Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/617

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CALIFORNIA 611 portioned to the different counties and expend- ed by the boards of supervisors for the support of the indigent sick; the expenditures from this fund for the two years 1870 and 1871 were $114,986. Liberal provisions have been made for education. In 1851 the legislature, in com- pliance with a pro vision of the constitution, pass- ed an act establishing a system of public schools. Under this system, outside of the principal cities and towns, but few of the schools were free ; in 1864 three fourths of them were partially main- tained by rate bills and tuition. In 1867 they were made entirely free. There is a superin- tendent of public instruction, elected for four years. By the act of 1867, the board of educa- tion consists of the governor, superintendent of public instruction, the principal of the state nor- mal school, the superintendents of public schools in the counties of San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Alameda, "Sonoma, and San Joa- quin, and two professional teachers to be nomi- nated by the superintendent of public instruc- tion and approved by the board. The schools are open to all white children between the ages of 5 and 21 years. Separate schools are provided for negro and Indian children. Ten per cent, of each annual apportionment of the school fund is set apart as a district school li- brary fund. A state teachers' institute is held annually in San Francisco, and county institutes are held in many of the counties. The school fund is composed of the proceeds of all lands that may be granted by the United States for the support of schools, the congressional grant of 500,000 acres to all new states, all escheat- ed estates, and all percentages on the sale of state lands. The interest on these sums, to- gether with the rents of unsold lands, is devo- ted to educational purposes. The school reve- nue is augmented by half the proceeds of the poll tax and by a tax of 10 cents on every 100 of taxable property throughout the state. There is also a county tax for school purposes, and a district tax may be levied for buildings. According to the census of 1870, the whole number of persons between 5 and 18 years of age was 137,129, of whom 91,176 were attend- ing school. The number of schools of all classes was: public, 1,342, with 767 male and 1,116 female teachers, and 39,772 male and 35,775 female pupils; classical, professional, and tech- nical, 41, with 204 male and 72 female teachers, and 3,225 male and 1,276 female pupils; and other private, parochial, and charity schools, 167, with 98 male and 205 female teachers, and 2,305 male and 3,324 female pupils. The total annual income for schools was $2,946,308, in- cluding $59,057 from endowment, $1,669,464 from taxation and public funds, and $1,217,787 from other sources, including tuition. The total expenditures for school purposes in 1871 amounted to $1,713,430, of which $1,103,125 was for teachers' wages. The total valuation of school property was $3,362,580. There were 449 colored children and 140 Indians attending pub- lic schools, and 58 colored children and 14 In- dians attending private schools. Little has been done by the public authorities for the instruction of the Chinese ; but there are mission schools in which adults as well as children are taught in San Francisco, Stockton, Sacramento, and Ma- rysville. Provision is made for the enumera- tion and instruction of Indian children who are under the guardianship of whites. The state normal school for the education and training of teachers was established in San Francisco in 1862, and in 1871 removed to San Jose. At the close of that year there were 5 instructors and 168 students, of whom 140 were females. The whole number of graduates is 253. The course of instruction is two years. The uni- versity of California was formally opened at Oakland Sept. 23, 1869. Its permanent site will be at Berkeley, 4 m. N. of Oakland, where a tract of 160 acres of land has been transferred to it by the college of California, which has been merged in the university. The university is under the control of a board of 22 regents, of which the governor, lieutenant governor, state superintendent of public instruction, speaker of the assembly, president of the state agricultural society, and president of the me- chanics' institute of San Francisco are ex officio members. Colleges of agriculture, of mechan- ic arts, of mines, of civil engineering, of let- ters, and of medicine have been organized. A bureau of military instruction has been estab- lished, and there is a preparatory depart- ment connected with the university. In each of the colleges the full course is four years, with three terms in each year. Young wo- men are admitted on the same terms with young men. Tuition is free in the university proper, but not in the preparatory department. At the beginning of the third scholastic year, Sep- tember, 1871, there were 147 students, as fol- lows: in the college of arts, 75; letters, 28; optional courses, 20 ; special courses, 24. Du- ring the year 26 young women were admitted to the university and 258 students to the pre- paratory department. The medical depart- ment had 8 professors, and the colleges of arts and letters 10. The university already pos- sesses excellent apparatus valued at over $30,- 000, and a library of about 3,000 volumes. Five scholarships of the annual value of $300 have been established by the legislature. The expenditures from Dec. 12, 1,869, to Jan. 1, 1872, amounted to $270,304. The university is entitled to the 150,000 acres of land given by congress to the state for an agricultural college. There are 18 separate incorporated colleges in the state, of which the most impor- tant are the college of St. Augustine (Episco- pal), at Benicia, having in 1871 7 instructors, 90 students, and a library of 11,000 volumes; St. Ignatius college (Roman Catholic), in San Francisco, with 19 instructors and 559 stu- dents ; Santa Clara college (Catholic), at Santa Clara, with 17 instructors, 225 students, and a library of 12,000 volumes ; the university of the Pacific (Methodist), at Santa Clara, with 6