for by the Legislature. The net amount of Revenue, collected on the Duplicate for the year 1850, including the Revenue from the State Bank, is as follows: The following statement exhibits the rate of Taxation for four years past, the net amount of State Revenue collected, and the increase: The increase of Taxables for the same period has been as follows: The average increase in Taxables since 1847 is not far from three and a half per cent. annually, and of polls over five per cent., a fact which must be gratifying alike to the citizens and creditors of the State; and for years to come this rate of increase may be safely relied upon in all our estimates, even if no improvement be made in the mode of assessment of real and personal estate. The rate of Taxation for the year 1850 for State purposes is 334 cents per hundred dollars valuation, and seventy-five cents poll tax, and the net Revenue to be realized therefrom may be estimated at $510,000 00 Upon this sum will be chargeable the following items,viz: Interest on State Debt January, 1851, including ex change and expenses,⚫ 100,000 00 Same for July, 1851,. 100,000 00 Total charges,. $592,500 00 Estimated deficit at the close of the financial year 1851, $82,500 00 According to this estimate the revenue collected on the Duplicates of 1850 will wipe out the present indebtedness of the Bank, defray the expenses of the State Government and Constitutional Convention, and of the Benevolent Institutions, redeem two-fifths of the outstanding Domestic Debt of the State, and pay the Interest on the State Debt for January, 1851, making it necessary to anticipate the revenues of 1851, by loan, only in an amount sufficient to meet the July interest, 1851. If a return is made to the former rate of taxation, to-wit: 30 cents per hundred dollars valuation, the net revenue collected on the duplicates of 1851 for the fiscal year 1852 will be about $475,000 00. Upon which the following items will be chargeable, to-wit: If this estimate be correct, and it cannot vary far from it, we shall commence the financial year 1853 with an inconsiderable surplus in the Treasury, with all our Domestic Debt liquidated except a small balance of Treasury notes, and having suffered no delinquency in the payment of Interest on the Public Debt. Should all the outstanding Bonds be surrendered, the Public Debt of the State, on the 1st day of January, 1853, will be as follows: 5 per cent. Stocks,.. 24 per cent. Stocks, say... Total,..... $5,524,000 2,000,000 $7,524,000 On this sum the annual interest will be $326,200, and without going into the details of further estimates, the ability of the State will readily be seen, not only to meet accruing interest with promptness, but to appropriate an annual surplus to the liquidation of the principal itself. The ability of the State for the future may very appropriately be argued from the history of the past. Commencing with the suspension of the public works in 1839-40, during a period of ten years of more or less financial embarrassment, the State has paid upon her liabilities as follows: Upon Domestic Debt,.... Making a total of. $2,529,156 639,269 $3,168,425 Or an average of $316,842 per annum, besides defraying the expenses of the State Government. This statement furnishes an ample guaranty to our creditors, that the tax payers of Indiana not only have the will, but the ability, to discharge all their just obligations, and that every burden will be cheerfully borne to restore and sustain the impaired credit of the State. It is a matter of deep interest to all who have the credit and wel fare of the State at heart, to inquire what prospect there may be for the gradual and ultimate liquidation of the principal of the Public Debt. It is hardly probable that before the 1st January, 1854, any considerable sum can be applied to this purpose. The following table is prepared on the supposition that on that day the sum of $100,000 may be appropriated to the payment of Principal, that this amount may be annually increased in the sum of $10,000, and that to it may be added the sum saved from the interest account. The table is for twenty years, and supposes for its basis the debt to be $7,524,000 and the annual Interest $326,200. The results shown by the table are highly satisfactory, and the ability of the State to realize this estimate is by no means overrated. Thus in 1874, the Public Debt, by this gradual process of reduction, will be diminished to the sum of $3,119,538 80, and of this sum two millions are estimated as 24 per cent. stocks. The Revenue Laws of the State require some important modifica tions, and the first is the adoption of some system to equalize the assessment of property. The merit of any system of taxation is its equality. It should bear upon all alike. The poor man has no concealments in his cabin, or upon his farm. His all is exposed to the examination of the assessor, who is able to estimate to the fraction of a dollar, the value of this particular class of property, while his neighbor has well filled coffers, lined with evidences of wealth, which escape the knowledge of the officer. The true system is to value all real and personal estate, rights, credits, moneys, and effects, at their actual cash value. This system was brought into practical operation in the State of Ohio in the year 1847, and the following table will show its results: |