Like the President, they make recommendations to the Legislature, and take care that the laws are executed. Like the President, they may be impeached and removed for treason, bribery, or other crimes. Slavery was abolished throughout the whole of the United States by the thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, passed Dec. 18, 1865. The vast change in the political and social organisation of the republic made by this new fundamental law was completed by the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution, passed in 1868 and 1870, which gave to the former slaves all the rights and privileges of citizenship. Church and Education. The Constitution of the United States grants perfect equality to all creeds and religions. Nearly all the sects and religious denominations existing in Europe are represented in the United States. At the census of 1880 there were 86,132 Protestant and 5,975 Roman Catholic churches; 70,864 Protestant ministers, and 6,366 Roman Catholic clergy. The Protestants returned 8,976,260 'members,' or communicants; adding to this an estimate of the families of members, and of adherents, the total attached to Protestantism would probably be about 30,000,000. The Roman Catholics claim a total of 6,832,954 adherents in 1883. In 1870 there were in all 63,082 churches, of which 3,806 were Roman Catholic; and in the same year the number of 'sittings' returned was 21,665,052, of which 1,990,514 were in Roman Catholic churches. There were in all 45 separate religious bodies returned in 1880. The most numerous Protestant bodies are the various Methodist sects, with 3,686,114 (1880-82) members; next the Baptists of all kinds, with 2,424,878 members; Presbyterians, 937,610 (1880-83); Lutherans, 950,868 (1881); Disciples of Christ, 591,821 (1881); Congregationalists, 381,697 (1882); Episcopal, 347,781; United Brethren, 157,835 (1881); Reformed Church, 236,024 (1881-82); Mormons, 157,835 (1881); Friends, 67,643. Education is general in the United States, every effort being made to aid in its progress. Nevertheless, owing partly to the former existence of slavery, and partly to the constant influx of numbers of uneducated immigrants, there exists a large mass still totally ignorant of the first elements of education. It was found at the census of 1870, that there were at that date in the United States 4,528,084 individuals over ten years of age unable to read, and 5,658,144 individuals over ten years unable to write. According to the census of 1880 in the whole country, out of a total population above ten years of age of 36,761,607, 4,923,431 were returned as unable to read and 6,239,958 as unable to write. The former is 13.4 per cent., the latter 17 per cent., which, contrasted with 16 and 20 per cent. (the proportions of the corresponding classes in 1870), shows a very decided gain in the direction of rudimentary education. Of the whites above ten years of age, the 'cannot writes' formed 9.4 per cent. The native whites, however, show a proportion of but 8.7 per cent., while foreign whites show 12 per cent. A very large proportion of the illiteracy of the country, and especially of the South, is seen to be among the coloured population, where the ' cannot writes' form 70 per cent. of all above ten years of age. Most of the illiteracy of the country exists south of Mason and Dixon's line, the Ohio, and the south boundary of Missouri. North of it are New Jersey, with 4.5 per cent.; Pennsylvania, 4·6; Ohio, 3.6; Indiana, 4.8; Illinois, 4-3; Missouri, 8-9; and Kansas, 3.6. South of it are Delaware, 15.8; Maryland, 16; Virginia, 34; West Virginia, 12.1; Kentucky, 22.2; and Arkansas, 28.8. Further south the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, range between 40 and 50 per cent. In 1884 a Bill was passed appropriating a sum of 77,000,000 dollars to be distributed over a period of eight years, to the various States of the Union, in proportion to the illiteracy of each. In Iowa out of the total population there are but 2.4 per cent. of illiterates; Nebraska, 2.5 per cent. ; and Wyoming, 2.6. The NorthEastern States, on the whole, fall behind the Northern Central States, probably because of the large manufacturing interests, which have drawn to them the Irish, French Canadian, and similar classes of immigrants, while the German and Scandinavian elements have gone to the Northern Central section. The greatest proportion of illiterates is found in South Carolina, where nearly one-half the population over ten years of age (48.2 per cent.) cannot read. Louisiana follows with 45.8 per cent.; Alabama, with 43·5; and Georgia, with 42.8 per cent. In the Western States and Territories the proportion of illiterates is comparatively low; California, with 7.1, and Nevada, with 7.3 per cent., having, with two exceptions, the highest. Arizona has 16.7 per cent., and New Mexico, 60-2. In these Territories, and especially the latter, a large proportion of the population is of Mexican descent, and a large number of Pueblo and Moquis Indians are included in the population. In 1882 the total number of children enrolled in the public schools in the United States was 9,996,133, out of a total school population of 16,210,133, the average daily attendance being 6,120,454. The total number of public schools was found to be 226,000, and teachers 311,982. Of these 5,500 schools were returned as having high-school departments. The total receipts of these schools in 1882 was 18,664,5531., of which over 15,000,0001. was derived from state, county, or other public sources; the Central Government contributes a portion, but a large proportion is obtained from the educational tax. The number of institutions classed as universities and colleges (many of them really high and technical schools) in 1882 was 365, with 4,413 instructors and 64,096 students, with an income from productive funds of 532,3381. and 425,3321. from fees. These statistics evidently do not include the private middle-class schools, for which no returns seem to exist. two Revenue and Expenditure. The revenue of the United States is mainly derived from sources—namely, duties on imports, and internal revenue taxes upon distilled spirits, fermented liquors, tobacco, banks and bankers. The national expenditure, too, is mainly on account of the war and navy departments, pensions, payment of interest of the public debt, incurred by the civil war of 1861-66, and the civil service. Pensions form the largest item of expenditure. Next to pensions the cost of the general administration, including the expenses of the executive and legislature, provided for under the head of Civil Expenses,' is comparatively small. The following table exhibits, in dollars and pounds sterling, the total net revenue and the total ordinary expenditure of the United States in each of the ten fiscal years, ending June 30, from 1875 to 1884: 1875 1877 284,020,771 56,804,154 274,623,392 54,924,678 1876 290,066,584 58,013,316 265,101,084 53,020,216 269,000,586 53,800,117 238,660,008 47,732,001 1878 257,763,878 51,552,775 236,964,326 47,392,865 1879 273,827,184 54,765,437 266,947,883 53,389,576 1880 333,526,610 66,705,322 267,642,957 53,528,591 1881 360,782,293 72,156,458 260,712,888 1882 403,525,250 80,705,080 1883 398,287,582 79,657,516 52,142,577 257,981,439 51,596,288 48,825,248 These figures are exclusive of loans in the revenue and expenditure, other than interest, and premiums in connection with the public debt. The following tables give the actual sources of revenue and branches of expenditure for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and the estimated revenue and expenditure for 1885 and 1886 : : From the partly actual and partly estimated receipts at the end of September 1884 it was expected the revenue for 1885 would amount to 290,620,201 dollars. The surpluses are all available for reducing the public debt, and during the year ending June 30, 1884, the sum devoted to this purpose was 104,393,625 dollars, including sinking fund and redemption. The Internal Revenue at present is collected mainly from whisky, tobacco, and malt liquors. The following table shows the total amount of the national debt on the 1st of July at various periods from 1860 : The net debt—that is, what remains after deducting the cash in the Treasury-was 1,438,542,995 dollars, or 287,708,5991. on July 1, 1884; of the total amount 584,308,868 dollars, or 116,861,7731. bears no interest. The net debt on January 1, 1885, amounted to 1,418,548,370 dollars. The United States is also liable for 64,623,512 dollars, or 12,924,7021. 6 per cent. bonds issued to the Pacific Railways, which pay over 5 per cent. of their net earnings. The bulk of the debt of the United States was originally contracted |