Administrative Expenses
Table of Receipts and Expenditures of the State Government
| Year | Receipts | Expenditures |
| 1860 | —— | $530,107.00 |
| 1865 | $1,626,782.93[1591] | 2,282,355.97[1591] |
| 1866 | 62,967.80[1592] | 606,494.39[1593] |
| 1867 | 691,048.86 | 819,434.85[1594] |
| 1868 | 724,760.56[1595] | 1,066,860.24[1595] |
| 1868 | 1,788,982.43[1595] | 2,233,781.97[1595] |
| 1869 | 686,451.02[1596] | 1,394,960.30 |
| 1870 | 1,283,586.52 | 1,336,398.85 |
| 1871 | 1,422,494.67[1597] | 1,640,116.99[1598] |
| 1872 | —— | —— |
| 1873 | 2,081,649.39 | 2,237,822.06[1599] |
| 1874 | —— | —— |
| 1875 | 725,000.00 | 500,000.00[1600] |
| 1876 | 781,800.64 | 682,591.49 |
| 1886 | 888,724.33 | 818,366.70 |
The average yearly cost of state, county, and town administration from 1858 to 1860 was $800,000; from 1868 to 1870, the average cost of the state administration alone was $1,107,080, the cost of state, county, and town government being at least $3,000,000.[1601] The provisional state government disbursed in the year 1866-1867, $676,476.54, of which only $262,627.47 was spent for state expenses; the remainder was used for schools.[1602]
The greater expenditure of the Reconstruction government can, in small part, be explained by the greater number of officials and by the higher salaries paid.[1603]
Salaries
| Before the War | During Reconstruction | |||
| Governor | $2,000.00 | $4,000.00 | ||
| Governor’s clerk | 500.00 | 5,400.00 | two | |
| Secretary of State | 1,200.00 | 2,400.00 | fees and charges | |
| Treasurer | 1,800.00 | 2,800.00 | ||
| Departmental clerks | 1,000.00 | each | 1,500.00 | |
| Supreme Court judge | 3,000.00 | 4,000.00 | ||
| Circuit judges | 13,500.00 | 36,000.00 | ||
| Chancellors | 4,500.00 | three | 15,000.00 | |
| Member of Legislature, per diem | 4.00 | 6.00 | ||
| Stationery executive departments | 1,200.00 | 12,708.77 | [1604] | |
The administration of Lindsay to a great extent had to pay the debts of the former administration. Expenses were curtailed when possible, and notwithstanding the fact that the indorsed railroads defaulted in 1871, the business of the state was conducted much more economically, and there were fewer and smaller issues of bonds and obligations.[1605] The Senate, however, had but one Democrat in it, and the House was only doubtfully Democratic, as the Democratic members were young and inexperienced men or else discontented scalawags.[1606] Consequently, the tide of corruption and extravagance was merely checked, not stopped. The capitol expenses of Smith and of Lindsay for a year make an instructive comparison:—
| Governor Smith 1869-1870 | Governor Lindsay 1871-1872 | |
| Contingent expenses | $47,197.28 | $20,531.84 |
| Stationery, fuel, etc. | 24,310.07 | 8,847.23 |
| Clerical services | 27,883.77 | 21,883.03 |
| Public printing | 80,279.18 | 49,716.43 |
Other expenses, in so far as they were under the control of Lindsay, formed a like contrast.[1607] The cost of holding sessions of the legislature under the provisional government was $83,856.60 in 1865-1866, and $83,852 in 1866-1867. Under Smith it was about $90,000 per session, and there were three regular sessions the first year. One session (1870-1871) under Lindsay cost $95,442.30, and two under Lewis, 1873-1874, cost $175,661.50 and $166,602.65 respectively.[1608] The cost of keeping state prisoners for trial was about $50,000 a year. The Reconstruction legislature cut down expenses by passing a law to liberate criminals of a grade below that of felon, upon their own recognizance.[1609]