UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



745 



Insurance. The receipts from insurance com- 

 panies for the year ending April 1, 1 <)()], were 

 $91,072.92, divided as follow: Taxes, $(>0,599.75; 

 licenses, $24,741.67; fees, $5,731.50. There are 

 173 companies doing business in the State and 

 4,698 local agents. On Jan. 1 there were but 154 

 companies. Of the 173 companies, 33 are life, 94 

 fire, 17 miscellaneous, and 29 fraternal. 



Lawlessness. Lynchings were reported this 

 year at or near Carthage, La Grange, Sinithfield, 

 Wadesboro, and Weldon. All but one of the vic- 

 tims were negroes, and all were accused of as- 

 saults upon women. The Governor has announced 

 that hereafter he will offer a reward of $400 for 

 the apprehension of each and every participant 

 in a lynching. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature con- 

 vened Jan. 9, and final adjournment was taken 

 April 4. On joint ballot there were 140 Demo- 

 crats, 25 Republicans, and 5 Populists. 



On Jan. 22 Furnifold M. Simmons was elected 

 to the United States Senate for the term ending 

 in 1907. Richmond Pearson was the Republican 

 candidate. The vote in the Senate was 36 to 8; 

 in the House 88 to 18. 



The laws passed numbered 1,209, and the reso- 

 lutions 56. 



A resolution was passed in the House for the 

 impeachment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme 

 Court, David M. Furches, and Associate-Justice 

 Robert M. Douglas, for " high crimes and mis- 

 demeanors in office." The accusation, as given in 

 the resolution, was based on the clause in the 

 Constitution which says that " the Supreme Court 

 shall have original jurisdiction to hear all claims 

 against the State, but its decisions shall be mere- 

 ly recommendatory. No process in the nature of 

 execution shall issue; they shall be reported to 

 the next session of the General Assembly for its 

 action." 



The Legislature of 1899 passed a law providing 

 that the Treasurer should " not pay any compen- 

 sation to any person or persons claiming the same 

 for services rendered concerning the shell-fish in- 

 dustry, unless such person or persons are author- 

 ized to render such services under the provisions 

 of the act entitled ' to provide for the general 

 supervision of the shell-fish industry of the State 

 of North Carolina.' " But Theophilus White 

 brought an action of mandamus against the 

 Treasurer and the Auditor to compel them to 

 issue a warrant for his salary for services ren- 

 dered concerning the shell-fish industry, and these 

 two justices ordered them to do so, whereupon they 

 paid Mr. White $831.15. The resolutions censured 

 the Treasurer and the Auditor, and impeached 

 the justices. The resolution was debated four 

 days and was passed by a vote of 62 to 33. Of 

 those voting in the negative 18 were Republicans 

 and 2 Populists. All voting in the affirmative 

 were Democrats. The case came to trial before 

 the Senate, and resulted in a vote, March 28, of 

 acquittal. Thirty-four votes were necessary to 

 convict, but only 27 were for conviction; the 23 

 votes against it were from 10 Republicans, 12 

 Democrats, and 1 Populist. 



The Governor sent a special message about Feb. 

 4, officially announcing the settlement of the rail- 

 road cases. In 1899 the Corporation Commission 

 assessed the Atlantic Coast Line, the Southern, 

 and the Seaboard Air Line at $35,579,870, an in- 

 crease of more than $9,000,000 over the assessment 

 of 1898; and in 1900 the three were assessed at 

 $36,373,382. The roads secured an injunction re- 

 straining from collection of taxes on the amounts 

 in excess of the assessments of 1898, claiming 

 that there was a systematic undervaluing of the 



itionn for not- 

 ;"l- in-listing 



Ml, I 



i-l.-l 



other property in I i 

 tlerncnt were mad. 

 upon reduction or' 

 ing to pay upon I \\.< 

 erty should not he ;i ... 

 should l)e another ; 

 fi-ty in the Stale. 



State agreed to the 



that no reduction should I 



ment for either 181)1) or 11)00, and . 



the agreement was reached. 



As the revenue of the State had !, n j, i;l ,|, .. 

 quate to meet the demands upon it, a n< \v rev< - 

 nue law was a necessity, and one was pa-.-.d. In 

 addition to the general property tax ami th<- 

 poll-tax, the law now calls for taxes upon incomes 

 and inheritances, banks, building and loan asso- 

 ciations, corporations, and various occupations 

 and privileges. The tax on incomes is 1 per cent, 

 on all over $1,000. No inheritance under $2,000 

 is taxed, and only inherited personal property is 

 subject to the tax, the lowest rate of which is 

 75 cents; the rate increases with the amount of 

 the legacy and the distance in kinship of the 

 legatee. No city or county is permitted to levy 

 any income or inheritance tax. The tax on insur- 

 ance companies of other States was raised from 

 2 to 2J per cent, on their gross premium receipts, 

 and the fees for agents' licenses were doubled. 

 The tax on premium receipts of home companies 

 \vas doubled. 



This law was criticized as unconstitutional, un- 

 just, impracticable, inquisitorial, and promotive 

 of perjury and litigation. The Fayetteville Cham- 

 ber of Commerce requested the other chambers 

 in the State to cooperate with it in appealing to 

 the Governor to call a special session of the Leg- 

 islature to amend it. This the Governor refused 

 to do, saying that he had no reason to believe 

 the Legislature would change the act, and that 

 it could not make radical changes without leaving 

 the treasury bankrupt, or being forced to issue 

 bonds. 



The public-school law was amended in impor- 

 tant particulars. The bill provides that "if the 

 tax levied for the State for the support of th 

 public schools shall be insufficient to maintain 

 one or more schools in each school district four 

 months, then the Board of Commissioners of each 

 county shall levy a special tax to supply the de- 

 ficiency." An addition of $100,000 was made to 

 the annual appropriation for schools, so that the 

 term may extend to the required four months. 

 The law for granting license to teach without ex- 

 amination was repealed. The State board was 

 authorized to consolidate the several normal 

 schools for colored students into a smaller num- 

 ber. Oct. 12 was set apart as North Carolina day, 

 to be observed in the schools. A text-book sub- 

 commission was created and authorized to exam- 

 ine and report upon the best books to be used in 

 the schools ; their report goes to the State board ; 

 the books when adopted are to be used five years. 

 A new libel law makes " any person who states, 

 transmits, or delivers by any means whatsoever, 

 to the manager, editor, or publisher of any news- 

 paper or periodical for publication therein, any 

 false and libelous statement," guilty of a mis- 

 demeanor. 



The management of the Agricultural and Me- 

 chanical College was placed in the hands of the 

 State Board of Agriculture, and a board of visit- 

 ors to act with that board was appointed. 



An act designed to prevent the shipment of 

 large quantities of timber to mills outside the 

 State provides that no corporation shall be al- 

 lowed to hold more than 300 acres of laud, or 



