John Savage, of Salem, a lawyer, and a Democrat of the "Bucktail" stamp, was the fifth Comptroller, and at the time of his appointment he was not new to public life. He had been district attorney of the fourth district from 1806 to 1811, and again from 1812 to 1813; Member of Assembly from Washington county in 1814, and Member of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Congresses. He rounded out his official career with eight years (from 1823 to 1831) of honored service as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As a public official it has been said that "he exhibited candor, industry, caution and excellent judgment." No higher qualities can be given to any official. Later in life the positions of Chancellor and Treasurer of the United States were offered to him but declined. During his term of office there was no substantial change or enlargement of the powers and duties of the office, aside from the power given to invest money belonging to the common school fund. The common school fund had its origin in 1805, and was, as the determination for free schools became more manifest, an application to a school system of the Utopian vision of the makers of the State, who sought to pay all the expenses of maintaining the government by interest from its invested funds. The common school fund has, unlike the general fund, steadily increased. By the act of 1805 the proceeds of the first 500,000 acres of vacant and unappropriated land sold by the Surveyor-General were appropriated as a permanent fund for the support of common schools. Other sources of revenue were from time to time turned into this fund, until from its small beginning of $58,757.24 in 1805, it has now productive investments aggregating $4,448,140.77. It is a noteworthy fact that no direct tax for school purposes was laid by the State until 1853, the interest of the fund alone being appropriated. How small a portion the income plays in maintaining the schools of the State to-day can be seen in the fact that the State for the year 1896 appropriated for educational purposes $4,970,134.53, and this is not a quarter of the amount expended in the State for the purpose of free schools, when the local contributions are taken into account. Judge Savage was the last Comptroller who owed his selection to the Council of Appointment. [Illustration: Bates Cooke (signature) _9th COMPTROLLER_]