568 



MONTANA. 



that is, the martyrs, who will go into paradise with- 

 out being questioned. 



Of the origin of good and evil : 



It is required, as an article of faith, to attribute good 

 and evil to the providence of God. To say that the 

 creator of good is the angel, and the author of evil the 

 devil, is one of those prejudices that must be avoided. 

 Consequently, the believer should have faith in God, 

 in his angels, in his books, in his prophets, and in the 

 last judgment, and should attribute both good and evil 

 to the divine will. Whoever professes these truths is 

 a true believer. But to be a perfect believer, it is 

 necessary to perform one's duties, to pray to God, and 

 to avoid falling into such sins as assassination, theft, 

 adultery, and sodomy. 



After describing the religious duties of 

 prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage, the 

 paper continues : 



It 1 a believer docs not conform to these commands 

 of God and avoid the acts which he forbids, he does 

 not thereby become an infidel ; but he will be regard- 

 ed as a sinner, that is, as a believer who has gone 

 astray, and he will merit a provisional punishment in 

 the other world. He remains at the divine disposal. 

 God pardons him or condemns him to pass in hell a 

 lapse of time proportioned to his sins. Faith annuls 

 nil sin. Whoever is converted to Islam becomes as 

 innocent as one newly born, and is responsible only 

 for the sins which he commits after his conversion. 



Islam, the Sheik explains, has no clergy, the 

 doctors of the faith being simply instructors 

 and guides; for it holds that a man does not 

 need the priest's aid to approach God in 

 prayer, nor his presence at social duties the 

 naming of children, burial, and the like: 



In a word, in all religious acts, there is no interme- 

 diary between God and his servants. It is necessary 

 to learn the dispositions revealed on the part of the 

 Creator by the Prophet, and to act in conformity with 

 them. Only the performance of certain ceremonies, 

 like the prayers of Friday and the Bairam, is subor- 

 dinated to trie permission of the Khalif of the Prophet 

 and Sultan of the Mussulmans, because the keeping 

 of the ceremonies of Islam is one of his holy attri- 

 butes. Obedience to his orders is one of the most 

 important religious duties. 



MONTANA. Territorial Government. The fol- 

 lowing were the Territorial officers during the 

 year : Governor, Preston II. Leslie ; Secretary, 

 William B. Webb; Treasurer, William G. 

 Preuitt; Auditor, James Sullivan; Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, Arthur C. Lo- 

 gan ; Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, N. 

 W. McConnell; Associate Justices, Thomas C. 

 Bach, W. J. Galbraith, succeeded by Stephen 

 De Wolfe, and James II. McLeary, succeeded 

 Moses B. Liddell. Chief-Justice McConnell 

 resigned at the close of the year. The office 

 of Attorney-General was created by the Legis- 

 lature at its extra session in 1887, and a nomi- 

 nation was made thereto by the Governor, but 

 the nominee was rejected by the Council, and 

 the session adjourned without filling the va- 

 cancy. On December 31 the Governor ap- 

 pointed William E. Cullen to hold the office 

 during 1888 and until the close of the next 

 Legislative session. 



Finances. The following is a statement of 

 the finances of the Territory for 1887 : Balance 

 in the general fund on Jan. 1, 1887, $57,- 



269.18; licenses and property tax, 

 642.53 ; from insurance companies, etc., $3,- 

 743.77 ; total, $243,655.48. Disbursements 

 for the year, $207,628.61. Balance on Jan. 

 1, 1888, $36,026.87. Of the disbursements, 

 about $60,000 was for the care of the insane, 

 and $40,000 for maintenance of convicts. The 

 unfortunate bounty law passed by the Legis- 

 lature of 1S87 cost the Territory, during the 

 few months of its existence, $61,721. Its 

 prompt repeal at the extra session of that year 

 saved the treasury from bankruptcy. In the 

 various stock funds, the balances on Jan. 1, 

 1887, were $17,657.97; the revenue for the 

 year was $18,084.87; and the balances on 

 Dec. 31, 1887, were $12,389.65. At the close 

 of 1888 the balance in the general fund had 

 risen to $114,340,48, and in the stock funds to 

 $15,852.28. There is no Territorial debt. 



General Development. The Governor says in 

 his annual report : 



This Territory, containing more than 143,000 square 

 miles, is divided into sixteen counties, and in each of 

 fourteen of these there is a good court-house, and the 

 necessary public buildings to facilitate the transaction 

 of all public business. The city of Helena is the cen- 

 tral point (if legislative, judicial, financial, commercial, 

 and educational affairs in the Territory, and is also 

 the railroad center. This city has a population of 

 more than 15,000, and is rapidly growing. The city 

 of Butte, in Silver Bow County, is the largest and most 

 populous city west of Denver, between the Mississippi 

 river and the Pacific coast, and is the largest mining- 

 camp in the world. The annual output of the mines 

 ten years ago was estimated at $7,000,000 ; now it is 

 over $31 ,000,000. The total value of taxable property 

 in the Territory then was $12,000,000 ; now it is $69,- 

 600,000 (not counting the value of the mining prop- 

 erty). The number of cattle in the Territory then 

 was 20,000, now it is 1,500,000 ; the number of sheep 

 then was 120,000, now it is over 2,000,000 ; the num- 

 ber of horses then was 40,000, now it is 200,000 ; the 

 number of acres of land then under cultivation was 

 265.000, now there are over 2,000,000 acres appropri- 

 ated and settled for farming purposes ; then the com- 

 merce of the whole Territory was $20,000,000, now 

 it is 840,000,000; then there were but a dozen miles 

 of railroad, now there are over 2,000 ; then the popu- 

 lation was 30,000, now it is 140,000 ; then the Terri- 

 tory was in debt $112,000, now it is out of debt, and 

 thc're is plenty of money in the treasury. 



Mining. This industry continues to be the 

 leading pursuit of the people of Montana. The 

 mines are more productive than ever. Im- 

 proved methods in working and the better or- 

 der of niiichinery used enable men to prose- 

 cute this branch of industry to a greater extent 

 and with more success. Many mines that 

 would not pay twenty years ago, on account 

 of the primitive mode of working, together 

 with the high price of labor, are now being 

 worked at good profit. The amount of divi- 

 dends declared by mining companies during 

 1888 was greater than ever. The product of 

 gold and silver in 1887 was: Gold, $5,778,- 

 538.28; silver, $17,817.548.95; total, $23.796,- 

 085.23. 



Convicts. The Governor says in his message: 



The Territory has never yet built or owned a State 



prison. The United States has a Penitentiary at Deer 



Lodge, and ever since the beginning of 1874 the Ter- 



