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FLORIDA. 



State. From Albany he was called in 1847 to 

 Cincinnati, as a successor to Rev. Dr. Lyraan 

 Beecher, and for eleven years he more than 

 made good the promise of his youth, and gave 

 to the church of which he was pastor more 

 than its former prestige. In July, 1858, he re- 

 signed this pastorate, to accept the presidency 

 of Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y. Here his 

 scholarship, his eloquence, his untiring assi- 

 duity, and his great executive ability, infused 

 a new life into the college, led to its more lib- 

 eral endowment and to its greatly-increased 

 efficiency. In September, 1867, finding his 

 health impaired by his excessive labors, to 

 which had been added the cares and anxieties 

 which came from the civil war, and his great 

 exertions to effect a reunion of the two 

 branches of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. 

 Fisher felt compelled to resign the presidency, 

 and return to the pastorate. He accepted the 

 call of the Westminster Presbyterian Church 

 in Utica, and commenced his work there with 

 much of the power and unction which had 

 characterized his labors at Cincinnati ; but in 

 May, 1870, he was stricken with paralysis. 

 From the first attack he so far recovered as to 

 be able to partially resume his duties ; but a 

 second attack, which, though apparently not 

 affecting his mind, abridged his powers of 

 speech and locomotion, compelled his resigna- 

 tion of all active duties, and he removed to 

 Cincinnati, where his last days were spent, 

 surrounded by his family. His death was sud- 

 den, and was the result of an apoplectic shock. 

 Dr. Fisher, though one of the most elegant 

 writers of our time, had published very little. 

 Only a few sermons, orations, and occasional 

 addresses, remain to testify to an eloquence 

 which has rarely been surpassed in modern 

 times. Some of these were collected, a few 

 years before his death, into a single volume. 

 His discourse before the A. B. 0. F. M., in 

 1860, was one which none who listened to it 

 will ever forget. Dr. Fisher received the de- 

 gree of D. D. from Miami University in 1852, 

 and that of LL. D. from the University of New 

 York in 1860. 



FLORIDA. The Legislature was in session 

 from January 6th till February 16th. Perhaps 

 the most important subject considered was 

 that of amending the constitution of the State. 

 Eleven articles of amendment were agreed 

 upon. Before becoming a part of the constitu- 

 tion, the proposed amendments must be ap- 

 proved by a two-thirds vote of all the members 

 elected to each branch of the Legislature which 

 convened in January, 1875, and be subsequently 

 ratified by the people. First in importance is 

 that which provides for biennial sessions of the 

 Legislature after 1877. Radical changes in the 

 judiciary department of the government are 

 proposed. The amendments, if adopted, will 

 abolish the County Court .as a trial-court at . 

 common law, distributing its present common- 

 law jurisdiction to the justice and circuit 

 courts. These changes will do away with the 



costs of jurors and witnesses in those courts, 

 which are now paid by the counties, but will 

 increase, to some extent, this heavy item of 

 expense in the Circuit Courts, which is paid by 

 the State, thus reducing the expenses of the 

 counties and increasing those of the State. 



An act was passed to incorporate a company 

 to construct a railroad from Gainesville to 

 some point on the Gulf of Mexico, or some nav- 

 igable tributary thereof, with further power to 

 construct a railroad from any point on the 

 first-named road to Key West. A company 

 was also chartered to build a railroad from St. 

 Augustine to Jacksonville, to be commenced 

 within one year, and completed within three 

 years thereafter. 



To encourage the establishment of manufac- 

 tories in the State it was enacted that u every 

 person or association of persons, corporation 

 or corporations, who shall engage in the manu- 

 facture of cotton-goods, sugar-refining, cotton- 

 seed oil, paper, or salt, shall have so much of 

 their property exempt from taxation as shall 

 be used for such manufactory, including their 

 stock of manufactured goods or raw material 

 on hand, and all buildings and lands used by 

 any such person, association, or corporation, 

 for the period of five years from the establish- 

 ment of any such manufactory." 



The act providing a revenue for the support 

 of common schools was amended so as to read 

 as follows : 



The Board of Public Instruction in each county 

 shall, on or before the last Monday in June of each 

 year, prepare an itemized statement showing the 

 amount of money required for the maintenance of the 

 necessary common schools of their county for the 

 next ensuing scholastic year, and shall deliver an offi- 

 cial copy of the same to the assessor of taxes on or be- 

 fore the first Monday in July following, and the said 

 amount shall not be less than one-half of the amount 

 received from the State by the apportionment of 

 common-school funds, nor more than one-half of one 

 per cent, of the assessed value of the taxable prop- 

 erty of the county, and the assessor shall compute 

 and the collector shall collect the said amount in like 

 manner as other taxes are computed and collected. 



An act was passed requiring the Governor 

 "to set apart a portion of the public buildings 

 of the State at Chattahoochee, in Gadsden 

 County, for the purposes of an indigent lunatic 

 asylum, to which all indigent persons who may 

 be found to be insane, lunatic, or non compos 

 mentis, by the courts of this State having juris- 

 diction of the subject, maybe confined for safe 

 keeping and treatment." 



The Governor made a personal inspection of 

 the public buildings at Chattahoochee, but 

 found none of them suitable for the purposes 

 of an insane asylum. The State is maintain- 

 ing, at great expense, six of its insane at asy- 

 lums outside the State, and sixteen at private 

 houses in the State, while two are confined for 

 safe keeping in the State-prison. Among other 

 acts passed by the Legislature was a general 

 law for the incorporation of railroads and 

 canals. 



An election was held on the 3d of Novem- 





