IniloriM Aoconnta with Public Offloers. ...

IniloriM Aoconnta with Public Offloers. The liist Legislatura passed nu act (No. 148) uliirli establishea ;i syitetn of uniform accounts jiii.mrv received and Expended by all the State officers, on account of nnv building o work tor the Stiitc. ör for the maintenanoe, usn, ur benefit of any State educational, chaHtable, reformatory, penal, orother institution, or under :i!i. ■■■■ ■ appropriation for any purpose whatuvor. M;.r officer ia required to take vouchers in duplícate (or all moneys disburaed. and forw;uil one ol said vouchers toilie Auditor General; and for all money that comea into his hands, exeepting trom the State, he is to issue triplícate receipts. These voucher&and receipts au to I"1 fllea with the Auditor Geneia], examined and audited by him ; and he is not to draw his warrant tor money to be placed in the haada of any offleer acting for the State, tuitil -ttjcli vouchers for previous liko ninoimts have bees presentad and audited. Au uiventory is to !f taken at the closo of each ti--c;i] year by tJi' offioer in charj i eacli State institution, and the Board of State Auditors are to make an annual suttleinent upon vouchers, receipts, abstracts, and accounts current, with every Btate officer having charge of a public mstitution ; and this inventory and an abstract of settlement are to be publisbed as a part of the proceedings of the Board of State Auditors. - Lniisiny llepitbltvan. Tho aot above retened to and abstracted by our contemporaiyof tho Lansing liepuWican should have been eutitlud " An act to authorize the Auditor General to poke his individual nose into the scvoral State instittitions, to provide for an extra clerical torce in his office, to further pension the Stnto printers, and todevolvoadditional lubor upon tho State institutions, their business agents, and keepers." And for what public purpose or good? Applying the conditions of tho act to the University, the Btoward, who ia the book-keeper, flnancial agent or disbtirsing oflicer of the Hegetits, receiving all the moneys of the tlniversity except such as come fiom the State ïreasürer, payiii' current bilis and expenses or drawing all tho Warrants for the same, must : First, VVhen he pays a bilí for labor, supplies, fuel, piinting or of whatever other name or nature, deinand and take duplicate and itemized vouchers. One of these vouchers he shall forward (monthly) to the Auditor General who shall examine and " if found correct" andit the same. Audited at a distance, by an officer ignorant of the claims or their correctness, the necessity of the expenditures or their " lawful purpose," and af ter eacli and all hare heen paid. Secomlli, When each of the twelvo hundred stüdeiits pa}-s his matriculation fee, term tax, incidental assessíncnt or charge for diploma, the Steward must make three receipts, one for the student, onc to be forwarded monthly with vouchers to the Auditor General, to be examined and indorsed by him, and accompanying vouchers and receipts with a sworn abstract or account current. Thirdly, On or before tbe last day of the fiscal year of the State treasury, and at such other times as the Governor may direct, he, the Steward, shaU pack hiscarpet bng, and with his duplicate vouchers, one copy of each of which has previously been forwarded to the Auditor General to be " audited" by his high-mightint'ss ; his triplícate receipts' the duplicates having been in said Auditor's hands for from one to eleven months as the case may be ; and an abstract or account current for the year, proceed to yut in his appearaace before the Board of State Auditors at Lansing, who shall examine such vouchers, receipts, abstract and account current, - wliat has the previous examination of the Auditor been for 'i - make settlement with such Steward, and publish with their report an abstract of such settlemuut. ïhen Mr. Steward may take his papers and come lome and file them in his office. If' this is not red tapo with a vengoance then red tape is cortainly a fictional thing. If all these duplicates and triplicates and Auditor's auditing will give the Liegislature or the people any more dt linite (detail does not always or generally jromote or secure definiteness) informa;ion than th-e annual iinancial statement ar exhibit heretofore uaade by the Board Itegents, we should be pleased to have somo one point out in what divöotion or - The iernal of tliis act will bo found n itg third seetion-, wbioh gives the State ürinter the printing of all the ivecessary ilunks, vouchers, receipts, abstracts, 4c, and at the samo time gratines the arbirary andgraspingdisposition of the (presnt) Auditor General, enlargcs the business of his office, and ministers to his iniortanee. Tjie ültio Democratie State Convenion was held at Columbus on Wednesay and was a largo and enthusiastic )ody. It resolved not to go into bankuptcy or dissolution, adopted a strong platform, and noininated tho following icltet r Ouvtrnov - Tm. Allen, of Itoss. 6'svernev - Barnabas Burns, of Eichland. Supreme Judrjc (long term) - H. T. Vhitman, of Hainilton ; (short term), Chas. H. Scribner, of Lucas. Attorncy General - M. A. Daugherty, of ?ranklin. l'reasurer - Geo. "Welmen, of Summit. Comptroller - J. K. Newcomer, of "VTarion. Mcmber of tlie Board of Public WorTcs. - Christian Schenck, of Mercar. Mr. Ai,lex telegraphed liis acccptance f the nomination. large ratifieation meeting was held n the evening. Act number 157, session laws for 1873, to provide ior tho publioation and disribution of the laws and doeunients of he State," próvidos that thu sessioii laws tiall be Tjrinted " in long primer type, lio size of the page to be similar to that f the compiled laws of eighteen hundred nd seventy-one." Tho ürst volumo of ession laws for 1873 is now before us. 'he type is long primer, but leuded intead of solid, and the page is nearly half n' iueh narrower and an inch shorter ban tfie pages of the compüed laws. And that is whero the fat comes in. Is ais as near as the directing officers and ae State printer Can comply with the very jlaiaest of st:itutopy provisions 't A TER3IBLY desttuctivo flre oceurred at Portland, Oregon, on the 2d inst., burning twenty-tbree blooks in tbe heart of the city. The list of burned buildings includes two engine houses, two sash-factories, thrce foundries, four milis, five hotels, one hundred stores, and two hundred- and fifty dwellings. The losses were estimated at $1,500,000, with $200,000 insurance, mostly in foieign coiupanies. An article in auother column gives a descriplion of the burned city.