USA > Indiana > Indiana : in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc. : with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Indiana: in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc., with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 3
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Banks .- The " State Bank of Indiana" is the only insti- tution of the kind known to the laws of the state. The principal office is located at Indianapolis, and there are branches at Redford, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapo- lis, Lafayette, Lawrenceburg, Madison, Michigan City, New Albany, Richmond, South Bend, Terre Haute, and Vincennes. The bank does not issue or pay notes, except at its several branches. The aggregate condition of this institution on the 16th November, 1850, is shown in the following figures :
33
CANALS.
Liabilities.
Capital (State) ...... $1,006,604 27
" (individuals) 1,076,346 32
$2,082,950 59
$4,124,886 44
Surplus funds $750,678 17
Profit and loss
97,258 59
Divid. unredeemed .. 27,661 91
Suspended int., etc. .
34,600 66
$634,447 31
$910,199 33
Funds in E. cities . - $449,153 09
Due to banks
112,175 47
Due sinking fund . . 43,467 83
Due school fund
2,763 93
Ind. treas. notes 108,485 00
Branch balances
6,168 75
$943,547 27
$164,575 98
Due depositors ...... $556,432 70
Notes in circulation . $3,548,267 50
Less notes on hand .. 126,822 50
$3,421,445 00
Total liabilities .$7,135,603 60
Resources.
Notes discounted ... $1,709,935 38 Bills of exchange ... 2,414,951 06
Suspended debt ..
$270,213 77 .
Banking houses, etc. 175,610 22
Other real estate .... 188,623 32
Due from banks. . 148,861 17
Remittances, etc. 247,048 01
Notes of other banks $224,842 00 Gold and silver ... ... 1,197,880 58
$1,422,722 58
Total resources.$7,135,603 60
CANALS .- The Wabash and Erie canal is the greatest work of internal improvement in Indiana. The act of Congress, granting lands for its construction, was passed in 1827, and additional grants were made by the acts of 1841 and 1845. The canal was commenced in 1832, and completed to Lafayette in 1841; to Covington in 1846, to Coal Creek in 1847, to Terre Haute in 1849, and to Point Commerce in 1851; and its final completion to Evansville, on the Ohio, is fixed for 1853. The length of the canal in Indiana is 375 miles, and in Ohio from the state line to Toledo, on Maumee Bay, 84 miles ; making, on the whole, a line of artificial inland navigation equal to 459 miles ; and in addition to this the navigable channel is continued southward to Cincinnati, 181 miles, through the Miami canal. The Whitewater canal, connecting the navigation
34
INDIANA.
of the Ohio at Lawrenceburg with Cambridge City and the towns on the Great National road, is 76 miles long. Many other canals were included in the original design, and some were commenced, but all else than the above have been abandoned. The expenses attending the prose- cution of these great works laid the foundation of the present public debt.
RAILROADS .- In the great enterprise of the age, Indi- ana has outstripped all its western competitors, save Ohio, which alone has eclipsed it in the grandeur of its system of internal improvements. The lines of this state com- pleted, progressing, and proposed, the latter including only those that will be built, extend in length upward of 1,600 miles, of which 640 miles, more or less, are in suc- cessful operation. The names and lengths of the several roads are as follows :
1. The Madison and Indianapolis railroad, extending between the two places, and running through Wirt, Lan- caster, Vernon, Queensville, Scipio, Elizabethtown, Co- lumbus, Taylorsville, Edinburg, Franklin, Greenwood, Southport, etc., has a length of 86 miles. Branches con- necting with this line diverge from Edinburg to Shelby- ville, 16 miles, and thence to Rushville, 20 miles, and to Knightstown, 27 miles; and from Franklin, through Liberty and Morgantown, to Martinsville, 29 miles.
2. The Jeffersonville and Columbus railroad, running through Sellusburg, Vienna, Rockford, Azalia, etc., is 66 miles long, uniting with the Madison and Indianapolis railroad at Columbus, whence to Indianapolis, is 41 miles.
3. The New Albany and Salem railroad, now open to Gosport, and which is intended to be continued to Craw- fordsville, whence to Lafayette the line is already com- pleted, and from the latter place directly to Michigan City, will be the longest line in the state. From New
35
RAILROADS.
Albany to Salem the distance is 35 miles, and thence to Gosport, by way of Bedford and Bloomington, it is 44 miles, and to Crawfordsville 51 miles; from Crawfordsville to Lafayette the distance is 26 miles, and from Lafayette to Michigan City 97 miles ; in all, about 253 miles. In its course it will intersect the Cincinnati and St. Louis rail- road, the Terre Haute and Indianapolis railroad, the Wa- bash and Erie canal, and the northern lines of railroad running round the head of Lake Michigan, all of which will become its tributaries.
4. The Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis railroad will pass through Greensburg, St. Omer, and Shelbyville, a distance of 91 miles.
5. The Evansville and Illinois railroad, now finished to Princeton, 26 miles, will be extended to Vincennes, 25 miles farther, and perhaps to Terre Haute.
6. The Terre Haute and Indianapolis railroad, taking almost the direction of the National road, will unite the two places, distant 72 miles, and in connection with the Indiana Central railroad, form an east and west line from Ohio to Illinois.
7. The Indiana Central railroad, 71} miles long, ex- tends from Indianapolis to Richmond, and is continued thence four miles to the Ohio line by the Richmond rail- road.
8. The Cincinnati and St. Louis railroad will extend from the eastern line of the state to Vincennes, on the Wabash, about 160 miles, and be continued thence through Illinois.
9. The New Castle and Richmond railroad, connecting the two places, is 27 miles long.
10. The Indianapolis and Bellefontaine railroad, one of the most important in the state, commences at Indian- apolis, where it connects with the roads diverging there-
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INDIANA.
from, and runs thence in a northeastern direction through Pendleton, Andersontown, and Muncietown, to the Ohio state line, a distance of 83 miles, where it connects with the railroads of Ohio.
11. The Lafayette and Indianapolis railroad passes in an almost direct line between the two places, a distance of 68 miles.
12. The Peru and Indianapolis railroad is 73 miles long, and runs in a north and south direction, through Noblesville. Buena Vista, Kokomo, Miami, Leonda, etc.
13. The Northern Indiana railroad, a continuation of the Southern Michigan railroad, extends from the north- ern state line, about five miles east of where the line is cut by St. Joseph's river, through Bristol, Elkhart, South Bend, New Carlisle, La Porte, and thence onward to the western line of the state, and beyond it to Chicago in Illi- nois. Its length is 135 miles, and it has branches to Go- shen and Michigan City. The Michigan Central railroad is also being carried round the head of Lake Michigan toward Chicago.
These are the principal lines, but there are others ; and many whose old charters have laid dormant for years will now be brought into existence.
OTHER ROADS .- The state has long been provided with good macadamized roads and ordinary county roads, and in many of these the public treasury is a large cred- itor. The plank-road system has been introduced, and already from and between the more considerable cities and towns this species of communication has become very common. But it is unnecessary in this place to enter into the details of them-the map, of which this volume is an accompaniment, will more readily convey to the inquirer information respecting them than the most labored de- scription possibly could do.
37
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT .- The government, as now organized, is based on the constitution which went into operation No- vember 1st, 1851. This instrument of the fundamental law of the state secures the right of voting at elections to every white male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of age, resident in the state six months next preced- ing, and to every white male of foreign birth, resident in the United States one year, and in the state six months next preceding, who shall have duly declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States. No negro or mu- latto can vote; and all persons using bribery, threats, or rewards, to procure their election, shall be ineligible to hold office during the term for which they may have been elected. Duelists and public defaulters are barred from all offices of profit and trust. All elections by the people are by ballot, and all elections by the General Assembly are viva voce. The second Tuesday in October is the day on which the general elections are held.
The legislative powers are vested in a General Assem- bly, which consists of a Senate of not more than fifty mem- bers, and House of Representatives of not more than one hundred members, both classes being elected from districts by the people thereof, the senators for four years, and the representatives for two years ; and the former must be at least twenty-five years old, and the latter at least twenty- one years old. They must be at the time of their election citizens of the United States, residents of the state for the two years next preceding and of the district by which chosen for one year. One half the senate and all the representatives are renewed biennially. The General Assembly convenes at Indianapolis biennially on the Thurs- day next after the first Monday of January, and it is ex- pressly provided in the constitution that no regular session shall continue for more than sixty-one, and no special
4
38
INDIANA.
session for more than forty days. The lieutenant-governor is ex-officio president of the senate; the representatives elect their own speaker.
The executive powers of the state are vested in a governor, who is chosen by a plurality of the popular votes, for four years. The governor must be at least thirty years old, and have been a citizen and resident of the United States and of the state for the five years next preceding his election. Persons holding office under the state or United States are ineligible for the office of gov- ernor of the state. The gubernatorial term commences on the second Monday of January. In case of the removal or death of the governor, the lieutenant-governor (elected at the same time and under the same circumstances as the governor) would succeed to the office, and should disability or death prevent him from assuming the dignity, then it is competent for the General Assembly to appoint some other person. The governor has the power to grant par- dons, etc., except in cases of treason and impeachment ; he may veto an act of the legislature, but, if afterward passed by a majority of those elected to both houses, it becomes law nevertheless. The governor is not eligible for re-election until the expiration of four years from the close of his official term.
The chief administrative officers-namely, the secretary of state, the auditor of the public accounts, and the treasurer of state, are chosen by the people for two years, and no persons are eligible for these offices for more than four out of every six years.
The administrative officers of the counties are chosen by the voters of the counties respectively, and of these the most important are the county auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff, coroner, and surveyor, also the clerk of the circuit court ; the two first and last one are elected
39
FINANCES.
for four years, and are not eligible for office for more than eight in every twelve years, and the others hold office for two years, but no one is eligible to the office of treasurer or sheriff more than four out of six years. All county officers must be inhabitants of the places from which they are chosen for at least one year before their election, and they and town officers must reside in their precincts.
The judiciary consists of a supreme court, circuit courts, and other courts of inferior jurisdiction. The Su- PREME COURT, to consist of not less than three, nor more than five judges, has appellate jurisdiction, and such origi- nal jurisdiction as the legislature may direct. The judges are chosen from districts by the people at large for six years, and the clerk of the court is chosen for four years. The CIRCUIT COURTS consist of one judge for each circuit, chosen by the people thereof for six years, and a prosecuting attorney, elected for two years. Justices of the peace are chosen for four years by the people in the several towns. The practice of law in all the courts of the state is open to all voters of good moral character. His opinions on matters of religion does not render a witness incompetent in any case; and in all criminal cases the juries may determine the law and the facts.
FINANCES .- The official report of the auditor of public accounts, made on the 31st of October, 1850, gives the following statements of the revenue and expenditures, debt of the state, etc. :
Balance in the treasury, 31st Oct., 1849 ... $428,941 19
Revenue for financial year ending at this
date
$1,432,442 78-$1,861,383 97
Warrants on the treasury for year end- ing at this date. $1,513.534 04 Balance in the treasury 31st Oct., 1850, $347,849 93
Principal Sources of Income .- Permanent revenue,
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INDIANA.
$455,630 02 ; state prison, $11,145 42; common school fund, $55,863 00 ; university fund, $9,477 04; bank tax, $1,984 19; saline fund, $4,999 45; Wabash and Erie canal, by trustees, $857,149 61, etc.
Chief Expenditures .- Legislature, $31,010 64; execu- tive, $5,877 93 ; judiciary, $19,705 81; public printing, $11,522 49 ; state library, $964 81 ; state prison, $3,606 63; treasury notes cancelled, $144, 575 00 ; interest on treasury notes, $59,420 78 ; interest on public debt, $188,595 00; Wabash and Erie canal, by trustees, $824,987 85; deaf and dumb, $27,979 92; blind, $11,781 09; insane hos- pital, $32,501 33 ; university fund, $14,332 39; saline fund, $7,765 53; bank tax fund, $3,624 96, etc.
The lands assessed for taxes in 1850 amounted to 17,025,109 acres, valued for purposes of taxation at $59,314,861, and the improvements were valued at $25,414,851; town lots and buildings at $16,140,540; corporation stock at $286,516; personal property at $36,276,797 ; total taxable property, $137,443,565. The number of polls assessed in 1850 was 149,986. There is a poll tax of 75 cents, and an ad valorem tax upon property of 25 cents on the $100 for state purposes. The state tax levied for the year 1850 amounted to $571,512 74; the county tax to $453,809 24; the road tax to 147,500 02; the school tax to $127,641 33 ; other taxes to $32,239 24; and delinquent taxes to $186,540 99 ; total taxes for 1850 $1,519,243 56.
Public Debt .- Prior to 1847, the state owed on her foreign debt, principal, $11,048,000; interest, $3,326,640 ; total, $14,374,640. By the acts of the legislature of 19th January, 1846, and 27th January, 1847, proposals were made to the holders of bonds that they should complete the Wabash and Erie canal, and take the state's interest in it for one half of this debt, and the state would issue
41
FINANCES.
new certificates for the other half, upon which she would pay interest at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum until January, 1853, and after that time at 5 per cent., and issue certificates for one half of the arrears of interest, upon which she would pay interest at the rate of 2} per cent. per annum after January, 1853. In this 2} per cent. stock is also included 1 per cent. per annum upon the principal, which gives the holder of the old bond, when surrendered, 5 per cent. per annum upon the new 5 per cent. stock from the dividend day next preceding his surrender of the old bonds.
August 5, 1850, there had been surrendered of the old bonds, and new certificates taken under this proposition by the state, of principal, $9,563,000, leaving then out- standing of her old bonds, of principal, $1,485,000. The state has issued of the new certificates of stock, paying 4 per cent. until 1853, and after that time 5 per cent., $4,781,500; of 2} per cent. stock, she has issued $1,736,727 50. The state keeps an agency in the city of New York for the surrender of the old stock, issuing the new, and receiving transfers of the new.
The state in 1839-40 authorized the issue of one and a half millions of treasury notes to pay off her internal im- provement liabilities. These notes were made receivable for all state dues, and have been annually returning into the treasury, and are now nearly all withdrawn from cir- culation. The state also issued bonds for the bank capital, and treasury notes to pay the bank a debt which the state. owed it. But these treasury notes were based upon a sinking fund belonging to the state and held by the bank. The bank attends to the bonds issued for its capital, and. also to the redemption of the notes based upon the sinking fund. The means held by the bank are considered ample for these purposes.
42
INDIANA.
The liabilities of the state and canal, August 5, 1850, may be thus stated :
State Debt.
State's half principal of bonds surrendered .... $4,781,500 00 State's half interest on bonds with one per cent.
of principal, with half of coupons added 1,736,727 50
Total foreign debt 6,518,227 50
Add domestic debt 257,295 00
Total foreign and domestic debt. $6,775,522 50
State Stock
5 per cent. State stock. $4,781,500 00
21 per cent. State stock. 1,736,727 50
5 per cent preferred Canal stock 4,079,500 00
5 per cent. deferred Canal stock. 702,000 00
2, per cent. special preferred Canal stock. 1,216,250 00
22 per cent. special deferred Canal stock. 207,400 00
Total stocks issued to August 5, 1850. 12,723,377 58
Deduct for 2} per cent. State stocks redeemed . ยท 20,000 00
Total outstanding, August 5, 1850 $12,703,377 50
The state is paying interest only on her 5 per cent. state stock, at the rate of 4 per cent. After the year 1853 the rate of interest on this will be 5 per cent. After 1853 the 23 per cent. state stock will draw interest at that rate. The remaining stocks are thrown upon the canal, and their redemption, principal and interest, depends upon the re- ceipts from the canal, in accordance with the provisions of the act above referred to.
STATE INSTITUTIONS .- At Indianapolis are located, 1st. The Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, at which all the deaf mutes of the state, between ten and thirty years old, are entitled to education and board, without charge ; 2d. The Institute for the Blind, also free to all blind citizens not over twenty-one years old ; and 3d. The Hospital for
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STATE PRISON-EDUCATION.
the Insane, open for the reception of patients from other states, but free only to those of the state of Indiana. These are noble institutions, and well supported.
STATE PRISON .- The state prison is located immediately below the city of Jeffersonville, and is a building of brick, the walls of which are thirty inches thick ; in all, enclosing an area of four acres. The number of convicts in the prison on the 3d November, 1850, was 142, of which 93 had been admitted during the year ending at that date. They are lodged in separate cells during the night, and are kept at hard labor, under the silent system, during the day. Of the convicts above named, 12 were less than 20 years old, 69 from 20 to 30, 34 from 30 to 40, 16 from 40 to 50, and 10 from 50 to 60 ; and 8 were committed for life, 1 for 36 years, and 67 for terms of 2 years and less. With regard to degree of education, it was found that 35 had none at all, 25 could read only, 81 could read and write, and only one had had a good English education; in regard to condition, 54 were married, 13 were widowers, and 75 were single persons ; in regard to habits, 61 were intemperate, 25 were moderate drinkers, and 56 temper- ate; in regard to nativity, 23 were natives of Indiana, 26 of foreign countries, and the remainder of other states of the Union; in regard of color, 128 were white persons, and 14 colored persons ; and in regard to offense, 114 were committed for offenses against property, and 28 for offenses against the person. The number of prisoners discharged during the last year was 83, of which 16 were by pardon, 28 by expiration of sentence, 3 by escape, 1 by order of court, and 35 by death. From 1824 to 1830 the average number of prisoners was 35 ; from 1830 to 1840 it was 62, and from 1840 to 1850 it was 133.
EDUCATION .- The old constitution (supplanted in 1851) made it obligatory on the legislature to "pass such laws
44
INDIANA.
as shall be calculated to encourage intellectual, scienti- fical, and agricultural improvements," and to provide by law for a general system of education, etc. These injunc- tions of constitutional law have no doubt been adminis- tered beneficially, if not to the satisfaction of all; and it may truly be said that few states have made greater pro- . gress in practical education than has the state of In- diana.
Common Schools .- By an act of the legislature, 19th January, 1849, the common school fund was constituted of the following funds, the estimated value of which is as annexed :
Surplus revenue fund. $694,216 91
Saline fund. 20,039 64
Bank tax fund. 29,923 25
Sixteenth section fund, valued at. 1,146,035 28
Total $1,890,215 08
The new constitution, which also changes somewhat the former organization of the public schools, added to this fund the moneys to be derived from the sale of the old county seminaries (now abolished), and the moneys and property heretofore held for such seminaries; all fines, forfeitures, and escheats ; and lands not otherwise specially granted, including the net proceeds of the sale of swamp lands granted to the state by the act of Congress, September 28th, 1850. " The principal of this fund may be increased, but shall never be diminished, and its income shall be de- voted solely to the support of common schools." The whole system is under the supervision of a superintendent of public instruction, elected every two years by the people at large. There are about 300,000 children of an age proper for receiving education in Indiana, and of these about two thirds attend the common schools.
45
EDUCATION.
Colleges and Universities .- The Indiana University, at Bloomington, is a state institution, and since the organization of the government, has received the support of the public treasury. It is open to persons of every sect in religion, and hence it must steadily advance in pros- perity and usefulness. In 1850, exclusive of the prepara- tory department, it had 5 professors and 176 students ; and its library contained 4,200 volumes. The number of its alumni was 200, of which 40 were ministers. Hano- ver College is located at Hanover, a pleasant village on the Ohio river bluffs, 4 miles below Madison. The col- lege buildings are 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, and two stories high. In 1850 it had 9 professors, 100 students, and in its library 4,600 volumes. The institution belongs to the Presbyterian church. Wabash College, at Craw- fordsville, is well appointed, and in 1850 had 6 professors, 43 students, and a library of 6,000 volumes. It is non- sectarian in its character. The Indiana Ashbury Uni- versity is under Methodist auspices, and has been well endowed by that denomination. In 1848 the Central Medical College of Indiana was made a department of the institution. In 1850 there were in the literary depart- ment 8 professors, 120 students, and a library of 4,000 volumes. Franklin College, in Johnson county, formerly the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute, is also a flourishing institution, and there are several others, as St. Gabriel's College at Vincennes, and the University of Notre Dame du Lac, near South Bend, Roman Catholic institutions ; the Friends' Boarding-School, etc., all of which stand high as seats of learning.
The Roman Catholics have a flourishing theological seminary at Vincennes; and the Indiana Theological Seminary at Hanover, and the New Albany Theological Seminary, under Presbyterian direction, enjoy a well-
46
INDIANA.
earned reputation for usefulness. The library of the lat- ter contains some 3,000 volumes.
Law schools are attached to the Indiana State Univer- sity, and also to the Indiana Ashbury University.
There are two medical schools in the state; one, the Indiana Central, before mentioned, and another, the Indi- . ana Medical College, at La Porte. In 1850 the first had 7 professors and 104 students, and the latter 8 professors and 58 students.
Most of these colleges have philosophical, chemical, and scientific apparatus, museums, and other facilities for il- lustration ; and although they do not claim to come up to the older institutions established in the Atlantic states, yet they are one and all competent to supply to the youth of the state a very reputable education, and fit them for the occupations in which their after life is destined to be occupied. Time is wanted to perfect them, and if the spirit of progress that has hitherto distinguished their career be maintained, no long period will elapse before the educational institutions of Indiana will equal the best appointed in the Union; and if the cynic should in the interval intrude his criticisms, let it be pointed out to him that scarcely the third of a century has elapsed since the schoolmaster first crossed the borders of the state on his noble mission.
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