MASSACHUSETTS. 



475 



cast for Benjamin Dean, and 212 for Charles 

 G. Greene. . 



Massachusetts has successfully maintained 

 her financial credit and prosperity notwith- 

 standing the monetary and commercial depres- 

 sion of the year. Maturing indebtedness has 

 been liquidated without recourse to taxation, 

 temporary loan, or draft upon the ordinary 

 revenues. During the year the Troy <& 

 Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel loan 

 was necessarily increased by further issues of 

 scrip, amounting to nearly $1,200,000; but 

 the extinguishment of other maturing liabili- 

 ties leaves the net increase of, the funded debt 

 less than $800,000. The amount and charac- 

 ter of the State debt are exhibited in the fol- 

 lowing statement : 



Funded debt, January 1. 1873 $47,692,704 



Retired during the year: 



Union Fund loan $293,500 



Almshonse loan 60,000 



Sta te-House Enlargement loan 65,000 



418,500 



Balance outstanding $*!,274,204 



Addition* du ring the year : Tunnel loan 



Sterling scrip $798,600 



Dollar bonds 400,000 



Mew State-prison loan. 



5,000 



$1,203,600 



Present funded debt $28,477,804 



Classification of outstanding liabilities : 



Railroad loans $14,501.616 



War loans 13,228.188 



Ordinary loans 750,000 



Totol $28,477,804 



Installments of the funded debt, amounting 

 to $544,000, will mature during the present 

 year. viz. : Of the Union Fund loan, $300,000 ; 

 State -House Enlargement loan, $100,000; 

 Almshouse loan, $50,000 ; and the Taunton 

 Lunatic Hospital loan, $94,000. All these are 

 payable from their several sinking funds, the 

 last three being the only outstanding install- 

 ments of the loans they represent. With the 

 exception of floating liabilities, consisting 

 mainly of sums duo and uncalled for, the 

 whole of comparatively small aggregate and 

 fully provided for, the State has now no debt 

 whose liquidation is not contemplated by es- 

 tablished sinking funds and their large and in- 

 creasing accumulations. 



The ordinary revenues for 1874 are esti- 

 mated at $2,536,000, and there is about $1,387,- 

 000 cash in the Treasury applicable on the 

 same account. It is estimated that the ordi- 

 nary expenses of the year will reach nearly or 

 quite $5,245,000. To meet the apparent deficit 

 in resources for the payment of estimated ex- 

 penses, it is thought that a State tax of from 

 I. .100,000 to $2,000,000 will be required. 



In addition to the funds that must be pro- 

 vided for ordinary expenses and the comple- 

 tion of the Hoosac Tunnel under the Shanly 

 contract, an appropriation will be required for 

 work upon the Troy & Greenfield Railroad, to 

 place it in readiness for the traffic of the tun- 

 nel, nnd there will be a demand upon the 

 Treasury for money to carry out the contract 



for the improvement of the South - Boston 

 Flats. Other public improvements to be pro- 

 vided for are the new State-prison, the new 

 Insane hospitals at Danvers and Worcester, 

 and extensive additions to that at Taunton. 



The debts of the difierent cities of the com- 

 monwealth, together with the increase during 

 the year, are shown in the following statement : 

 The net increase of the debt in Boston proper 

 is $4,950,567; but the debts of Charlestown, 

 Brighton, and West Roxbury, carry the total 

 to $8,751,780. Charlestown had a sinking 

 fund of $176,000, but Brighton and West 

 Roxbury had made no provision of this kind. 

 The debt of Newton is about the same as last 

 year. 



There has been a remarkable increase in 

 the value of the property of Massachusetts 

 during the past two years. In 1872 the in- 

 crease in the entire taxable property of the 

 State amounted to the unparalleled sum of 

 $224,000,000; while- in 1873 the increase over 

 the previous year amounted to $71,000,000. 

 The valuation of the entire taxable property 

 of the State for three years is shown in the 

 following statement : 



1871. 



Real and personal estate $1 ,406,673,258 00 



Savings-banks deposits 163,704,077 54 



Corporations, exclusive of real estate 



and machinery 101,208,665 00 



Total '.. $4,761,591,000 54 



1878. 



Real and personal estate $1,696.599,969 00 



Saving-banks deposits 184,797,313 92 



Corporations 104,757,27803 



Total "$1,986,154,56095 



1878. 



Real and personal estate $1.768,429,990 00 



savings-banks deposits 203,662,166 62 



Corporations 90.938.561 00 



Total $2,057,430,707 52 



In 1872 the gain in the valuation of real and 

 personal property amounted to $199,921,711, 

 or very nearly $200,000,000 in twelve months. 

 In 1873 the increase was $66,830,021. The 

 following table gives the total valuation of the 

 real and personal property of the Common- 

 wealth, with the gain and loss by counties : 



