expenditure on this noble object of legislative pro-
vision.

It was estimated at the beginning of the present
year (1832), that in the nine thousand and fifty-four
districts, where schools are supported, that two hun-
dred dollars each are invested, on an average, in
school-houses. This gives a total of one million eight
hundred and ten thousand eight hundred dollars,
which, together with one hundred and seventy thou-
sand dollars invested in the same way in the city of
New-York

, gives a total of one million nine hundred
and 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 50
cents 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, besides
public 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, and
proving that the application of one hundred thou-
sand dollars out of the fund, induces them to raise
voluntarily more than nine times the same amount
for the same object.

Police of the System. This exists in the hands of
one superintendent of common schools, who is like-
wise the secretary of the commonwealth; fifty-five
clerks of counties; the commissioners of about seven
hundred and ninety towns, and the trustees of nine
thousand school districts.

These several agents are in regular subordination
to 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-