MAIXE. 



498 



fence; and further legislation relative to the 

 Reciprocity Treaty with the British Provinces, 

 tfis henefits of which, he contended, were 

 Wholly on the side of the provincials. The 

 -future adjourned on March 25th, after a 

 session of seventy-nine clays. The amount of 

 appropriations made for the fiscal year ending 

 January 1st, 1864, was $4,707,911.55. 



The expenditures of the State for 1864 were, 



For all ordinary civil purposes, including pay- 

 ment of public debt and interest thereon $515,010 46 



For refunding cities and towns money ad- 

 vanced in 1363 for relief of soldiers' "fami- 

 lies... 532.10814 



Forbounties. 2,9SS.1>3 7S 



For other war purposes 73,179 63 



4,108,432 01 



The receipts in the same period were : 



From State taxes assessed prior to 1S64 $545,197 59 



State tax of 1SG4 384,221 15 



From loans permanent and temporarv 2,965,000 00 



From all other sources 309,513 43 



$4,203,932 22 



Balance- in the treasury, December 31st, 1864, 

 03.450.21. By a resolve approved March 19th, 

 1864, the Treasurer of the State was author- 

 ized to borrow $3,000,000 by the issue of six per 

 cent, bonds payable irt twenty-five years. He 

 disposed of bonds to the amount of $2,765,000, 

 which increased the funded debt of the State to 

 $5,137,000 on January 1st, 1865. At the same 

 date the total ascertained funded and floating 

 debt amounted to $5,714,625.31. Owing to 

 the surrender of their charters by many of the 

 State banks, in order to recommence business 

 as Xational banks, a considerable reduction 

 was experienced in the receipts on account of 

 the bank tax, which is by law granted as a 

 permanent fund for common schools. During 

 1862 the sum of $70.455 was received from 

 this source, and in 1864 only $34,432.78, with 

 the prospect of still further reduction in 1865. 



During 1864 the State contributed to the 

 military and naval service of the country an 

 aggregate of 18,904 men, of whom 3,380 were 

 enlisted under the call of October, 1863, and 

 3,525 were veteran soldiers belonging to organi- 

 zations formed at the beginning of the war, 

 who reenlisted. The enlistments for the navy 

 numbered 1,846. Allowances of credits for 

 naval enlistments anterior to 1864 were made 

 to the number of 3,675. During the year 

 the 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, and 14th 

 regiments were mustered out of the service, by 

 reason of the expiration of the term of their 

 original enlistment. About 2,000 men were 

 thus lost to the army. The residue of 

 these organizations who had reenlisted, or 

 whose original terms of enlistment had not 

 expired, were, transferred to other regiments. 

 In vie\v of the practice which had grown up 

 since the commencement of the war, of large 

 cities and towns, in their anxiety to avoid the 

 draft, outbidding each other in the amount of 

 bounties, thus depriving the poorer towns of 

 the ability to fill their quotas, the legislature 

 of 1864 enacted a law for the payment by the 



State of a uniform bounty of $300 to any per- 

 son enlisting under any calls except those made 

 prior to February 1st, 1864. Until the call of 

 July 18th for 500,000 men, under which re- 

 cruits were taken for one year, the law oper- 

 ated as was intended. But as the bounty of 

 $100 paid by the State for this class of recruit*, 

 was found to be insufficient, the old mode of 

 paying bounties by cities, towns, or associations 

 was again resorted to. Authentic returns es- 

 tablish the fact that at the close of 1864 the 

 State had sent more than 61,000 men into the 

 military and naval service, a number nearly 

 equal to one-tenth of her whole population. 

 During the year claims to the amount of $553.- 

 790.81 were presented to the State Treasurer 

 by a number of towns, under the law reimburs- 

 ing them for aid afforded to families of soldiers. 

 Of this sum $523,899.58 was allowed. 



During the legislative session of 1864 an act 

 was passed authorizing Maine soldiers in the 

 field to vote for electors of President and Vice- 

 President ; also a resolve by a two-thirds vote 

 providing for an amendment to the constitution 

 of the State, so as to allow soldiers absent 

 from the State, except those in the regular 

 army of the United States, to vote for Gov- 

 ernor and other State and county officers. The 

 latter, in accordance with the constitutional 

 provision, was submitted to the people for 

 ratification, with the following result : 



For the amendment C4.480 



Against the amendment 19,127 



Majority for amendment 45,303 



The whole number of votes cast by soldiers 

 was reported to be 4,915. 



The number of beneficiaries supported by 

 the State during the year at the Institute for 

 the Blind was seven, and at the Asylum for the 

 Deaf and Dumb, thirty-three. The Asylum for 

 the Insane was filled to its utmost capacity, 

 and unable to receive all the applicants for ad- 

 mission. The whole number of patients at the 

 beginning of the year, ending April 1st, was 

 231; the number of admissions 143; and of 

 discharges the same, leaving 231 under treat- 

 ment, and making the whole number of pa- 

 tients during the year 374. Of the latter, 172 

 were males and 202 females. The expenses 

 were $51,096.02, and the receipts $48,600.89. 

 Since the opening of the institution, in 1824, 

 4,223 patients have been admitted, and 3,992 

 discharged. Of the latter, 2,003, or over fifty 

 per cent., have recovered. The Eeform School 

 was reported in a flourishing condition, and in 

 1864, for the first time in the annals of the 

 State, the wardens and inspectors of the State 

 Prison were enabled to report that institution 

 a self-sustaining one. During the year the 

 State Normal School commenced operations at 

 Farmington with every prospect of beneficial 

 results. 



The annual report of the Land Agent pre- 

 sents an encouraging view of the settlements 

 on the public lands of the State, and of the 



