VERMONT. 



707 



Clough, of Waterbury; for State Treasurer, 

 Fletcher Tarbell, of Swanton ; for Presidential 

 electors for the State at large, G. J. Stan- 

 nard, of Burlington, and J. J. Burgess, of St. 

 Albans. 



The resolutions adopted by the Convention 

 endorse the platform and nominee of the Na- 

 tional Labor Convention held at Chicago ; call 

 for the enforcement of the grand list laws, for 

 the equalization of taxes, and for cutting down 

 officers' salaries. They also endorse the nomi- 

 nations previously made for State officers. 



The Vermont Democrats assembled in State 

 Convention at Burlington on July 22d, and 

 made the following nominations : For Govern- 

 or, Edward J. Phelps, of Burlington ; for Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor, George W* Gates, of White 

 River Junction ; for State Treasurer, James H. 

 Williams, of Bellows Falls ; for Presidential 

 electors at large, Cyrus Jennings, of Hubbard- 

 ton, and Joseph W. Bliss, of Bradford. 



The platform adopted by the Convention 

 endorsed the platform of the National Demo- 

 cratic Convention at Cincinnati, and ratified 

 its nominations ; pledged hearty support to the 

 Democratic State ticket, and commended it to 

 the suffrages of the people of Vermont; called 

 for a purer and more economical administra- 

 tion of State affairs, and hailed with satisfac- 

 tion the wish of the people to get rid of the 

 Republican rule which has so long controlled 

 the State. The resolutions in regard to the 

 specific subjects of State expenditures and taxa- 

 tion were as follows : 



Resolved, That we denounce that policy of profli- 

 gacy in the State government which has increased 

 our State tax from seventeen to forty cents on the dol- 

 lar of the grand list in the past twenty-five years, and 

 has swollen the strictly current State expenses, which 

 were only $160,000 in 1856 and only $279,000 after the 

 war, to nearly or quite $400,000 since. 



Resolved, That all classes should contribute to the 

 expenses of supporting the Government in proportion 

 to their material wealth. We therefore demand such 

 legislation as shall make taxation both equal and ef- 

 fectual. 



Resolved, That all property which the law protects 

 ought to bear its just share of the expenses of that 

 protection. Therefore we demand that the corporate 

 wealth of the State be taxed in equal proportion with 

 the property of the farmer, merchant, mechanic, and 

 day -laborer; and that all laws which specially ex- 

 empt the property of any business interests should be 

 repealed. 



A resolution calling for the enactment of an 

 anti-prohibitory law in the State was proposed 

 by some among the members of the Convention, 

 and its insertion in the foregoing platform rec- 

 ommended ; but the motion did not prevail. 



At the election in September for State offi- 

 cers and Congressmen, as in that of November 

 2d for Presidential electors afterward, the Re- 

 publican nominees were generally elected by 

 great majorities. The entire number of votes 

 polled in the State for Governor was 70,684, 

 of which 47,848 were cast for the Republican 

 candidate, 21,245 for the Democratic, 1,578 

 for the Greenback-Labor, and 13 scattering. 

 At the district elections for Congressmen the 



majorities of the Republican candidates over the 

 Democratic exceeded the proportion of two to 

 one, they having been 15,045 to 6,711 15,960 

 to 6,69812,253 to 6,191, respectively. As to 

 the members-elect of the State Legislature, the 

 30 Senators were all Republicans, and of the 

 236 Representatives 217 were also Republi- 

 cans. In the previous Legislature, the Demo- 

 crats had one Senator, and 43 Representatives 

 in the Lower House, where the Greenbackers 

 also had 9, and the Independents 5. 



The Legislature assembled at Montpelier on 

 October 6th, when both Houses were speedily 

 organized by the election of their respective 

 officers. 



On October 20th George F. Edmunds was 

 reflected a Senator in Congress for the full term 

 of six years from March 4, 1881. 



For the election of the seven Judges of the 

 Supreme Court, the two Houses held joint con- 

 ventions on November llth and December 3d, 

 when the following persons by a viva voce vote, 

 and one by ballot, were elected : For Chief-Jus- 

 tice, JohnPierpoint, of Vergennes; for First As- 

 sistant Justice, Homer E. Royce, of St. Albans; 

 second, Timothy P. Redfield ; third, Jonathan 

 Ross, of St. Johnsbury ; fourth, H. Henry Pow- 

 ers, of Morrisville ; fifth, Wheelock G. Wea- 

 zey, of Rutland ; sixth, Russell S. Taft, of Bur- 

 lington. 



The State of Vermont is free from debt. 

 Her assets at the close of the last fiscal year 

 amounted to $235,074.35, made up of $213,- 

 840.82 ready cash in the Treasury and in banks ; 

 $17,375.79 due from savings-bank taxes; and 

 $3,857.74 due on State tax of 1879. Her ag- 

 gregate liabilities at the same date were $185,- 

 971.69; of 'which sum, $135,500 of the Agri- 

 cultural College fund will not fall due before 

 1890, and $11,519.96 due to towns. 



The entire number of depositors in the sav- 

 ings-banks and trust companies within the 

 State on July 1, 1880, was 34,869, or 2,214 

 more than at the same date in 1879. Their 

 deposits amounted in the aggregate to $9,075,- 

 314.39, showing an increase of $996,568.58 

 over the deposits of the previous year. The 

 tax of one half of one per cent., laid on these 

 corporations by an act of the Legislature of 

 1878, has given the State an income of $50,- 

 126.04 during the eighteen months in which 

 that law has been in force. 



The education of youth in the State has con- 

 tinued in about the same condition as previ- 

 ously. 



In the University of Vermont and State Ag- 

 ricultural College, the number of undergradu- 

 ates in the academical department during the 

 year 1878-'79 was 82, and in the medical de- 

 partment 140 students; during the year 1879- 

 '80 the undergraduates numbered 81 ; the med- 

 ical students 143. The works among the farm- 

 ers, executed by the university in connection 

 with the Superintendent of Agriculture, in these 

 two years, have proved successful. 



This institution is very economically man- 



