ANNUAL MESSAGE STATE OF NEW YORK EXECUTIVE CHAMBER TO THE LEGISLATURE: Albany, January 3, 1906 In transmitting my second annual message, I have in mind that the Constitution directs me, first, to communicate to the Legislature the condition of the State, in order that the same may be set forth clearly at the outset as a guide to proper and practical legislation on matters of taxation and appropriations, and that I am also charged with the duty of recommending such matters to the Legislature as I shall deem expedient, in order that my policy on legislation may be clearly defined. The duty to recommend carries with it the duty to aid in carrying out such recommendations. Each department of government — legislative, executive and judicialis restricted to the exercise of its legitimate functions and one should not be permitted to enter the domain of the others. Yet there is, and can be, no clear line of demarcation separating these departments and making them wholly independent of one another. Constitutional checks and balances are provided, so that no department is supreme, even in its own field. The Governor's chief duty is “to take care that the laws are faithfully executed," but the Legislature places restraints upon executive power and responsibility by its control of the public purse and of the terms and methods of appointment and removal of public officers through whose agency the Governor must act. The courts may declare laws void for unconstitutionality and the Legislature may remove judges from office for cause. The Governor is responsible, to a large extent, both for the beginning and the ending of important legislation. The duty to recommend measures and the power to veto bills are his constitutional warrant for participation in the lawmaking functions of government, and mark the limitations beyond which he should not pass. It is my earnest hope and confident expectation that harmony and forbearance shall continue to characterize the relations between the Executive and the Legislature; that neither shall seek to shirk or shift responsibility and that the session shall be marked by the passage of all just measures and the defeat of all unworthy or base measures, should any such present themselves. STATE DEBT On September 30, 1905, the close of the fiscal year, the total debt of the State amounted to $11,155,660, classified as follows: Adirondack Park National Guard Public Defenses. Canals .. Total $455,000 00 200,000 00 10,500,660 00 $11,155,660 00 The sinking fund created for the payment of the canal debt amounted on the 30th of September, 1905, to $4,607,457.97, which, in effect, reduces the amount of the canal debt to the sum of $5,893,202.03. The debt maturing during the fiscal year consists of $1,270,000 canal improvement bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 79 of the Laws of 1895, maturing Janu ary 1, 1906; $55,000 Adirondack Park bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 561 of the Laws of 1895, maturing January 30, 1906, and $200,000 National Guard Public Defense bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1898, $100,000 of which mature on the first days of May and November respectively; $200,000 of Adirondack Park bonds mature on the 1st day of February, 1907. RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. The total receipts of the State Treasurer from all sources for the year ending September 30, 1905, were $29,195,569.89; the total payments were $28,479,350.51. The actual available balance on October 1, 1905, was $6,114,532.47. The total appropriations in force October 1, 1905, amount to $27,583,606.98; which is $3,504,353.10 more than the income of the last fiscal year which was applicable to the payment of appropriations. The Comptroller estimates that the revenues for the present fiscal year applicable to the expenses of government will be not less than $28,000,000. The State debt will doubtless nesessarily be increased by the issue of barge canal bonds and highway improvement bonds during the coming year. Provisions should, if possible, be made to pay the interest on such debt and to provide the necessary sinking fund for the payment of the principal without increasing the burdens of direct taxation. To accomplish this purpose will require economy and firm resistance to the steady tendency to increase expenditures. TAXATION That the great burden of taxation is local and not State in its character, is due to the activities of the local authorities and it is rapidly increasing. The cost of the city government of New York City for the past six years is as follows: |