240 



CONNECTICUT. 



pleted. The normal school established at Willi- 

 mantic by the last General Assembly was opened 

 for students in September, 1889, and 27 pupils 

 were admitted. In October, 1890, the attendance 

 had increased to 70. The school building is not 

 yet completed. 



Militia. Early in the year a controversy 

 arose between the Governor and the officers of 

 the First Regiment of the National Guard, occa- 

 sioned by the practice of renting the armory of 

 the regiment in Hartford on certain nights in 

 the week to be used as a place of amusement. 

 When the question of renting the armory for the 

 winter of 1889-'90 came up for consideration, the 

 officers and members of the regiment objected, 

 on the ground that they needed it on the nights 

 in question for drilling ; but the quartermaster- 

 general continued to rent it as before. The 

 regiment officers over twenty in number--there- 

 upon tendered their resignations. Efforts to set- 

 tle the controversy failed, the officers persisting 

 in their resignations, which were twice returned 

 to them unaccepted. It finally became a ques- 

 tion whether discipline should be preserved in 

 the Guard, and the Governor, before whom, as 

 commander-in-chief, the matter was brought, in 

 January issued an order dismissing some of the 

 refractory officers, three of them dishonorably, 

 and ordering the others back to duty. This ac- 

 tion intensified the bitterness, as this was the first 

 instance in the history of the State in which the 

 Governor had exercised his power to dismiss dis- 

 honorably. In February the various companies 

 of the regiment defiantly renominated the offi- 

 cers dismissed, but the Governor promptly re- 

 fused to approve the nominations, and new men 

 were finally chosen. Whether the Governor 

 could in this case legally exercise the power of 

 dishonorable dismissal was not clear, and in May 

 the question came before the Superior Court by 

 means of a writ of quo warranto brought by the 

 old officers against their successors, to ascertain 

 whether the latter were legally entitled to their 

 office. A hearing was not held until November, 

 and the decision of the court was reserved. 



The membership of the National Guard on 

 Dec. 1, 1889, was as follows : Commissioned offi- 

 cers, 174; enlisted men, 2,399; total, 2,573, a 

 gain of 22 for the year. 



Population. The official returns from the 

 national census of 1890 are compared with simi- 

 lar returns for 1880 in the following table : 



The population of the principal cities and towns 

 is as follows: New Haven, 85.981, increase in ten 

 years, 23,099; Hartford, 53,182, increase, 11,167; 

 Bridgeport, 48,856, increase, 21,213; Waterbury, 

 28,591, increase, 10,785; Meriden, 21,230, in- 

 crease, 5,690; Danbury, 19,385, increase, 7,719 ; 

 New Britain, 19,010, increase, 7,210 ; Norwalk, 

 17,539, increase, 3,583 ; Norwich, 16,192, increase, 



1,080; Stamford, 15,685, increase, 4,388; New 

 London, 13,759, increase, 3,222; Greenwich, 10- 

 120, increase, 2,228 ; Windharn, 10,025, increase 

 1,761. 



County Debts. None of the counties of the 

 State have a bonded debt, and only four a float- 

 ing debt, amounting this year to $44,713. Litch- 

 field and Middlesex Counties owe between $1,000 

 and $5,000 ; Windham County, between $5,000 

 and $10,000 ; and Hartford County, between 

 $20,000 and $35,000. 



Manufactures. The annual report of the 

 State Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1889 con- 

 tains the following figures gathered from the 

 business in 1888 of 241 establishments engaged 

 in 22 lines of industry : Capital, $85,863,522.20 ; 

 value of goods manufactured, $85,929,133.43; 

 stock and materials, $45,368,408.47 ; cost of 

 manufacture (less rent, interest, and taxes), $31,- 

 621,592.93 ; rent, interest, and taxes, $1,690,- 

 420.52; net profits, $7,248,711.51; wages, $22,- 

 432,824.66 ; persons employed, not including of- 

 ficers, etc., 53,147. 



A comparison is given of the business of 85 

 establishments for 1887 and 1888, from which 

 the following figures are taken : 



Fisheries. The following statistics of the 

 oyster industry for the year ending May 1, 1889, 

 are given in the report of the Labor Bureau: 

 Capital, $3.322,311 ; receipts, $1,232,146 ; ex- 

 penses, $556,765.83 ; losses by starfish, drills, 

 winkles, and storm, $543,750 ; wages (included in 

 expenses), $263,562 ; earnings of natural growth- 

 ers, $109,372 ; number of owners, 613 ; number 

 of employes, 1,024 ; natural growthers, 391 ; 

 grounds, State and town, 80,963'7 acres; v( 

 sels, 453. 



In the halibut, cod, and mackerel fishery 

 necticut stands fourth among the States, 

 capital invested is $351,500: value of catch, 

 $289,800 ; wages paid, $79,625. Ninety-b 

 smacks are engaged with 602 men. These figui 

 as well as those that follow, cover the year 

 ing May 1, 1889. 



The capital of all kinds, including the value 

 of vessels and outfits employed in the men- 

 haden fishery, is $210,825. The vessels number 

 48, including 4 steamers. Their total value is 

 $40,700. The employes number 323, with wages 

 and shares aggregating $63,138. The catch by 

 factory steamers and traps is valued at $60,398; 

 by other traps, $8,009.74. The value of oil 

 $73,090, and of fertilizer $60,950, a total 

 $134,040. To this should be added the catch 

 other traps ($8,009.74) ; total, $142.049.74. 



The capital invested "in the whale and seal 

 fishery is $88,000. It employs 90 men. There 

 are 3 schooners with a tonnage of 477 and a value 

 of $27,000. The number of seal skins taken last 

 year was 1,996. There were 26,460 gallons of 

 sperm oil made, 43,835 gallons of common oil, 



