unleased seminary lands, and a later act of the same session authorized the Governor to borrow, for the use of the State, all moneys accruing from the seminary grant, at six per cent. interest per annum. The lands of the first seminary township having proved to be valueless, the Legislature petitioned Congress (1829) for a grant of other lands in lieu thereof." This memorial was granted by an act of March 2, 1831, authorizing the location of an aggregate of one township of land in tracts of not less than a quarter of a section.95 During the same year, an act of the State Legislature authorized the sale of the lands thus granted. Of the seventy-two seminary sections received by Illinois, all but four and one-half sections were sold, producing about $50,000. 36 37 By a Legislative enactment of February 7, 1835, the commissioners of the State school fund were directed to loan the interest on the seminary fund to the common school fund for the use of the public schools. And on the establishment of the Illinois Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, in 1839, one-twentyfourth of the interest on the seminary fund was directed to be paid to this institution. In this manner was the use of the seminary fund misdirected by the State until 1857, when, by the act creating the Normal University, the current interest accruing on the seminary fund was directed to be applied to the support of the university. Pillsbury estimates the amount thus borrowed from the fund, for other uses, which has never been repaid, at about $70,000.99 It further appears that between 1867 and 1873 the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb received its quota of one twenty-fourth of the seminary fund interest; but in the latter year, the whole interest was appropriated to the Normal University. The application of the inter 38 est so continued until 1877, when the income was equally divided between the State Normal University and the Southern Illinois Normal University, incorporated in 1869.40 In 1861, the unsold four and one-half sections previously mentioned were granted to the Illinois Agricultural College. These lands were sold for $58,000. Because the fund thus arising was mismanaged and squandered by the college, the State brought suit on the ground that a trust had been broken, and recovered about $9,000, which were added to the seminary fund. It thus appears that the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb received about $3,000 from this grant during a period of twenty-four years (1839-57, 1867-73); that the common schools received about $67,000 during the period 1835-57; and that the Illinois Agricultural College made use of about $49,000. At the present time, the seminary fund amounts to $59,839, a debt upon the books of the State, upon which the State pays annual interest at six per cent., equally divided between the Normal University and the Southern Normal University." The present Constitution (of 1870), it may be observed in passing, pledges the State to the faithful application of the proceeds of the seminary grant to the purposes of such grant." 42 Three Per Cent. Grant Among the various propositions submitted by Congress to the Illinois constitutional convention, in the act for the admission of Illinois, and accepted by that convention, was a proviso that three per cent. of the net sales of the public lands lying within the State should be appropriated by the Legislature for the encouragement of learning, of which one-sixth part should "be exclusively bestowed on a college or university." To 40 Pillsbury, CXXXV. "State Auditor's Rep., 1896, 161. 42 Constitution, 1870, Art. VIII, sec. 2. 45 3 S., c. 67, s. 6, p. 430. April 18, 1818. provide for the execution of this grant, Congress passed a law in 1820 (December 12), directing the Secretary of the Treasury to pay such proceeds, stipulating that the moneys thus granted should be applied to the encouragement of learning as outlined in the act of 1818, and to no other purposes. Furthermore, the payment of such moneys to the State was conditioned on the transmission to the Secretary of the Treasury of an annual account of the application of the grant by the State.“ 45 In 1821, the State treasurer was directed to receive these moneys, and to tranfer them to the Bank of Illinois, which institution was required to pay six per cent. interest on the deposits. Four years later, the commissioners of the school fund were placed in nominal control of the moneys, although the Bank retained possession. By virtue of this same law, six per cent. interest on five-sixths of the three per cent. grant was directed to be apportioned among the counties for the support of schools, and the moneys thus accruing were denom. inated the "Common School Fund," while the one sixth part of this grant was named "The College Fund." An act of 1829 authorized the Governor to borrow the moneys of the school fund for the use of the State, at six per cent., while the interest was ordered to be used for the purpose of refunding the money thus borrowed." This was an obvious violation of the conditions of the congressional grant. Furthermore, the State ceased reporting to the Secretary of the Treasury an annual account of the method of disposing of the moneys as required by the congressional act of 1820. Hence the Secretary of the Treasury withheld the three per cent. proceeds; and, as the result of the controversy that arose concerning the validity of the restrictions on the independence of the State, Congress, in 1831, passed a law repealing so much of the act of 1820 as required an annual account of the application of these moneys to be transmitted by the State to the Secretary of the Treasury." 43 S., c. 2, p. 610. 46 Ibid. 48 The subsequent history of the "common school fund” and the" college fund" has been, in brief, as follows. After 1825 the funds continued to remain a debt on the books of the State. In 1835, the Legislature enacted that the accrued interest on the common school fund should be added to the principal, and that the interest at six per cent. thereafter arising should be distributed among the counties for educational purposes. Between 1839 and 1872, one-fourth of one per cent. of the common school fund was annually appropriated to the uses of the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Jacksonville. With this exception, the moneys have been devoted to the support of common schools. No college or university was established by the State until February, 1857. To the Illinois Normal University, then established, was appropriated the interest on the "college fund." Now, the interest that had accrued to this fund between 1836 and 1857 had been borrowed by the State for its own uses. This accrued interest was, by an act of February, 1861, recognized as a debt due by the State to the college fund, and by the same act was declared to be $98,956.82. Of this amount, $65,000 was appropriated towards the erection of the State Normal University buildings, while the remainder was added to the principal of the college fund. Between the years 1839 and 1857, one-twenty-fourth part of the interest on the college fund had been appropriated to the Illinois Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Jacksonville, and was again so used between 1867 and 1873." With this exception, the current interest on the college fund was used for the support of the State Normal University between the years 1857 and and 1877. Since the latter year (1877), the income arising from this source has been equally distributed between the State Normal University and the Southern Illinois Normal University.50 48 Pillsbury, CXXXVII. 49 Pillsbury, CXXXV. 50 Ibid. The last payment of the three per cent. on land sales was made by the General Government in 1863. Up to that time, $712,745.34 had been paid to the State. Five-sixths of this amount, plus the interest which has accrued to the credit of this portion, now constitute the Common School Fund, whose principal is $613,362.96.51 The remaining one-sixth part, plus accrued interest, now constitutes a fund of $156,613.32, known as the College Fund. On both these funds the State pays the various beneficiaries six per cent. interest per annum. Surplus Revenue of 1836 This grant of $477,919.14 was accepted by the State on December 17, 1836.5 On March 4, 1837, an act relating to common schools provided that the moneys which might be received by virtue of this distribution act of Congress, except such as had been already appropriated to purposes of internal improvement, should be added to and form a part of the common school fund of the State, and should be loaned to the State on the same terms on which the seminary and school funds had been loaned (i. e., at six per cent. interest per annum). 54 The auditor of State, in a report dated July 12, 1837, says: "In conformity with what I perceive to be the proper construction of the acts [concerning internal improvements and common schools], I have added to the school fund, $335,592.32 of the surplus revenue, being the amount which the State owed the school, college and seminary funds at the time the said laws were passed." This fund of $335,592.32, like all the State educational trust funds, was used by the State for its own purposes, and remains a debt on the books of the State to the credit of the State common school fund, upon which the State pays six per cent. interest per annum.5 56 |