pa Recreancy to High and Honest Pnncnple Con- densed. The Betterment of the Public School System--More Satisfactory Methods of Government--Careful Attention to Daily Legis- lative Work Will Be the Slogan. Mr. President and Members of the General Assembly: n conformity with custom I address you today es a fellow servant with »ou of the public, feeling, as I am sure vou do, the great responsibility of the people’s trust. 1 should be far from candid if I did not at this time publicly express my appreciation not only of the honor but the gravity of their confidence, and my purpose So 10 act as to merit their approval. For your part I am sure that you too realize that you are responsible o the sovereign will for all your acts. You are the elected representatives of & highly intelligent and watchful pub- ¥e, which will not be slow to praise or blame, as you shall deserve. Bearing in mind these things, we should re- solve to subordinate all our private wims or prejudices to the common ®good and give the best that is in us to the mainenance of the proud tradi- tions of our beloved state. Gur tangible pos: ons and the eondition @ our finances do not meas- ure the well-baing of the common- wealth, but the state of our treasury at the opening of this new fiscal yedr’ smust impress upon us first the necessi- 1ty of putting forth our greatest efforts to conduct the public affairs with the strictest economy. This does not mean that we should go to the extreme & denying our support to needful agencies of government, but that we ehonld make every dollar of our re- gources count. Never before was there more urgent need of watchfulness that we do not as a commonwealth form habits of extravagance. The condition of onr treasury warns us. We must glve the financial branch of our administration “ghe same devotion that we do to our We are trustees, we gnay .find it to forget the fact, the constituents whno bhave given us their trust will not. At the same time questions of large | moral and eccnomic importance affect- ing the success, comfort and charac- ter of our people, will come hefore us, and in their wise treatment lies for us a great opportunity for service as weil es a great responsibilty. T invite syour attention to a reference to some ©of these matters, State Finances. treasurer’'s last report. I potice that the financial vear ending Eeptember 30, 1908, showed quite a change for the worse in ite condition. The year previous the state was not ouly able to mest all its obligations, but had @ surplus of cash on hand of ore than $265,000, but the last year the

Norwich Bulletin dated January 7, 1909

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