MASSACHUSETTS. 



and was sentenced to twenty-five days' impris- 

 onment for contempt. The matter was referred 

 to the Supreme Court, which decided that Gen- 

 eral Emory was in the right. The investiga- 

 tion showed that there had been many abuses 

 of power on the part of the State police, and 

 a bill was brought in for reorganizing the sys- 

 tem. This bill, which was passed after con- 

 siderable discussion, provided for a board of 

 three commissioners, who were made respon- 

 sible for the doings of the chief of the con- 

 stabulary force. This chief is appointed by 

 the commissioners, as are also the 70 men con- 

 stituting the body of the force. It was strongly 

 argued by some of the opponents of the bill 

 that the force was entirely inadequate for the 

 enforcement of the liquor law, but the num- 

 ber was not increased. 



An attempt was made to secure the pas- 

 sage of a bill limiting a working-day to ten 

 hours, but it failed. Several propositions were 

 also made to modify the divorce laws of the 

 State, but none of them met with much coun- 

 tenance. 



A good many bills were before the Legisla- 

 ture, which related to railroads, but none of 

 much importance became laws. One act which 

 passed permits railroad companies to run cer- 

 tain trains at reduced rates of fare for the 

 benefit of laboring-people, and to issue tickets 

 for those trains, which should be good for no 

 others. There was also a bill passed authoriz- 

 ing the appointment of a railroad police. A 

 carefully-prepared bill, permitting the con- 

 struction of narrow-gauge railroads, was in- 

 troduced and supported by strong arguments, 

 but failed to pass. Several new railroads were 

 chartered, but most of them were short con- 

 necting lines. A general law was passed reg- 

 ulating the whole subject of chartering, locat- 

 ing, and operating horse -railroads. 



A law was passed subjecting insurance com- 

 panies to a rigid examination at their own ex- 

 pense, and giving the commissioner absolute 

 power to refuse or revoke licenses for doing 

 business in the State. 



Among the appropriations for educational 

 purposes was one of $50,000 to the Museum 

 of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, and 

 one of $60,000 for a new Normal School, at 

 Worcester. A proposition to secure to Boston 

 a better system of parks and enlarged terri- 

 tory for public purposes was defeated in the 

 House, after having passed the Senate. A prop- 

 osition to permit the opening of public libra- 

 ries on Sunday was also defeated. 



Two women, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, of 

 South Boston, and Mrs. Stevens, of Cambridge, 

 were appointed justices of the peace by Gov- 

 ernor Claflin in the early part of the year, but 

 the Executive Council refused to sanction the 

 appointment, and the question of its validity 

 was referred to the Supreme Court. The 

 judges of that tribunal decided as follows: 



By the constitution of the Commonwealth the 

 office of justice of the peace is a judicial office, und therefore 



must be exercised by the officer in person, and a wom- 

 an^ whether married or unmarried, cannot be ap- 

 pointed to such an office. The law of Massachusetts 

 at the time of the adoption of the constitution, the 

 whole frame and purport of the instrument itself, 

 and the universal understanding and unbroken prac- 

 tical construction for the greater part of a century 

 afterward, all support this conclusion, and are incon- 

 sistent with any other. It follows that, if a woman 

 should be formally appointed and commissioned as 

 a justice of the peace, she would have no constitu- 

 tional or legal authority to exercise any of the func- 

 tions appertaining to that office. 



The political canvass of the year was unu- 

 sually animated, owing to the vigorous efforts 

 of General Benjamin F. Butler, of Lowell, to 

 secure the nomination of the Republican party 

 for the office of Governor. He announced 

 himself as a competitor for that honor, early 

 in the season, and skilfully organized the force 

 of his supporters throughout the State for the 

 purpose of securing delegates to the conven- 

 tion pledged to support his claim, visiting all 

 the principal towns and cities himself to use 

 his personal influence, and set forth the objects 

 for which he sought the position of Chief Ma- 

 gistrate of the Commonwealth. There were 

 several other persons who aspired to that 

 place, each of whom had a strong following 

 in the party. Chief among these were Alex- 

 ander H. Rice, of Boston, Harvey Jewell, 

 of Boston, Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem, 

 and W. B. Washburn, of Greenfield. Mr. 

 Jewell withdrew his name before the conven- 

 tion was held, and Dr. Loring and Mr. Rice 

 followed his example on the day of the conven- 

 tion, which took place at Springfield, on the 

 27th of September. The occasion was one of 

 unwonted excitement, and the leading men 

 of the Republican party of the State were 

 among the delegates. There were several con- 

 testing delegations whose claims had to be de- 

 termined, and a number of speeches of con- 

 siderable length were made, finally, at a late 

 hour in the evening, the opponents of General 

 Butler united on the name of William B. Wash- 

 burn, of Greenfield, and nominated him by a vote 

 of 643 out of a total of 1,116, Butler receiving 

 464. Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the 

 other candidates, 8 votes were cast for Loring, 

 and one for Rice. After the result of the bal- 

 lot had been declared, a motion to make the 

 nomination of Mr. Washburn unanimous was 

 carried with few dissenting voices, and General 

 Butler bowed to the will of the convention in 

 a graceful speech. Joseph Tucker was nomi- 

 nated for Lieutenant-Governor; Charles R. 

 Train, Attorney-General ; Oliver Warner, Sec- 

 retary of State; Charles Endicott, Auditor; 

 and Charles Adams, Receiver-General. The 

 platform, which was adopted by a strong ma- 

 jority, was as follows: 



Whereas, The Eepublican party needs no " new de- 

 parture," but only a strict adherence to those prin- 

 ciples that have preserved the Union, secured free- 

 dom and equality before the law to all classes, and 

 diminished the burdens of the people by an honest 

 and economical administration of the Government : 



