*

"This city was founded by Andrew Dexter, a native of the city of Boston, Mass. * He died in the city of Mobile in the year 1837. The city was named after General Montgomery, who fell at the storming of Quebec. The county was named after Major Montgomery, who fell at the battle of the Horse Shoe."

When the new State House shall be completed, the public offices of the State, its records and archives, are to be removed from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery.

The judges of all the Courts, and the Chancellors, are elected by a joint vote of the two Houses of the General Assembly, for six years. The judges of the Supreme Court are the reporters of their own decisions, and the number of volumes published is now 26.

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction only, and only upon points of law, taken up from the Chancery, Circuit, County, and Criminal Courts, by appeal or writ of error. This Court sits at the scat of government, on the 1st Monday of June and the 2d Monday of December.

Anderson Crenshaw, of Manningham, Chancellor of the Southern Div'n, $1,500

Wiley W. Mason, of Wetumpka,

David G. Ligon, of Moulton,

do. do. Middle do. 1,500 do. do. Northern do. 1,500 The Southern division includes the counties of Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Sumter, Marengo, Monroe, Conecuh, Covington, Butler, Dale, Coffee, Henry, Barbour, Pike, Montgomery, Lowndes, and Wilcox.

The Middle division includes the counties of Russell, Chambers, Randolph, Macon, Tallapoosa, Coosa, Autauga, Dallas, Perry, Greene, Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Fayette, Marion, Walker, Jefferson, Bibb, and Shelby.

The Northern division includes the counties of Lauderdale, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Blount, St. Clair, Marshall, Jackson, De Kalb, Cherokee, Benton, and Talladega.

The State is divided into forty districts, and one session of the Court is held annually in each district, except in Mobile, Sumpter, and Montgomery districts, where two sessions are held.

The Circuit Court has original jurisdiction in all civil and criminal causes in the State; and appellate jurisdiction in all appeals and certioraris brought up from inferior tribunals. Two sessions of this Court are held each year in every county in the State. The Solicitors receive $250 and fees, except the one in the 1st Circuit, who receives $350, and the Attorney General, who is Solicitor for the 3d Circuit.

The Criminal Court for Mobile County holds three terms in each year, on the 1st Mondays of November, February, and June.

Common School Fund.

This fund arises from the sale of lands granted by Congress. It belongs, by the terms of the grant, to the several townships in the State, in proportion to the amount for which the lands lying in each township may have been sold. Much of the amount of sales is not collected, and much of the land remains unsold. The fund actually collected, as ascertained from a report to the last legislature, is $927,849 80. This amount includes the interest due, which in the same report is estimated at $68,238. The interest is applicable to the support of common schools in each township.

annum.

University Fund.

The amount of this fund is $300,000. It yields an interest of $18,000 per Balances of former years, the receipts for tuition, and moneys derived from other sources, made the available funds subject to expenditure on 27th November, 1845, $33,820 01. The expenses for the year, paid from this amount, were at that date $25,517 84, leaving an unexpended balance of $8,302 17.

Principal Items of Expenditure.

Pay of members and other expenses of the Legislature,

From a report of a committee of the legislature in January, 1846, it appears that the indebtedness of the State is

Circulation and other liabilities of banks,

$9,207,555 55

1,233,690 47

1,686,861 56

Revenue fund, surplus revenue, and three per cent. fund, 1,517,970 43

Total indebtedness,

The State bonds fall due as follows:

. $13,646,078 01

$1,113,000 00 at 6 per cent. in 1850 $3,843,000 00 at 5 per cent. in 1863 300,000 00 at 5 per cent. in 1852 959,000 00 at 5 per cent. in 1865 1,043,555 55 at 5 per cent. in 1858 2,317,000 00 at 5 per cent. in 1866 600,000 00 at 5 per cent. in 1859

The interest on State bonds payable in England,

$184,707 80

The interest has heretofore been punctually paid. The last legislature provided ample means for maintaining the future credit of the State. The aggregate of assets held by the banks is said by the same committee to be $14,023,113 08, from which, in their opinion, only $6,000,000 çan be realized. The bank and branches are all in process of liquidation. From November, 1844, to Nov. 1845, the total collections amounted to $1,746,741 68.

This Court, which has no jurisdiction except what properly belongs to a Court of Errors and Appeals, holds its sessions annually at Jackson, commencing on the 1st Mondays in January and November.

Superior Court of Chancery.

Stephen Cocke, of Lowndes Co., Chancellor,

Robert Hughes, of Jackson, Clerk.

Term ends. Salary. Nov. 1851, $2,500

This Court, which has jurisdiction over all matters, pleas, and complaints whatsoever, belonging to, or cognizable in, a Court of Equity, holds two sessions annually, at the city of Jackson, on the 1st Mondays of December and June, which continue as long as business requires.

These clerks are elected by the people, and hold office for two years.

-

Time of holding Court. For the counties of Jackson, Harrison, Greene, Hancock, and Perry, at Mississippi City, on the 2d Monday of February

and August, to continue in session 12 judicial days, and no longer. For the counties of Lowndes, Winston, Octibbeha, Kemper, Noxubee, and Neshoba, 1st Monday in May and November. For the counties of Itawamba, Pontotoc, Monroe, Chickasaw, and Tishamingo, 3d Monday in May and November. For the counties of Marshall, Coahoma, Tippah, De Soto, Ponola, Lafayette, and Tunica, 1st Monday in January and July. For the counties of Carroll, Choctaw, Holmes, Yalabusha, and Tallahatchie, 3d Monday in June and December. For the counties of Copiah, Lawrence, Pike, Marion, Covington, Jones, and Wayne, at Monticello, 4th Monday in January and July, for 12 judicial days. For the counties of Wilkinson, Amite, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams, at Natchez, 4th Mondays in June and December, for 24 days.

These Courts have concurrent power and jurisdiction within the district with the Superior Court of Chancery, when the amount in controversy does not exceed $500,000. The Vice Chancellors are elected for term of 4 years; they must be at least 30 years of age. Appeals may be made to the Superior Court of Chancery, unless by consent of both parties, when the same may be taken directly to the High Court of Errors and Appeals.

District or Circuit Courts.

The Judicial divisions were reörganized in 1845, and formed into 7 Districts, or Circuits. The salary of the Judges is $2,000 each.

Dist. Judges.

Counties of the Districts.

1. Stanhope Posey,

2. Thomas A. Willis,

3. George Coalter,

District Attorneys.

William T. Martin,

Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin,
Amite, and Claiborne.

T. McCartney,

Fulton Anderson,

4. Armstead B. Dawson, George Wood,

5. Robert C. Perry, E. A. M. Gray,
6. Francis M. Rodgers, Septimus Caldwell,

7. Hugh R. Miller,

Copiah, Pike, Lawrence, Marion, Hancock,
Simpson, Covington, Harrison, Smith,
Rankin, and Scott.

Tunica, Coahoma, Bolivar, Washington,
Warren, Hinds, Issaquena, and Sun-
flower.

Jasper, Newton, Jackson, Jones, Greene, Perry, Wayne, Clarke, Lauderdale, Noxubee, Neshoba, and Kemper.

Yazoo, Madison, Holmes, Attala, Winston,
and Leake.

Monroe, Lowndes, Octibbeha, Choctaw,
Yalabusha, Tallahatchie, Carroll, and
Chickasaw

John W. Thompson, De Soto, Marshall, Tippah, Tishamingo.
Itawamba, Pontotoc, Lafayette, and
Ponola.

Common Schools. An act establishing a system of common schools was passed March 4, 1846. The Boards of County Police are to appoint School Commissioners, one to each district, amounting to five in each county. These Commissioners are to superintend the schools, hire the teachers, and report semi-annually to the Seretary of State, who is ex officio General School Commissioner, the number of pupils and of teachers, and the amount paid out of the State funds to teachers. Abstracts of these returns are to be published semi-annually, in July and January. The boards of police may levy a special tax for the schools, not to exceed the State tax; but no township shall be taxed for this purpose without the consent of