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MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 1897.

The House met pursuant to adjournment,

The Speaker in the Chair.

Prayer by the Reverend Mr. Logan.

The journal of yesterday was being read, when, on motion of Mr. Nohe, the further reading of the same was dispensed with, and it was ordered to stand approved.

By unanimous consent, Mr. Revell offered the following resolution, and moved its adoption:

Resolved, That the Speaker of the House appoint a committee of five to invite Mr. Chief Justice Magruder, of the Supreme Court, to be present and administer the oath of office to the State officers elect: also to invite the associate justices to be present and witness the inauguration.

The resolution was unanimously adopted.

The Speaker appointed the following named members to act as such committee: Messrs. Revell, Booth, Sherman, Fred A. Busse, Payne.

By unanimous consent. Mr. Nohe offered the following resolution, and moved its adoption:

Resolved. That the use of this chamber be granted to the citizens committee of Springfield, this evening, for the purpose of inauguration festivities. And the resolution was unanimously adopted.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Wanger, Assistant Secretary:

Mr. Speaker:-I am directed to inform the House of Representatives that the Senate has adopted the following joint resolution, in the adoption of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the House of Representatives, to-wit:

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2.

Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring herein, That 5,000 copies of Governor Altgeld's message be printed for the use of the members of the General Assembly and for distribution.

Adopted January 7, 1897.

J. H. PADDOCK, Secretary of Senate.

Mr. Needles, from the Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, made verbal report relating to accommodation in hall of House for seating members of Supreme Court. State officers and officers-elect.

At the hour of 9:28 a. m., Mr. Nohe moved that the House take a recess, to meet at 11:55 a. m.

And the motion prevailed.

At 11:55 o'clock a. m. the Speaker called the House to order.
Mr. Doorkeeper announced the Honorable, the Senate.

The Senate, preceded by the President of the Senate, Honorable Joseph B. Gill, entered the hall of Representatives and took the seats assigned to them.

Prayer by the Reverend Mr. Goodspeed. Chaplain of the Senate, The two Houses being convened in joint session, the Speaker of the House of Representatives presiding.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives announced that the roll of the Senate would now be called under the direction of the President of the Senate.

The President of the Senate directed the Secretary of the Senate to call the roll of the Senate.

The Secretary of the Senate called the roll of the Senate, and the following named Senators answered to their names:

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Forty-eight Senators answered to their names.

The President of the Senate announced that there were fortyeight (48) Senators, being a quorum, present.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives then directed the Clerk of the House of Representatives to call the roll of the house of Representatives.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives called the roll, and the following named members answered to their names:

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One hundred and forty-nine members answered to their names. The Speaker of the House of Representatives announced that there were one hundred and forty-nine members of the House of Representatives, being a quorum, present.

It appearing that a quorum of the two houses was present, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the presiding officer of the joint session, announced that the joint session was now duly convened, for the purpose of witnessing the inauguration of Governor. Lieutenant Governor, and other State officers elect of the State of Illinois.

Mr. Guffin offered the following resolution and moved its adoption:

Resolved, That a joint committee of five, three on the part of the House and two on the part of the Senate, be appointed to wait on the Honorable Assoeinte Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois and invite them to be present at the inauguration of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other State officers-elect of the State of Illinois, and invite Mr. Chief Justice Magruder of the Supreme Court to be present and administer the oath of office to the newly elected State officers.

And the resolution was unanimously adopted.

The President of the Senate announced as the members of said committee on the part of the Senate: Messrs. Templeton and Mahoney.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives announced as members of such committee on the part of the House: Messrs. Guffin, Quaustrom and Farrell.

Mr. Houghton offered the following resolution, and moved its adoption.

Resolved, That a joint committee of five, three on the part of the House and two on the part of the Senate, be appointed to invite the Honorable John R. Tanner, Governor-eleet, and the Honorable William A. Northcott. Lieutenant Governor-elect, and the other State officers-elect of the State of Illinois, and request their presence in the House of Representatives to take the oath of office and be installed in their respective offices.

And the resolution was unanimously adopted.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives announced as the members of such committee on the part of the House, Messrs. Houghton, Robert Busse, and McLauchlan.

The President of the Senate announced as members of such committee on the part of the Senate. Messrs. Evans and O'Brien.

The doorkeeper announced the Honorable, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois.

And thereupon the Honorable, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, preceded by Mr. Chief Justice Magruder. and escorted by the joint committee appointed to wait upon them. appeared in the Hall of Representatives, and were assigned seats adjacent to the chair of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

And now the Honorable John R. Tanner. Governor. and the Honorable Wm. A. Northcott, Lieutenant-Governor, and other State offcers elect of the State of Illinois, escorted by the joint committee appointed to wait upon them, appeared in the Hall of Representatives, and were assigned places adjacent to the chair of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

And thereupon. Mr. Chief Justice Magruder. of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, administered the oath of office provided by section 25 of article 5 of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, separately to John R. Tanner. Governor: Wm. A. Northcott. Lieutenant-Governor: James A. Rose, Secretary of State: James S. McCullough. Anditor of Public Accounts: Henry L. Hertz. Treasurer: Edward C. Akin. Attorney General.

The Governor, the Honorable John R. Tanner, then delivered his inaugural address, as follows:

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the Fortieth General Assembly and Fellow Citizens:--In pursuance of an established custom, I now address a few words to the assembled representatives of the people before entering upon my duties as Governor of this State. A Governor's inaugural address is expected to foreshadow something of what the policy of his administration will be. It will not be expected, however, that I could upon the very threshold of my term, before acquainting myself more fully with the condition of State affairs, make any elaborate or détailed recommendation looking to legislative action. present session progresses, if facts concerning the condition of public affairs should come to my knowledge which, in my judgment, require your legislative action, it will be entirely proper for me to make, from time to time, such recommendations as may seem proper in the exigencies of each case that may arise; and I may yet find occasion, before your final adjournment, to avail myself of this constitutional privilege.

As your

I can assure you that I enter upon the duties of this important office with a due sense of gratitude to the people, whose suffrages have so greatly honored me, and with a high appreciation of the responsibility which is inseparable from a high office in a republic. My reliance for success, in administering the affairs of this great commonwealth, is chiefly placed in the kind forbearance and charitable judgment of my fellow citizens and in the hearty cooperation which I confidently expect from the chosen representatives of the people. I take my oath of office, realizing fully that the governorship of Illinois is no man's mere property to be arbitrarily used and enjoyed, but is rather a trust to be sacredly discharged. At the same time, I do not lose the feelings of a man by being elevated to high office, and I must be permitted to declare that I can never forget, and I shall certainly never ignore, those near and dear friends scattered throughout the State, to whose kindness and partiality I am so much indebted for my nomination and election, and who, in every exigency of the contest, have stood so heroically and faithfully by my side. I should be unworthy of the people's confidence if I should, in success, desert my friends; and I should be equally unworthy of that confidence if I were capable of making any possible tests of fitness for the public service paramount to the good of the people, whose servant I now am.

Our government is the instrument of public opinion. It was established, and should be administered, for the good of all. It receives its impress and character from the people who established it and who are its impelling force. It is essentially responsive to the demands of public opinion, as its founders meant that it should be; and while it is perhaps far from being perfect, it is nevertheless what the average political thought of its citizens makes it. How good our government will be, and how well administered, will always depend, in the main, upon the average sense and virtue of the people who, through their elected and appointed agents, make, interpret and execute the laws. If American voters, through ignorance, prejudice or mere neglect, attend badly to their political duties, they are likely to have officials who will in turn attend just as poorly to theirs. Higher than its souce in the intelligence and character of citizens, our government can never rise: lower it will not permanently fall.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

From these trite observations it follows that those educational forces and agencies, which are relied upon to develop the mental and moral character of the youth of the State and nation should always be the first concern of those intrusted with power. It was a wise voice which long ago sounded the warning that America must either educate or perish. It is our theory, and a theory in which we confidently believe, that the enlightenment of universal education, proceeding hand in hand with universal suffrage, is to prove our shield and buckler against those evils and that final destruction which have been so freely predicted for us by the believers in more despotic forms of government. Our fathers built upon the faith of popular intelligence, and we should not forget that to the government of each state, more than to the general government, in our division of legislative power, falls the duty of providing the means of a liberal education to each citizen of the state and nation. The states thus, in a fundamental way, have become the guardians of the nation, and the trust is surely a sacred one.

It is not my purpose to here discuss and recommend particular educational measures. Illinois has not hitherto been a laggard in expenditures for educational purposes, and I am proud to be able to say that her teachers, as a class. are men and women of large attainments, consecrated to their noble calling and justly esteemed among the educators of the country. Whether or not. and how far, the present very embarrassed condition of the public treasury will hamper us in adopting further practical measures for our schools, will be known as your session progresses, and I shall defer all detailed discussion and all specific recommendations until further developments shall have placed us in a position to proceed with the business more intelligently.

One question nearly connected with school management may, however, claim the attention of the present session of the legislature. There is an earnest and growing sentiment throughout the State in favor of uniform text books

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