Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/612

 598 OHIO of common pleas are held by one or more of the judges in each county, and district courts by the common pleas judges of each district, with one judge of the supreme court. The district courts have original jurisdiction similar to that of the supreme court, and appellate jurisdiction of the judgments of the common pleas. They are composed of the judges of the common pleas in the respective districts and one of the judges of the supreme court. A court of common pleas is held in each coun- ty by a single judge, and has original jurisdic- tion when the amount in controversy exceeds $100, and appellate jurisdiction from justices of the peace and probate courts. There are special superior courts in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and Xenia. Probate courts are estab- lished in each county. Justices' courts have exclusive jurisdiction in civil actions where the amount does not exceed $100, and concurrent jurisdiction with the common pleas when the amount is between $100 and $300. All judges are elected, those of the supreme and common pleas courts for five years. The state is di- vided into two United States judicial districts, the courts being held in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo. A married woman may hold, free from the interference of her husband or his creditors, the property belonging to her at the time of marriage, or afterward acquired by gift, bequest, or inheritance, or by purchase with her separate means, and may dispose of such property by will. She has similar control of her earnings. Divorces may be obtained for three years' desertion, adultery, impotence, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, gross neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness for three years, or imprisonment under criminal sentence. Wills, except nuncupative, must be in writing and signed by two or more witnesses. The legal rate of interest is 6 per cent. ; not more than 8 per cent, may be agreed upon in wri- ting, but 6 per cent, may be recovered on a con- tract for more than 8 per cent. Statistics of agriculture, industry, &c., are annually collect- ed by township assessors and published under the direction of the secretary of state. Ohio has 2 senators and 21 representatives in congress, and has therefore 23 votes in the electoral col- lege. The state funds, not including transfers, during the year ending Nov. 15, 1874, were: FUNDS. General revenue Asylum Sinking State common school. . National road Total.. Receipts. $1,024,588 1,875,889 1,315,216 1,535,125 17,971 $5,768,789 Disbursements. $725,864 1,943,338 910,121 1,487,562 Balances, Nov.15,1874. $193,876 40,224 450,570 127,727 $5,085,978 | $812,397 The receipts of the general revenue fund in- cluded $929,672 from taxes and licenses, $19,- 271 insurance fees, $24,930 from board of pub- lic works, and $42,440 from sale of Central Ohio lunatic asylum grounds. Among the dis- bursements were $150,278 for salaries of the judiciary, $135,909 for state binding, printing, and stationery, $127,543 expenses of constitu- tional convention, $101,159 for legislature, $44,275 for public works, $37,876 for clerks in civil departments, $31,587 for salaries of state officers, $16,976 for geological survey, and $3,000 for encouragement of agriculture. The funded debt of the state on Nov. 15, 1874, amounted to $7,988,205, of which $22,365 had ceased to draw interest and $7,965,840 was interest-bearing. The local debts on Septt 1, 1874, were $21,886,007, making the entire in- debtedness of the state (with an irreducible debt of $4,121,394) $33,995,606. The total amount of taxable property in 1874 was re- turned at $1,580,379,324, including $1,052,- 257,736 real estate, of which $354,849,199 was in cities, towns, and villages, and personal prop- erty valued at $528,121,588. The total tax- es levied on this valuation amounted to $26,- 837,196 (exclusive of $777,532 for delinquent taxes and forfeitures of other years), inclu- ding $5,050,367 for state and $6,038,750 for county purposes, and $15,748,079 township, city, school and special taxes. The purposes for which the state tax was levied, with the amounts and rates, were as follows : FUNDS. Rate. Mills on the dollar. Amount. General reserve .' 5 $788 856 Asylum 9 1 419 941 Sinking '8 1 262 170 State common school 1-0 1 579 400 Total 8-2 $5 050 867 The value of taxable property and the amount of taxes levied for a series of years have been as follows : f Value of realty. Value of pertonalty. Total value of taxable property. State tax. Total taxes on duplicate. 1840 1850 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1S68 1869 1870 1S71 1872 1873 1874 $85,287,261 841,888,838 639,894,311 643,883,552 645,670,080 649,500,022 655,498,100 660,557,979 663,647.542 673,998,757 683,452,487 697,418.203 707,846,886 1,025,619.034 1,030,160,528 1,041,763,981 1,052,257,786 $27,038,895 98,487,502 248.408,290 248,966,532 243,615,312 286,871,222 351,198,016 409,047,876 442,561,379 464,761,022 460,008,899 459,762,252 459,884,861 476,510,987 494,159,590 525,510,708 528,121,588 $112,326,156 $564,435 489,876,340 1,413,830 888,302.601 8,503,718 892,850,084 4,056,379 889,285,292:4,129,473 936,371,244 '4,722,608 1,006,696,116:5,329,963 1,069,605,8555,663,367 1,106,208,9218,867,167 1,138,754,7798,981,099 1,143,461,386 3,997,472 1,157,180,4554,045,476 1,168,731.697 4,666,242 1,502,129,971 4,350,728 1,524.323,118 4.414,557 1,567,274,639 5,477,859 1,580,879,324 5,050,367 $1,755,589 4,227,708 10,817,676 11,656,814 10,135,285 11,859,574 16,595,639 20,870,828 18,868,487 20,253,615 20,489,148 22,232,877 23,463,631 22,955,388 23,248,979 26,131,358 26,837,196 Ohio has made liberal provision for the care of its defective and dependent classes. Four institutions for the insane are wholly and two partially supported by the state. The oldest is the central Ohio hospital, which was opened at Columbus in 1839. The building was de- stroyed by fire in 1868, and a new one is now