ing on the last day of October next previous thereto, to the Superintendent of Public Instruction; such report to include an abstract of all the various annual reports of the City Boards of Education, School Teachers, Marshals and Teachers, by law required to be made to the County Superintendent for the preceding school year.

SEC. 12. Upon receiving notice from the County Treasurer, as provided in this Act, the County Superintendent shall apportion the Common School moneys in the County Treasury among the several towns, cities and school districts, in proportion to the number of white children residing therein, between the ages of four and eighteen years, as shown by the last previous reports of the Common School Marshals, and other officers charged therewith; and shall forthwith, in writing, notify the County Treasurer of such apportionment in detail; and no school district shall be entitled to any portion of the Common School moneys in which there shall not have been taught a Common School for three months within the year ending on the last day of October previous.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

SEC. 13. It shall be the duty of the County Treasurer of each county: First, To receive and hold as a special deposit, all Common School moneys, whether received by him from the State Treasurer or any other source, or raised by the county for the benefit of Common Schools; and to keep a separate account thereof, and of their disbursements. Second, On receiving any Common School moneys subject to distribution, to notify the County Superintendent of Common Schools of the amount thereof. Third, To pay over on the warrant of the County Superintendent, duly indorsed by the person entitled to receive the same, the several amounts of school moneys to which each city, town and district shall be entitled. Fourth, And on or before the first day of November, annually, to make a full report of the Common School moneys received into the County Treasury within the school year ending on the last day of October next previous thereto.

SCHOOL TRUSTEES.

SEC. 14. In each school district of this State, except otherwise provided by law, there shall annually be elected three Common School Trustees by the qualified electors in the district, at the school district meeting, to be held on the first Monday in October, and the district officers shall give at least ten days' notice of the time and place of said meeting. Such Trustees are required to take the oath of office, and they shall enter on their duties on the first Monday of the month subsequent to their election, and shall hold their office for one year, or until their successors are elected and qualified; provided, the election of Trustees for the present year shall take place on the first Monday of June.

SEC. 15. In all cases of failure on the part of the people to elect Trustees as herein provided, and also upon this Act taking effect, and when vacancies occur, and when a new district is formed, the County Superintendent shall appoint the same.

SEC. 16. The School Trustees of the several school districts shall have power, and it shall be their duty within their respective jurisdiction: First, To select and designate a Common School Marshal, and file a certificate of his appointment in the office of the County Superintendent. Second, To fix the location of school houses in accordance with the expressed wishes of a majority of the qualified electors within their districts, expressed at a district meeting, to be called on at least five days' notice by the Trustees; but in case a majority of such voters shall not agree thereon, then the said Trustees may fix the location of school houses according to their own best judgment. Third, To superintend the erection and repairs of all school houses; to distribute the blank forms, laws and instructions received by them, to the persons by law

entitled to receive the same. Fourth, To examine persons proposing to become school teachers, under the provisions of this Act, and to grant certifi cates of approbation and recommendation to each [such] as they shall find, after a rigid and thorough examination and investigation, to be persons of good moral character, of sufficient learning and ability for teaching, having a special regard to their ability to impart knowledge, and to no others; and to revoke any such certificate at pleasure, first giving reasonable notice to the person holding the same; all such certificates shall remain in force during one year from and after their respective dates, unless sooner revoked, and no longer, and any certificate otherwise granted shall be void. Fifth, To employ and fix the salaries and time of service of Common School teachers. Sixth, To suspend or expel from any such Common School, with the advice of the teacher, any pupil who will not submit to the reasonable and ordinary rules of order and discipline therein. Seventh, To arrange among themselves in such a manner that at least one of the Trustees shall visit and ascertain the character, progress and prospects of each school, at least once a month. Eighth, To carry out and execute their powers and duties, as conferred and imposed by this Act, in accordance with the instructions of the State Board of Education, and in form, as shall be prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Ninth, To make and keep a record of all their official acts and decisions, and a strict and particular account of all moneys received and disbursed, and all bills audited and paid; said record and account together with the vouchers relating thereto, shall be subject at all times, to the inspection and examination of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or the County Superintendent, or any elector of the school district. Tenth, To report to the County Superintendent of their respective counties, on or before the first day of November, annually, the amount of all expenditures on account of schools in their respective precincts during the previous school year, ending on the last day of October; and the manner in which the same shall have been expended; specifying what portion and amount thereof has been expended for the services of legally qualified teachers; the amount which during that time shall have been raised in the several Common School districts, by subscription or otherwise, and allowed to such qualified teachers as salary or compensation; the names of the teachers employed, and the time of service, and the salaries paid to each; the number of pupils taught, and the average attendance and progress of the pupils in each school organized and taught under the provisions of this Act; and such other statistics as shall be directed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Eleventh, And at the close of their official term, to deliver over their books of records, and all papers, books, blanks, documents, moneys, and all other property in their hands as such Trustees, to their successors in office, and take their receipt for the same, which receipt shall be filed with the County Superintendent; provided, That if the Trustees neglect to make returns as herein required, the district shall still be entitled to its portion of school money, if proof satisfactory to the Superintendent of Public Instruction be made in writing, and filed with the State and County Superintendent, showing the facts required to be reported by the Trustees.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

SEC. 20. Until otherwise determined and established by the proper authorities, each city and each town or township in this State shall constitute one school district.

SEC. 21. Upon [a] petition being presented to the Board of Supervisors, such Board shall, except in incorporated cities and towns which have made provisions for schools within their respective limits, have the power to constitute and establish school districts, and to define and to alter the boundaries thereof, in accordance with the wishes of the qualified electors in the respective precincts, and as the best judgment of the said Board may direct.

3.

CENSUS OF THE CHILDREN OF THE STATE

Between the ages of Four and Eighteen years, and Semi-Annual Apportionment of the School Fund for 1856.

Amount expended for Libraries, $741 39; Amount of County Funds received, $110,060 51; Amount of County Funds expended, $68,962 29.

State Fund apportioned June 30, 1856, $39,892 80; State Fund appor- · tioned December 31, 1856, $47,856 70. Total, $87,749 50.

In 1853 there were only twenty schools and 3,314 children.

No reports from the counties of Colusa, Frézno, Klamath and Trinity.

* Reported after apportionment was made.

V. PUBLIC LANDS.*

The office of the United States Surveyor-General, San Francisco,+ was organized July 1st, 1851, under Samuel D. King, Surveyor-General. John C. Hays, the present Surveyor-General, entered upon the duties of his office July 15th, 1853.

The following will exhibit the operations of this office up to March 4th, 1857. The number of contracts that have been let to Deputy Surveyors is one hundred and forty-seven. The number of miles of surveys, the lines of which have been actually run and measured, is as follows:

Plats of these lines, together with the field notes of the same, have been made out and copies of which have been sent to the General Land Office at Washington, viz.: Plats of standard and township exterior lines, one hundred and eighty-one; plats of whole and fractional township subdivisions, one thousand one hundred and eighty-five.

Copies of the township subdivisional plats have been made out and forwarded to the different land districts as follows: To Benicia, three hundred and nine; Marysville, one hundred and twelve; Los Angeles, three hundred and eighty-eight.

The number of acres surveyed and ready to be offered for sale is 20,532,594. The total area of the State, including lakes, bays and precipitous mountains, is carefully estimated at 99,463,680 acres. A large portion of the best lands is covered by private grants, the actual number of acres of which can not be approximated with any degree of accuracy, as many of the claims are not finally acted upon. The number of acres claimed before the Board of Land Commissioners, to settle private land claims, was 9,777,147; probably twothirds of which will be finally confirmed by the court of last resort. The number of ranches finally surveyed is twenty; number of patents issued is only three.

The old Spanish and Mexican archives, belonging to California, are placed in the Surveyor-General's office for safe keeping and for reference; also, the documents and papers belonging to the office of the late Board of Land Commissioners.

One-eighteenth part of the total area of the State is, by Acts of Congress, donated to the State for school purposes, amounting in the aggregate to 5,525,760 acres. To this is to be added the 500,000 acres of floating grants, and 46,080 for a university, making an aggregate for educational purposes in the State, of over 6,000,000 of acres. The State has also, by grants from Congress, all the swamp and overflowed lands.

*For State and School Lands, see page 119.

+ For Officers and Clerks, see page 52.

The Surveyor-General of California, in his report for 1856, says:

"These swamp and overflowed lands, which I estimate at not less than 5,000,000 acres, constitute one of the greatest sources of wealth in the State, if properly developed and carefully legislated upon. When reclaimed, they will produce every variety of crops, with an abundant return for the labor of cultivation."

Under instructions of this office, seven hundred and eight surveys, amounting to 146,279 acres, have been made, and about 50,000 acres have been registered.

VI.-UNITED STATES BRANCH MINT, SAN FRANCISCO.*

Established July 3d, 1852. Commenced operations April, 1854. Capacity for coinage per month, $2,500,000. Total coinage since commencement of operations: Gold, $58,266,737; silver, $373,568. Total expenditures to July, '56, $706,403. Expenditures for fiscal year ending June 30, '56, $160,500.

The law for the establishment and regulation of the United States Mint and the branches thereof, provides that any person may deposit with the officers in charge of the same, gold and silver in bullion, grain or lumps, which, if requested, shall be refined, assayed and formed into disks, or cast into bars or ingots, as speedily as possible after the receipt thereof, and stamped in said mint or branches, in such manner as shall indicate the fineness and value of the same; the expense incurred to be retained from each deposit so made, at such rates and charges and under such regulations, as may from time to time be established. The said charges not to exceed the actual cost of refining, casting and forming said disks, bars or ingots, including labor, wastage, use of machinery, material, etc., to be received by the Treasurer of the Mint at which the deposit was made, and by him accounted for to the Treasurer of the United States.

1. OPERATIONS OF THE BRANCH MINT, SAN FRANCISCO, From April, 1854, to December 31, 1856.

Totals.

1854. Ounces.

63,510.65

Closed.

207,569.32

86,834-06

74,548.27

76,800-01

98,356-91

137,941-34

126,452-44

81,002.96

130,484 67

54,397-41

140,981-75

121,112.69

98,192-69

25,794-46

Closed.

79,948-11

607,772-51 1,174,439-48 1,645,665.50|

*For Officers and Clerks, see page 46.