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this labor for the purpose of having the condition of our public schools appear, in as perfect and satisfactory form as could be reached, in the forthcoming reports of the Census of this country.

IV. EXAMINATION FOR TEACHERS' STATE CERTIFICATES.

The Annual Examination of applicants for these Certificates was held for four days, beginning the 9th of August last, and was conducted by Supt. James T. Lunn, of Ironton, Sauk county; Prof. Jesse B. Thayer, of River Falls; and Prof. E. Barton Wood, of Oshkosh. The cities of Madison, Eau Claire, and Oshkosh, were selected as the places for the meetings of these applicants; and each meeting was in charge of a member of the above mentioned Board of Examiners. In the week following, all the members held a session at Madison, examined the papers written by the applicants, and passed their decision thereon. At this time they completed their report to the State Superintendent, in which they submitted the following items, with others:

"1. The rules of the preceding examination were adopted for conducting this examination.

"2. On the basis thus fixed, we have the pleasure to recommend that an unlimited certificate be issued to Thomas J. Walsh, of Two Rivers, Wis.; and also that limited certificates be issued, in accordance with the exhibit of standings hereto annexed, to the following: Thomas Voegele, Fountain City; James S. Thomas, Reedsburg; Joseph H. Gould, Oconto; Winsor W. Calkins, Randolph; Adolph R. Wittman, Manitowoc; H. L. Terry, Lowell; Henry C. Walsh, Two Rivers; and Patrick H. Hewitt, Manitowoc.

"3. As the result of this year's experience, we heartily approve the plan inaugurated this year; and recommend that the distribution be similarly made with reference to the convenience of the applicants."

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V. A DECISION IN AN APPEAL CASE SUSTAINED BY THE SUPREME COURT.

On the 25th of February last, I reversed, in the decision of an appeal case, the order of the town board of Clarno, Green county, altering the boundaries of a school-district in that town, and forming a new district. Parties in that town, interested in sustaining the action of the board, sued out in June last a writ of common-law certiorari of the Supreme Court of the State, requiring me, as State Superinten lent, to certify to this Court the records of said appeal and my proceedings thereon. I made in due time the proper return to the Court, which has since rendered its decision, after a full review of the case.

The plaintiffs argued (1) that the State Superintendent, in denying to the parties a personal hearing on the appeal, exceeded his jurisdiction; (2) that the forming and altering of school districts are not properly part of the supervision of public instruction, but are matters of law; (3) that in deciding appeals upon such subjects, this officer must construe, interpret, and apply the law, and determine. questions involving personal rights; (4) that the powers thus exercised are judicial in their character, and the statute conferring them is in violation of the State Constitution, by which all judicial power is vested in certain courts; (5) that the portion of section 497, Revised Statutes, which gives to the Superintendent power to prescribe the manner of taking and hearing appeals, is in effect a delegation of legislative power, and is therefore void; (6) that the decision of the Superintendent on the appeal was rendered not in accordance with the merits of the case; (7) and that the decision. given was not that of the Superintendent, but of a clerk employed in his office.

The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed my decision; and on the points argued by the plaintiffs, gave its opinion at length, of which the following is a very brief summary, given in the order of the points presented above, not in this opinion: (1) In this case the Superintendent " acted in strict accordance with the

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rules adopted and duly published under his authority," and "in the manner of such hearing and taking the testimony, no personal, common-law, or constitutional right has been infringed;" (2) The Superintendent has "the same power and discretion in deciding whether such district should be changed, altered, or divided, as the town board had in making its decision;" (3) "The constitutional question whether such a jurisdiction could be constitution. ally conferred upon this officer is virtually disposed of by the ruling that he is authorized to act only in quasi-judicial capacity." (4) The office of the writ from this Court does "not warrant a review of the mere questions of fact where there is any contention as to the proof, or the reversal of the judgment or determination of the officer upon the merits of the case;" (5) "It was eminently proper for the Legislature to confer this power of final disposition of changes in school-districts on this officer." (6) The Superintendent "appears to have acted in strict compliance with the law; and there does not appear to have been any constitutional provision violated, either in giving him such a jurisdiction or in his manner of hearing the appeal;" (7) "The return of that officer shows that it was his personal and official action, and the decision is subscribed by him in due form." The Court incidentally refers to the evidence submitted in this case, and finds satisfactory reasons for my decision in setting aside the order of the town board.

VI. OFFICE WORK.

A large portion of my time the past year has been given to office duties. The work has now increased beyond the capacity of those employed here to perform it, without remaining almost daily at their desks until quite late at night. However, every item of business has received prompt attention.

The preparation of the tables and other materials for my Annual Report, has been delayed, in part, by the labor which I have been compelled, in the last quarter of the year, to expend upon official business requiring immediate consideration; and, in part,

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by the numerous difficulties experienced in procuring the statistical returns from school officers. No one, without the trial, can form a conception of the amount of work which must be done in gathering and correcting oftentimes the reports from our public and private schools, before they are embodied in the Annual Statement from this office. These returns for this year are finally compiled, largely by the aid of the county and city superintendents, from at least 7,300 special reports, made by district and town clerks; by teachers in the private schools; by the superintendents themselves; by the institute conductors; by the heads of Colleges, Academies, Theological Seminaries, and Commercial Schools; by the presidents of the Normal Schools; by the boards in charge of the State Literary and Charitable Institutions; and by other State Officers.

The request made last winter upon the Legislature to furnish the State Superintendent with additional clerk hire, was a most reasonable one; and the refusal to grant it has inflicted injury this year upon the office. A bill authorizing such hire passed unanimously in the Senate, and would promptly have been concurred in by the Assembly, if the committee having it in charge had permitted it to come to a vote in that body. It is hoped that the members of the next Legislature will grant the needed help, and thus treat the office with the consideration, similar to that which has long been shown to the other State Departments, in increasing their efficiency.

A large share of the work of the office, such as the decisions of appeal cases, the correspondence on the interpretation of the school laws, and the oversight of many details in the daily transactions, has been placed in the hands of Major S. S. Rockwood, the Assistant State Superintendent. He has proved a very efficient and courteous officer, fully comprehending even the most difficult subjects presented in the School Code of the State, and attending to his duties with unusual accuracy, dispatch, and good judgment. I have also been favored with the exceedingly faith

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ful and painstaking services of my clerk and messenger, Mr. W. A. Thompson, who has been employed in the office the past two years.

VII. TRAVEL AND LECTURES.

As required by law, and when I could be spared from the office, I have reached localities in at least three-fourths of the counties of the State. I have visited the State University, Normal and Reformatory Schools, portions of the Teachers' Institutes, and some high and elementary schools in the cities, villages, and country districts; attended meetings of the State educational bodies, at nearly all of which I have presented papers; and consulted with school officers and other prominent friends of education in many parts of the State. I have delivered twenty-eight lectures, besides a goodly number of short addresses, before schools, institutes, and assemblies of the people. I have endeavored, on such occasions, to describe the existing condition of our public schools, to point out the generally acknowledged defects in their management, and to explain the leading movements in operation to remedy these defects and to strengthen the schools.

I have pursued the plan adopted last year, of informing myself, as thoroughly as possible, by personal inspection and otherwise, in reference to the educational affairs in the northern sections of the State, and of advancing these affairs with the means in my power, whenever the opportunity has been afforded. I have favored the appointment of institutes in the sparsely settled counties, where the teachers could be gathered together in companies of even fifteen to twenty-five. I have called upon many of the enterprising and intelligent citizens in the villages on the shores of Lake Superior, at the iron mines near the Menomonee River, at points bordering on our dense forest region, and on the lines of railways running into or through it. I have studied the prospective resources of wealth in all of these localities, observed the character of the population settling in them, and become acquainted with their views and efforts respecting public education.