finest in the State, was donated by Mr. John Ball, a banker of that city. The Rosenburg High School, another princely gift, was donated by a Galveston merchant, Mr. Henry Rosenburg. The Allan School, in Austin, lately put into operation by the city as a manual-training department of the Austin High School, is the result of a bequest for such purpose of the value of about $70,000 in money and city property by John T. Allan, who was treasurer of the State during the administration of Governor Davis. A three years' course of study has been arranged for it by City Superintendent Harris and Professor Hunsdon, principal of the school, including the following subjects: Free-hand and instrumental drawing, joinery, wood carving, turning, pattern making, molding, forging, and machine work. Pupils taking this manual-training course will be required to take, in addition, the following academic courses in the high school: English, six terms; mathematics, five terms; science, three terms; history, three terms, and civics, one term. They will also be instructed in scientific principles relating to labor.

The aim of Mr. Allan, as expressed in his own words, was to found a school in which "shall be taught practical use of tools as well as scientific principles." The appreciation in which the school is held is shown by the following comparative statistics taken from the highschool records for the six terms the school has been in operation, each couplet of figures giving the total enrollment of boys in the high school and the number taking the manual-training course: 57-18; 59-18; 54-20; 67-35; 60-35; 75-50. From these figures it is shown that in less than three years the total enrollment has increased less than 50 per cent, while the manual-training enrollment has increased nearly 200 per cent.

Austin was the first city in Texas to establish a manual-training department in connection with her public schools, and her action has prompted the introduction in the legislature of a bill making provision for such additions in public schools in other cities disposed to promote them. It has been suggested that until the university is provided with a technological department at Austin it would be well to arrange in some way for the university students to have the benefits of the training department of the Allan School.

AFTERMATH OF RECONSTRUCTION.

Under the license incident to revolution, the aftermath of the "reconstruction of the South," was great extravagance in educational matters, not more perhaps in Texas than in Louisiana and some other States. In Texas, taxes were raised and salaries of teachers were increased and school offices multiplied, on account of new and expensive features being added, involving largely augmented expenditures, without corresponding public benefit, or being at all required. The

school ad valorem tax was fixed as high as 25 cents on the $100 property values. At the instance of Governor Roberts the law was changed so that teachers and their salaries were graded, instead of allowing all teachers the same salary, thereby effecting a great saving in school expenditures. The price of the public lands was reduced, as suggested by the governor, to 50 cents an acre, and provision was made for their readier sale, so as to produce larger revenues for the free schools and establishment of the university. Attorney-Generals Hogg and Culberson subsequently instituted suits by which large quantities of lands granted for railroads were recovered and reverted to the public domain. It was suggested to divide these lands between the free schools and the university, but nothing came of the suggestion.

The reduction in the price of the public lands under what was known as the "50 cents land act" naturally led to largely increased demand for them, but for sometime only a few speculators seemed to notice and take advantage of the fact. But with rapid settlement of the country along the projected lines of railroad the hitherto inaccessible but now more desirable school lands were rapidly acquired to an extent that caused the legislature to repeal the act. Dr. Taylor, of Austin, and Representative Harris, of Galveston, were largely instrumental in getting the law repealed, thus saving large revenue to the State from the increased value of the lands.

STATUS OF THE SCHOOL LANDS.

In his biennial report recently presented to Governor Culberson, Hon. A. J. Baker, State land commissioner, makes an important statement of the status of the school lands as affected by a late decision of the supreme court in the case of Hogue v. Baker:

In that case the respondent answered that the public free school fund, which was entitled to one-half of all the unappropriated public domain of Texas at the date of the adoption of the constitution of 1876, had been outstripped by the location and appropriation of the said lands for other purposes by more than 10,000,000 acres of land, and that what was left of the unappropriated public domain, to wit, 3,853,694 acres, should be held for the use of that fund, and there was, therefore, no lands subject to homestead entry.

It will be noted from the trend of this opinion that many locations, made since the adoption of the constitution of 1876, which were not accompanied by a survey for the public free school fund of like amount, are affected by it in more or less degree and may demand serious consideration by you in calling attention of the legislature to it. * * *

Approximately, there was within the limits of the State of Texas when the constitution of 1876 was adopted 75,961,277 acres of unlocated public domain. Since the adoption of that constitution there has been located and surveyed for various purposes (which are stated) 72,107,583 acres, which, deducted from the 75,961,277 mentioned, leaves 3,853,964 acres of unsurveyed public domain now on hand. There has been recovered from railroad companies 1,389,130 acres, and located and surveyed out of the public domain since the adoption of the constitution of 1876 about 11,250,681

acres, against which the State common school fund got no alternate amount or like quantity.

It will be observed from an analysis of tables présented that at the time of the adoption of the constitution of 1876 the public free school fund was entitled to about 37,961,277 acres of the unappropriated public domain, against which there has been surveyed and returned by railway companies and other persons 23,970,000 acres, leaving a deficit of about 9,879,921 acres due to that fund.

The commissioner, however, suggests that the deficit stated will "have to be met out of some or all of certain items which are named, including 1,000,000 acres of the university, unless the necessary amount of lands can be obtained from other sources, which," he says, "ought to be done so as to protect the title of all persons who hold the evidence of title under the seal of the State;" and as a remedy he further suggests that the State also pass to the credit of the public free school fund the amount already received by the State for the other half of the scrap purchases of what are known as "scrap lands" and charge it to the debt due the school fund by the State. To do this, he argues, it would only be necessary for the State to assume the debt for which she has already received the money, and pay interest on the same to the school fund annually, the true amount of which can be obtained from the treasurer's books. By this course the demands of the school fund would thus be satisfied to that amount, to wit, 4,131,617 acres, which quantity, added to the railway recoveries and the amount now estimated to be unsurveyed, would probably very nearly or quite balance the deficit.

ALL FOR THE SCHOOL FUND.

Under the land commissioner's showing, if correct, the school fund gets every acre in sight of the unappropriated public domain, leaving nothing for the university, the asylums, or other State institutions. And it may be (as it does not certainly appear what amount of public domain there was at the time of the adoption of the State constitution of 1876) that an investigation, which Commissioner Baker suggests be authorized by the legislature, will show that the present apparent deficit in the school lands does not exist. Evidently the old accounts and records of the office were not as clearly kept as they should have been. Commissioner Baker sums the lands of the school fund as follows:

There are now on the market, he states, 20,554,365 acres belonging to the fund. Total acres under lease, less university lands, at the close