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PENNSYLVANIA. 



PERSIA. 



into force again the act of 1874, dividing cities 

 into three classes, which the same court has 

 already decided to be valid. 



Harbor at Philadelphia. The Governor says in 

 his message to the Legislature in January, 1889 : 



Smith's and Windmill Islands, which constitute a 

 formidable obstacle to navigation and lie directly in 

 the harbor, must be purchased and entirely removed, 

 and 140 acres of Petty'u Island cut away. It is pro- 

 posed to give to the harbor of Philadelphia a chan- 

 nel from the upper part of the city to Delaware Bay 

 000 feet wide and 26 feet deep at mean low water. 

 The entire cost of this work, when completed, will 

 exceed $6,000.000. An appropriation for $500,000 for 

 beginning; the work has already been made by Con- 

 gress with this proviso : " That no part of this sum 

 shall be expended until the title to the lands forming 

 said islands shall be acquired and vested in the United 

 States without charge to the latter, beyond $300,000 

 of the sum herein appropriated." Proceedings to con- 

 demn these islands for public use have been already 

 commenced. It is believed that the amount neces- 

 sary to pay for them will equal 700,000 to $800,000. 



Political. The Republican State Convention 

 met at Harrisburg on April 25, and nominated 

 delegates to the National Convention and a 

 candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court to 

 succeed Chief-Justice Gordon. For the latter 

 office James T. Mitchell secured the nomina- 

 tion, after several ballots, over the Chief-Justice 

 and several other contestants. Resolutions 

 were passed demand ing legislation by Congress 

 to secure fair elections, protesting against 

 placing wool on the free list, reiterating the 

 doctrine of protection and continuing : 



We recognize the strength of the sentiment in this 

 commonwealth relative to the evils and abuses of the 

 sale of liquor; and we favor all laws looking in this 

 respect to the elevation of the moral condition of the 

 people. We, therefore, repeat our pledge to submit 

 the question of prohibition to a popular vote. 



We earnestly protest against the passage by Con- 

 gress of the "Dunn Free-Ship Bill" which has been 

 reported to the House by the Democratic majority of 

 the Committee on Merchant Marine, or any other 

 similar measure, as calculated to work an injustice to 

 American labor by imperiling the livelihood of the 

 large number of workers in wood, metals, and other 

 materials, who are engaged in American ship-building 

 industries and who should have home protection the 

 same as other wage-workers. 



We have the enactment of a law that will allow the 

 Laborer an exemption to the amount of $300 from levy 

 and sale upon execution. 



We recommend such a revision of the revenue laws 

 of the State as will impose upon corporations taxation 

 equal in amount to that from which they have been 

 exempted by judicial decisions recently rendered. 



On May 23 the Democratic Convention at 

 Harrisburg nominated J. B. McCollum for Judge 

 of the Supreme Court, and selected delegates 

 to the National Convention and electors-at- 

 large for the State. The delegates to the Na- 

 tional Convention were instructed to vote for 

 the renomination of President Cleveland. The 

 platform included the following: 



We denounce the prevalent abuse of corporate pow- 

 er, the formation and operation of trusts, combina- 

 tions, and monopolies, all of which interfere with and 

 limit the natural and inalienable rights of the indi- 

 vidual ; and we pledge ourselves to secure remedies 

 and to apply the same, with due regard for all inter- 

 ests of the people. 



The Eepublican party is justly responsible for the 

 failure of the late Legislature to give relief to the tax- 

 payers by the enactment of an equitable and judicious 

 revenue law ; and the scandal connected with the fail- 

 ure of the revenue bill to become a law should work a 

 forfeiture of all claims of that party to legislate for the 

 people of the commonwealth. 



The present State administration is to be condemned 

 for its tailure to enforce the provisions of the Consti- 

 tution against the consolidation of corporations and 

 other encroachments and abuses of corporate power ; 

 it has failed and refused to redeem the pledges of its 

 oXvn party ; and the action of the last Eepublican Leg- 

 islature in the defeat of the bill for the relief of the 

 Sroducers and refiners of oil, known as theBillingsley 

 illj was in the interest of monopoly and opposed to 

 the interests of the people of that large section of the 

 State for whose relief the bill was intended. 



On May 3, the Prohibitionists at Harrisburg 

 selected delegates to their National Convention, 

 and nominated James Black for Supreme Judge. 

 The Union Labor party nominated John B. 

 Young for the same\>ffice. 



The death of Auditor- General Norris, on May 

 21, rendered necessary the election of a suc- 

 cessor at the November election, and candi- 

 dates were nominated by the executive com- 

 mittees of the various parties. By the Repub- 

 licans, Thomas McCamant was made the can- 

 didate ; by the Democrats, Henry Meyer ; by 

 the Prohibitionists, Milton S. Marquis; by the 

 Union Labor party, J. M. Green. A vacancy 

 on the Supreme Court bench, caused by the 

 death of Judge Trunkey, on June 24, made it 

 necessary to choose two judges of that court 

 in November; but, in consequence of a pecul- 

 iar provision of the State Constitution, that 

 when two judges are to be chosen at one elec- 

 tion, each voter is limited to vote for only one, 

 no further party nominations were necessary. 

 At the November election, therefore, both the 

 Republican and Democratic nominees for this 

 office were elected, being the two highest 

 candidates. Mitchell received 523,585 votes ; 

 McCollum, 444,327; Black, 20,708; and Young 

 3,877. For Auditor-General, McCamant. re- 

 ceived 523,581 votes; Meyer, 443,438; Mar- 

 quis, 20,262 ; and Green, 3,575. The Repub- 

 licans elected 34 members of the State Senate, 

 and the Democrats 16 ; of the Lower House, 114 

 members are Republican, and 60 Democratic. 

 In the Third, Eighth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Sev- 

 enteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty- eighth Con- 

 gressional Districts, Democratic candidates were 

 elected; in the remaining 21 districts the Re- 

 publicans were successful. This is a gain of 

 one district for the Republicans. 



PERSIA, an empire in Central Asia. The 

 government is an unlimited monarchy. The 

 present ruler is Nassreddin, who was born July 

 18, 1831, and succeeded his father Mohammed 

 Shah, in September, 1848. The heir-apparent, 

 called Valiahd, is his son Muzaffereddin, born 

 March 25, 1853. The Shah has the entire rev- 

 enue of the country at his disposal, and has 

 amassed a private fortune said to amount to 

 $35,000,000, most of it in the form of precious 

 stones. The governors-general of the provinces, 

 who possess a large measure of authority, are 



