SW_WH1793_Page_163

expenditure on this noble object of legislative pro-vision. It was estimated at the beginning of the presentyear (1832), that in the nine thousand and fifty-fourdistricts, where schools are supported, that two hun-dred dollars each are invested, on an average, inschool-houses. This gives a total of one million eighthundred and ten thousand eight hundred dollars,which, together with one hundred and seventy thou-sand dollars invested in the same way in the city ofNew-York, gives a total of one million nine hundredand eighty thousand dollars, vested in school-houses,which, at an interest of six per cent. per annum,would be $118,848 Annual expense of books for 506,887, at 50cents each, 253,443 Fuel for 9054 schools, at $10 each, 90,540 Amount of public money for teachers' wages, 244,886 Amount paid for teachers' wages, besidespublic money, 372,692 1,080,409 showing the present annual expenditure of the citi-zens of this state, for the support of common schools,to be one million and eighty thousand dollars, andproving that the application of one hundred thou-sand dollars out of the fund, induces them to raisevoluntarily more than nine times the same amountfor the same object. Police of the System. This exists in the hands ofone superintendent of common schools, who is like-wise the secretary of the commonwealth; fifty-fiveclerks of counties; the commissioners of about sevenhundred and ninety towns, and the trustees of ninethousand school districts. These several agents are in regular subordinationto each other, and, in succession, receive and distri-bute the funds appropriated by the state for the sup-port of schools. The highest officer, the superinten-