CHAPTER 207
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
AN ACT Providing for the Payment and Cancellation of a Certificate of Indebtedness of the State of Delaware, Payable to the Trustees of Delaware College in the Sum of Eighty-three-Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00), Issued Pursuant to an Act dated February 22, 1877, and Representing a Donation of the Congress of the United States to States Providing Colleges for Instruction in Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, dated July 2, 1862, and Directing its Reinvestment and the Disbursement of Income.
WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States by an Act approved July 2, 1862, did donate to the several States which should provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts, certain public lands of the United States amounting to thirty thousand (30,000) acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress ; and
WHEREAS, said Act provided that those States having no public lands subject to entry, or insufficient lands, should receive from the Secretary of the Interior, land scrip for such States' distributive share of public land at One Dollar and Twenty-five cents ($1.25) per acre. This scrip was by said Act made salable by the States receiving the same and the proceeds applied to the uses and purposes of the Act and for no other purpose ; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware did receive from the Secretary of the Interior its proportionate share of said scrip amounting to ninety thousand (90,000) acres, and did sell the same as in said Act provided ; and
WHEREAS, said Act provided that the proceeds of the sale of said land scrip should be invested in stocks of the United States or some other safe stocks yielding not less than five (5) per centum upon the par value of said stocks; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware by an Act of the General Assembly dated February 7, 1867, accepted the pro- visions of said Act of July 2, 1862, and when required have accepted the provisions of all Acts amendatory thereto, and thereafter received from the sale of said land scrip the sum of Eighty-three Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00), and in- vested the same in Bonds of the State of Delaware, bearing six (6) per centum interest per annum, which Bonds were subsequently cancelled, pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly dated February 22, 1877, and there was authorized by the same Act to be executed a Certificate of Permanent and Perpetual Indebtedness of the State of Delaware to the Trustees of Delaware College for the sum of Eighty-three Thousand Dollars " ($83,000.00), with interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, which Certificate was duly issued under the hands of the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer, and is now outstanding and in the possession of the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware ; and WHEREAS, by an amendatory Act of Congress, dated April 13, 1926, it was provided that all monies from the sale of said land scrip should be invested in bonds of the United States or of the State, or some other safe bonds ; or the same may be invested by the States having no State bonds in any manner after the Legislature of such States shall have assented thereto and engaged that such funds shall yield a fair and reasonable rate of return to be fixed by the State Legislatures, and that the principal sum there- of shall forever remain unimpaired ; Provided, That the moneys so invested or loaned shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished, and the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated to the endowment, support and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the Legislature of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life ; and
WHEREAS, it is desired to have cancelled the said Certificate of Indebtedness for the sum of Eighty-three Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00), now in the possession of the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware, and to provide for the reinvestment of the said Eighty-three Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00) by the State in some other security to be prescribed by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware, in accordance with an Act of Congress approved April 13, 1926, the income therefrom as received to be thereafter appropriated to the University of Delaware ; therefore
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Sec. 1. That upon the receipt by the Governor of a resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware agreeing to the cancellation of a certain perpetual certificate of indebtedness issued by the State of Delaware to Delaware College, now the University of Delaware, in the sum of Eighty-three Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00) pursuant to the Act of February 22, 1877, with interest thereon at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, the Governor and State Treasurer are hereby authorized to receive said Certificate of Indebtedness and to cancel the same.
Sec. 2. The sum of Eighty-three Thousand Dollars Appropriation for investment ($83,000.00) is hereby appropriated out of the General Funds of the State of Delaware and the investment of the said Eighty-three Thousand Dollars ($83,000.00) is directed to be made by the Governor and State Treasurer in securities selected by them, which securities shall conform in all respects to the requirements of an Act of Congress of the United States effective on April 13, 1926, and shall yield a net return of not less than four (4) per centum per annum. The General Assembly does hereby engage that General such return would be a fair and reasonable rate of return and that the principal thereof shall forever remain unimpaired and the income shall be inviolably appropriated to the University of Delaware in accordance with the requirements of the Act of April 13, 1926, and the amendments thereto.
Sec. 3. The securities when so purchased, shall be socuritie8 held by the State Treasurer in a separately designated fund, as investments of the State are held, the income collected and disbursed as herein provided.
Sec. 4. Upon the cancellation of said Certificate of Indebtedness, the Governor is hereby directed to return said Certificate of Indebtedness to the Trustees of the University of Delaware for preservation by reason of its historical association with the University of Delaware.
Approved April 22, 1931.