Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruc

tion.

To the President of the Senate,

of the State of Iowa:

In obedience to a resolution passed by the Senate on the 7th instant, making certain enquiries of this department, in regard to the disposition of the five per cent. fund due the State of Iowa, from the General Government, I would most respectfully beg leave to make the following

REPORT:

I received in January, A. D. 1855, fifty four thousand, three hundred and forty-one dollars and fifty-nine cents, five per cent. fund, and on the first day of March on the same year, I distributed the same among the several counties, and sent a notice to the several School Fund Commissioners, informing them of the amount appor tioned to their counties, and after waiting several months and not hearing from any of them, I ordered the funds to be loaned in the other counties. The funds are all loaned on real estate security. to double the amount loaned, drawing ten per cent. interest per annum, payable on the first day of January of each year, at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or at the Office of the School Fund Commissioner.

Table "A" shows the amounts each county received of the fund, for the year 1853.

In March last I received from the General Government two hundred and twenty-six thousand, eight hundred dollars and eighty-six cents, of which amonnt I have loaned to individuals on real estate security amounting to eighty-four thousand, three hundred and thirty dollars ($84,330 00) and have sent to the School Fund Com

missioners, of the following counties, the amount set opposite to

Leaving a balance in my hands, to be disposed of amounting to fifty thousand, four hundred and fifty dollars and eighty-six cents. I have deposited money with Culbertson & Reno, Cook, Sargent & Downey, of Iowa City, on several occasions, amounting to the sum of fifty thousand dollars. I have also deposited with Hon. M L. Morris, Treasurer of the State of Iowa, the sum of fifty thousand dollars. I never demanded any interest of Mr. Morris, nor did I ever receive any. From the banks of Iowa City, I received in interest, the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars.

I have also deposited from time to time with Knapp & Eaton, Bankers, of the city of Fort Madison, Iowa, thirty-five thousand dollars, for which I never received any interest nor demanded any. I made those deposits for convenience, so that the drafts from this department could be paid without delay. I have never made any deposits of moneys belonging to the School Fund, out of the State of Iowa, with any bank or individual.

You ask me by "What authority I loan the School Fund?" I would refer you to Sec. 1058, of the code of Iowa, which places the money in my hands to be "disposed of according to law," and

this is the only provision of law touching the question, and as I was the only officer who was held responsible for said fund, I concluded to loan the money myself in preference to the slow process of sending it to the several counties, without any authority of law, to do so. After I had made up my mind to loan the money myself and make the interest payable at the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, I called upon D. C. Cloud, Attorney General of the State of Iowa, for his official opinion, and he stated that no other person but the Superintendent of Public Instruction had any control over the loaning of the five per cent. fund, and that it was my duty to loan it out, as I have in part done.

There is another consideration relative to the Superintendent of Public Instruction loaning the five per cent. fund and making the interest payable at this office from the fact that the interest can be distributed among the several counties at one half the expense which it would cost to equal the interest among the several counties.

A.

Distribution of the 5 per cent. fund among the several counties, for the year 1853, received by me January 18th, 1855, and distributed March 1st, 1855, as follows, to wit:

Wayne,.. Left Nov. 16, '55, with J. W. Ellis, of Davis co...500 00

Total,..

$54,341 59

I herewith transmit to you my two reports showing the distribution of the interest arising from the permanent school fund of the State, for the year, A. D. 1854,-'55.

All of which is respectfully submitted to your honorable body, JAMES D. EADS,

Sup. Pub. Inst.