Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/361



County. Clifton, of the same county, under great pressure from his Democratic friends, had given them reason to believe that he would now vote for the Democratic candidates for United States Senators and Supreme Judges. With these votes the Democrats felt confident of being able to elect these important officers. But when the session convened the Whigs learned that John N. Kinsman, a Democrat from Polk County, had removed from that district and at once the charge was preferred against him and a committee was appointed to investigate the case. The charge was found to be true and so reported to the House. By a strict party vote the seat was declared vacant. This gave the Whigs a majority of one in the House and enabled them to defeat every attempt of the Democrats to meet the Senate in joint convention for the purpose of electing United States Senators and Supreme Judges. Thus the chief purpose for which the extra session had been called was defeated.

The first reports of the State officers, made at the close of 1847 show the financial condition of the new State at that time. The report of the Auditor gives the total value of the taxable property at $11,277,139, on which a tax of two mills should give a revenue of $22,554.27. But only $15,788, or about sixty per cent, of the amount had been collected. The Treasurer’s report shows the entire revenue received from all sources for the year ending November 1, 1847, to be $50,782.36. There had been paid out on warrants for that period $59,184.36. The report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction gives the number of children of school age 20,928, of which only 2,439 were in the public schools, the small proportion in attendance being due largely to a failure of the districts to provide school-houses. There were at this time thirty-one organized and twenty unorganized counties in the State.

The Legislature having failed to elect Supreme Judges, and as the terms of those appointed by the Governor were held to have expired upon the meeting of the General