714 



RHODE ISLAND. 



home in this State for two years and in the town or 

 city in which lie may ofler to vote six months next 

 preceding the time of his voting, and whose name 

 shall be registered in the town or city where he resides 

 on or before the last day of December in the year next 

 preceding the time of his voting, shall have a right to 

 vote in the election of all civil officers and on all ques- 

 tions in all legally organized town or ward meetings ; 

 provided, that no person shall at any time be al- 

 lowed to vote in the election of the city council of any 

 city, or upon any proposition to impose a tax or for 

 the expenditure of money in any town or city, unless 

 he shall within the year next preceding have paid a 

 tax assessed upon his property therein, valued at least 

 at $1.34. 



Section 2 provides that 



The assessors of each town and city shall annually 

 assess upon every person, who, if registered, would 

 be qualified to vote a tax or one dollar, or such sum as 

 with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar, which 

 tax shall be paid into the treasury of such town or city 

 and be applied to the support of public schools there- 

 in ; provided that such tax, assessed upon any person 

 who has performed military duty, shall be remitted 

 for the year he shall perform such duty ; and said tax, 

 assessed upon any mariner for any year while he is at 

 sea, or upon any person who, by reason of extreme pov- 

 erty, is unable to pay said tax, shall upon application 

 of such mariner or person be remitted. The General 

 Assembly shall have power to provide by law for 

 the collection and remission of this tax. 



Provision was made for the submission of 

 this amendment to the electors at the April 

 election. 



Another act provides for the establishment 

 of a State Agricultural School, and appropri- 

 ates $5,000 therefor. Any sums received from 

 the Federal Government under the Hatch act, 

 for the aid of agriculture, are placed at the dis- 

 posal of the governing board of the school. 

 The sum of $26,000 was appropriated for en- 

 larging and improving the Hospital 1'or the In- 

 sane. 



Other acts of the session were as follow : 



To prevent discriminations by life-insurance com- 

 panies. 



Providing for an examination, by the State Board 

 of Health, of the sanitary condition of hotels and 

 boarding-houses. 



Requiring savings institutions to report to the State 

 Auditor every five years a list of unclaimed deposits 

 remaining in such banks for twenty years, and to pub- 

 lish said list. 



Requiring railroad corporations to draw cars, pas- 

 senger and merchandise, of any other railroad corpo- 

 ration connecting with it over its road, for a reasona- 

 ble compensation, and to furnish suitable depot ac- 

 commodations therefor j in case of failure to agree upon 

 a compensation, commissioners appointed by the Su- 

 preme Court shall decide. 



The General Assembly elected in April con- 

 vened at Newport on May 29, and after a ses- 

 sion of four days adjourned to June 12. The 

 following acts were passed during the session: 



To establish a board of registration in dentistry. 



Authorizing the city of Pawtucket to issue $300,000 

 of bonds to obtain money for public improvements. 



Authorizing the redemption of the franchise and 

 property of railroad corporations from sale on execu- 

 tion. 



Approving and confirming the lease of the Boston 

 and Providence Railroad to'the Old Colony Railroad 

 Company. 



Appropriating $50,000 for a new almshouse at the 

 State farm in Cranston. 



At the adjourned session, which occupied 

 only two days, United States Senator Jona- 

 than Chace was re-elected, receiving 29 votes in 

 the Senate and 59 in the House. Ex-Gov. John 

 W. Davis received 4 votes in the Senate and 8 

 in the House, and Charles H. Page 1 vote in 

 each body. 



The most important act of Legislation pro- 

 vides for the incorporation aud establishment 

 of the city of Woonsocket. 



Finances. The State debt on the last day of 

 the year consisted of bonds of 1863, payable in 

 1893, to the value of $584,000; and bonds of 

 1864, payable in 1894, to the value of $699,- 

 000; total, $1,283,000. This is a reduction 

 in the total debt during the year of $58,000. 

 At the same time the securities in the sinking- 

 fund have increased by $66,192.69, and now 

 amount to $757,641.18, reckoning these securi- 

 ties at par. The net debt, less the sinking- 

 fund, on December 31 was therefore $525,358.- 

 82. One year before it was $639,495.60. The 

 treasury statement for the year is as follows : 

 Balance in the treasury, Jan. 1, 1888, $135,458.- 

 16 ; receipts for the year ending Dec. 31, 1888, 

 $822,903.74 ; payments for year ending Dec. 31, 



1888, $895,648.22 ; balance in treasury Jan. 1, 



1889, $62,713.68. 



The excess of expenditure over the revenue 

 for 1888 was only about half that of the pre- 

 ceding year, in consequence of an act of March, 

 1888, increasing the tax on ratable property of 

 the State from twelve to fourteen cents on each 

 $100 of valuation. By this increase the treas- 

 ury received $65,703.11 above that received 

 from taxes the previous year. For 1889 the 

 excess will be still further reduced by an act, 

 also of March, 1888, reducing for 1889 and sub- 

 sequent years the amount of annual payment 

 into the sinking-fund from $100,000 to $50,000. 



Banks. The deposits in savings-banks of the 

 State amounted on December 31, to $57,699,- 

 884.94, an increase of $2,336,601.61 for the past 

 year. The number of depositors is 123,102, an 

 increase of 2,958, being an average of $468.07 

 to each depositor. 



Education. The last report of the Commis- 

 sioner of Public Schools, covering the school 

 year ending in April, 1887, presents the follow- 

 ing statistics: Number of children of school age, 

 63,199; number- attending public schools, 42,- 

 798 ; number attending Catholic schools, 6,852 ; 

 number attending select schools, 1,745; total 

 registration in public schools, 49,507 ; average 

 attendance, 32,632; length of school year in 

 months, 9; male teachers employed, 190; fe- 

 male teachers employed, 1,120; average wages 

 per month, male teachers, $82.67; average 

 wages per month, female teachers, $44.38; 

 number of evening schools. 38; number of 

 public-school houses, 465 ; value of public- 

 school property, $2,404,031 ; total school ex- 

 penditures for the year, $798,465. These fig- 

 ures show a slight decrease in the average 

 attendance over the preceding year, but an 

 increase in the total enrollment, in the number 



