CHAPTER II
THE Eighth General Assembly met at Des Moines on the 9th of January, 1860. John Edwards was chosen Speaker of the House, and Lieutenant-Governor Oran Faville presided over the opening session of the Senate. The two houses met in joint convention on the 11th canvassed the vote for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. Samuel J. Kirkwood was declared elected Governor and N. J. Rusch Lieutenant-Governor for the term of two years and were sworn into office by Chief Justice Wright.
Governor Lowe, in his retiring message, informed the General Assembly that during the past year a large body of hostile Indians had appeared in the northwestern part of the State, driven off stock and alarmed the settlers at Spirit Lake and along the Sioux River. Urgent appeals had come to the Governor for protection, and he had responded by sending a company of Frontier Guards under command of Captain Henry B. Martin, to the places threatened. After a service of five months, the danger passed and the Guards returned to their homes.
The report of the Auditor of State made at the close of the fiscal year 1859, shows a total indebtedness of $352,492.37. Of this $122,295 represented the indebtedness of the State to the school fund held in trust. Balance in the treasury, the delinquent taxes due and tax for 1859 amounted in the aggregate to $608,609.48. The expenses incurred in maintaining the Frontier Guards to furnish protection to the scattered settlements in the northwestern counties during the two years past was stated by the Governor at $19,800. The defalcation of James D. Eads, late Superintendent of Public Instruction, was found to amount
