222 



CONNECTICUT. 



The number of births in the State during 

 the year 1871 was 13,114; their sex being, so 

 far as reported, males 6,904, females 6,122. 

 The illegitimate births were 133. The births 

 from colored parents 244. 



The marriages contracted within the same 

 period numbered 4,882 ; of which 3,008 were 

 between parties both American born ; in 1,285, 

 the parties were both foreign ; in 525, one was 

 American, the other foreign born ; in 123, the 

 parties were both colored; in one, they were 

 white and black respectively. 



The number of divorces granted was 409 ; 

 of which 278 were granted upon the petitions 

 of the wives; 131 upon the husbands'. The 

 petitions were based, in 13 cases, on infidelity ; 

 in the rest, on other grounds. 



There were 8,116 deaths in Connecticut in 

 1871 ; which is 779 less than in 1870. The 

 number of deaths from epidemic diseases last 

 year was smaller than in any of the 17 years 

 next preceding. 



There were 152 miles of railroad opened last 

 year, which increased the whole length of 

 miles in operation at present to 881. Of these, 

 120 are with a double track. They have a 

 paid-up capital amounting in the aggregate to 

 $31,000,000, and a funded and floating debt 

 of $19,000,000. Their total earnings in 1831 

 were $10,250,000. The number of passengers 

 carried by them during the year was 9,250,000. 

 Among them there was one killed ; three were 

 injured. 



The Commissioners on Fisheries state, in 

 their last report, that their endeavors to multi- 

 ply shad have proved successful ; and antici- 

 pate similar results with salmon, though slower 

 and less in number, owing to the comparative 

 scarcity of this fish, as well as to the difficulty 

 and time required for their hatching and grow- 

 ing. At the time of their report they had 

 24,000 of "healthy salmon-fry" on hand ready 

 for distribution, which they intended to put 

 in" greater or smaller numbers in the State 

 waters in different localities. 



Some excitement arose in the Legislature on 

 the election of a Senator to Congress, to enter 

 upon office on the 4th of March, 1873. Two 

 candidates, both Republicans, were the com- 

 petitors for the office. The choice of the Re- 

 publican party by a very large majority was 

 Joseph R. Hawley ; while some of that party, 

 under the appellation of " Liberal Repub- 

 licans," proposed as their candidate Orris S. 

 Ferry, then Senator. The Democratic mem- 

 bers of the General Assembly, in a body, 

 joined the Liberal Republicans in this matter. 

 The effect of this coalition was that at the bal- 

 loting, which took place on the 14th of May, 

 Mr. Hawley was elected in the Senate by a 

 vote of 14 to 7, and defeated in the House of 

 Representatives by a vote of 126 to 111. The 

 different results of the separate voting of the 

 two Houses rendered it necessary that they 

 should meet together, and elect the Senator in 

 joint convention. They met on the 15th, 



when both the Senators and the Representa- 

 tives voted as they had done in the respective 

 halls on the preceding day; the whole number 

 of votes given for either candidate at the joint 

 convention was 125 for Mr. Hawley, and 133 

 for Mr. Ferry; who had thus a majority of 8 

 over his competitor, and was declared elected. 



The purpose which the Liberal Republicans 

 and the Democrats intended to accomplish by 

 their coalition, on this occasion, appears to 

 have been frustrated ; as Mr. Ferry, after his 

 reelection had taken place, wrote a letter, 

 which was published, " repudiating the Liberal 

 Republican nominee for President, and in- 

 dorsing the Republican Administration." 



Concerning the question whether Connecti- 

 cut shall continue to have two capitals, with 

 alternate sessions of the Legislature, at Hart- 

 ford and New Haven, or only one at either 

 city, or elsewhere, something has been done 

 at the session of 1872, for submitting it to the 

 decision of the people. On the 6th of May 

 the Common Council of the city of New Haven 

 adopted the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the Senator of this district and 

 Eepresentatives of this town be requested to offer to 

 the State of Connecticut, in behalf of the city of New 

 Haven, and at its expense, a State-House, which 

 shall cost a sum not exceeding a million dollars, 

 and that said Senator and Eepresentatives request 

 the State to accept the same : Provided such propo- 

 sition or offer he accepted by a majority of the legal 

 voters of this city. 



In behalf of the city of Hartford, a resolu- 

 tion having been offered to the House of 

 Representatives, proposing "an amendment to 

 the constitution, making Hartford the sole 

 capital of the State, to be submitted to the 

 decision of the people by their suffrages," it 

 was laid on the table at the sitting of May 21st. 



On the 22d, a Representative from New 

 Haven proposed for the adoption of the House 

 a series of four resolutions, headed by a pre- 

 amble embodying the above-recited resolu- 

 tion of the Common Council of that city, the 

 first of them being, " That the offer of the 

 city of New Haven of a State-House, to be 

 erected in and by said city, at an expense not 

 exceeding one million dollars, be, and the same 

 is hereby, accepted; " and moved to refer them 

 to the Committee on Constitutional Amend- 

 ments. Thereupon another Representative 

 from New Haven called up the resolution for 

 an amendment to the Constitution making 

 Hartford the sole capital, and moved to refer 

 it to the same committee. After a warm de- 

 bate, it was referred. The matters were sub- 

 sequently discussed with great animation for 

 several days, when they were disposed of by a 

 final vote with the following results : Resolu- 

 tion for a constitutional amendment making 

 Hartford the sole capital of the State, to be 

 submitted to the people ; passed yeas 120, 

 nays 103. Resolution authorizing the city of 

 New Haven to build a State-House, postponed 

 on a motion to continue over yeas 114, nays 

 96. 



