COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY. ix

It is a source of congratulation to the Treasury that the
bounty laws, by which the large sum of $8,522.538.05 has
been drawn from its resources, and because of which the State

owes a debt of $3,326,750.66 maturing in 1883, have been
repealed. The repealing Act, passed by the last Legislature,
went into effect on the first day of April last. The advocacy
of their repeal, in my reports to your honored predecessor
and to the last Legislature, gave the alarm to the bounty
agents; and their renewed alacrity, up to the last day of grace,

confirms the apprehension expressed by me to the Legislature,
that "unless the bounty laws are repealed the payment of
bounties will never cease." "Statement M" shows the pay-
ments on this account last year to be $69,575.00. No claim
was paid without the closest scrutiny of the proofs presented,
and except when there was no other alternative than to com-
ply with the laws.

The increment of the "Oyster Fund" during

the year was.......................................... $19,611 04

The disbursements were............................ 41,784 97

Diminishing this fund................................ $22,173 93

The distribution of the Public School Tax last

year exceeded that of the previous year by... 14,794 05

The actual receipts into the Treasury have ex-
ceeded the estimated probable receipts by.... 103,906 83

The actual disbursements have exceeded the

estimated probable disbursements by........... 135,716 40

The estimate of the probable receipts this year
exceeds that of the probable disbursements
by.................................................... 361,726 94

A comparison of the assessable basis in 1880 (erroneously
printed 1879 in "Statement K") with that of 1877 shows an
abatement of $19,280,620.00, with that of 1879 an abate-
ment of $7,283,587.00.

The assessments made by the State Tax Commissioner for
4880 and reported to the Comptroller, show a net increase
over those of 1879 of $7,450,094.43.